Dubbed the Xingu screech owl, the little creature was given a scientific name of “Megascops stangiae” in honor of the late Sister Dorothy Stang, who was assassinated in 2005 in Anapu, Brazil, while fighting for the Amazon forest and its people.

Pompeo visited sites aiding the Venezuelans in northern-most Roraima state, where many refugees have landed. Since 2015, more than 260,000 Venezuelans have crossed the border into Brazil.

The fight against poverty and social inequalities, as well as harsh criticism of President Jair Bolsonaro's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic dictated this year's Cry of the Excluded protests.

Due to his unrelenting defense of the indigenous population and peasants struggling for land ownership, Bishop Casaldaliga was seen as an enemy by land barons, miners and loggers.

In a draft of a letter to be presented to the executive committee of the bishops’ conference, more than 150 bishops accuse the federal government of “inaction and omission” in combating the coronavirus pandemic and of “inability and incapacity” to face the crisis.

The surge of deaths of indigenous in the Amazon region due to COVID-19 may lead to the decimation of entire communities, say those fighting for indigenous rights.

The Catholic bishops of Brazil are alarmed over reports that certain Catholic media outlets in that country are openly requesting financial aid in exchange for supporting the government of President Jair Bolsonaro without their knowledge or consent.

Homeless communities throughout the country are among the most vulnerable to COVID-19, church officials said.

The Archdiocese of Sao Paulo announced the creation of a commission to investigate allegations of sexual abuse linked to the Catholic Church.

Sister Rose Bertoldo, a member of the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary who attended the synod, told CNS the document "left much to be desired in terms of the ordination of married men to (serve in) remote places."