Christians in Syria are continuing to be targeted by outside fundamentalist groups who have joined the country’s long civil war, said the head of the Syriac Catholic Church in Jerusalem.

Tom Leopold is a very funny guy. He’s also a Catholic. Leopold has spent the better part of his adult life writing sitcoms, including episodes of “Cheers,” “Seinfeld” and “Will and Grace.” He recently came back from England, where he did what he called some “punching up” of a batch of scripts for new episodes of “The Muppet Show.”

Don’t be on the road all the time, aloof or deaf to people’s needs; be simple, loving and always close by, just like a spouse would be for his wife, Pope Francis told new bishops.

In a lengthy and wide-ranging interview with one of his Jesuit confreres, Pope Francis spoke with characteristic frankness about the perils of overemphasizing Catholic teaching on sexual and medical ethics; the reasons for his deliberate and consultative governing style; and his highest priority for the church today.

As the thick, dark amber flow rippled into the container, Vincenzo Scaccioni, the head of agricultural operations at the pontifical villa of Castel Gandolfo, said: “This is a historic moment.” It was historic because it was the year’s first honey harvest for the new pope by the little known, but very busy, papal bees.

Pope Francis said the church should approach its members with the face of a patient, merciful and understanding mother, who always forgives her erring children and never ceases to pray that they resume the path of Christian living.

Mary Jurgensmeier, a member of St. Peter Catholic Church in Greeley, Colo., said she knows people in her community who have lost everything.

Three young women enter the room with their heads lowered, suspicious of the visitors waiting to see them and hear their stories. They seem uncomfortable with the attention and divert their gaze downward, fidgeting with their hands, as they take their seats at the end of a long table.

The Archdiocese of Acapulco has suspended church services and instructed priests to turn their parishes into support centers after torrential rains on one of the busiest weekends of the year left the city cut off from other parts of Mexico.

“It is not my work only. It is the Lord’s.” Such was the summation of Sister Angelique Namaika, a member of the Augustine Sisters of Dungu and Doruma, as she spoke to reporters in an international conference call upon winning the Nansen Refugee Award bestowed annually by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.