President Donald Trump said during a meeting in Egypt on Oct. 13 that “phase two has started” of a peace deal between Israel and Hamas in response to a question from a reporter about when the next stage of negotiations would begin.

In a proclamation Trump signed Oct. 9, ahead of the Oct. 13 holiday, he called Christopher Columbus “the original American hero, a giant of Western civilization, and one of the most gallant and visionary men to ever walk the face of the earth.”

“There is a way to punish without ending another human life: life-long incarceration without the possibility of parole,” the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops wrote to Gov. Ron DeSantis, urging the state’s Catholic governor to stay the scheduled Oct. 14 execution of Samuel “Sammy” Smithers.

Modern hermits seek solitude not to escape the world but to learn how to listen more closely to God, to their neighbors and to creation, Pope Leo XIV said as he met about 50 Italian hermits who came to the Vatican for the Jubilee of Consecrated Life.

A Bible translation approved for private use by the U.S. Catholic bishops’ conference has drawn some objections over the wording of certain verses addressing same-sex relations — but a Scripture scholar and consultant for the bishops told OSV News the text still makes clear the church’s biblical teaching on homosexuality.

Scenes of joy, relief and tearful welcomes flooded media across the world Oct. 13 as the remaining Israeli hostages were freed from Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip as part of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement.

In separate videos recorded in English, Spanish and Italian, Pope Leo XIV urged every Catholic parish around the globe to observe World Mission Sunday Oct. 19 and take up the annual collection that supports Catholic missionary work.

Three months after Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández said the Vatican had identified the judges who would form the tribunal in the canonical trial against Slovenian Father Marko Rupnik on charges of spiritual and sexual abuse, the judges were formally nominated.

Historic momentum is felt across the Middle East as thousands gathered Oct. 11 in Tel Aviv, Israel, for the last mass gathering before the hostage release expected to take place Oct. 13, and tens of thousands of Palestinians started to make their way back to their homes in northern Gaza Strip.

Christians must avoid using their faith to label those who are different — often the poor — as enemies to be avoided and rejected, Pope Leo XIV said.