The pope’s encyclical on the environment carries a profoundly religious message about care for the earth, wedded to a new call for activism, say religious scholars Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim.

Pope Francis will use his upcoming high-level visits to the U.S. and UN to press the concerns of the poor and marginalized, says expert Kenneth Himes.

A refugee crisis in northern Iraq’s Kurdish region is intensifying as winter approaches and the threat posed by ISIS forces shows no signs of abating, says journalist Jane Arraf.