On a brief day stop in Luxembourg Thursday, Pope Francis appealed for peace and the integration of migrants as Europe continues to reel from the war in Ukraine and an ongoing migrant crisis.

After his arrival to Belgium in the rain on Thursday night, Pope Francis told civil authorities the next day to make peacemaking a priority, and voiced regret over recent scandals in the Belgian Church, including the crises of clerical sexual abuse and forced adoptions.

The Catholic Church must plead for forgiveness for the crime of the abuse of minors by its members and everything must be done to prevent such “a disgrace” from ever happening again, Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis met with the bishops of Mozambique Sept. 24, a day after he had canceled his scheduled audiences because of “a mild flu-like condition.”

Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Rai expressed “profound sorrow” over the “devastating toll” of Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon, the country’s state news agency NNA reported Sept. 22.

Saying Pope Francis had “a mild flu-like condition,” the Vatican press office announced he had canceled his scheduled audiences Sept. 23.

While offering an overall favorable judgment on the Marian apparitions and devotions associated with the Medjugorje phenomenon in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Vatican nevertheless said in a new document released Thursday that some issues still need to be clarified.

Recognizing the spiritual value of devotions connected to Medjugorje, but not ruling on the authenticity of the alleged apparitions or alleged messages from Mary, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith also noted that church officials have issued a “series of divergent opinions” about the phenomenon over the past four decades.

Throughout 2024, Franciscans around the world commemorate the 800th anniversary of St. Francis of Assisi receiving the stigmata on Sept. 17, 1224, the appearance of the bodily wounds of Christ’s crucifixion.