The New York archbishop returned to St. Patrick’s Cathedral to celebrate Mass for the profession of vows of the Sisters of Life.
![Family learns hospice bed opened as father faced scheduled assisted suicide #Catholic As New Yorkʼs Medical Aid in Dying Act takes effect amid legal challenges, one Canadian woman is sharing her familyʼs experience with physician-assisted suicide, saying it convinced her that vulnerable patients need greater access to hospice and palliative care — not assisted death.Speaking with “EWTN News Nightly” in an Aug. 5 interview with anchor Veronica Dudo, Colleen De Vos recounted the final months of her father’s life. He died through Canadaʼs medical assistance in dying (MAID) program in 2023 at age 85 after being diagnosed with terminal chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).“My father wasnʼt very forthcoming with his intentions, unfortunately,” De Vos said. “We did see some very fragile moments during the course of his illness.”As his condition worsened, De Vos said her family worked to arrange hospice or in-home palliative care, believing those services would provide the compassionate support he needed.“We were advocating very strongly for hospice care or at-home palliative program,” she said. “He seemed to agree with that.”But the familyʼs efforts were unsuccessful.“He was turned down on two occasions, deeming that his diagnosis wasnʼt enough to warrant hospice care,” De Vos said. “That was a surprise to us because we could see he was deteriorating very quickly.”Instead, she said, a nurse practitioner overseeing his care at home spoke privately with her father about pursuing MAID as his symptoms worsened.De Vos said the contrast between accessing hospice and obtaining assisted suicide was striking.“The irony of the availability of MAID that could be arranged very quickly … sidelined us very much,” she said.She recalled receiving “literally the cardboard box in the mail” containing the drugs and supplies needed for the procedure.“Obtaining [hospice care] was very difficult,” she said. “And this was very simple.”On the day her father was scheduled to die, De Vos said the family finally learned that a hospice bed had become available.She called it “very heartbreaking” that he declined the hospice bed.“I think he proceeded because of his loss of hope,” she said. “We absolutely were prepared to provide him with round-the-clock care.”Religious freedom challenge in New YorkDe Vos' story comes as Catholic ministries in New York are challenging the stateʼs new assisted suicide law in federal court.Speaking on Aug. 5 with “EWTN News Nightly,” Adele Keim, senior counsel at Becket Fund, said New Yorkʼs law differs significantly from those in states such as Oregon and Washington.“New York has created an opt-out law,” Keim said. “The presumption is youʼre in unless you opt out.”While some providers may decline to prescribe or administer the lethal drugs, Keim argued that Catholic ministries are still required to participate in other aspects of the process.“You canʼt opt out of your obligations to counsel patients about assisted suicide and the ‘benefits’ it would provide,” she said. Nor can Catholic providers refuse to refer patients elsewhere if they object to assisted suicide on religious grounds, she said.Keim said those requirements prompted the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne and other Catholic ministries to seek relief in federal court.Hope, dignity, and the court’s decisionShe also spoke with hope in a federal judgeʼs decision to temporarily block New York from enforcing the law against the Catholic plaintiffs while the case proceeds.“The right to assisted suicide is not a fundamental right,” Keim said, noting that both the U.S. Supreme Court and New Yorkʼs highest court have ruled there is no constitutional right to assisted suicide. “But… there is a fundamental right to religious freedom.”According to Keim, the injunction ensures the state cannot enforce the law against the Catholic ministries while their constitutional claims are considered.The Catholic Church teaches that assisted suicide and euthanasia are gravely contrary to the dignity of the human person while encouraging compassionate palliative and hospice care that accompanies patients through natural death.De Vos said she hopes lawmakers instead “think about the sacred gift of life that we are given by God,” adding: “I donʼt believe that itʼs up to the lawmakers… to give someone the autonomy to end their life.”](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/family-learns-hospice-bed-opened-as-father-faced-scheduled-assisted-suicide-catholic-as-new-yorkcabcs-medical-aid-in-dying-act-takes-effect-amid-legal-challenges-one-canadian-woman-is-sharing-her.png "Family learns hospice bed opened as father faced scheduled assisted suicide #Catholic As New Yorkʼs Medical Aid in Dying Act takes effect amid legal challenges, one Canadian woman is sharing her familyʼs experience with physician-assisted suicide, saying it convinced her that vulnerable patients need greater access to hospice and palliative care — not assisted death.Speaking with “EWTN News Nightly” in an Aug. 5 interview with anchor Veronica Dudo, Colleen De Vos recounted the final months of her father’s life. He died through Canadaʼs medical assistance in dying (MAID) program in 2023 at age 85 after being diagnosed with terminal chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).“My father wasnʼt very forthcoming with his intentions, unfortunately,” De Vos said. “We did see some very fragile moments during the course of his illness.”As his condition worsened, De Vos said her family worked to arrange hospice or in-home palliative care, believing those services would provide the compassionate support he needed.“We were advocating very strongly for hospice care or at-home palliative program,” she said. “He seemed to agree with that.”But the familyʼs efforts were unsuccessful.“He was turned down on two occasions, deeming that his diagnosis wasnʼt enough to warrant hospice care,” De Vos said. “That was a surprise to us because we could see he was deteriorating very quickly.”Instead, she said, a nurse practitioner overseeing his care at home spoke privately with her father about pursuing MAID as his symptoms worsened.De Vos said the contrast between accessing hospice and obtaining assisted suicide was striking.“The irony of the availability of MAID that could be arranged very quickly … sidelined us very much,” she said.She recalled receiving “literally the cardboard box in the mail” containing the drugs and supplies needed for the procedure.“Obtaining [hospice care] was very difficult,” she said. “And this was very simple.”On the day her father was scheduled to die, De Vos said the family finally learned that a hospice bed had become available.She called it “very heartbreaking” that he declined the hospice bed.“I think he proceeded because of his loss of hope,” she said. “We absolutely were prepared to provide him with round-the-clock care.”Religious freedom challenge in New YorkDe Vos' story comes as Catholic ministries in New York are challenging the stateʼs new assisted suicide law in federal court.Speaking on Aug. 5 with “EWTN News Nightly,” Adele Keim, senior counsel at Becket Fund, said New Yorkʼs law differs significantly from those in states such as Oregon and Washington.“New York has created an opt-out law,” Keim said. “The presumption is youʼre in unless you opt out.”While some providers may decline to prescribe or administer the lethal drugs, Keim argued that Catholic ministries are still required to participate in other aspects of the process.“You canʼt opt out of your obligations to counsel patients about assisted suicide and the ‘benefits’ it would provide,” she said. Nor can Catholic providers refuse to refer patients elsewhere if they object to assisted suicide on religious grounds, she said.Keim said those requirements prompted the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne and other Catholic ministries to seek relief in federal court.Hope, dignity, and the court’s decisionShe also spoke with hope in a federal judgeʼs decision to temporarily block New York from enforcing the law against the Catholic plaintiffs while the case proceeds.“The right to assisted suicide is not a fundamental right,” Keim said, noting that both the U.S. Supreme Court and New Yorkʼs highest court have ruled there is no constitutional right to assisted suicide. “But… there is a fundamental right to religious freedom.”According to Keim, the injunction ensures the state cannot enforce the law against the Catholic ministries while their constitutional claims are considered.The Catholic Church teaches that assisted suicide and euthanasia are gravely contrary to the dignity of the human person while encouraging compassionate palliative and hospice care that accompanies patients through natural death.De Vos said she hopes lawmakers instead “think about the sacred gift of life that we are given by God,” adding: “I donʼt believe that itʼs up to the lawmakers… to give someone the autonomy to end their life.”")
