Long before the shock of the huge, Aug. 4 explosion in Beirut’s port had worn off, Caritas Lebanon had unleashed a powerful force for good onto the streets of the shattered city — kids. This was the moment for the Catholic organization’s 750 youth volunteers to shine.

VATICAN CITY -- As governments and world leaders struggle to contain the coronavirus pandemic, they must also work harder to protect victims of human trafficking, said the Vatican-based international network of Catholic charities.

As a young aid worker, Christian Champigny spent weeks confined to his house in poor countries while war and revolution raged in the streets outside.

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Caritas Indonesia (Karina) has joined the Jakarta Archdiocese in distributing aid to people hard hit by floods that have killed dozens of people in and around Indonesia's capital.

AMMAN, Jordan -- Church bells have been ringing in Qamishli and elsewhere in northeastern Syria, signaling the alarm to Christians and others of the ongoing Turkish military operation that is having a devastating humanitarian impact on civilians.

VATICAN CITY -- Charity should be given freely and lived humbly with the poor, never letting it become hypocrisy, a slick business or a way to soothe a troubled conscience, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN CITY -- The charity of the Catholic Church must be born from prayer before "the fixed tabernacle and mobile tabernacles" -- adoring Jesus in the Eucharist and ministering to him in the poor and needy, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN CITY -- Philippine Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle added a photo of his "Lolo Kim" to a mosaic of migrants, world leaders and Caritas workers to illustrate how humanity forms one family and is sharing one journey.

VATICAN – In his ministry as archbishop of Manila and in his travels for Caritas Internationalis, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle said he is reminded of the true meaning of hope by people living in situations the world would see as hopeless.

VATICAN CITY – No matter the position one takes on national migration policy, Pope Francis, Caritas Internationalis and national Catholic charities across the globe want Catholics to meet a migrant or refugee and listen to his or her story.

VATICAN CITY – With soaring food prices and a free-falling economy, child malnutrition in Venezuela has crossed the threshold of a humanitarian crisis, the local chapter of Caritas Internationalis said.

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

WARSAW, Poland – Europe's top Catholic charitable agency has published a "road map for social justice and equality," urging all church members to defend the poor and marginalized.

VATICAN CITY – Where there is no tenderness, there is cruelty and what is unfolding in Syria is a veritable "workshop of cruelty," Pope Francis told governing members of Caritas Internationalis.

ABUJA, Nigeria – A lack of reliable data on human trafficking in Africa hinders aid reaching people who desperately need it, said the continental coordinator for Caritas Internationalis.