Junno Arocho Esteves

The director of Caritas in Congo was shot and killed by an armed militant group while approaching a roadblock, Caritas Internationalis announced.

"Today we repeat to all those in charge the words of Jesus from today's Gospel: 'Ephphatha,' open your eyes and see the reality, see how children, the elderly, the sick in hospitals, and people living in the countryside are suffering from the smoke of the fires, from the smoke that covers the purest sky in America," Auxiliary Bishop Stanislaw Dowlaszewicz of Santa Cruz de la Sierra said.

Catholics in the Southern Italian city of Enna, Sicily, protested the local church's role in covering up sexual abuse after a court recently ruled that the diocesan bishop sought to protect a priest accused of having abused several minors as a seminarian. Several local news outlets reported that a group of faithful walked out of a Mass Aug. 22 to protest the local church's involvement in covering up abuses committed by Father Giuseppe Rugolo.

Pope Francis once again renewed his call for a cease-fire in Gaza following the rescue of four hostages that led to what officials in Gaza said was the killing of more than 270 Palestinians in an Israeli rescue operation that one European Union diplomat deemed a "massacre."
 

Pope Francis renewed his calls for an immediate cease-fire in the Gaza Strip after seven of the aid workers of World Central Kitchen, a humanitarian organization that delivers food in war-torn countries, were killed in an Israeli missile strike in Gaza Strip April 2.

Amid wars around the world, particularly in Ukraine and the Holy Land, the Catholic Church needs to speak out on nonviolence as a necessary option for any hope of peace, said a representative of Pax Christi International, urging the pope to write an encyclical on nonviolence and just peace.

The Vatican, especially Pope Francis, must double its efforts and urge the international community to end the massacre of Palestinians killed in Gaza in the Israel-Hamas war, Palestine's ambassador to Denmark said.

The devastating earthquake that struck Morocco's High Atlas Mountains not only showed the destructive power of nature but also the strength of the country's men and women to unite to help their compatriots, a Caritas official said.

A recent video that has gained traction on social media purportedly shows a McDonald's in Kiev bustling with people, prompting some to argue that perhaps the conflict is not as grim as the media and the country's government has reported.

Pope Francis condemned an attack on a Congolese village that led to the deaths of seven people, including a nun, after gunman looted and burned homes and a local health center.

Pope Francis said he was "deeply saddened" after hearing the news of one of the world's worst mass shootings at a day care center in northeast Thailand.

Pope Francis appointed several recently created cardinals to be members of the dicasteries of the Roman Curia, the Vatican announced. Among the new appointments announced by the Vatican Oct. 7 was Cardinal Robert McElroy of San Diego, who will serve as a member of the Dicastery for Laity, the Family and Life as well as the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.

The holiness of saints is reflected not only in how they overcame struggles but by their ability to transmit the joy that comes from being loved by God, Pope Francis said.

A tourist who toppled two ancient Roman busts in the Vatican Museums has been handed over to Italian police, the Vatican said.

To know oneself is a gift and a grace that allows Christians to properly discern between feelings and convictions, Pope Francis said.

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' theme for the next World Communications Day is a call for a peaceful dialogue that allows for uncomfortable truths to be spoken of without resorting to contentious and hostile debate, the Vatican announced.

"The sustainability of tourism, in fact, is measured not only in terms of pollution, but also in the impact on the biodiversity of natural and social ecosystems," Cardinal Michael Czerny said.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York, Vatican News reported.

As the October deadline approaches for the extension of the Vatican's agreement with the Chinese government, the newly appointed editor of the news agency of the Dicastery for Evangelization said the deal has been instrumental in allowing Catholics to practice their faith openly and in communion with the church.