A Canadian woman said her father’s assisted suicide came after failed efforts to secure hospice care, as Catholic ministries challenge New York’s assisted suicide law in court.
The Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA) reported emergency response crews were not able to immediately reach the struck building because responders feared a second strike.
While the Church’s response to the earthquakes in Venezuela certainly involved material aid, a major part was simply being present to minister to survivors, offering consolation and the sacraments.
![Archbishop Wenski meets lawmakers to gain support for Haitian migrants amid deportation fears #Catholic Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski traveled to Washington, D.C., on July 28 to advocate on behalf of Haitian migrants who fear they will soon be targets of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation efforts.Wenski’s meetings with lawmakers came one day after the expiration of the automatic work‑permit extension under temporary protected status (TPS) for Haitians. The Supreme Court ruled last month that the administration has the authority to terminate TPS, which ended their work authorization and could subject them to deportation orders. “Haiti is a house on fire,” Wenski told “EWTN News Nightly” Capitol Hill correspondent Erik Rosales before entering the office of Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Virginia.The archbishop said TPS expiration and possible deportation of hundreds of thousands of Haitians is bad for the migrants — who would be sent back to an unstable country — and for the American communities in which the migrants live and work. About 353,000 Haitian nationals hold TPS status in the U.S., according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).“To think that we can send 350,000 people back to Haiti without that having very bad consequences in Haiti — but also here because these people are working, they’re not on the dole, they’re working, and if they’re removed from their jobs, if they lose their work permits, that’s going to have a negative economic impact on the communities in which they live,” Wenski said.As Haitian TPS status ends, some lawmakers have introduced bills to compel the DHS to extend the status. In April, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation, H.R. 1689, that would extend TPS for Haitians for three more years. No legislative efforts have gained traction in the Senate.The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has advocated strongly on behalf of Haitian migrants, asking the Trump administration and lawmakers to extend TPS. About two-thirds of Haiti is Catholic.Chieko Noguchi, spokeswoman for the USCCB, told EWTN News that Bishop Brendan J. Cahill, USCCB Committee on Migration chair, “has encouraged his brother bishops across the country to engage with their elected officials” on Haitian TPS status and broader immigration reform efforts.“As pastors committed to upholding the common good, the bishops are actively engaging in this dialogue and continue to be grateful for the opportunity to do so, which they acknowledged in their special message last November,” she said.In November 2025, the USCCB adopted a message in a 216-5 vote that opposed the “indiscriminate mass deportation of people” and policies that revoke the legal status of migrants, such as the terminations of TPS for various groups of migrants.Kaine, an advocate for extending TPS, told EWTN News after meeting with Wenski that he was glad “to discuss the critical need for Congress to do what is right and protect TPS holders who have been in the U.S. legally for years” and looks forward to working with the USCCB to advocate for TPS holders.TPS holders “have made countless contributions in important sectors such as healthcare and construction, and developed deep roots in our communities through their U.S. citizen families and businesses,” he added. “Many TPS holders, such as those from Haiti, should not be forced to return to the extremely dangerous conditions that made them seek safety in the United States.”Status of Haitian migrantsOn July 27, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin reposted a DHS post on X, which said “temporary protected status is exactly that — TEMPORARY” and urged anyone whose TPS has expired to self-deport out of the U.S.“For those with terminated TPS: it’s closing time,” the post read. “You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here.”When asked whether DHS intends to specifically target Haitians for deportation amid the TPS expiration, a spokesperson told EWTN News that the department “does not discuss ongoing or future operations” but is conducting law enforcement activities daily.“For too long, TPS has been allowed to function as a de facto amnesty program despite Congress never intending it to be permanent,” the spokesperson said.Andrew Arthur, a former immigration judge and a resident fellow in law and policy for the Center for Immigration Studies, told EWTN News that TPS was initially approved for Haiti in 2010 after a devastating earthquake.Although Haiti continues to face serious safety and political stability concerns, he said the effects of the earthquake no longer impact the country. He noted that Haitians can apply for permanent status under other programs, such as if they are eligible for asylum, but that TPS is not a permanent resettlement program.Arthur said Haitians who are in the U.S. under temporary legal status “had the opportunity to work in the United States and make money” and learn skills, which they can take back “to Haiti and [it can] help them make Haiti a better country.”The former judge said he expects immigration enforcement toward Haitians to be part of “the larger enforcement efforts” rather than a targeted campaign against Haitians, with a priority toward people who have been convicted of crimes.“The response [now] is foreign aid on the part of the United States and aid from the Catholic Church toward making Haiti a better place,” Arthur said.TPS status for Syrian migrants also ended on July 27. El Salvador’s TPS designation is set to expire Sept. 9.