Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, returned to themes relating to peace that he had presented during 79th session of the U.N. General Assembly at an evening Mass celebrated Sept. 30 at Holy Family Church in Manhattan, near U.N. headquarters.

Pope Francis opened the second session of the Synod of Bishops defending his decision to give women and laymen votes at the assembly, saying it reflects the Second Vatican Council’s teaching that a bishop exercises his ministry with and within the people of God.

The penitential liturgy with Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Basilica Oct. 1 opened with testimonies of those who have faced great suffering, among those a survivor of clergy sexual abuse. Laurence Gien, who was 11 when he was sexually abused by a priest in his native South Africa, told OSV News that standing in front of bishops, cardinals and Pope Francis himself, giving testimony about his lifetime trauma, was his way of “just trying to appeal to their better selves.”

Members of the Synod of Bishops must engage in genuine dialogue with those holding differing views, avoid pushing personal agendas and remain open to changing their minds about what is best for the church, Pope Francis said.

At the first and only debate Oct. 1 between Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., and Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, the vice presidential nominees of their respective parties, the candidates sparred with each other on topics including abortion, immigration, gun policy relating to preventing school shootings, and democracy, with each one all the while seeking to defend his own running mate while critiquing his opponent’s.

In a summer of firsts, mountain-climbing Benedictine monks of Mount Angel Abbey took to the heights — their locally brewed beer tucked in backpacks — ascending renowned peaks in the Pacific Northwest during the season’s brief window of opportunity.

Since Hamas’ attack on Israel Oct. 7, 2023, and the immediate start of the Israel-Hamas war, Pope Francis has provided daily spiritual solace to Gaza Strip’s only Catholic parish.

A Franciscan college in New York state will host a two-day gathering on integral ecology and sustainability with a focus on creating a “global vision with local meaning” to care for creation.

The Catholic Extension Society has awarded its 2024-2025 Lumen Christi Award to a woman religious who as a physician provides health care to uninsured patients in rural eastern Tennessee.

The Catholic Church cannot be credible in its mission of proclaiming Christ unless it acknowledges its mistakes and bends down “to heal the wounds we have caused by our sins,” Pope Francis said.