Pope Francis has designated the provincial city of Santiago del Estero as Argentina's primatial see in a move described by Catholic leaders as a historic "reparation" and a reflection of his preference for putting the peripheries at the center of church attention.
The most controversial blocks for exploration are located offshore at the mouth of the Amazon River basin. Petrobras, a government-controlled oil company, is pushing to begin preliminary drilling in search of new oil reserves.
Archbishop Gabriel Mestre of La Plata has resigned unexpectedly after only eight months in the Argentine archdiocese previously headed by Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Argentina has been in a state of economic upheaval for years with two constants—a continuous increase in poverty and corresponding efforts by the Catholic Church to respond to that need.