On the first anniversary of the attack that sparked an escalating conflict in the Holy Land, Israel’s ambassador to the Holy See said his country still hopes for peace.

On the one-year anniversary of the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, Pope Francis expressed his solidarity with all those suffering because of conflicts throughout the Middle East, urged Christians to be peacemakers and warned warmongers they will face God’s judgment.

Members of the Synod of Bishops have voted to give up one of their few free afternoons to “dialogue” with the leaders of the study groups Pope Francis set up to reflect on important questions raised by the synod in 2023.

In a year filled with the “turmoil of hatred and violence” — which Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa described as “terrible, horrible,” it has been very important to keep the “spiritual life of the Christian community,” as well as his own, “alive,” the patriarch said.

Members of the Synod of Bishops have begun looking for ways to make relationships within the Catholic Church “more transparent and more harmonious, so that our witness may become more credible.”

Helene — which made landfall in Florida late in the evening of Sept. 26 as a Category 4 Hurricane and was downgraded the next day — has been reported to be one of the deadliest storms in the U.S., with more than 215 people confirmed dead

As fighting in the Middle East intensified and spread, Pope Francis turned to Mary, begging her to “intercede for our world in danger.”

Love is demanding, but it is also beautiful when a woman and a man love each other fully, “without half measures,” Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis announced he would create 21 new cardinals Dec. 8, including a 99-year-old former nuncio and the 44-year-old Ukrainian bishop who heads his church’s eparchy in Melbourne, Australia.

Even though death surrounds them every day, Gaza Strip’s Christian community tries to “relieve the suffering” by assisting each other with spiritual and material needs.