David Agren

Near the end of his homily at a Mass just prior to St. Oscar Romero's canonization, Jesuit Fr. Jose Maria Tojeira yelled to the crowd outside the Metropolitan Cathedral: "Viva Monsenor Romero!" [Long live Bishop Romero!]

Following a 15-hour debate, the Argentine Senate voted 38-31 against a bill that would have decriminalized abortion during the first 14 weeks of pregnancy.

Nicaraguan bishops and clergy were attacked by armed groups aligned with the government July 9 as violence in the Central American country escalated and affected the Catholic Church.

The Mexican bishops conference congratulated presidential election winner Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who won a landslide victory on an agenda of change and promises to combat corruption and poverty.

Clergy from the Archdiocese of Managua, Nicaragua, had planned to pray for peace June 21.

Instead, bishops from the archdiocese, Archbishop Waldemar Sommertag, apostolic nuncio to Nicaragua, and about 30 priests from the capital traveled to pray in the besieged city of Masaya. 

The Mexican bishops' conference has criticized the practice of U.S. officials separating migrant families, joining a chorus of condemnation south of the border as Mexicans react with outrage to the sight and sounds of children being confined in shelters far from their parents.

Argentina's bishops expressed disappointment with the approval of an initiative that moves toward legal abortion while pledging to review their social ministries to better attend to youth and women.

Nicaragua's bishops have suspended their participation as mediators and witnesses in a national dialogue, citing a "lack of consensus among the parties" on resolving the political crisis engulfing the Central American country.

The Nicaraguan bishops' conference has denounced death threats against an outspoken bishop who has opposed corruption and supported students in the protests consuming the country.

A Nicaraguan bishop urged the country's embattled president to "reconsider" his repression tactics as the country convulses with protests against corruption and authoritarian rule. 

The Mexican bishops' conference pledged to pursue a pastoral vision in which the church is close to the needs of the people, prioritizes the poor and speaks prophetically.

The bishops' conference of Nicaragua has accepted an invitation to mediate talks aimed at calming the Central American country, which has been roiled by protests.

A Mexican diocese has apologized and asked for forgiveness for failing to stop a priest from sexually abusing Catholic school children. At the time, the priest had been banned from his priestly duties in a neighboring archdiocese.

A caravan of Central American migrants traveling through Mexico was stopped after its push to the U.S. border set off a barrage of criticism from U.S. President Donald Trump.

A political video filmed in a church scandalized some Catholics but also conveyed a sense that some upper class Mexicans recognize the unsustainability of a country where many live in poverty.

Two priests were gunned down as they returned from Candlemas celebrations in a corner of Mexico rife with drug cartel violence and increasingly lethal for prelates.

The Society of Jesus has denounced threats made against an outspoken Honduran Jesuit who has highlighted accusations of widespread irregularities in the country's recent presidential election.

A new law deepening Mexico's dependence on soldiers for public security purposes has provoked alarm from some clergy and Catholic human rights organizations, who warn that it could provide a pretense for cracking down on peaceful protests.

A land dispute has driven some 5,000 indigenous Tzotzil from their communities and into the mountains to survive in cold and squalid conditions. At least nine people have died.

Pope Francis picked a longtime ally to lead the world's largest archdiocese, where many professing the Catholic faith have fallen away from the church.