Crying out to God and demanding answers when one’s child dies is anything but a sign of a lack of faith, Pope Francis told a group of grieving Italian parents.

Pope Francis repeated his call for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza and said the international community has a “moral duty” to pursue disarmament worldwide.

Just as Jesus drove out merchants from the temple in Jerusalem, Christians should cleanse themselves from a transactional relationship with God by developing an intimacy with him like that of a family in their home, Pope Francis said.

Making the world a better place for everyone starts with prayer and little steps like saying hello, sorry or thank you, Pope Francis said in a letter to the world’s children.

The Holy Spirit sparks the inner outrage and courage needed to confront injustice and unacceptable situations, and to try to change them, Pope Francis said.

The first assembly of the synod on synodality demonstrated that an effective way to break the chains of clericalism and highlight the voices and experience of women in the church is to begin by listening and praying together before discussing issues, said two synod participants.

The gifts of men and women are “fruitful” together, and to erase the difference between men and women “is to erase humanity,” Pope Francis said.

Jesus did not teach his disciples to organize agencies and structures to help vulnerable people, but gave the example of encountering them, listening to them and helping them as individuals and not “categories” of people in need, Pope Francis said.

Western theology risks becoming an abstract and rationalized conversation among academics rather than a tool for nourishing the faith of God’s people, the papal preacher said.

Pope Francis’ calendar for Holy Week and Easter is just as full as in previous years despite a mild illness which has caused him to cancel meetings in the days leading up to the release of his liturgical calendar for March.