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/archbishop-wenski-meets-lawmakers-to-gain-support-for-haitian-migrants-amid-deportation-fears-catholic-miami-archbishop-thomas-wenski-traveled-to-washington-d-c-on-july-28-to-advocate-on-behalf-of.png "Archbishop Wenski meets lawmakers to gain support for Haitian migrants amid deportation fears #Catholic Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski traveled to Washington, D.C., on July 28 to advocate on behalf of Haitian migrants who fear they will soon be targets of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation efforts.Wenski’s meetings with lawmakers came one day after the expiration of the automatic work‑permit extension under temporary protected status (TPS) for Haitians. The Supreme Court ruled last month that the administration has the authority to terminate TPS, which ended their work authorization and could subject them to deportation orders. “Haiti is a house on fire,” Wenski told “EWTN News Nightly” Capitol Hill correspondent Erik Rosales before entering the office of Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Virginia.The archbishop said TPS expiration and possible deportation of hundreds of thousands of Haitians is bad for the migrants — who would be sent back to an unstable country — and for the American communities in which the migrants live and work. About 353,000 Haitian nationals hold TPS status in the U.S., according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).“To think that we can send 350,000 people back to Haiti without that having very bad consequences in Haiti — but also here because these people are working, they’re not on the dole, they’re working, and if they’re removed from their jobs, if they lose their work permits, that’s going to have a negative economic impact on the communities in which they live,” Wenski said.As Haitian TPS status ends, some lawmakers have introduced bills to compel the DHS to extend the status. In April, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation, H.R. 1689, that would extend TPS for Haitians for three more years. No legislative efforts have gained traction in the Senate.The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has advocated strongly on behalf of Haitian migrants, asking the Trump administration and lawmakers to extend TPS. About two-thirds of Haiti is Catholic.Chieko Noguchi, spokeswoman for the USCCB, told EWTN News that Bishop Brendan J. Cahill, USCCB Committee on Migration chair, “has encouraged his brother bishops across the country to engage with their elected officials” on Haitian TPS status and broader immigration reform efforts.“As pastors committed to upholding the common good, the bishops are actively engaging in this dialogue and continue to be grateful for the opportunity to do so, which they acknowledged in their special message last November,” she said.In November 2025, the USCCB adopted a message in a 216-5 vote that opposed the “indiscriminate mass deportation of people” and policies that revoke the legal status of migrants, such as the terminations of TPS for various groups of migrants.Kaine, an advocate for extending TPS, told EWTN News after meeting with Wenski that he was glad “to discuss the critical need for Congress to do what is right and protect TPS holders who have been in the U.S. legally for years” and looks forward to working with the USCCB to advocate for TPS holders.TPS holders “have made countless contributions in important sectors such as healthcare and construction, and developed deep roots in our communities through their U.S. citizen families and businesses,” he added. “Many TPS holders, such as those from Haiti, should not be forced to return to the extremely dangerous conditions that made them seek safety in the United States.”Status of Haitian migrantsOn July 27, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin reposted a DHS post on X, which said “temporary protected status is exactly that — TEMPORARY” and urged anyone whose TPS has expired to self-deport out of the U.S.“For those with terminated TPS: it’s closing time,” the post read. “You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here.”When asked whether DHS intends to specifically target Haitians for deportation amid the TPS expiration, a spokesperson told EWTN News that the department “does not discuss ongoing or future operations” but is conducting law enforcement activities daily.“For too long, TPS has been allowed to function as a de facto amnesty program despite Congress never intending it to be permanent,” the spokesperson said.Andrew Arthur, a former immigration judge and a resident fellow in law and policy for the Center for Immigration Studies, told EWTN News that TPS was initially approved for Haiti in 2010 after a devastating earthquake.Although Haiti continues to face serious safety and political stability concerns, he said the effects of the earthquake no longer impact the country. He noted that Haitians can apply for permanent status under other programs, such as if they are eligible for asylum, but that TPS is not a permanent resettlement program.Arthur said Haitians who are in the U.S. under temporary legal status “had the opportunity to work in the United States and make money” and learn skills, which they can take back “to Haiti and [it can] help them make Haiti a better country.”The former judge said he expects immigration enforcement toward Haitians to be part of “the larger enforcement efforts” rather than a targeted campaign against Haitians, with a priority toward people who have been convicted of crimes.“The response [now] is foreign aid on the part of the United States and aid from the Catholic Church toward making Haiti a better place,” Arthur said.TPS status for Syrian migrants also ended on July 27. El Salvador’s TPS designation is set to expire Sept. 9.")
The Department of Homeland Security defended its policy, saying temporary protected status was not meant to be permanent.
Amid the destructive forest fires in central Spain, the Catholic Church is ministering to the evacuees, providing material aid, shelter, a listening ear, and the sacraments.
Catholic Health Services, one of the Archdiocese of Miami’s largest ministries, faces losing an estimated 40 to 50 employees, Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski said.
