VATICAN CITY – Generosity, hard work, solidarity and a recognition of the dignity of the human person are essential for facing the major challenges posed by natural disasters, a large influx of migrants and a crisis in creating jobs, especially for young people, Pope Francis told Italian President Sergio Mattarella.

WASHINGTON – After hundreds more migrants perished last weekend in the deadly Mediterranean passage to Europe, one Catholic expert insisted that the root causes of migration need to be addressed.

MEXICO CITY, Mexico – In the context of their 103rd Full Assembly, the Mexican Bishops Conference released a statement on the suffering on migrants, calling for efforts to fight corruption and promote a dignified life.

REGENSBURG, Germany – Amid rising social unrest and an influx of Mideast migrants, German authorities – including Catholic Church officials – are facing criticism from ordinary people who believe their concerns are being ignored.

ROME – France’s National Front presidential candidate, Marine Le Pen, slammed Pope Francis for welcoming migrants and attacked the Catholic Church for meddling in French politics.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. bishops in a pastoral reflection released March 22 called all Catholics to do what each of them can "to accompany migrants and refugees who seek a better life in the United States."

MEXICO CITY – Some 30,000 people gathered last Sunday for the 17th March for Life, Peace and Migrants in Tijuana, Mexico.

VATICAN CITY – In an interview with a magazine that supports the homeless, Pope Francis suggested wealthy nations are partly to blame for the migrant crisis and urged Europeans and others to stand “in the shoes” of those arriving at their borders.

VATICAN CITY – On Friday Pope Francis paid a visit to Rome’s Roma Tre university, stressing to students the importance of dialogue, listening and integration in putting an end to the fear that can at times be generated in the face of welcoming new migrants.

WASHINGTON – In a joint statement, Catholic bishops whose dioceses are along the U.S.-Mexico border spoke of the "pain, the fear, and the anguish" they're seeing in immigrants and vowed to follow the example of the Pope in building "bridges, rather than the walls of exclusion and exploitation."

SALTILLO, Mexico – Edelmiro Cardona hardly had any time to flee his native Honduras with his brother when gang members came calling.

DAKAR, Senegal – Catholic bishops from North Africa urged greater support for church life in their region, where migrants from sub-Saharan Africa now make up a large proportion of Catholic communities.

VATICAN CITY – Marking the feast of St. Josephine Bakhita, a former slave, Pope Francis urged Christians to help victims of human trafficking and migrants, especially the Rohingya people being chased from Myanmar.

BEIRUT – Many Western nations forget that their countries were built on migrants, said the president of Caritas Internationalis.

MORELIA, Mexico – The head of an archdiocese in the western Mexican state of Michoacan has said the country needs to seek forgiveness for failing to provide for its people who seek a better life in the United States.