ROME -- Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno met with indigenous leaders and agreed to roll back austerity measures that had sparked 10 days of protests.

ROME -- Ecuadorian observers at the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon are keeping an eye on massive protests that have claimed the lives of five people in their country.

PORTOVIEJO, Ecuador – Almost one year has passed since a devastating earthquake struck Ecuador on April 16, 2016: more than 660 died and many thousands lost their homes and livelihoods.

JAMA, Ecuador – Ask Jose Santos about the earthquake that struck the northern coast of Ecuador in April and he paints a vivid picture.

QUITO, Ecuador – Catholic agencies are beginning to build temporary shelters for thousands of families in Ecuador made homeless by the South American country's worst natural disaster in nearly seven decades.

WASHINGTON – Six members of the Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother, including a young nun from Northern Ireland, are among the dead in the strongest earthquake to strike Ecuador since 1979.

QUITO, Ecuador - Carlos Leon and Carmen Barrera thought the worst was over when they escaped the death threats in Colombia.

I have known for a long time that I wanted to go on a mission trip.

Attending Catholic schools and going to Mass every weekend, I have always been taught about the importance of charity. For the longest time I thought charity meant simply giving to the less fortunate. However, in Grade 7, I got involved with Me to We and Free the Children which changed my understanding of what charity really meant.

ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT FROM PARAGUAY - Before arriving in the United States in September, Pope Francis said, he will study American criticisms of his critiques of the global economy and finance.

LA PAZ, Bolivia - Praising Bolivia's efforts to include all its citizens in the country's economic, political and social life, Pope Francis also defended the record and the right of the Catholic Church to be an active member of society and the right of the bishops to comment on public issues.

QUITO, Ecuador - Clergy and religious must remember that all they have is freely given by God and they must never forget where they came from, Pope Francis told sisters, priests, seminarians and bishops gathered July 8 at the El Quinche Marian shrine near here.

QUITO, Ecuador - Education is a right and a privilege that should impart not only knowledge and skills, but also a sense of responsibility for others and for the earth, Pope Francis told representatives of Ecuadorean schools and universities.

QUITO, Ecuador - Catholics will never be effective evangelizers if they are squabbling among themselves, and they cannot show the world how faith in Christ responds to the human yearning for freedom and peace if they are divided, Pope Francis said.

GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador - Even if a pastoral proposal for helping a Catholic family with problems seems scandalous at first, it is possible God could use that proposal to bring healing and holiness, Pope Francis said.