![Catholic moral theologians concerned by claims U.S., Iran struck civilian infrastructure #Catholic Iran and the United States have faced accusations of strikes on civilian infrastructure and have explicitly threatened attacks on civilian infrastructure going forward, prompting concerns from Catholic moral theologians.“I have deep concerns that the war will widen and the greatest impact will be on the civilian populations of Middle East nations,” Joseph Capizzi, director of Notre Dame’s McGrath Institute for Church Life, told EWTN News.Charles Camosy, a moral theologian at The Catholic University of America, told EWTN News that threats to civilian infrastructure are “absolutely not” consistent with moral conduct during war or Catholic just war doctrine.“The dignity of the human person — including a commitment to Christʼs command to love oneʼs enemies — must be paramount,” he said. “Not winning a war. Not gaining political advantage. … Catholics are not consequentialists.”A Pakistan‑mediated ceasefire that began April 8 ended on July 8. Last week, Iranian state media alleged that the U.S. struck a water desalination plant in the Hormozgan Province that supplies water to 30 villages, impacting thousands of people. U.S. officials confirmed military strikes in the province but have not confirmed a strike on the plant.The U.S. has confirmed strikes in southern Iran that destroyed port infrastructure. Pro-regime media in Iran in Iran reported commercial and fishing piers were among the targets, citing the Iranian Red Crescent Society. That report also alleged strikes on a wheat storage facility, roads, and bridges.U.S. Central Command denied strikes on the wheat facility but has not addressed every specific allegation. U.S. military officials have repeatedly said they only target Iran’s military capabilities.When reached for comment about the other specific allegations, a spokesperson for U.S. Central Command told EWTN News "we refer you to our published releases" and "we have nothing further to add."In response to these alleged attacks, Iran has repeatedly struck power plants and water facilities throughout Kuwait and Bahrain. Officials in Kuwait, which relies on water desalination plants for 90% of its drinking water, are urging people to conserve energy and water. Bahrain’s supply of drinking water is 100% reliant on water desalination plants.On July 22, Trump escalated threats to civilian infrastructure, saying he would strike “one bridge or power plant” for every ship Iran strikes. Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said in response that Iran’s doctrine is “an eye for an eye” and “those who contribute” to aggression “will also be considered as legitimate targets.”When a reporter asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio on July 23 whether he would rule out strikes on civilian infrastructure, he did not say. Rather, he pointed to Araghchi’s statement and said: “The president’s policy is a head for an eye — I mean, honestly, that’s what it’s going to be.”Just conduct in warThree Catholic moral theologians who provided comments to EWTN News — Capizzi; Camosy; and Taylor Patrick O’Neill, a theology professor at Thomas Aquinas College — all said it is not moral to intentionally target civilian populations in war.“The prohibition against targeting civilian infrastructure is absolute in moral and international law,” Capizzi said. “States are prohibited from targeting civilian infrastructure.”He urged caution about purported justifications for striking “dual use” infrastructure targets that may be used for both military and civilian purposes. He said “no party is allowed merely to claim targets are ‘dual use.’”“When there is doubt as to the dual or single use of a target, international [law] stipulates the presumption begins with single use, and therefore the target is inadmissible to be targeted, unless proven to the contrary,” Capizzi said.Camosy also said this is a moral absolute and there is no circumstance in which it is moral to target civilians. He said that “even in war, even when the stakes are highest,” Catholics do not adhere to the consequentialist moral philosophy of the ends justifying the means.The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains a person can never engage in intrinsically evil acts — such as targeting innocent people for harm — regardless of the reason because “the end does not justify the means.” Acts also require “good intention,” so while “good intention” is not sufficient and does not justify evil acts, bad intention — such as intending to harm innocent people — always “makes an act evil,” it explains.Camosy said: “Protection against the targeting of civilians is an absolute value in war. Catholics are called to be prepared to lose a war rather than violate exceptionless moral norms or commit intrinsically evil acts in this area.”Sometimes an act, in war or elsewhere, can also have several effects. St. Thomas Aquinas explains in the “Summa Theologica” that it can be proper to engage in an act that is morally neutral in and of itself but has both good and bad consequences, so long as only the good consequence is the one that is intended. This is the principle of “double effect.”The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that proportionality is required in war. The evil inflicted through war cannot be more severe than the evil one is aiming to defeat.“We need to ask if civilian harm is the intention and/or the mechanism of action in the military strike or [if] it is a merely foreseen side effect,” Camosy explained.“If the rationale for hitting the electric grid or desalination plant is that widespread darkness, spoiled food, rampant disease, failed hospitals, and more will generate political pressure on the Iranian regime, then the suffering of peaceful civilians becomes the causal pathway to the advantage sought,” he said. “This then becomes the object of the act itself and not a merely foreseen side effect.”Alternatively, Camosy added: “Attacking a generator dedicated to a command bunker, however, would likely not suffer the same kind of critique, however, even if one foresaw but did not intend that it would also have bad impacts on civilians.”Similarly, O’Neill said the moral analysis of striking a facility that results in civilian harm is about intention and proportionality. It is never moral to intend the suffering of innocents or target them.“You cannot intend or rely upon civilian death or fear to aid in your military effort,” O’Neill said. “In other words, the foreseen evil cannot itself be the means by which you attempt to achieve some good.”A specific bridge that is “dual use,” such as one used by civilians but also used “to transport tanks from factory to battlefield,” he said could possibly be justified under double effect. The moral analysis would have to consider intention and proportionality and “you must also try to minimize the negative.”“Will blowing up the bridge make civilian life uncomfortable or will it result in the loss of life, access to basic necessities, etc.? All of these things have to be taken into account just for double effect,” O’Neill said.“Under double effect, itʼs theoretically possible to strike a dual-use target,” he added. “But any strike on merely civilian infrastructure (or even [a target] with indirect ties to the war effort) would be intrinsically unjust.”“At that point, the attack would have more in common with an act of terrorism,” O’Neill said.‘Blessed are the peacemakers’St. Augustine, in a letter to the Roman general Boniface, emphasized that the intention of war must be to ultimately establish a just peace — not to simply to unleash destruction: “Peace should be the object of your desire; war should be waged only as a necessity, and waged only that God may by it deliver men from the necessity and preserve them in peace.”The fifth-century bishop and theologian cited the words of Jesus Christ in Matthew 5:9: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”O’Neill explained that in the context of a just war, “the Christian always seeks war for the sake of peace and that of both his own people and the people of the enemy nation.”“To consider the civilians of an enemy nation as the enemy is already to lose the necessary distinction of combatant from innocent,” he said.Camosy noted that Trump, in his 2024 campaign, promised “to be deeply skeptical of war” and encouraged him to move back in that direction.“Trump himself was aggressively pursuing the Nobel Peace Prize on this basis,” he said. “It would be much better to go back to this way of thinking about war. Think about becoming a peacemaker again.”Trump told Axios on July 23 that he is “considering a massive attack, bigger than ever before” but did not say whether this includes the civilian infrastructure he has threatened. He said that Iranians want to negotiate, but “they havenʼt received enough pain yet.”](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/catholic-moral-theologians-concerned-by-claims-u-s-iran-struck-civilian-infrastructure-catholic-iran-and-the-united-states-have-faced-accusations-of-strikes-on-civilian-infrastructure-and-have-expl.jpg "Catholic moral theologians concerned by claims U.S., Iran struck civilian infrastructure #Catholic Iran and the United States have faced accusations of strikes on civilian infrastructure and have explicitly threatened attacks on civilian infrastructure going forward, prompting concerns from Catholic moral theologians.