During the Saturday evening Mass when Father Looney heard the opening lines of the first reading from Jeremiah, the priest switched gears, deciding he had to say something about sexual abuse allegations against now former Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, retired archbishop of Washington.

In a statement released by the Archdiocese of Santiago July 24, Cardinal Ezzati said he was committed to helping victims "search for the truth" and denied any wrongdoing.

"These alleged actions, when committed by any person, are morally unacceptable and incompatible with the role of a priest, bishop or cardinal," Cardinal O'Malley said.

The Catholic Church in Nicaragua has faced numerous violent attacks from pro-government groups.

In the Sonoran Desert northeast of Ajo, temperatures can soar to mid-90s in late spring and above 100 degrees in the summer. This also is where hundreds of unfortunate migrants have taken their last breath.

After watching for years as newly independent South Sudan has succumbed to civil war fought largely along ethnic lines, displacing one-third of the population, church leaders in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan are working hard to ensure that their small enclave of liberated territory will not go the way of its neighbors to the south.