VATICAN – A true bishop always stays close to his people, protecting them from "wolves" and from losing their way, Pope Francis said.

MEXICO CITY – The bishops' conference of Nicaragua has accepted an invitation to mediate talks aimed at calming the Central American country, which has been roiled by protests over proposed changes to the national social security system and discontent with an increasingly authoritarian government.

OTTAWA – A motion calling on the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) to invite Pope Francis to apologize for the Catholic Church’s role in abuse at Indian Residential schools failed to get unanimous consent April 18 in the House of Commons.

MEXICO – The Mexican bishops' conference criticized U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to deploy National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border and issued a strong defense of migrants, saying the Catholic Church could not stand by "in the face of suffering by our brother migrants as they seek better conditions by crossing the border to work and contribute to the common good."

OTTAWA – Bishops from the Democratic Republic of the Congo are making a direct appeal to the government and people of Canada to put pressure on the Kabila government to respect the constitution and hold elections.

LIMA, Peru – Less than two months after Pope Francis spoke out about environmental destruction in the Amazon basin during a visit to Peru, bishops from Latin America and the Caribbean have issued a pastoral letter calling the region's Catholics to an "integral ecological conversion."

LIMA, Peru – Peru's bishops called for Peruvians to work together to root out corruption in the wake of the resignation of the country's president, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, amid accusations of corruption.

AUSTIN, Texas – As police investigated a series of package explosions in central Texas that killed two people and injured four others, two of the state's bishops said their thoughts and prayers were with the victims and families and friends of those victimized by the explosions.

FULDA, Germany – The president of the German bishops' conference urged "verbal disarmament" after Sept. 24 elections brought a far-right party into the Bundestag, or parliament, for the first time since World War II.

CARACAS, Venezuela – Venezuela's bishops said the country's government aims to install a "military dictatorship, socialist, Marxist and communist."

OTTAWA – From coast to coast, many Canadian bishops consecrated their dioceses to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on Canada Day weekend.

OXFORD, England – Germany's bishops' conference expressed regret over a June 30 parliamentary vote to allow same-sex weddings, vowing to defend the "Catholic understanding of marriage."

MANILA, Philippines – Fake news is a problem everywhere, including in the island nation of the Philippines.

CARACAS, Venezuela – The Venezuelan bishops' conference reiterated its rejection of a government proposal to draft a new constitution, after a rare meeting between the conference president and top government representatives.

GRAND-BASSAM, Côte d’Ivoire – The regional conference of West African bishops has commended a regional economic union for its efforts to promote peaceful transfers of power, while also noting areas of concern, including religious intolerance and youth unemployment.