Vatican officials did not appreciate Secretary Pompeo's public pressure when a meeting was scheduled just two weeks later; some saw the move as political tactic during Donald Trump's campaign for reelection.

The pope said Christ came to heal both the physical and "social" ailments that plague the world and gave the "necessary gifts to love and heal as he did, in order to take care of everyone without distinction of race, language or nation."

"Any religious adherent can be a victim," he said, and the oppressor can be "whoever has the power of the state behind them."

"Our community cannot be indifferent to modern slavery and human trafficking or our responsibility to eradicate it," Archbishop Fisher said.

COVID-19 safety protocols and a new code of conduct have been developed. "There should be no problem for anyone who is generally healthy to take part in this year's Life Chain."

Both presidential candidates find themselves courting specific Latino constituencies in battleground states rich in electoral votes such as Arizona, Florida, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Texas.