Catholic News Service

Pope Francis praised a new ceasefire reached in Lebanon, prayed for Israeli hostages and Palestinians in Gaza, and appealed to world leaders to help put an end to the war in Ukraine.

The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Dicastery for Legislative Texts are setting up a working group to study how "spiritual abuse" can be defined and punished in church law, a note from the doctrinal office said.

Approved by the pope, the synod's final document "participates in the ordinary magisterium of the successor of Peter, and as such, I ask that it be accepted," the pope wrote in a note published by the Vatican Nov. 25.

Pope Francis will become the first pope to visit Corsica, the birthplace of Napoleon Bonaparte, when he makes a daytrip to the French island Dec. 15. The pope will make the roughly one-hour flight from Rome to Ajaccio, Corsica's capital, to participate in a conference on popular religiosity in the Mediterranean region organized by the Diocese of Ajaccio, which encompasses the entire island.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened that the conflict could spread after Ukraine fired U.S.-supplied longer-range missiles Nov. 19 and U.K.-supplied cruise missiles Nov. 20 into Russian territory.

Pope Francis, who will celebrate his 88th birthday in December, has approved simplified liturgical rites for the death of a pontiff.

As the 1,000th day since Russia launched its large-scale invasion of Ukraine approached, the Vatican secretary of state said he hoped the milestone would "awaken a sense of responsibility in everyone, especially those who can stop the ongoing carnage."

Pope Francis has appointed a priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago to serve as administrative management director of the Laudato Si' Center for Higher Education, which is based at the papal villa and farms at Castel Gandolfo.

"In view of the Jubilee, I am asking my diocese to give a tangible sign of attention to the housing problem so that, alongside the welcome given to all the pilgrims who will come, forms of protection are activated for those who do not have a home or are in danger of losing it," Francis said in a letter dated Nov. 8 and released by the Vatican press office a week later.

A local Italian group launched an online petition urging Pope Francis, the Vatican and others to stop the "fir tree-icide" of cutting down a 200-year-old red pine to decorate St. Peter's Square for Christmas.

The private meeting with 16 people, including two children, took place at the Vatican Nov. 14.

Predatory practices and technology for the benefit of the powerful few have disrupted the relationship between human labor and the natural environment, said Cardinal Michael Czerny, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.

The Vatican, dioceses around the world and religious congregations have a patrimony of an estimated $1.75 trillion to invest but there are only a handful of investment funds that meet the multiple criteria of being consistent with the teaching of the Catholic Church, said Jean-Baptiste de Franssu, president of the Institute for the Works of Religion, commonly known as the Vatican bank.

Pope Francis appointed a new preacher of the papal household: a 53-year-old Italian Capuchin priest who studied computer science and mathematics and discovered his vocation while reading a free copy of St. Matthew's Gospel on the subway.

Asked about Trump's victory Nov. 5 and looking toward his second term as president, Vatican secretary of state Cardinal Pietro Parolin said, "I think he has to work above all to be president of the whole country and therefore overcome the polarization that has occurred and is very evident."

The pope traveled Nov. 2 to Rome's Laurentino cemetery, which has a special section for children who have died and, nearby, a section called the "Garden of the Angels" where parents who have experienced a miscarriage can opt to have their children buried rather than having a hospital dispose of the remains.

Christians and Hindus must promote harmony among all groups of people despite their differences, especially when ideologies increasingly seek to sow division, the Vatican wrote in a message for the Hindu celebration of Diwali.

Archbishop Paul D. Etienne of Seattle, a papally-appointed member of the Synod of Bishops, said that as the second synod assembly nears its conclusion Oct. 27, people might not see what they hoped for in the synod's final document, but the gathering heard them and took their input seriously.

Pope Francis has accepted the request of Indonesian Bishop Paskalis Bruno Syukur of Bogor to dispense him from becoming a cardinal as planned in December. Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican press office, said Syukur wanted "to grow further in priestly life, in his service to the Church and the people of God."

At a Vatican news conference presenting the encyclical, an archbishop said that Dilexit Nos is the "key" to understanding Pope Francis' pontificate, presenting the spiritual and theological foundation underlying the pope's message for the past 12 years — that everything "springs from Christ and his love for all humanity."