Catholic bishops, indigenous leaders and experts are preparing to gather in Rome from Oct. 6 to Oct. 27 for the special Synod of Bishops on the Pan-Amazonian Region.

The ecological restoration work here is locked in a race against deforestation as hard-pressed Malagasy turn to the forests to make charcoal, build homes or clear the forest for subsistence food production.

Msgr. Patrick Chauvet, the rector and archpriest of Notre-Dame, would like to restore the cathedral exactly as it had been before the fire. That would mean recreating the great wooden attic, nicknamed “the forest,” that was consumed in the blaze.

The increased attention by Mexican police and armed forces is encouraging undocumented migrants to avoid shelters, many of which are run by the Catholic Church here, and to follow more dangerous routes through Mexico, aid workers warn.

The annual weekend-long spectacle began in 1919 with Italian immigrants from the small village of Montefalcione in Avellino. Organizers say it is the largest Italian religious festival in New England.

A new survey finds that most U.S. Hispanics generally oppose abortion, writes J.D. Long-García, but the community’s complex, pro-family attitudes do not easily fit the two-party political structure.