It is hard to see how, at the present moment, either Gaza or Israel could possibly meet the traditional criteria of just war theory.

I was saddened but not surprised by the pro-abortion position of the dramatists guild.

When asked whether the women in the synod hall felt they were being heard, Sister Pat Murray replied as any tough nun might: “We have been well able to make our point and use our time and space well.”

“It was a great blessing to be able to speak with him,” Sister Nabila Saleh said. “He gave us courage and the support of prayer.”

On “Inside the Vatican, host Colleen Dulle and veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell sit down in Rome to cover the second week of the synod, which covered contentious issues in the church, such as the inclusion of L.G.B.T. people and women deacons.

This synod, more than any other, is built on the premise that realities are greater than ideas.

The Catholic Church’s highest ranking prelate in the Holy Land offered his “absolute availability” to be exchanged for Israeli children taken hostage by Hamas.

Until the early 20th century, the Catholic Church in the United States was “the recipient of help from the church in other lands,” recalls Anthony Andreassi, C.O., in his homily for World Mission Sunday. “Now it is our turn to reach out to support others so that this important work of evangelization can continue."

Francis did not say whether this “compañero” was in fact among those killed, injured or taken hostage.

Published Oct. 15, the pope's letter is titled, "C'est la Confiance," the opening words of her phrase, "It is confidence and nothing but confidence that must lead us to Love."