When Mikhail Gorbachev, who died on Aug. 30, first met with Pope John Paul in December 1989, less than a month after the Berlin Wall’s collapse, the two leaders “understood each other immediately.”

Sean Callahan, president and C.E.O. of Baltimore-based Catholic Relief Services, returned last month from tours and consultations with C.R.S. partners in Ukraine, Ghana and Ethiopia.

“We will not tire of emphasizing that the church in Germany will not follow a ‘German special path’,” said a joint statement by the Synodal Presidium, the president of the German Bishops’ Conference and ZdK President Irme Stetter-Karp.

In an address to members of three religious orders, the pope asked for "zero tolerance" for abusers in the church and expressed his "closeness" with the people of Ukraine.

“Sow integrity for yourselves,” urges Hosea. Right now in the U.K., that feels like the most urgent political task.

The crisis should inspire the U.K. to reflect upon the values upheld by figures in public life, said Bishop Egan.