On Dec. 13 a federal judge granted Catholic organizations in the Archdiocese of New York and the neighboring Diocese of Rockville Centre a permanent injunction against the federal contraceptive mandate in the health care law. • In an escalating standoff, Catholic clergymen were taken away for q

Grass-roots groups have turned their efforts to state legislatures.

Church leaders in the Central African Republic are hoping the arrival of U.N. troops will end bloodshed in Bangui, where at least 16 people were killed on Dec. 5 after the city was attacked by supporters of former President François Bozizé. • At a hearing on capitol hill on Dec. 5, Rev. Larry

Workers around the country stepped away from their jobs at fast-food restaurants and other low-wage sites on Dec. 4 in protests demanding improved wages. Workers and supporters say their wages are too low to support their families and that many as a result are forced to rely on government assistance

Group will advise pope on ways to prevent abuse and provide pastoral care.

As South Africans prepared for the memorial service for Nelson Mandela on Dec. 10, tributes from around the world poured in, acclaiming a man who steered South Africa away from certain conflict and through a slow, sometimes painful process of reconciliation—one that is in many ways ongoing.Des