Governments have a serious responsibility to care for their nation’s children, but no caring person can stand by idly when children anywhere are starving, said the founder of a private charity working in 16 of the world’s poorest countries.

With a new U.S. presidential administration and Congress in office, questions are percolating about federal budget priorities and tax policies — and the related decisions that will either help or hurt the most vulnerable citizens.

An official of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith said Pope Francis’ decision to suppress Sodalitium Christianae Vitae was based on the fact that there was no authentic charism, or spiritual gifts, in the controversial lay movement founded by Luis Fernando Figari in 1971.

There is no greater work that Christians can perform than “transmitting the saving message of the Gospel to others,” Pope Francis said, especially among those on the margins of society.

By the afternoon of Feb. 2, there were 67 crosses standing under a leaden gray sky — one for each victim from the Washington aviation disaster, 64 on the jet and three crew on the helicopter.

Father Carlos Martins, a known exorcist and co-host of “The Exorcist Files” podcast, pleaded not guilty Jan. 27 in an Illinois court to a misdemeanor charge of battery over an alleged incident that took place during a national relic tour. 

Wrapping up a Vatican summit on the rights of children, Pope Francis announced he was going to publish a papal document dedicated to children.

The long-awaited and elusive ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has silenced bombs and halted air raids on the Gaza Strip, for the time being, but the humanitarian situation there is dire, the regional director of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association reported.

Forgiving others is never easy, and it is even more difficult in a situation of war, but it is essential, Pope Francis told Ukrainian young adults.

The presentation of Jesus in the temple of Jerusalem shows that God’s closeness to humanity is not confined to a place of worship but is manifested in his living among people, Pope Francis said.