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The article discusses a Roman Catholic approach to peace-building in relation to nuclear Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration/Reconciliation (D.D.R.). Topics include U.S. relations with Russia in relation to the Cold War, the relation of the Catholic Church to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (N.P.T.), and the involvement of nongovernmental organizations (N.G.O.s) in peace-building.

This article looks at the social doctrine of the Catholic Church. The God-given dignity of humans and the obligation to promote the common good of all the world's people require the Catholic Church to speak on social issues, says the new Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church. Drafted at the request of Pope John Paul II by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, the compendium explains church teachings related to politics, war, the economy, the environment, work and legislation affecting family life, among other topics. Although the document states "A well-formed Christian conscience does not permit one to vote for a political program or individual law which contradicts the fundamental contents of faith and morals," Cardinal Renato Martino, president of the justice and peace council, refused to answer questions at a press conference about whether a Catholic ever could vote for a politician who supports legalized abortion. On the topic of war, the compendium says that when a nation is attacked it has a right and duty to defend itself. While based on 2,000 years of Christian moral teaching, the compendium says the church must respond to new situations in society, including the increasing number of women working outside the home, advances in biotechnology, globalization, the destruction of the environment and new attacks on human life and on the family. Rather it calls on Catholics and all people of good will to ensure that economic and political systems respect the rights of individuals, promote the common good and act in solidarity with the poorest and weakest citizens of their nation and of the world.

The article discusses the reception of Pope Francis among members of the so-called academy, or people such as teachers and writers whose religion is also their profession. Topics addressed include the Pope's popularity among members of the Catholic Church and society at large, hope for transparency at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), and rapprochement between the academy and the church's doctrinal stewards. The academy's receipt of negative news from the Vatican is cited.

This section offers news briefs about religion and current events as of March 2014 including Catholic health workers' celebration of a World Health Organization (WHO) declaration that India was polio-free, the presentation of the Daniel J. Kane Religious Communications Award to Rose Pacatte of the Daughters of St. Paul, and Pope Francis' meeting with a delegation from the American Jewish Committee.

The article presents an editorial on the contrast between the celebrations of Christmas and the lack of peace in the Middle East. As Christmas nears, the contrast between the hopes inspired by our celebration of the birth of the Prince of Peace and the realities of conflict in the Middle East weighs ever more heavily upon us. For the darkness that envelops the Holy Land lies like a pall over us in the United States as well. Two and a half years ago, when the Israeli-Palestinian struggle lodged in the site of Jesus' birth at the Basilica of the Nativity, it was hard to imagine the trouble could grow worse, but it has. After the passing of Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat, pundits prophesy that peace will follow the Palestinian elections in January. Under a pax americana, a U.S. administration that set out to ignore the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and cultivate the rest of the Arab world has succeeded in allowing its own client to have its way with a defeated people and in alienating the rest of the Arabs in the process. The American non-policy is abetted by a wing of the evangelical churches that sees the expansion of the secular Jewish state of Israel as a necessary preparation for the Second Coming. On January 1, 2005, the octave of Christmas, the church observes annually a World Day of Peace.