Religious leaders in Ukraine called for safe return of prisoners of war, civilian hostages and all those who were forcibly taken to Russia.

A senior Russian priest dismissed President Vladimir Putin's threats of nuclear war as "just words," but said many young Catholics now fear being forcibly conscripted with their priests to join the war against Ukraine.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York, Vatican News reported.

The Flemish-speaking bishops of Belgium have appointed a contact person for ministry to and with gay Catholics and have authorized prayer for committed gay couples on the condition it is clear that it is not equivalent to a wedding blessing.

An English cardinal took part in the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in an indication of openness of the British Royal family to ecumenical and interfaith dialogue.

The fourth plenary assembly of the Synodal Path in Frankfurt ended Sept. 10 with a series of far-reaching reform resolutions.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas, Pope Francis' ambassador to Ukraine, to express disappointment about papal comments regarding the death of Darya Dugina, a 29-year-old commentator with a nationalist Russian TV channel.

Two state-sponsored church bodies in China have elected new leaders, who promised to invigorate the Catholic faithful pastorally in line with the socialist principles of the Chinese Communist Party.