The pope’s visit comes only two years after the Vatican acknowledged that the Nobel Peace Prize-winning, East Timorese independence hero Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo had sexually abused young boys.

Tania Tetlow, the first woman and first layperson to serve as president of Fordham University, has broken barriers and navigated controversies amid rising tensions on campus related to the Israel-Hamas war.

In an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” that aired Aug. 25, JD Vance said his running mate would “absolutely commit” to not imposing a federal abortion ban.

On Aug. 27, 2024, Bishop Melchior Shi Hongzhen was officially recognized as the bishop of the Diocese of Tianji, after the Chinese government refused to recognize him for five years.

During the Aug. 25 recitation of the Angelus prayer in St. Peter's Square, Pope Francis expressed his concern over a recent Ukrainian law that proscribed the Russian Orthodox Church.

“Theresa’s ministry was about truth-speaking,” Sister Susan Sanders said in a statement. “Truth-speaking about women’s desire for full inclusion in the Church; and truth-speaking to Church leaders like Pope John Paul II.”