Catholic News Service has published briefs on the following topics:  Interreligious friendship, and Convocation of Catholic Leaders.

Pope, Rabbi Skorka join effort to promote friendship across faiths
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Reaching out to people of other religions can be both challenging and enriching for individuals and is the only hope for true peace in the world, said a variety of religious leaders, including Pope Francis. The Pope and his friend Rabbi Abraham Skorka appear in a video montage and together in their own video as part of the "Make Friends" initiative coordinated by the Elijah Interfaith Institute, which has offices in Israel and in Dallas. The video series, posted on YouTube June 14, also includes Orthodox, Anglican and Lutheran leaders, Jewish rabbis, Sunni and Shiite Muslim clerics, Buddhist monks and nuns, and Hindu and Sikh leaders. In their video, Pope Francis and Rabbi Skorka talk about how their own religious convictions led them into conversations with each other, and how those conversations not only increased their understanding of God and formed the basis of a television series and book, but also led to true friendship. When sending emails back and forth, "because we still have projects going on," Rabbi Skorka said, they address each other as "'Dear brother,' and it's not just a saying. We have such open, deep and affectionate conversations. We understand each other." 

Convocation of Catholic leaders will be historic event, bishops told
INDIANAPOLIS (CNS) -- During their spring meeting in Indianapolis, U.S. bishops were reminded that the upcoming Convocation of Catholic Leaders -- a gathering they began talking about years ago -- is right around the corner. It will be a historic event, Bishop Richard J. Malone of Buffalo, New York, chairman of the bishops' Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth, told the bishops June 15 about the July 1-4 "Convocation of Catholic Leaders: The Joy of the Gospel in America" in Orlando, Florida. He also noted that it will be the largest gathering sponsored by U.S. bishops and will be a time to show the unity of the Church. The convocation, an invitation-only event, is meant to give the 3,000 participants expected to attend a better understanding of what it means to be missionary disciples in today's world through workshop presentations, keynote addresses and prayer. The plan, from the outset, was to bring Catholic leaders from across the country to closely examine and figure out how to best live out Pope Francis' call for all Catholics to be missionary disciples in today's world as expressed in his 2013 apostolic exhortation, "Evangelii Gaudium" ("The Joy of the Gospel").