Perhaps predictably, Catholics who have come to view Pope Francis as a threat to the clarity of church teaching could only see the worst in the pope’s angry reaction to the grasping pilgrim.

Is it appropriate for a priest to accompany a person who had chosen to undergo assisted suicide?

I reached out by email to every diocese in the country and asked: Has your diocese started any new initiatives based on the 2018 pastoral letter on racism published by the U.S.C.C.B?

The quest for profit goes too far, he said, when businesses desert the workers and communities that made them profitable in the first place simply to make goods more cheaply in other countries.

The bishops will elect new leaders, consider new language about Catholics engaging in politics and hear an update about sex abuse accountability procedures adopted earlier this year.

How faith-based employers could be affected by a ruling in favor of L.G.B.T. employees remains to be seen. More than 20 states and Washington, D.C., have passed job protections for L.G.B.T. people.