The Rev. Júlio Lancellotti is São Paulo’s designated vicar for street people. He has been posting images of spikes and other elements of hostile architecture gathered from cell phone photos or video from all over Brazil.

Taxation “must favor the redistribution of wealth, looking out for the dignity of the poorest who risk always ending up crushed by the powerful,” the pope said in a meeting with members of Italy’s tax collection agency.

The duty of the Secretariat for the Economy includes “to report transparently” so that those who contribute “are then able see how the money with which they help is spent,” Juan Antonio Guerrero, S.J., said Friday.

President Bukele enjoys strong popularity at home and in neighboring Central American countries, but his government faces accusations of authoritarianism and corruption.

“All the prices are ridiculously high,” said Manuel Jeremías Ake, a father of six in California. “We were struggling to buy what we could afford. But now, forget about it. I’ve never seen anything like this in this country.”

I spent the past year writing about the economy through the lens of Catholic social teaching. Here’s what I learned.