The country's bishops, along with the rest of Catholic Church and the citizenry of Venezuela, have lived in the unfolding chaos that has driven at least 3 million out of the country.

He first went to the local hospital and then to the reunification center where he stayed from 1 p.m. Aug. 3 until about 5:30 p.m. the next day. Some slept during the night in the school building, but mostly they just waited, anxious to hear about friends or family members.

Organizers of the Aug. 8 vigil said they hoped the faithful can remain solely a prayer movement so that tensions ease in the weeks long series of mass demonstrations by Hong Kong citizens opposing a controversial extradition law.

For decades, abusers held the power in a culture of impunity led by an archbishop who was among those accused. Anthony Sablan Apuron was convicted in a secret Vatican trial and suspended in 2016, after which restrictions he supported on the reporting of abuse were eased.

The activists, known as the Kings Bay Plowshares 7, are charged with three felonies and a misdemeanor and face up to 25 years in prison each for trespassing on the U.S. Navy base that houses six Trident submarines carrying hundreds of nuclear weapons.

“This evil affects everyone, and all communities are affected by racism,” said Bishop Shelton J. Fabre.