Completing a project to repatriate human remains held in the Vatican Museums’ ethnological collection, the Vatican and the government of Peru signed an agreement Oct. 17 to return to Peru three mummies sent to the Vatican in 1925.

Next year will mark the 40th anniversary of the U.S. bishops’ landmark pastoral letter “The Challenge of Peace: God’s Promise and Our Response.”

Dioceses and parish volunteers who have embraced the “Walking with Moms in Need” initiative are still in the early stages of assessing its effectiveness.

The Biden administration’s Oct. 12 decision to apply Title 42 to Venezuelans at the U.S.-Mexico border “will have an immediate impact on our border community,” said Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso.

Catholics working with migrants have mobilized to assist Venezuelans who are arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border in record numbers but are being expelled back to Mexico under pandemic-era health restrictions.

At a time when tensions are growing, fueled by “blatant misuse of social media” and by political manipulation, Catholics and Hindus are called to teach personal responsibility for civilized behavior and to promote “respect, love and trust” among people, a Vatican office said.

While many Catholic movements go through a period of confusion after their founder dies, the key to continued flourishing is to remember with gratitude the founder’s gifts and to be open to new ways or new places the Holy Spirit wants them to grow, Pope Francis told members of Communion and Liberation.

Saying he did not want to rush the process of discerning how the Holy Spirit is calling the church to grow in “synodality,” Pope Francis announced that the next assembly of the Synod of Bishops would take place in two sessions.

Prayer is medicine for one’s faith and it reinvigorates the soul, Pope Francis said.

Mary Jo Copeland is founder and director of Sharing and Caring Hands, a large facility behind Target Field that provides clothing and food to 300-500 poor and marginalized people daily.