Cindy Wooden

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.

Pope Francis on Oct. 11 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.

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

In addition to their three-day retreat outside of Rome, more than 350 members of the assembly of the Synod of Bishops are expected to go on a pilgrimage "to the roots of the Christian faith," visiting the Rome catacombs.

In a message to an ecumenical meeting at a historic Benedictine abbey in Hungary, Pope Francis said Russia's war on Ukraine is a reminder of what the Second Vatican Council taught: "Any act of war aimed indiscriminately at the destruction of entire cities or of extensive areas along with their population is a crime against God and man himself."

On the recommendation of the Catholic bishops of mainland China in consultation with the Chinese government, Pope Francis has named two bishops from the country's mainland as members of the assembly of the Synod of Bishops.

During an ecumenical prayer service at the assembly of the Lutheran World Federation, the Vatican's chief ecumenist and the federation's general secretary formally called for a joint reflection on the Augsburg Confession, a fundamental statement of Lutheran faith.

When Pope Francis said he wanted the focus of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith to be "something very different" from the dicastery's reputation as a stringent watchdog, he was not saying anything goes, Cardinal-designate Víctor Fernández, the dicastery's new prefect, said in an interview.

Italian Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, who said Pope Francis tapped him not to mediate but to encourage dialogue that could end Russia's war on Ukraine, flew to China Sept. 12, Italian media reported.

Pope Francis prayed that Catholics and members of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church would recognize the wounds of division they have inflicted on Christ's body, the church, and come to celebrate the faith together.

Marking International Literacy Day, Pope Francis sent a message to Audrey Azoulay, director-general of UNESCO, encouraging efforts to teach reading and writing to the hundreds of millions of people in the world who do not have basic literacy skills, but he also focused on the education needed to help all people contribute to building sustainable and peaceful societies.

The polarization Pope Francis sees in the Catholic Church in the United States is not only a U.S. problem, Cardinal-designate Christophe Pierre, Vatican nuncio in the United States, told Vatican News.

Pope Francis said he knows people wonder why he traveled close to 6,000 miles to Mongolia to visit a Catholic community of only 1,450 people.

Pope Francis prayed that God would raise up a new generation of "well-educated and faithful Catholics leaders committed to promoting the church's social and ethical teachings" through public service, especially in politics.

Acknowledging Ukraine's celebration of Independence Day Aug. 24, Pope Francis pleaded with thousands of visitors at his weekly general audience to keep praying for peace in the country.

The synod process underway around the world and at the Vatican is inflicting "evident and grave harm" on the Catholic Church, retired U.S. Cardinal Raymond L. Burke wrote in a letter published as the foreword to a book.

Our Lady of Guadalupe and other recognized Marian apparitions show clearly how evangelization does not require complicated plans and elaborate theological explanations but sharing the faith in "a language suitable for all, a language that is comprehensible, like that of Jesus," Pope Francis said.

Since the Mafia feeds on poverty and isolation, the response of the Catholic Church must be to build a community where everyone knows they are welcome, loved, cared for and called to conversion, Pope Francis told priests in Sicily.

Dorothy Day was "a great witness to faith, hope and charity in the 20th century," Pope Francis wrote in the foreword to a new edition of Day's 1938 memoir on her conversion, From Union Square to Rome.

Christians must stand firm in their faith but that is not the same as being rigid and unwilling to bend out of compassion for another, Pope Francis said.