Seated among Catholics cardinals, bishops, priests, religious sisters and lay Catholic leaders, 12 representatives from other Christian communities are listening and weighing in on discussions about the future of the Catholic Church.

Water must be safeguarded and managed in a “wise, careful and sustainable way, so that everyone can enjoy it,” Pope Francis said.

Huddled in a stairwell at the Catholic parish and school in Gaza, Rosary Sister Nabila Saleh, another sister and Father Youssef Asaad filmed themselves speaking to Pope Francis on the phone and begging for his continued prayers.

The synodal way is not an invention of Pope Francis, but it is based on Jesus’ way of inclusivity and listening, and on divine revelation itself, said Redemptorist Father Vimal Tirimanna, a leading moral theologian from Sri Lanka.

The Catholic Church is open and maternal to everyone, especially migrants, seeking a home and safe harbor, Pope Francis said.

The Catholic Church’s highest ranking prelate in the Holy Land offered his “absolute availability” to be exchanged for Israeli children taken hostage by Hamas.

St. Thérèse of Lisieux, long one of Pope Francis’ favorite saints, teaches Christians “the little way” of love, self-giving, concern for others and complete trust in the mercy of God, the pope said in a new document.

In many places in the world, including in Rome, people with disabilities cannot enter Catholic churches because of the architectural barriers, but even when they do, “we are not asked anything and we are not asked to participate either,” said Enrique Alarcón García.

Generosity and compassion for those fleeing persecution prevailed over racial laws and centuries-old anti-Semitic prejudices in Nazi-occupied Italy, some Jewish and Catholic historians said at an international conference.

The era of divisive debate about Pope Pius XII has been left behind, and now Catholics and Jews, historians and theologians must take up serious and collaborative study, said the co-organizer of a major conference looking at the early results of new research into the wartime pontificate.