David Agren

Bolivia's Catholic bishops have released a comprehensive document detailing their role in ending public unrest after a disputed election in late 2019. The document's release comes amid accusations from the country's then-ruling party that the church was somehow complicit in its ouster and the installation of an interim government.

A Franciscan priest was killed in a hail of gunfire on his way to celebrate Mass and provide sacraments in a rural Mexican village known for drug cartel conflicts.

The Argentine bishops' pastoral team for aboriginal peoples rebuked comments from the country's president that perpetuated the viewpoint that the population predominantly arrived "on ships" from Europe.

The Mexican bishops' conference has pledged to avoid promotion of any parties or candidates in the country's upcoming midterm elections. The bishops also issued a statement May 6 calling on citizens to vote and support candidates promoting the common good.

Archbishop Franco Coppola, papal ambassador to Mexico, recently traveled to a town besieged by warring drug cartels to reiterate the church's commitment to serving populations suffering violence.

Jesuit Refugee Service has started a program for migrants and asylum-seekers in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. The program — "Caminar Contigo" or Walk With You — aims to provide psychological support as rules for seeking asylum remain uncertain.

The apostolic nuncio to Mexico urged the country's bishops to "look reality in the eye" as the country's non-Catholic population increases and Mexicans increasingly identify as nonreligious.

Bishop Cepeda's brief foray into electoral politics captured enormous attention, especially after he said at a news conference, "I'm tired of the idiots governing us. ... All politicians are scoundrels, and all of them steal something. I expect to rob nothing."

Shelters like La 72, run by the Franciscans near the Guatemala border, offer a respite on a dangerous route for migrants to the U.S. border. Migrants unable to afford the services of smugglers often stay in shelters, but they get exploited by drivers, government officials and others outside.

The Mexican bishops' migrant ministry says people arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border risk being returned to Mexico under rules for expelling people rapidly during the pandemic.

Catholics working with migrants are welcoming U.S. President Joe Biden's posture toward Central America, but warn push factors are mounting. 

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador demonstrates a willingness to go against the grain of previous political custom, combining religious and civic customs in a country where secularism was once a political ethos.

Facebook removed a video commentary from Cardinal Juan Sandoval Iñiguez of Guadalajara, saying it spread false information about COVID-19.

A Nicaraguan priest said Hurricane Iota hit the northeastern corner of the country with "more force" than Hurricane Eta two weeks earlier and left communities devastated and families homeless.

Pope Francis offered prayers for the victims of Hurricane Eta, which deluged Central America, claimed at least 50 lives and caused widespread flooding and property damage.

Cardinal-designate Felipe Arizmendi Esquivel, 80, was among the 13 churchmen named to the College of Cardinals Oct. 25. Arizmendi's project of building a native church in a mostly indigenous diocese caused conflict with the church hierarchy and land-owning elites, but has found new appreciation since the election of Pope Francis.

Caritas, the church's charitable agency, was responding to Hurricane Eta, which hit Nicaragua Nov. 3 and threatened to provoke devastating flooding and destruction as it moved through Central America.

Retired Bishop Arturo Lona Reyes of Tehuantepec — known as "bishop of the poor" and famed for promoting an indigenous church — died Oct. 31. He was one day shy of his 95th birthday and had tested positive for COVID-19 earlier in October.

Catholic leaders in Nicaragua have expressed alarm at several proposed laws that could prohibit groups and individuals from receiving foreign funding and further curtail freedom of expression in the Central American country.

Fr. Humberto Zúñiga Rodríguez brings a special insight to his work on the front lines of the coronavirus crisis in Mexico: He contracted COVID-19 in June and recovered after spending 38 days in isolation.