BANGUI, Central African Republic – Despite last month’s peace agreement between the Central African Republic government and rebel factions, the country’s citizens, especially children, continue to face violence and famine.

The $53 million Ottawa plans to spend on migrants, refugees and ordinary people suffering through economic breakdown in Venezuela could help cover an open wound of human suffering in neighbouring Brazilian towns that are hosting thousands of refugees.

Canada’s bishops have listened for years as frustrated Church leaders in the developing world decry Canadian companies for acting as if the worker codes and human rights mandated by Canadian law become optional when operating abroad.

VATICAN – The Vatican has created a set of pastoral guidelines to inspire and improve the church's work in addressing the crime of human trafficking and the care of its victims worldwide.

In the absence of a long-promised federal ombudsperson, legal experts have asked the British Columbia Securities Commission to investigate the sale of a Canadian-owned silver mine in Guatemala.

More than 200 activists and organizations from 56 countries have asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to get a move on and hire the ombudsperson he promised almost one year ago.

VATICAN – As the celebration of Christmas draws near, the plight of the Holy Family calls to mind the sufferings of the many men, women and children escaping war and persecution, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN – Protecting human dignity and human rights must always be at the heart of any action by world leaders to confront the many humanitarian crises afflicting today's world, Pope Francis said.

VANCOUVER – “You will look like a new man!” 

A new international agreement that covers all dimensions of international migration that will be signed in Morocco, Dec. 10-11 represents the alternative to fear, says Canadian Jesuit Fr. Michael Czerny.

VATICAN – The fundamental rights of all human beings, especially the most vulnerable, must be respected and protected in every situation, Pope Francis said, marking Human Rights Day, Dec.10.

Three weeks after its convention in Toronto, the Parliament of the World’s Religions has aligned itself with Pope Francis by issuing a statement that condemns the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

UNITED NATIONS – Seventy years after its adoption, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was lauded Dec. 4 as a seminal, yet imperfect achievement of the nascent United Nations.

As Americans learned how Washington was realigned by the Nov. 6 mid-term elections, the elder statesman of the American civil rights movement was in Toronto calling President Donald Trump “an icon of chaos” and urging Canadians to resist “plantation capitalism” being pushed by American nationalists.

Earthquakes in Indonesia and Haiti have left long-time Development and Peace partners in those countries reaching out for help so they can in turn help struggling peasants and fishing families surrounding them.