Pope Francis prayed for the "defenceless" victims of the bombing in Ankara at yesterday's Angelus (full text, full video). Kidnapped Syrian priest Fr Jacques Mourad has been released. France has abandoned its attempt to appoint Laurent Stefanini as its ambassador to the Holy See, according to Libération. There is no "gay lobby" in the Vatican, Polish priest Mgr Krzysztof Charamsa has said. John Allen, Archbishop Mark Coleridge, Archbishop Stanisław Gądecki, Bishop Hlib Lonchyna, Sandro Magister, Fr James Martin SJ, Tom McFeely, Cardinal Wilfrid Napier, Robert Royal, Rorate Caeli, Inés San Martín, John Paul Shimek and Mark de Vries reflect on the synod. Julia Terruso asks if Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia is likely to be made a cardinal. And Fox News commentator Kirsten Powers reveals her “indescribable joy” at becoming a Catholic. Follow me on Twitter @lukecoppen for updates throughout the day. The next Morning Catholic must-reads will be on Wednesday, October 14.