Eduardo Campos Lima

Pope Francis appointed Argentine theologian Emilce Cuda as the new head of office of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, a position she assumes Sept. 1. 

The July 7 assassination of Haiti's president is just the latest crisis in the turbulent country. Catholic leaders and agencies working there are unable "to give any structured response to the people's problems," said Holy Cross Fr. Firto Régis. "Each new situation is urgent and needs to be immediately addressed." 

The Gran Chaco and Guarani Aquifer Ecclesial Network — encompassing Paraguay, Bolivia, Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay — has been organizing to address social and environmental challenges in the region.

Catholic church leaders in Argentina are speaking out against several high-impact projects involving mining, fossil fuels and industrial use of water in the South American country.

As demonstrators continue protests in Colombia's major cities, Catholic leaders have been showing support for some of the protesters' demands, while also trying to help them dialogue with the government.

For the second round of Peru's presidential elections, which will be held June 6, the candidates — socialist Pedro Castillo and right-winger Keiko Fujimori — don't seem to be the ideal choices for many.

A second wave of COVID-19 infections has swept Brazil, and as the crisis grows, Catholic Church leaders face great challenges in helping those in need and in fighting pandemic denialism.

Some 1.7 million Venezuelans have come to neighboring Colombia to flee their country's economic and political turmoil, despite the border closure. The pandemic is making it difficult for them to earn a living or avoid exploitation.

Argentina's legalization of abortion has been seen as a significant defeat for the influence of the Catholic Church. Worsening that feeling was the role Catholic women played in the campaign for the new abortion law.

As El Salvador President Nayib Bukele's administration faces more and more international criticism for alleged authoritarianism, a movement is seeking inspiration from St. Óscar Romero in denouncing injustice.

Amid severe economic consequences of COVID-19, Catholics in Latin America — often inspired by Pope Francis' teachings against unregulated capitalism — have raised their voices against neoliberal policies.

Now that Luis Arce's landslide victory in Bolivia's election has been confirmed, the socialist economist — and the Catholic Church — has the mission of reuniting an incredibly polarized society.

Pope Francis' response to a letter about racism in the church, sent to him by a group of Brazilian priests and bishops, has been received with hope by Black Catholic activists across the country.

On Aug. 19, Pope Francis called Bishop Luiz Fernando Lisboa of Pemba, Mozambique, to express concern about his diocese, and to support Lisboa during a defamation campaign launched by Mozambique's president.

A letter signed by 152 Brazilian Catholic bishops harshly criticizing President Jair Bolsonaro's unsuccessful handling of the COVID-19 pandemic has spurred controversy among the country's Catholics.

When the first COVID-19 cases hit Brazil in March, the government agency in charge of protecting the country's Indigenous peoples, the National Indigenous Foundation, ordered all civilians to leave the Indigenous reservations. Only essential workers, such as health care personnel and those involved in food distribution, could remain.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil, Catholic organizations have warned that protective measures should be taken to keep the virus away from the country's Indigenous population.

President Jair Bolsonaro's administration has never imposed a nationwide quarantine, and coronavirus cases have continued to grow. But for Brazil's churchgoers, Catholic bishops are keeping precautionary measures in place.

The COVID-19 outbreak in the Brazilian Amazon led the Catholic Church to launch several initiatives of assistance. The episcopate has also denounced underlying structural problems within the region.

As many countries in Latin America enforce social distancing measures in order to contain the spread of the coronavirus, people are deprived of basic subsistence. Catholic institutions are working to support the most disadvantaged social segments during the pandemic.