Eduardo Campos Lima

As Argentina prepares to vote for its presidential runoff Nov. 19, many Catholics, including clergy, are not hiding the fact that they are organizing against far-right candidate Javier Milei, who has criticized and insulted Pope Francis.

In Brazil, 12 million families -- up to 60 million people -- live in slums, known as "favelas" in Portuguese, and 55 million people do not have access to a sewage system.

Cyclone Yaku's path through Peru's northern region in March was so destructive that its direct effects — such as the destruction of homes by floods and landslides — and indirect effects — especially an unprecedented outbreak of dengue fever — are still being felt today.

Recently, the Ecuador army raided mining zones and removed dozens of machines, says Bishop Adelberto Jiménez. "But after a week or so, they were all back to the forest. We demand that more forceful measures are taken."

After the election of the new leaders of Brazil's bishops' conference April 24, two Afro Brazilian priests released a public letter criticizing the fact that most of them are white and affirmed that the Brazilian church's "power structure" is tainted by "racism" and by a "pact of whiteness."

Church movements connected to the environment and the protection of traditional peoples are hopeful that the beginning of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's government may open a new landscape in Brazil.

The severe health care and hunger crisis affecting the Yanomami indigenous people in Brazil prompted church leaders to coordinate help and work with government agencies and indigenous organizations to provide food and medical attention to the sick.

Leaders of the protest movement in Bolivia agreed on Nov. 26 to suspend their actions, but Catholic Church leaders are still struggling with how to avoid playing an active role in the political conflict.

Ahead of the final round of Brazil's presidential election, Catholic social pastoral ministries released a letter repudiating incumbent Jair Bolsonaro's reelection. They cited his "policy of environmental destruction."

In March, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele suspended a number of due process rights in a crackdown on gang activity. Human rights activists say thousands of Salvadorans unconnected with gangs have been arrested.

As one of the few countries in the world issuing humanitarian visas for Afghans since the Taliban took control in 2021, Brazil has welcomed thousands of refugees, many members of the persecuted Hazara minority.

In Ecuador, Archbishop Luis Cabrera is hopeful about negotiations between the government and protesters behind a recent strike. "That has been an important exercise of democracy," he said.

The deaths of a British journalist and a Brazilian Indigenous defender highlight ongoing tension between Indigenous communities and environmental activists and illegal activity and the Brazilian government.

The same day 19 students and two teachers were murdered in a shooting at a school in Uvalde, Texas, gun violence also struck Rio de Janeiro: 23 people were shot dead during a police raid in a northern slum of the city.

Brazil's October election will decide if the right-wing President Bolsonaro will get another four years, and a new initiative aims to encourage Catholics to vote for candidates committed to the protection of the Amazon.

A commission created by the Portuguese bishops to investigate child abuse has so far received at least 326 allegations, and some commission members want better publicity to encourage victims to come forward.

The damage from mining projects in Brazil goes beyond deforestation, the country's bishops say. The effects include death from disease and higher rates of murder and sexual assault.

For the hundreds of thousands who have been displaced by five years of fighting between the Mozambique government and Islamic insurgents, effects of the Russian invasion of Ukraine are only making things worse.

A new study shows that the Amazon rainforest has been losing its capacity to recover from ecological harm over the past two decades — but researchers say it's still possible to avoid irreparable damage.