God wants people to live their vocation in a spirit of strength, Pope Francis told the Vatican gendarme corps, the police force of the tiny city-state.

As authorities in Florida continued rescue efforts, Catholic parishes and dioceses in the U.S. moved rapidly to collect aid in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, and U.S. President Joe Biden said it could take years to rebuild what was destroyed.

Justice Samuel Alito told a group of law students in Washington that he is always mindful that the rulings he and his colleagues on the U.S. Supreme Court issue “are not abstract discussions” and “have a real impact on the world.”

Catholic hospitals and their workers “must not be coerced by the government to violate their consciences” by being forced to perform “gender transition procedures” against their religious beliefs, said two U.S. cardinals writing in America magazine.

Father Fidelis Moscinski, a Franciscan Friar of the Renewal, has been charged with violating the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, or FACE Act, for allegedly blocking access to a Planned Parenthood of Greater New York facility in the Hempstead section of Long Island, N.Y.

With “rivers of blood and tears” still flowing in Ukraine and with the increasing threat of the use of nuclear weapons, Pope Francis begged Russian President Vladimir Putin: “Stop this spiral of violence and death.”

The Vatican synod hall became a stand full of cheering fans, pumping fists, clapping and shouting encouragement as instructed by Tim Shriver, chairman of Special Olympics, who led some 200 people in a group exercise.

The Supreme Court begins its new term Oct. 3, jumping right back into the fray with cases that take on affirmative action, voting, immigration, the environment and freedom of speech.

The Vatican auditor general said he was surprised by the lack of ethical standards demonstrated by officials considering investment opportunities, including a failed London property development deal.

Pope Francis reconfirmed the leadership of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors and expanded its membership from 17 to 20 people, naming 10 new members and reappointing 10 returning members.