NATION/WORLD

Women play a key role in coping with ongoing drought and famine in West Africa.

Snow, driving rain and howling winds in early January compounded the already desperate situation for Syrians caught up in 22 months of civil war seeking to oust President Bashar Assad.

The 113th Congress includes some slight shifts in religious makeup over the previous session, with a few more Catholics, the first Buddhist in the Senate and the first Hindu to serve in either chamber.

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles must reveal the names of church officials included in 30,000 pages of personnel files that will be released with information related to allegations of child sexual abuse by church employees, a Superior Court judge ruled Jan. 7.

The Catholic Church's observance of National Migration Week Jan. 6-12 this year comes at a time when the outlook seems promising for improving migrants' legal situations in the United States.

Cardinal Francis E. George told Chicago-area Catholics that the passage of a same-sex marriage law in the state would be "acting against the common good of society."

The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 -- and 2013, considering when the House of Representatives passed it -- will be known as much by what it doesn't include as what it does include.

Welcoming in the new year, Pope Benedict XVI said that despite the injustice and violence in the world, every human being yearns for and is made for peace.

The annual celebration of Christ's birth fills Christians with hope and joy because it is a reminder that the power of God is always at work, and he does great things even through the weak and the small, Pope Benedict XVI said.

Amanda Missildine, a newlywed Catholic, will be making another heartfelt journey Jan. 1 -- this time with her husband watching from the stands. The 26-year-old...