Vatican & World News 08.10.2026

Laudato a Jesus Christus, Vatican and World News.

an international moratorium on the use of the death penalty.

And the Church in Papua New Guinea appeals for prayers for rain amidst a prolonged drought.

In the Vatican, I'm Christopher Wells.

On the afternoon of Wednesday, October 7th, Pope Leah XIV opened a meeting ten years after Amoris Laetitia, proclaiming the Gospel with families today in the Vatican,

which gathered heads of the Eastern churches and the presidents of the bishops' conferences from around the world, as well as laypeople and experts.

The Pope encouraged those present to share what has emerged in their own churches over the ten years since the publication of Pope Francis' Apostolic Exhortation, Amoris Laetitia.

He urged them to courageously confront the questions and difficulties that families face today.

Isabella de Carvalho has this report. I hope that through the many stories you bring from your churches and from different cultural contexts,

a shared narrative of these ten years may gradually take shape, one marked by joy and hope,

and that will enable us to face honestly the trials and difficulties that remain.

The Pope highlighted that there are places and circumstances in which the church can become the salt of the earth only through the lay faithful, especially families.

Families themselves participate in the church's mission in the ordinary fabric of their lives through love and fidelity, care and forgiveness.

The education of children, their efforts in transmitting faith, attention to the elderly and the vulnerable, and the many ways in which they serve their communities and society.

In all these ways, families bear witness to the gospel and contribute to the life and the mission of the Church.

In this regard, the Pope underlined that as pastors, those gathered have the responsibility of proclaiming the beauty of God's plan for marriage and the family, and to continue accompanying them by listening and allowing the Holy Spirit to inspire them.

The Pope also pointed to various questions that deserve to be faced with courage, such as the growing distance between the ways in which sex and intimacy are lived and the Christian vision of marriage.

Economic insecurity, migration, violence, loneliness,

and other forms of emotional fragility also shape the choices people make

and the possibilities they can imagine for their future.

He then asked a series of questions to help those gathered reflect, such as what are people truly seeking beneath these cultural changes or what do their joys and hopes, griefs and anxieties reveal to us?

The Pope then also noted how fragility is an important element to keep in mind as it strongly shapes people's lives and relationship with God and the Church.

He highlighted that families can teach something to all as fragility is common to our human condition and to the life of the Church.

Poblio then also asked some other questions to help people reflect, such as what kind of church do people encounter precisely when they are most fragile?

Can the truth we proclaim be encountered through the patience, closeness and mercy of our pastoral presence?

Or how can we announce to them the fullness of the gospel's teaching about the family? I'm Isabella de Carvalho.

Starting the second day, Thursday, of the meeting on Moris Letizia, the bishops dedicated time to the reality, beauty and challenges of families today.

Cardinal Kevin Farrell and Cardinal Mario Grech urged their fellow bishops to listen to the experience of families as they lead to a greater understanding of how the gospel is lived out and how to proclaim it today.

Kelsey Gussie tells us more. Opening the day's session, Cardinal Kevin Farrell recalled Pope Leo's message from March 19th this year,

which said, Our era is marked by rapid changes which make it necessary, even more than ten years ago, to give particular pastoral attention to families,

to whom the Lord entrusts the task of participating in the Church's mission of proclaiming and witnessing to the Gospel.

The Prefect then explained that the goal of the day is to reflect together, in light of the Gospel, on the cultural, economic, and social context in which family ministry takes place.

In particular, he urged placing attention on the spiritual effects of these contexts on people's lives.

Afterwards, Cardinal Mario Grech further expanded the day's topics, highlighting the sometimes overwhelming noise and endless stream of voices that compete for people's attention.

One of these sounds is an echo. He then outlined three echoes.