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.

It is unacceptable that a child’s right to life and a dignified childhood should be sacrificed to “the idols” of power, profit, ideology and nationalistic self-interest, Pope Francis told a group of world experts and leaders.

Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez of Philadelphia is calling for prayer, saying his “heart sank” after learning of a fatal air crash in that city Jan. 31, just two days after a midair collision between a commercial jet and an Army helicopter near a Washington airport killed 67.

The use of artificial intelligence in schools must not threaten “the indispensable relationship between teacher and student” that lies at the heart of education, the Vatican said.

The Xavier Society for the Blind is celebrating 125 years of helping generations of Catholics, either blind or vision-impaired, participate in worship through braille texts, large-type books and audio books.

The Fashion Workers Act, signed into law Dec. 21 by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, takes effect in June. It will afford models a host of employment safeguards in an industry where many say they have previously felt mute and isolated.

As the second married couple to be declared saints (along with Sts. Anne and Joachim, the parents of Mary), and the first to be canonized together, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin offer a model of the vocation to love and holiness that is at the heart of the sacrament of marriage.