“I have deep concerns that the war will widen and the greatest impact will be on the civilian populations of Middle East nations,” Joseph Capizzi, director of Notre Dame’s McGrath Institute for Church Life, told EWTN News.Charles Camosy, a moral theologian at The Catholic University of America, told EWTN News that threats to civilian infrastructure are “absolutely not” consistent with moral conduct during war or Catholic just war doctrine.“The dignity of the human person — including a commitment to Christʼs command to love oneʼs enemies — must be paramount,” he said. “Not winning a war. Not gaining political advantage. … Catholics are not consequentialists.”A Pakistan‑mediated ceasefire that began April 8 ended on July 8. Last week, Iranian state media alleged that the U.S. struck a water desalination plant in the Hormozgan Province that supplies water to 30 villages, impacting thousands of people. U.S. officials confirmed military strikes in the province but have not confirmed a strike on the plant.The U.S. has confirmed strikes in southern Iran that destroyed port infrastructure. Pro-regime media in Iran in Iran reported commercial and fishing piers were among the targets, citing the Iranian Red Crescent Society. That report also alleged strikes on a wheat storage facility, roads, and bridges.U.S. Central Command denied strikes on the wheat facility but has not addressed every specific allegation. U.S. military officials have repeatedly said they only target Iran’s military capabilities.When reached for comment about the other specific allegations, a spokesperson for U.S. Central Command told EWTN News \"we refer you to our published releases\" and \"we have nothing further to add.\"In response to these alleged attacks, Iran has repeatedly struck power plants and water facilities throughout Kuwait and Bahrain. Officials in Kuwait, which relies on water desalination plants for 90% of its drinking water, are urging people to conserve energy and water. Bahrain’s supply of drinking water is 100% reliant on water desalination plants.On July 22, Trump escalated threats to civilian infrastructure, saying he would strike “one bridge or power plant” for every ship Iran strikes. Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said in response that Iran’s doctrine is “an eye for an eye” and “those who contribute” to aggression “will also be considered as legitimate targets.”When a reporter asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio on July 23 whether he would rule out strikes on civilian infrastructure, he did not say. Rather, he pointed to Araghchi’s statement and said: “The president’s policy is a head for an eye — I mean, honestly, that’s what it’s going to be.”Just conduct in warThree Catholic moral theologians who provided comments to EWTN News — Capizzi; Camosy; and Taylor Patrick O’Neill, a theology professor at Thomas Aquinas College — all said it is not moral to intentionally target civilian populations in war.“The prohibition against targeting civilian infrastructure is absolute in moral and international law,” Capizzi said. “States are prohibited from targeting civilian infrastructure.”He urged caution about purported justifications for striking “dual use” infrastructure targets that may be used for both military and civilian purposes. He said “no party is allowed merely to claim targets are ‘dual use.’”“When there is doubt as to the dual or single use of a target, international [law] stipulates the presumption begins with single use, and therefore the target is inadmissible to be targeted, unless proven to the contrary,” Capizzi said.Camosy also said this is a moral absolute and there is no circumstance in which it is moral to target civilians. He said that “even in war, even when the stakes are highest,” Catholics do not adhere to the consequentialist moral philosophy of the ends justifying the means.The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains a person can never engage in intrinsically evil acts — such as targeting innocent people for harm — regardless of the reason because “the end does not justify the means.” Acts also require “good intention,” so while “good intention” is not sufficient and does not justify evil acts, bad intention — such as intending to harm innocent people — always “makes an act evil,” it explains.Camosy said: “Protection against the targeting of civilians is an absolute value in war. Catholics are called to be prepared to lose a war rather than violate exceptionless moral norms or commit intrinsically evil acts in this area.”Sometimes an act, in war or elsewhere, can also have several effects. St. Thomas Aquinas explains in the “Summa Theologica” that it can be proper to engage in an act that is morally neutral in and of itself but has both good and bad consequences, so long as only the good consequence is the one that is intended. This is the principle of “double effect.”The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that proportionality is required in war. The evil inflicted through war cannot be more severe than the evil one is aiming to defeat.“We need to ask if civilian harm is the intention and/or the mechanism of action in the military strike or [if] it is a merely foreseen side effect,” Camosy explained.“If the rationale for hitting the electric grid or desalination plant is that widespread darkness, spoiled food, rampant disease, failed hospitals, and more will generate political pressure on the Iranian regime, then the suffering of peaceful civilians becomes the causal pathway to the advantage sought,” he said. “This then becomes the object of the act itself and not a merely foreseen side effect.”Alternatively, Camosy added: “Attacking a generator dedicated to a command bunker, however, would likely not suffer the same kind of critique, however, even if one foresaw but did not intend that it would also have bad impacts on civilians.”Similarly, O’Neill said the moral analysis of striking a facility that results in civilian harm is about intention and proportionality. It is never moral to intend the suffering of innocents or target them.“You cannot intend or rely upon civilian death or fear to aid in your military effort,” O’Neill said. “In other words, the foreseen evil cannot itself be the means by which you attempt to achieve some good.”A specific bridge that is “dual use,” such as one used by civilians but also used “to transport tanks from factory to battlefield,” he said could possibly be justified under double effect. The moral analysis would have to consider intention and proportionality and “you must also try to minimize the negative.”“Will blowing up the bridge make civilian life uncomfortable or will it result in the loss of life, access to basic necessities, etc.? All of these things have to be taken into account just for double effect,” O’Neill said.“Under double effect, itʼs theoretically possible to strike a dual-use target,” he added. “But any strike on merely civilian infrastructure (or even [a target] with indirect ties to the war effort) would be intrinsically unjust.”“At that point, the attack would have more in common with an act of terrorism,” O’Neill said.‘Blessed are the peacemakers’St. Augustine, in a letter to the Roman general Boniface, emphasized that the intention of war must be to ultimately establish a just peace — not to simply to unleash destruction: “Peace should be the object of your desire; war should be waged only as a necessity, and waged only that God may by it deliver men from the necessity and preserve them in peace.”The fifth-century bishop and theologian cited the words of Jesus Christ in Matthew 5:9: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”O’Neill explained that in the context of a just war, “the Christian always seeks war for the sake of peace and that of both his own people and the people of the enemy nation.”“To consider the civilians of an enemy nation as the enemy is already to lose the necessary distinction of combatant from innocent,” he said.Camosy noted that Trump, in his 2024 campaign, promised “to be deeply skeptical of war” and encouraged him to move back in that direction.“Trump himself was aggressively pursuing the Nobel Peace Prize on this basis,” he said. “It would be much better to go back to this way of thinking about war. Think about becoming a peacemaker again.”Trump told Axios on July 23 that he is “considering a massive attack, bigger than ever before” but did not say whether this includes the civilian infrastructure he has threatened. He said that Iranians want to negotiate, but “they havenʼt received enough pain yet.”")
