On March 5 St. Francis Xavier Church in Henryville, Ind., became the main aid center for local victims of a devastating chain of tornadoes.

According to the president of Caritas Lebanon, families escaping Syria "are coming out in the cold with nothing but the clothes on their backs.”

In a letter to Congress, Bishop Stephen Blaire and Bishop Richard Pates supported moves to strengthen programs that help the poor and vulnerable at home and abroad.

Progress was unexpectedly made in January and February in reducing tensions with a charter member of the “axis of evil.”

As many as 30 people have been killed in violence related to the Koran burnings.

The unregulated sale and transfer of weapons harms the poor and threatens peace and security around the world, said the Vatican's UN representative.