The 58-year-old priest and his small parish were caught in the middle of the fighting, ultimately becoming another target of government forces.

A year after Pope Francis urged Colombians to build unity and a nation for all after more than half a century of conflict, the country's Catholic Church continues to play a key role in the quest for reconciliation.

The Catholic bishops of Latin America pledged their loyalty to Pope Francis and spoke against the "shameful" way he has been attacked, said the president of the Latin American bishops' council during an Aug. 26 Mass in Medellin, Colombia. 

Honduran authorities have put the trial for the murder of an environmental and indigenous rights activist at risk by refusing to analyze and share key evidence.

Medellín would be the first and perhaps one of the most successful exercises of appropriation of the Second Vatican Council at the continental level.