A battle over the Strait of Hormuz rekindled the war in the Middle East after a ceasefire ended. Intent to harm civilians, including attacks on civilian infrastructure, is immoral, theologians said.
Caritas Bangladesh and Jinde Charities in China are providing aid after devastating flooding.
![How papal prayer intentions are chosen, according to head of Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network #Catholic More than 22 million Catholics across the globe make up a network dedicated to praying daily for the challenges facing humanity and the Church, uniting their prayers with Pope Leo XIV’s monthly intentions.The Popeʼs Worldwide Prayer Network is a pontifical foundation known for its Pray with the Pope campaign through which the Holy Father announces his monthʼs intention in a video message.While the pope “has an endless list” of prayer intentions, he chooses 12 to offer for each month of the year, Father Cristóbal Fones, SJ, the international director of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, explained in an interview with “EWTN News In Depth.”In order to do so, the network will “help the pope to discern the intentions a year ahead,” Fones explained. “So we ask many people — all the dicasteries and our national directors — to give us some proposals, and we offer to him lots of them … about 20 of them.”The Holy Father “takes some time to pray on these proposals” and then chooses the 12 intentions for the upcoming year in advance.“So we published, for instance, the 2027 monthly intentions last February. So you can already know what we are about to pray for next year too, so that we can have some time to make the translations, to create the materials in Indonesian, Hindi, Swahili, Guarani, and so on.”Pope Leo has continued the tradition of Pope Francis, who recorded the first video of the monthly intentions in 2016, but the current pontiff has put his own take on it.Pope Leo is “not only asking us to pray but praying himself for the monthly intention and inviting us to join him in prayer,” Fones said. “Thatʼs why we call this campaign ‘Pray with the Pope,’ because heʼs the first one interceding for the needs of humanity, and he is inviting us through this campaign to do it with him.”“Some people may watch the video and participate with him by praying. Others can do it [on] their own. But the important thing is to be united in this network of hearts — compassionate hearts for the needs of the world.”Pope Leo is also “constantly asking us to pray for contextual … prayer intentions, like a flood or an earthquake in Venezuela, for instance,” Fones said.All these prayer intentions are then updated “in what we call the popeʼs prayer profile,” Fones said. It consists of “all the requests for prayer that he normally does, whether on Sunday in the Angelus or on Wednesdays during the general audience.”In order to aid the Holy Father, the network is run by a team of an administrative council appointed by the Holy See, international coordinators, formation leaders, and communications teams. The network “is a participation in the mission of the Church by offering ourselves through prayer, service, and spiritual formation,” Fones said. Made up of Catholics in more than 90 countries, the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network is “a very old pontifical work with more than 180 years.” The network started in 1844 and was first called the Apostleship of Prayer. It was later renamed and established as a formal Vatican foundation in 2020 to support Christ’s mission of compassion for the world across continents and cultures.Call for prayers to respect lifePope Leo’s prayer intention for the month of July is for respect for human life in all circumstances.The Holy Father drew attention to the importance of the intention when he dined with 200 vulnerable people on July 11.“Having a lunch is just to show a sign [of] what we actually have to do with one another, to sit at the same table, to recognize our common dignity, because we are all sons and daughters of the same God. And when you understand that, you treat others as equal in dignity,” Fones said.“We may think differently. We may have different positions in life — opinions, backgrounds, stories — but we are all sons and daughters of God. So when you recognize that you can treat others as brothers and sisters, even if you disagree with them,” he said.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/how-papal-prayer-intentions-are-chosen-according-to-head-of-popes-worldwide-prayer-network-catholic-more-than-22-million-catholics-across-the-globe-make-up-a-network-dedicated-to-praying-da-scaled.jpg "How papal prayer intentions are chosen, according to head of Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network #Catholic More than 22 million Catholics across the globe make up a network dedicated to praying daily for the challenges facing humanity and the Church, uniting their prayers with Pope Leo XIV’s monthly intentions.The Popeʼs Worldwide Prayer Network is a pontifical foundation known for its Pray with the Pope campaign through which the Holy Father announces his monthʼs intention in a video message.While the pope “has an endless list” of prayer intentions, he chooses 12 to offer for each month of the year, Father Cristóbal Fones, SJ, the international director of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, explained in an interview with “EWTN News In Depth.”In order to do so, the network will “help the pope to discern the intentions a year ahead,” Fones explained. “So we ask many people — all the dicasteries and our national directors — to give us some proposals, and we offer to him lots of them … about 20 of them.”The Holy Father “takes some time to pray on these proposals” and then chooses the 12 intentions for the upcoming year in advance.“So we published, for instance, the 2027 monthly intentions last February. So you can already know what we are about to pray for next year too, so that we can have some time to make the translations, to create the materials in Indonesian, Hindi, Swahili, Guarani, and so on.”Pope Leo has continued the tradition of Pope Francis, who recorded the first video of the monthly intentions in 2016, but the current pontiff has put his own take on it.Pope Leo is “not only asking us to pray but praying himself for the monthly intention and inviting us to join him in prayer,” Fones said. “Thatʼs why we call this campaign ‘Pray with the Pope,’ because heʼs the first one interceding for the needs of humanity, and he is inviting us through this campaign to do it with him.”“Some people may watch the video and participate with him by praying. Others can do it [on] their own. But the important thing is to be united in this network of hearts — compassionate hearts for the needs of the world.”Pope Leo is also “constantly asking us to pray for contextual … prayer intentions, like a flood or an earthquake in Venezuela, for instance,” Fones said.All these prayer intentions are then updated “in what we call the popeʼs prayer profile,” Fones said. It consists of “all the requests for prayer that he normally does, whether on Sunday in the Angelus or on Wednesdays during the general audience.”In order to aid the Holy Father, the network is run by a team of an administrative council appointed by the Holy See, international coordinators, formation leaders, and communications teams. The network “is a participation in the mission of the Church by offering ourselves through prayer, service, and spiritual formation,” Fones said. Made up of Catholics in more than 90 countries, the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network is “a very old pontifical work with more than 180 years.” The network started in 1844 and was first called the Apostleship of Prayer. It was later renamed and established as a formal Vatican foundation in 2020 to support Christ’s mission of compassion for the world across continents and cultures.Call for prayers to respect lifePope Leo’s prayer intention for the month of July is for respect for human life in all circumstances.The Holy Father drew attention to the importance of the intention when he dined with 200 vulnerable people on July 11.“Having a lunch is just to show a sign [of] what we actually have to do with one another, to sit at the same table, to recognize our common dignity, because we are all sons and daughters of the same God. And when you understand that, you treat others as equal in dignity,” Fones said.“We may think differently. We may have different positions in life — opinions, backgrounds, stories — but we are all sons and daughters of God. So when you recognize that you can treat others as brothers and sisters, even if you disagree with them,” he said.")
