David Agren

Peruvian Archbishop Hector Miguel Cabrejos Vidarte called for a "second reception" of the Second Vatican Council as prelates, religious and laity participate in the Sixth Ecclesial Assembly of Latin America and the Caribbean.

A Catholic migrant shelter in southern Chiapas state said unidentified individuals forced their way into the premises — the latest act of intimidation against migrant defenders in the region.

A network of offshore trusts and subsidiaries established by priests and businessmen close to the Legionaries of Christ moved as much as $295 million around four continents, according to a trove of leaked documents obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and published by the Spanish newspaper El País.

The Mexican bishops' migrant ministry has disavowed a proposal from Mexico's National Immigration Institute that would establish a camp for migrants and asylum-seekers stuck in the southern city of Tapachula, near the border with Guatemala. The issue seems to have generated some confusion.

Mexican church leaders expressed solidarity with a caravan of migrants that was disrupted by security forces. Their reaction came after videos that surfaced showing an immigration agent kicking a migrant in the head.

A Catholic shelter on the Mexico-Guatemala border has been assisting busloads of migrants who are being expelled from the United States to southern Mexico, then transported to Guatemala and dropped in a jungle town.

Guatemalans took to the street to demand the ouster of the Central American country's president and attorney general over the firing of an anti-impunity prosecutor whose work caused discomfort for President Alejandro Giammattei. Guatemala's bishops also backed the demonstrations — and the included calls for a national strike — while priests and religious have participated in protests.

Pope Francis sent a letter of encouragement to residents of a Mexican diocese afflicted by battling drug cartels, a conflict that has cast attention on the lawlessness covering wide swaths of Mexico and the government's inability to pacify the country.

Mexico's bishops have expressed dismay with a Supreme Court decision to declare "unconstitutional" laws prohibiting the use of recreational marijuana.

The June 19 attacks terrorized Reynosa — a city just south of McAllen, Texas, and long plagued by drug cartel violence — as marauding gunmen killed people going about their daily lives in three neighborhoods. The victims included a taxi driver, a nursing student and a group of bricklayers, according to Mexican media.

During a trip to Mexico, the Vatican secretary of state called on Mexicans to overcome divisions and the violence afflicting the country — something he said he prayed for at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

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.