His critics know Pope Francis "will not change,” said Father Sosa, adding, “In reality, these [attacks] are a way to influence the election of the next pope.”

“We need to help our society to see our common humanity—that we are all children of God, meant to live together as brothers and sisters.”

On Wednesday morning, gasps followed the court’s ruling that Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s request for a suspension had the “improper purpose of stymieing Parliament.”

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.