Caritas Internationalis, the church’s global charitable agency, is launching an appeal to help communities in the Central African Republic that are still reeling from attacks on towns and communities by rebels. The rebel forces started to advance in northeastern C.A.R. in December 2012. A ceasefire was reached in January, but the situation remains precarious. The United Nations has condemned the use of child soldiers, rape, sexual slavery and the killing and maiming of civilians in the country. “Once more people of the Central African Republic, women, children and young people in particular, have found themselves facing distress, famine and cut off from access to health care and hygiene facilities,” said Archbishop Dieudonné Nzapalainga, president of Caritas Central African Republic. Caritas is asking for $635,000 for a six-month effort to provide families with food and other items, medical and psychological support as well as improving infrastructure and livelihoods.