The Catholic Sun

As dusk fell over the Old City, a group of 60 Christians and Jews and one Muslim gathered at the entrance of the Jaffa Gate for what they hope will become a monthly event of public prayer for peace.

The Chinese government imposed its one-child policy in 1979 to curb the growth of the population that, at that time, was reaching 972 million people with some families in rural areas since then required to apply to have a second child if the first child was a girl.

Rilene Simpson spoke at length about a topic that’s often hushed in Catholic circles: exploring the gay identity. What’s more, some 120 priests, deacons, women religious and other lay parish leaders packed into a conference room at the Diocesan Pastoral Center Oct. 21 to hear it. Simpson was once in a long-term lesbian partnership as an atheist and has since converted to Catholicism and a life of celibacy. She intertwined her testimony with a series of headline stories pertaining to gender identity.

Religions don't have a special "recipe" to solve world problems of peace, hunger, poverty and other crises, Pope Francis said, "but we have a great resource," the treasure of prayer.

GALLUP, New Mexico (CNA/EWTN News) — Fr. Matthew Keller has always been kind of a car guy. “Actually, a lot of a car guy,” he told CNA, laughing. He went to technical school as a teenager — “vocational school, funny enough” — and has worked on cars with his dad and brother-in-law since he was young.

Catholic health care professionals not only work to heal mental and physical health, they’re also devoted to the spiritual welfare of their patients. It’s a message Catholic healthcare workers unite around annually at the White Mass, celebrated in October, near the feast of St. Luke, patron saint of physicians and named for the color typically worn by healthcare professionals.

Charitably defending a stance on a hot-button issue is not always easy. That’s even more true when it comes to homosexuality. Some 120 Catholic priests, deacons, religious and lay leaders left a “Day of Understanding” seminar at the Diocesan Pastoral Center Oct. 21 with practical tips for sharing the truth about love, marriage and homosexuality.

The healing balm of the sacraments can help military chaplains tend to the wounds of armed forces who endure physical and emotional scars from conflicts raging around the world, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Australian Cardinal George Pell said the final report of the Synod of Bishops on the family did not create an opening for the divorced and civilly remarried to receive Communion. “The text has certainly been significantly misunderstood,” Cardinal Pell, prefect of the Vatican Secretariat for the Economy, told Catholic News Service Oct. 25.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — While they did not grab headlines, the elderly and people with disabilities, openness to life and the plight of migrants and refugees were also on the agenda of the Synod of Bishops on the family. The synod’s final report, which was approved Oct. 24, addressed the pastoral needs of those who are often cast aside to the margins of society, those who are often neglected and abandoned in a world that places profit over value.