MEXICO CITY -- Pope Francis offered prayers for the victims of Hurricane Eta, which deluged Central America, claimed at least 50 lives and caused widespread flooding and property damage.

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico – A trio of Honduran migrants arrived at the diocesan migrant shelter in this Mexican border city in the predawn hours, hoping to rest up before approaching the U.S. border and making an asylum claim.

MANAGUA, Nicaragua – The Nicaraguan bishops' conference said it has not received invitations to play a role in a recently convened national dialogue to pull the nation out of political crisis.

SAO PAULO – Tensions were high along Venezuela's borders after clashes protesting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's decision not to allow humanitarian aid into the country for millions of vulnerable citizens.

CARACAS, Venezuela – The Venezuelan Bishops’ Conference is calling on Nicolas Maduro’s government to allow humanitarian aid to enter the country and be peacefully distributed to people who are desperately in need of it.

VATICAN – Time, experience and reflection have "purified" liberation theology and its attempts to make clear what the Gospel says about social injustice, Pope Francis said.

PANAMA CITY – Friday was one of the best days so far.

PANAMA CITY — Young men and women in the Church can bring the joy of the Gospel to the world by showing that God's love extends to all people and excludes no one, Pope Francis said.

PANAMA CITY, Panama – At World Youth Day Thursday, Pope Francis told the bishops of Central America to be close to the people, and to let their wounds and suffering be the drive behind the bishops’ actions and priorities.

PANAMA CITY, Panama – Panama's geographical position as a bridge between land and ocean is symbolic of its ability to broker peace and hope in an area marked by violence and conflict, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN – By summoning leaders of the world's bishops' conferences and top representatives of religious orders to the Vatican in February to address the abuse crisis and the protection of minors, Pope Francis is sending the message that the need for safeguarding is a global issue.

MEXICO CITY – The first participants in the caravan of Central Americans arriving in Tijuana, Mexico, were met with hostility as residents of an affluent neighbourhood confronted migrants wanting to camp on a beach near the border fence separating the United States and Mexico.

A caravan of up to 7,000 migrants heading north through Mexico toward a possible showdown at the American border are highlighting an urgent issue in Canadian refugee policy. 

VATICAN – Countries do not develop by themselves; they are built by migrants, Pope Francis said.

MEXICO CITY – The bishops' conference of Nicaragua has accepted an invitation to mediate talks aimed at calming the Central American country, which has been roiled by protests over proposed changes to the national social security system and discontent with an increasingly authoritarian government.