Even as Christians continue the dialogue aimed at restoring their unity, they are called to work together to bring peace and reconciliation to a deeply divided world, Pope Leo XIV said.

An active shooter at Villanova University reported late afternoon Aug. 21 was a “cruel hoax,” a university official said less than two hours after the initial scare that led to a campus lockdown.

Holy Trinity Parish, known for its social outreach, started a job loss support group after these parishioners expressed their concerns about the federal government job cuts.

Pope Leo XIV turns 70 on Sept. 14 and some of his closest friends in the Chicago-area will mark the day with him in mind, quietly.

More than 90 bishops from different parts of the Pan-Amazon region gathered in Bogotá, Colombia, Aug. 17-20 to take a fundamental step in the implementation of some of the Amazon synod’s proposals.

A federal judge on Aug. 20 partially blocked Texas from enforcing a law requiring public school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments, finding the law violated the First Amendment.

At a time when many governments seem unable promote peace, justice and development for all, Christians must be prophetic, reaching out to others and daring to try something new, Pope Leo XIV said.

A federal appeals court temporarily blocked Aug. 18 a federal land transfer to a copper mining giant that would lead to the destruction of a site considered sacred by Indigenous peoples. But President Donald Trump said Aug. 19 his administration would continue to pursue that land transfer.

A plan for Pope Leo XIV to visit Lebanon as well as Turkey in late November and early December is being studied, a Vatican official said.

The migrant detention facility, known for its deliberate placement within the inhospitable environment of Florida’s Everglades, is being used as a model for other states to set up similar facilities.