hunger

In Somalia, 8.3 million people are in urgent need of assistance due to widespread drought that has displaced 1.4 million people, most of whom are women and children.

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The Mass celebrated by Cardinal Wilton Gregory came on the final day of the Jan. 28-31 Catholic Social Ministry Gathering. The meeting addressed workers’ rights, migrants and refugees, housing inequities, hunger and food insecurity, poverty, climate change, systemic racism, gun violence, restorative justice, abortion, domestic violence, and “pro-woman and pro-family policies.”

Looking through the lens of Catholic social teaching, several Brazilian organizations were critical of actions by President Jair Bolsonaro, who faces former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in the final round of presidential elections Oct. 30.

In focus: World Food Day, letter to young people, Parkland school shooting sentence, legalizing marijuana use in Missouri

In the Oct. 5 statement, the leaders highlighted the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, saying it led to an economic contraction of more than 3% and reversed years of development progress on the continent.

Amid a U.N. warning that a famine is looming in Somalia, U.S.-based Catholic Relief Services is calling for increased humanitarian support in the Horn of Africa country.

During Masses all over Pakistan Aug. 28, special prayers were offered for people affected by the floods, and Catholics were called on to contribute to the suffering, ucanews.com reported.