Conditions remain dire in the Central African Republic, and a U.N. official urged the international community to step up humanitarian aid efforts dramatically. Despite the end of the large-scale violence that rocked the nation in December and January, people are still being killed every day. “

Just weeks before the canonizations of Blesseds John XXIII and John Paul II, hotels in Rome are reporting they are almost fully booked, and the Vatican has confirmed that the Mass will take place in St. Peter’s Square. That means hundreds of thousands of people will have to watch the ceremony

Muslims are being “cleansed” from the western part of the Central African Republic, and thousands of civilians risk being killed “right before our eyes,” the U.N. high commissioner for refugees, António Guterres, told the U.N. Security Council on March 6. U.N. Emer

After 16 homicides in San Mateo County, Calif., last year, grieving mothers and the members of St. Francis of Assisi in East Palo Alto, walked their neighborhood on March 8, praying the Stations of the Cross for an end to gang violence. • More than 35,000 people have signed an Internet petition

A Ukrainian Catholic priest in Crimea said church members are alarmed and frightened by the Russian military occupation and fear their communities might be outlawed again if Russian rule becomes permanent. The Rev. Mykhailo Milchakovskyi, a pastor in Kerch, Ukraine, described the atmosphere as tense

As the devastating conflict in Syria began its fourth year on March 15, the Catholic bishops of Syria called for a cease-fire and for combatants to return to negotiations in Geneva to end the suffering in the war-torn country. The bishops encouraged the faithful during Lent, to “fast and show