The monthlong experience of synodality with cardinals, bishops, religious and laypeople from all over the world created new and wider “spaces” for everyone to feel welcome, to listen and discern God’s will together, several synod members said at the conclusion of the synod assembly’s first session.

On the 800th anniversary of St. Francis of Assisi setting up the first Nativity scene, the creche in St. Peter’s Square in 2023 will come from the Diocese of Rieti, Italy, and pay tribute to the scene set up in the diocese in 1223.

As the world prayed for peace in the Holy Land Oct. 27, Pope Francis called for the war to halt and prayers to continue during the Angelus Oct. 29, as death toll in Gaza passed 8,000 and Israeli troops gradually increased their ground activity in the Gaza Strip, without calling it an “invasion.”

While some of the issues discussed at the synod on synodality were judged to require further study, members came up with a list of things that can or should happen immediately and others that should be considered.

A report summarizing discussions at the assembly of the Synod of Bishops said the church may need more welcoming pastoral approaches, especially to people who feel excluded, but also acknowledged fears of betraying traditional church teachings and practices.

The day after Pope Francis called for a cease-fire in the Holy Land, his foreign minister spoke by phone with the foreign minister of Iran, “reiterating the absolute need to avoid escalating the conflict,” the Vatican press office said.

To reform the church is to put God first and adore him, and to love and serve others, Pope Francis said at Mass marking the conclusion of the first session of the Synod of Bishops on synodality.

“Evil is part of the world in which we live,” said Bishop Robert P. Deeley of Portland, Maine during a Mass Oct. 27 in Lewiston, Maine. “It’s how we deal with it which is important.”

Ohio voters will consider Issue 1 in November, a measure that would codify abortion access in the state’s constitution through fetal viability, typically understood to be 24 weeks gestation.

unlike Bible study or even Renew groups, these communities have members who function somewhat as a family, who consider the meeting a sacred space to unburden themselves, share problems and help other members.