The preferential option for the poor, which includes feeding the hungry and drawing close to the excluded, “is the key criterion of Christian authenticity,” Pope Francis said Aug. 19 during his weekly general audience.

The trafficking of women in Latin America has increased with the Covid-19 pandemic, according to church activists.

The decision was made after a surge in cases since classes resumed on Aug. 10.

The prize, which is $2.5 million in unrestricted funds, also "strengthens our resolve to create a community of kinship and healing in Los Angeles," Father Greg Boyle said in a statement. "All of us at Homeboy Industries are profoundly humbled by the Hilton Foundation's recognition."

A Catholic priest was found dead in El Salvador on Aug. 7, the most recent in a pattern of Salvadoran clergy killings over the past half century. 

“Why are we turning away 21 million pro-life voters? The party has to decide if they want to die on this hill,” Kirsten Day, the executive director of Democrats for Life, told America.