While Pope Leo “has an endless list” of prayer intentions, the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network helps him choose 12 to offer each month of the year, according to Father Cristóbal Fones, SJ.
Religious nationalism, state control, terrorism, authoritarianism, and limits on women are among drivers of rising persecution globally, the International Christian Concern (ICC) report said.
Haiti climbed to No. 5 on the International Rescue Committee’s 2026 emergency watch list, which ranks the top 20 countries facing the world’s most severe humanitarian crises.
“More than 110,000 metric tons of U.S.-grown agricultural commodities” will be delivered under an agreement in principle between Catholic Relief Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Irish bishops condemn anti-Muslim display, religious sisters set up a field hospital for Venezuela earthquake victims, euthanasia in New Zealand surges, and more in this week’s world news roundup.
![Earthquake survivor in Venezuela: ‘The Miraculous Medal saved me’ #Catholic In Playa Grande, a neighborhood in the city of La Guaira, Venezuela, Kamar Galíndez was on the top floor of Chipi’s Beach Hotel, preparing to start his daily workout in the gym, unaware that his life was about to change forever.It was Wednesday, June 24, the feast day of St. John the Baptist and a national holiday commemorating the anniversary of the decisive Battle of Carabobo. At 6:05 p.m., the peaceful atmosphere created by the stunning ocean view from the top of the hotel was shattered by the thunderous violence of two consecutive earthquakes that took everyone by surprise, sowing anguish and confusion.Speaking with ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, Galíndez, a 53-year-old lawyer, recalled how the heavy gym machines began moving from one side to the other, much like an air hockey puck. Disaster struck within seconds.“The floor split, and immediately I saw half the building tilting forward while the section I was in collapsed straight down; I felt my feet were no longer standing on anything, and the next thing [I knew], I was trapped in the rubble,” he recounted.
Remains of Chipi’s Beach Hotel in Playa Grande, from which Kamar Galíndez managed to come out alive. | Credit: Andrés Henríquez/EWTN News
Faced with imminent death: ‘Lord, have mercy!’Galíndez recounted that the only thing he managed to do was to seek protection beside a nearby wall. As he felt the building collapsing, what came to his mind was the image of the Lord Jesus as he first appeared to St. Faustina Kowalska on Feb. 22, 1931.“I remember thinking of the merciful Christ and praying, ‘Lord, have mercy,’” he said, on the verge of tears. “The next thing was feeling the building collapse because with that violent shaking, I kept saying, ‘It’s going to fall,’ and of course, it did.”Galíndez never lost consciousness. He said he felt every blow but that “amid the shock and fear, physical sensations become secondary.” Once the confusion of the collapse subsided, he realized he was alive, though his body was completely buried in the rubble and pinned by a massive beam crushing his chest.He couldn’t breathe properly. His head had not been buried, and through that immense mountain of twisted metal, bricks, and earth, he could see the sky, still lit by the last rays of the evening sun. All around, the desperate screams of other people trapped in the rubble could be heard.Galíndez wiped his face and tried to move to free himself. Then he realized his left arm was broken: “A lot of desperation, a lot of fear” is what he recalled feeling, yet amid the suffering, he didn’t hesitate to entrust himself to God’s protection.“Then I prayed to stay calm. What I did was to pray a lot: ‘OK, Father God, help me get out of here. Keep me calm’ was the first thing I prayed. ‘Keep me calm and tell me what I need to do,’” he recounted.He signaled for help as best he could. He said he has no idea how long he was underneath the rubble, but he knows it “felt like an eternity.” Finally, a man who had climbed the mountain of debris helped him break free.‘The Miraculous Medal saved me’Galíndez made his way down the remains of the collapsed building on his own. Upon realizing the magnitude of the tragedy, which claimed thousands of lives in a split second, he is positive that emerging virtually unharmed was a miracle, one he attributes to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, to whom he has always been devoted.“I was wearing a small chain with a crucifix and a tiny medal of the Miraculous Virgin. Among the things I lost track of, the chain broke, though, of course, I hadnʼt noticed it at the time,” he recalled.On his way to his home, which was also completely destroyed, a couple of young people helped Galíndez with first aid. While they were tending to him, he became aware of one of those small miracles that holds profound meaning for someone with sincere faith.He asked the young people to help him put his watch into one of the pockets of his shorts, as he needed to remove it to hold his fractured arm still. And then, the inexplicable happened.“I was wearing shorts with a small zippered pocket, and when I looked — don’t ask me where from, don’t ask me how — a piece of the chain and the Miraculous Medal were caught inside.”"Of course, I told the boy: ‘Please, put that little medal away for me too, because that was what saved me,’” he said. “I havenʼt the slightest doubt.”“Absolutely, absolutely,” he replied when asked if he truly believes his life is a miracle obtained through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin.
