In this 1993 piece, James Martin reflects on the realities of refugees he met in Thika, Kenya.

Jesuits in Africa are calling on the Catholic Church to press for better repayment terms on debt across the region.

Pope Francis has held up the Congolese liturgy as a model for similarly inculturated rites in other parts of the Catholic world.

Recalling his abduction and two-year captivity, Father Maccalli told Vatican News that during that time, "tears were my bread for many days and were my prayer when I didn't know what to say."

So far this year, over 16,760 migrants have survived clandestine voyages from Africa’s west coast to Spain’s Canary Islands, more than 5,500 arriving over just the last two weeks.

“This war destabilized not only our region, but all of Mozambique,” said Luiz Fernando Lisboa, C.P., bishop of the Diocese of Pemba, the province’s capital. “The church’s role has been to help victims. But we must also speak out.”