Signs Of the Times

This violence goes against Jerusalem’s vocation as a holy city, which should be open to all people of faith, he said. “We are shocked at what is happening,” Bishop Shomali said in mid-October, after two weeks of unrest. “Violence does not help. We do not accept violence by an

The decision of the ruling African National Congress to withdraw South Africa from membership of the International Criminal Court has drawn fierce criticism.

During a press briefing after the report’s release on Oct. 14, Secretary of State John Kerry said these non-state actors “are now the principal persecutors and preventers of religious tolerance and practice.”“Most prominent, and most harmful, obviously, has been the rise of i

Greece is bracing for thousands more Syrians and other people to land on Lesbos and other key island crossings from Turkey, as those fleeing conflict remain undeterred by the worsening weather and colder autumn temperatures. “The waves were rolling fiercely with the salt water nearly choking u

On Oct. 5 California became the fifth state to allow assisted suicide, after Gov. Jerry Brown signed State Assembly Bill ABx2-15 into law.

Bishop Robert E. Guglielmone of Charleston, S.C., asked for prayers on Oct. 6 for the families of those killed or left homeless by what officials called a 1,000-year storm which deluged the state. • Church leaders in Lahore, Pakistan, on Oct. 10 demonstrated for the withdrawal of legislation th

Among the many dynamics at the synod, one could note the difference of perceptions between bishops from different cultures. Some Western prelates seem to be of the view that synod fathers from Africa are impeding progress on questions that are important in their region—for example, the church&

Archbishop Paul-Andre Durocher of Gatineau, Quebec, said the Synod of Bishops on the family should reflect on the possibility of allowing female deacons as it seeks ways to open up more opportunities for women in church life. Where possible, qualified women should be given higher positions and decis

Pope Francis made a passionate appeal to the international community to find ways to resolve the conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Jerusalem and the West Bank of the Jordan, where there is “an escalation of violence” that is bringing destruction and great sufferings to the peoples living there.S

In a highly significant intervention at the synod on the family on Oct. 6, Pope Francis warned the synod fathers against giving in to “the hermeneutic of conspiracy”—what in English might be called “the conspiracy theory”—which, he said, “is sociologically w