More than 11 million people in the region could be affected by the famine, brought on by drought and escalating food costs.
Violence, poverty, unemployment, hunger and precarious living conditions continue to make life difficult for Salvadorans nearly 20 years after the 1992 end of the 12-year civil war.
Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the apostolic nuncio to the United States since 2006, “enjoyed the highest respect and deepest affection” of the nation’s Catholics, Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan said.
“As it stands, the language is not broad enough to protect our Catholic health providers,” the Catholic Health Association complained in a statement.
The ongoing drought and famine afflicting Somalia and other East African nations is "a humanitarian crisis that cries out for help to Christians throughout the world."
A car bomb exploded on Aug. 2 outside the Holy Family Syrian Catholic church in the city of Kirkuk, leaving at least 20 people injured.
The Rev. Antonio Mora ministers to a town under siege, where masked men guard checkpoints and roads are blocked by burnt cars.