In a joint statement, Cardinal Robert W. McElroy of San Diego and Archbishop John C. Wester of Santa Fe, New Mexico called for a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Palestine and the release of Israeli hostages.

Nicaragua’s government released a prominent Catholic bishop and 18 other clergy members imprisoned in a crackdown by President Daniel Ortega and handed them over to Vatican authorities.

“It’s difficult to imagine it,” the pope said when asked how he imagines hell. “What I would say is not a dogma of faith, but my personal thought: I like to think hell is empty; I hope it is.”

“I believe that your trip will bring fruits of pacification and the fraternity of all Argentines, eager to overcome our divisions and conflicts,” the Argentinian president said in a letter sent to the pope.

Pope Francis declined to read his prepared remarks during an audience with Catholic communicators from France, saying he has bronchitis and “can’t speak well.”

Reaffirming their fidelity to the pope and the Gospel, Catholic bishops in Africa have released a common response to a recent Vatican declaration, saying they “generally prefer” not to offer blessings to same-sex couples.