Catholic News Service

Pope Francis told members of the synod on synodality that they should respect and honor the faith of all baptized Catholics, including the women, trusting "the holy, faithful people of God" who continue to believe even when their pastors act like dictators.

Since the Gospel message touches every aspect of a person's life, it must be proclaimed in a way people can understand, Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis again called for the release of hostages taken from Israel by Hamas militants and for allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza.

"The Amazon really is a symbol, a symbol of the need to change our mentality, to be less consumeristic, to chase after money less," said Cardinal Leonardo Ulrich Steiner, the first cardinal from the Amazon region. 

Pope Francis called for the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza and spoke with U.S. President Joe Biden to discuss the humanitarian crisis and the need to de-escalate violence in the region.

Synod members will soon face the challenge of bringing back to their home dioceses, regions and continents the synodal way of inviting others, listening and discerning together that they are experiencing at the synod on synodality, two archbishops said.

Members of the Synod of Bishops will issue a "Letter to the People of God" at the close of the first session of the synod assembly, which ends Oct. 29, the Vatican said.

Taking to heart the lesson of the parable of the good Samaritan is the key to assisting the millions of migrants and refugees forced to travel far from their homelands and often exploited along the way, Pope Francis said.

The Catholic Church's synodal process, intended to actively solicit input from all its members, is not a threat to the hierarchy, a cardinal said.

The Vatican has confirmed that it has been asked and has agreed to receive 12 priests who had been detained in Nicaragua.

Pope Francis praised actor and comedian Whoopi Goldberg for helping people laugh and feel joy, telling her, "You are very important."

St. Charles de Foucauld, a turn-of-the-19th-century hermit, demonstrates how a life of meekness, tenderness and eucharistic adoration evangelizes, Pope Francis said.

Warning against a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and ongoing conflicts elsewhere, Pope Francis has called for a day of fasting, penance and prayer for peace in the world Oct. 27.

At the assembly of the Synod of Bishops, "there is a sense that things are tightening up, emerging, but through that process of hopeful patience," said Renee Kohler-Ryan, a synod member from Australia. 

Water must be safeguarded and managed in a "wise, careful and sustainable way, so that everyone can enjoy it," Pope Francis said in a written message marking the Oct. 16 celebration of World Food Day, a commemoration sponsored by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization.

Since "walking together" is an essential characteristic of synodality, synod organizers made it literal with a pilgrimage to some of Rome's earliest Christian catacombs.

Although it is easy to feel powerless in the face of war, "prayer is the meek and holy force to oppose the diabolical force of hatred, terrorism and war," Pope Francis said.

St. Thérèse of Lisieux, long one of Pope Francis' favorite saints, teaches Christians "the little way" of love, self-giving, concern for others and complete trust in the mercy of God, the pope said in a new document.

Through a vast network of priests, diplomats, ordinary faithful and Jews themselves, the Vatican was one "one of the major points of arrival of news of the Jewish genocide" taking place during World War II, a scholar examining the Vatican's wartime archives said.

Synod participants who have known war and conflict firsthand led the assembly of the Synod of Bishops Oct. 12 by praying for peace between Israel and Palestine, throughout the Middle East and across the globe.