The Miraculous Medal that Kamar Galíndez wore around his neck, which broke during the collapse and later appeared — inexplicably — in the pocket of his shorts. | Credit: Andrés Henríquez/EWTN News
Many people didn’t make it out of what was left of the hotel. For Galíndez, having survived is the work of the mercy of God, who listened to his pleas in every instant and granted him his request for a reason he still does not know.“In the greatest adversity, you begin to see it in terms of what is most basic, because the most basic thing becomes impossible. When the most basic thing is impossible and you manage to do it anyway, you say: ‘Only God can do that,’” he reflected.“There is a God who looks after you in that moment, attending to what you are asking of him and what you need. From freeing up an arm or reminding you of his presence by leaving a small medal hanging from your [shorts],” he said. He then emphasized what he considers most important following his harrowing experience: "I have the greatest gift God [my dear] Father gave me, which is life.”Galíndez said he feels deeply grateful to be alive. For him, what happened serves as a humbling reminder that what we have comes from the will and mercy of God, who does not abandon his people; who does not abandon Venezuelans, especially during times of greatest suffering.At the time of publication, the official death toll in Venezuela from the double earthquake has risen to 3,535, while the number of injured has reached 16,740. Estimates by independent organizations indicate that tens of thousands of people are still missing.This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/earthquake-survivor-in-venezuela-the-miraculous-medal-saved-me-catholic-in-playa-grande-a-neighborhood-in-the-city-of-la-guaira-venezuela-kamar-galindez-was-on-the-top-floor-of.jpg "Earthquake survivor in Venezuela: ‘The Miraculous Medal saved me’ #Catholic In Playa Grande, a neighborhood in the city of La Guaira, Venezuela, Kamar Galíndez was on the top floor of Chipi’s Beach Hotel, preparing to start his daily workout in the gym, unaware that his life was about to change forever.It was Wednesday, June 24, the feast day of St. John the Baptist and a national holiday commemorating the anniversary of the decisive Battle of Carabobo. At 6:05 p.m., the peaceful atmosphere created by the stunning ocean view from the top of the hotel was shattered by the thunderous violence of two consecutive earthquakes that took everyone by surprise, sowing anguish and confusion.Speaking with ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, Galíndez, a 53-year-old lawyer, recalled how the heavy gym machines began moving from one side to the other, much like an air hockey puck. Disaster struck within seconds.“The floor split, and immediately I saw half the building tilting forward while the section I was in collapsed straight down; I felt my feet were no longer standing on anything, and the next thing [I knew], I was trapped in the rubble,” he recounted.
Remains of Chipi’s Beach Hotel in Playa Grande, from which Kamar Galíndez managed to come out alive. | Credit: Andrés Henríquez/EWTN News
Faced with imminent death: ‘Lord, have mercy!’Galíndez recounted that the only thing he managed to do was to seek protection beside a nearby wall. As he felt the building collapsing, what came to his mind was the image of the Lord Jesus as he first appeared to St. Faustina Kowalska on Feb. 22, 1931.“I remember thinking of the merciful Christ and praying, ‘Lord, have mercy,’” he said, on the verge of tears. “The next thing was feeling the building collapse because with that violent shaking, I kept saying, ‘It’s going to fall,’ and of course, it did.”Galíndez never lost consciousness. He said he felt every blow but that “amid the shock and fear, physical sensations become secondary.” Once the confusion of the collapse subsided, he realized he was alive, though his body was completely buried in the rubble and pinned by a massive beam crushing his chest.He couldn’t breathe properly. His head had not been buried, and through that immense mountain of twisted metal, bricks, and earth, he could see the sky, still lit by the last rays of the evening sun. All around, the desperate screams of other people trapped in the rubble could be heard.Galíndez wiped his face and tried to move to free himself. Then he realized his left arm was broken: “A lot of desperation, a lot of fear” is what he recalled feeling, yet amid the suffering, he didn’t hesitate to entrust himself to God’s protection.“Then I prayed to stay calm. What I did was to pray a lot: ‘OK, Father God, help me get out of here. Keep me calm’ was the first thing I prayed. ‘Keep me calm and tell me what I need to do,’” he recounted.He signaled for help as best he could. He said he has no idea how long he was underneath the rubble, but he knows it “felt like an eternity.” Finally, a man who had climbed the mountain of debris helped him break free.‘The Miraculous Medal saved me’Galíndez made his way down the remains of the collapsed building on his own. Upon realizing the magnitude of the tragedy, which claimed thousands of lives in a split second, he is positive that emerging virtually unharmed was a miracle, one he attributes to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, to whom he has always been devoted.“I was wearing a small chain with a crucifix and a tiny medal of the Miraculous Virgin. Among the things I lost track of, the chain broke, though, of course, I hadnʼt noticed it at the time,” he recalled.On his way to his home, which was also completely destroyed, a couple of young people helped Galíndez with first aid. While they were tending to him, he became aware of one of those small miracles that holds profound meaning for someone with sincere faith.He asked the young people to help him put his watch into one of the pockets of his shorts, as he needed to remove it to hold his fractured arm still. And then, the inexplicable happened.“I was wearing shorts with a small zippered pocket, and when I looked — don’t ask me where from, don’t ask me how — a piece of the chain and the Miraculous Medal were caught inside.”\"Of course, I told the boy: ‘Please, put that little medal away for me too, because that was what saved me,’” he said. “I havenʼt the slightest doubt.”“Absolutely, absolutely,” he replied when asked if he truly believes his life is a miracle obtained through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin.
The Miraculous Medal that Kamar Galíndez wore around his neck, which broke during the collapse and later appeared — inexplicably — in the pocket of his shorts. | Credit: Andrés Henríquez/EWTN News
Many people didn’t make it out of what was left of the hotel. For Galíndez, having survived is the work of the mercy of God, who listened to his pleas in every instant and granted him his request for a reason he still does not know.“In the greatest adversity, you begin to see it in terms of what is most basic, because the most basic thing becomes impossible. When the most basic thing is impossible and you manage to do it anyway, you say: ‘Only God can do that,’” he reflected.“There is a God who looks after you in that moment, attending to what you are asking of him and what you need. From freeing up an arm or reminding you of his presence by leaving a small medal hanging from your [shorts],” he said. He then emphasized what he considers most important following his harrowing experience: \"I have the greatest gift God [my dear] Father gave me, which is life.”Galíndez said he feels deeply grateful to be alive. For him, what happened serves as a humbling reminder that what we have comes from the will and mercy of God, who does not abandon his people; who does not abandon Venezuelans, especially during times of greatest suffering.At the time of publication, the official death toll in Venezuela from the double earthquake has risen to 3,535, while the number of injured has reached 16,740. Estimates by independent organizations indicate that tens of thousands of people are still missing.This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.")
Kamar Galíndez credits his survival to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Miraculous Medal he wore was torn from his neck as the building collapsed and inexplicably ended up in one of his zippered pockets.
A Wyoming Catholic College student wins a White House civics competition, Benedictine College shows off its new library, and more in this week’s roundup of Catholic education news in the U.S.
