There are a lot of new things abuzz at Commonweal. Here's an update.

We've posted our November 13 issue to the website, featuring Paul Elie's essay on a "decisive instant in the gospel of John," and its many artistic renditions, from Caravaggio to Don DeLillo to Bach. Also in the issue: Joseph Sorrentino examines the failures of Mexican policies aimed to deter fleeing Central Americans from migrating north; Marine veteran Brad Hoff reflects on what Syrians won't forget—and what most Westerners never knew—about their homeland; Margaret O'Brien Steinfels reviews Mary Ziegler's history of some ten or so "lost" years in the abortion debate, After Roe; Robert K. Landers reviews biographer Scott Donaldson's The Impossible Craft—a "winning guide" to writing literary biography; and more.

We've gathered our best analysis and commentary on the Synod on the Family into one useful reading list that includes Grant Gallicho’s reports from Vatican City, Robert Mickens’s Letters from Rome, and a video of our September 2015 panel discussion on the synod, featuring Cathleen Kaveny and Margaret Farley. We will be continually updating it with new reflections (like those from Mary Lee Freeman on hopeful shifts in pastoral practice, Catherine Wolff on a "conspiracy" by faithful laity, and Karen Kilby on how the synod changed the way we see church authority), so keep checking back.

And most important: Monday November 9 Peter Steinfels, former Commonweal editor and author of A People Adrift, will be speaking at Loyola University Chicago about Pope Francis, family life, and sexuality after the synod. Get your tickets here (unless you're a student; then you get in free). If you can't make it, you can watch it live here beginning at 5:00pm EST. Tell your friends.