"I would have expected a lot more involvement by the Vatican—the time for cautious diplomacy is at an end," said Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk of Kiev-Halych, major archbishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Church.

Unrest flared in early October throughout the West Bank and Jerusalem, which has experienced tensions during September, largely over the status of the contested holy site of the Temple Mount or Haram al-Sharif.

Among issues followed by the Catholic legal community, the contraceptive mandate in the Affordable Care Act is likely to be back. Also making return outings in the term opening Oct. 5 are cases involving the details of the death penalty and state laws intended to limit abortions.

'Unite suffering' with those grieving, archbishop tells Oregon Catholics

Police report that the 20-year-old gunman was killed and four weapons were recovered at the scene.

Concerned that Puerto Rico's debt crisis is inflicting hardship on poor and middle-class households, Archbishop Robert Gonzalez Nieves of San Juan met with congressional leaders and the White House to push for a resolution.