Justin McLellan

"Silence, in the ecclesial community, makes fraternal communication possible, where the Holy Spirit draws together points of view," Pope Francis said to members of the synod, Christian leaders and young people in St. Peter's Square Sept. 30. 

The Vatican urged members of the U.N. Security Council to be "creative and courageous artisans of peace and weavers of constructive dialogue" to find a peaceful solution to the war in Ukraine.

Inspired by the dignity of each human being as revealed by Jesus, Christians are called to fight "every form of slavery," whether physical, social or spiritual, Pope Francis said.

The Vatican urged the international community to press for a "special statute" to guarantee religious freedom in the city of Jerusalem in any agreements regarding a peace deal between Israel and Palestine.

Kicking off the 2023 Clinton Global Initiative meeting of leaders in New York City Sept. 18, Pope Francis told former U.S. President Bill Clinton and the global community to take action to ensure peace for future generations and stop climate change "before it's too late."

Forgiveness, received freely and constantly from God, is a "fundamental value" for Christians that must be practiced and passed on to others, Pope Francis said.

The Vatican is asking all baptized people, regardless of whether they will be in Rome, to participate in October's assembly of the Synod of Bishops with their prayers.

Communicating Pope Francis' efforts to promote dialogue and advance peace efforts in Ukraine is a "great problem" for Catholic clergy and faithful in the country, said the head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church.

Rather than engage in petty gossip, which leads to scandal, Christians are called by Jesus to be direct yet loving in offering help to an errant friend, Pope Francis said.

After an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy suggested that a financial relationship exists between the Vatican and Moscow, the Vatican bank said Sept. 9 that it "does not receive nor invest money from Russia."

Auxiliary Bishop Maksym Ryabukha of Donetsk was one of 45 bishops who traveled to Rome for the Ukrainian church's annual synod and to meet with Pope Francis and other Vatican officials. "People's esteem for the pope is very fragile"  the bishop said.

Society has slipped into a culture of indifference so pervasive that "our necks are going to get stiff" from constantly turning away from the suffering of marginalized people, Pope Francis said.

Like St. Kateri Tekakwitha, the first native North American woman to be canonized, all Christians must embrace their unique call to service of God and neighbor as well as the personal crosses that come with it, Pope Francis said.

Signaling the Vatican's growing engagement in efforts to ensure the ethical development of new technologies, the Vatican has announced that "Artificial Intelligence and Peace" will be the theme for the next World Day of Peace, which is scheduled for Jan. 1, 2024.

Vietnam will allow a papal representative to reside in the country and open an office there to support Vietnam's estimated 6.5 million Catholics in a sign of the country's improved relations with the Holy See.

Representatives of the Roman Curia and the German bishops' conference discussed theological and disciplinary issues related to the German church's Synodal Path in a "positive and constructive climate" during a meeting at the Vatican July 26.

Young people today must be open to love and let themselves be led and accompanied by God in the face of life's challenges, Pope Francis said.

The Gospel calls Christians to bring the elderly to the center of their lives and away from the margins of families, politics and financial markets that banish them as "unprofitable waste" in society, Pope Francis said.

Christians are called to be modern-day prophets who guide others to see the Holy Spirit at work in everyday life and not to be superstitious people who try to predict or control the future, Pope Francis said July 2.

The Catholic and Russian Orthodox churches should join efforts to promote peace before threats of a "major global armed conflict," the head of the Russian Orthodox Church told Pope Francis' envoy on a peace mission to Moscow.