Carol Glatz - Catholic News Service

After checking with the pope himself and other sources, Father Lombardi told reporters “the pope enjoys good health” and that the unsubstantiated news report was “a serious act of irresponsibility, absolutely unjustifiable and unspeakable.”

All of Christ’s disciples, especially its pastors, are called to model themselves after Jesus and “suppress our instinctive desire to exercise power over others, and instead exercise the virtue of humility,” Pope Francis said.

Discussing a number of proposals he offered the synod fathers to think about, Canadian Archbishop Paul-Andre Durocher said, “I think we should really start looking seriously at the possibility of ordaining women deacons because the diaconate in the church’s tradition has been defined as not being ordered toward priesthood but toward ministry.”

The pope has called on every parish, religious community, monastery and shrine in Europe to take in refugees, given the ongoing crisis of people fleeing from war and poverty.

‘The church urgently needs religious who dedicate their lives to being on the very frontiers between faith and human knowledge, faith and modern science,’ Pope Francis told the group of papal astronomers.

The complete list of synod participants and papal appointees was released Sept. 15 by the Vatican.

To be a true Christian means being forgiving, kind, humble, gentle, generous, merciful and very patient with one another, Pope Francis said in a morning homily.Priests must be especially merciful, he added, saying if that they weren't, then they should ask their bishop for a desk job and "n

“Churches, parishes, institutions with closed doors must not call themselves a church; they must call themselves museums,” he said.