Synod participants who have known war and conflict firsthand led the assembly of the Synod of Bishops Oct. 12 by praying for peace between Israel and Palestine, throughout the Middle East and across the globe.

With 364 members and dozens of special guests having the right to speak at the assembly of the Synod of Bishops, accurately synthesizing the discussion will be a major undertaking.

Father John Paul, rector of the Tantur Ecumenical Institute spoke with OSV News Oct. 11, four days after Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip stormed into approximately 22 locations in Israel, gunning down civilians and taking some 100-150 hostages, including infants, the elderly and people with disabilities.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., was nominated by his fellow Republicans for speaker of the House Oct. 11, but questions remained whether Scalise can get enough votes from his party to become speaker in a vote before the whole House.

Luca Casarini, a longtime and well-known Italian activist, is a special guest at the assembly of the Synod of Bishops; he’s encouraged to speak, but has no vote. And he said he is learning a lot.

Two U.S. bishops have launched the National Catholic Mental Health Campaign, amid a global crisis in mental health and a decline in mental health resources in the U.S.

Pope Francis condemned Hamas’ terrorist attacks on Israel and pleaded with the militants to free their hostages unharmed, but he also expressed concern about Israel’s tightening siege on Gaza and its impact on innocent civilians.

The life of St. Josephine Bakhita, a former slave from Sudan who became a nun, demonstrates how love liberates people from oppression and frees them to forgive their oppressors and break cycles of hatred and violence, Pope Francis said.

Pilgrims who were in Israel following a surprise terrorist attack by Hamas terrorists against civilian communities in southern Israel Oct. 7 lit candles and said prayers of peace at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher as fighting continued in southern Israel.

Finding better ways to live “like Jesus did” — reaching out, welcoming, healing and including others — was the focus of Sister Liliana Franco Echeverri’s small group discussions Oct. 9-10 at the assembly of the Synod of Bishops, she said.