"The agreement, consisting of a preamble and 32 articles, regards essential aspects of the life and activity of the Church in Palestine, while at the same time reaffirming the support for a negotiated and peaceful solution to the conflict in the region," the Vatican said in a statement Jan. 2.

Parishes in areas of the St. Louis Archdiocese affected by flooding responded to people in need and made plans for a coordinated community response. "Keep us in your prayers," said Pam Manuel, parish secretary at St. Bridget of Kildare Parish in Pacific, 35 miles southwest of St. Louis.

Refugees making their way toward Europe and the United States are seeking a better, safer life, refugee advocates said. At the same time, many politicians and citizens have begun debating the country's moral and political responsibility when it comes to assisting those in need and defending the country's borders.

"The situation here is worse than the (post-) earthquake scenario. It will be a very harsh Christmas for us this year," Father Pius Perumana, director of Caritas Nepal, said Dec. 22 from Kathmandu, the capital.

As Catholics and other Christians anticipate "the miracle of Christmas," announcing the need for peace and goodwill throughout the world this "blessed season of Advent" calls for "even stronger voices" this year.

"Pope Francis reminded us when he visited a mosque in Bangui, Central African Republic that 'Christians and Muslims are brothers and sisters. We must therefore consider ourselves and conduct ourselves as such.'"

"There is absolutely no reason to stop or pause the resettlement of Syrian refugees. The fear around this is wrong and as people of faith, we must demand more from our public officials," said Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, retired archbishop of Washington.

"We want human rights, indigenous rights, food security and gender equality in Article 2" of the accord's text, said Bernd Nilles, head of CIDSE, an alliance of Catholic development agencies present at the conference site in Le Bourget on the outskirts of Paris.

"We need funding, we are small-scale farmers (and) we don't have much resources. How do we adapt," she asked, from inside an antiquated and ornate room belonging to a Paris syndicate. She sat surrounded by other, mostly African women farmers and their advocates who, like Chidararume, had traveled thousands of miles to France in an attempt to sway U.N. negotiators.

Group believes Middle East Christians should be included in any listing of genocide victims based on their treatment by the Islamic State.