A conference brought together dozens of diocesan directors and leaders of Hispanic and Latino ministry from various parts of the United States.
Maria Elena Rocha recounts how despite the tragedy of losing her husband and two sons in last summer’s earthquake in Venezuela, her faith and trust in God still sustains her.
Montse Alvarado will make history Nov. 1 as the first laywoman to serve as prefect of a dicastery of the Holy See.
![Conference encourages Black Catholic men to lead families, parishes, and communities #Catholic Twenty-four years ago three priests from the Society of the Divine Word and founders of the Bowman Francis Ministry had the idea to bring Black Catholic men together for fellowship, workshops, discussions, and prayer — with the hope that the men would then take what they learned back to their communities and ministries. That dream eventually became an annual conference, and its 24th gathering just took place in Birmingham, Alabama, Oct. 15–18.The Fr. Chester P. Smith National Black Catholic Men’s Conference was created by Father Chester P. Smith, Father Charles Smith, and Father Kenneth Hamilton and invites Black Catholic men from across the United States for a weekend of faith, leadership, brotherhood, and cultural reflection.This year’s conference — hosted by the Bowman Francis Ministry, the Society of the Divine Word Missionaries, and the Office of Black Catholic Ministry of the Diocese of Birmingham — had the theme of “The Rock I Stand On,” which aimed to equip participants with the spiritual and life skills needed to take on their roles as protectors and providers.Attendees were able to experience a guided, firsthand look at Birmingham’s role in the Civil Rights movement and engage in meaningful dialogue that connects faith, justice, and social responsibility. The Civil Rights Immersion Tour also included a Harambe Town Hall, which featured notable Birmingham community leaders debating todayʼs social and political climate.Cameron Beatty serves as the conference’s program chair. For him, the conference holds a special place in his heart — Father Chester P. Smith was his godfather.
Participants at the Fr. Chester P. Smith National Black Catholic Men’s Conference, which took place Oct. 15–18, 2026, in Birmingham, Alabama. | Credit: Brent Patterson
Beatty told EWTN News in an interview that he has been attending the conferences since they first started 24 years ago.“I was in high school during the first one and I would be like a reader or an altar server … then I would start leading workshops or doing the youth workshops,” Beatty recalled. “Then it kind of evolved once he [Smith] passed away. [It was] like, ‘Hey, we need somebody to step up and take on some more leadership roles,’ because he would do a lot of the planning and the executing and thatʼs how I got involved in more of a leadership role once he passed.”He added: “We want to make sure that his legacy lives on and his commitment to the ministry lives on, and I am very busy but this is something that Iʼm committed to because I believe in it strongly.”Smith grew up in Chicago’s inner city and made history when he and his identical twin — Father Charles Smith — were ordained priests in 1988, becoming the first pair of African American twins to become priests in the United States. As a priest, he rose to become an international leader in African American ministry and youth outreach.He founded Ambassadors of the Word, a peer group ministry program that fosters youth rites of passage and cross-cultural experiences. And he and his brother developed Boyhood to Manhood, a parish-based program to help young Black men realize their value, get in touch with their spirituality, and train future Church leaders. And he was a co-founder of the Bowman Francis Ministry, which is an outreach organization that evangelizes and ministers to Black Catholics.Smith died on April 8, 2020, at the age of 60. Father Charles Smith is still alive.Beatty called his godfather “an amazing, amazing person.”“We would say they’re [the Smith brothers] the Ying and the Yang,” he shared. “Father Chester was the outgoing one, the boisterous one. He was the one that would go out and do revivals in Black Catholic communities, he would go out and do the Lent services. People from all over the country knew him because they would invite him to their parish as a guest priest or a guest homilist … Father Charles, heʼs a little — and Iʼll say this to his face — heʼs a little bit more reserved. He likes to keep to himself. He can still preach, he can still minister. But, them together were just a powerful force.”Beatty explained that Smith’s great contribution to the Black Catholic community was that he remained “unapologetic” about the cultural aspect found in the identity of being a Black Catholic.A couple of years before Smith passed away, Beatty recalled an instance where Smith gave a powerful message at the men’s conference. While Smith typically never chose to include himself in the list of speakers — he preferred remaining as the planner behind the scenes — that year he decided to preach.“He preached that year and I just had never — Iʼve grown up with him, Iʼve known him my entire life — and Iʼve just never seen him preach that way,” Beatty shared. “He talked about the Promised Land, what does it mean to get to the Promised Land, and you canʼt just show up at the Promised Land, you have to work to get there … You hear it all the time, you hear the Scripture, you hear the reading, but I just had never heard it framed that way so passionately that it just resonated with me.”He added: “I could see after he had preached, he was so drained and exhausted because he put everything, his whole body, his whole spirit, into that message. And I just had never felt that or seen that from him as many times as Iʼve seen him preach. And to me that was just transformative for me, and thatʼs why I commit to this and hope to see the conference go on for many, many years.”
Mass is celebrated during the Fr. Chester P. Smith National Black Catholic Men’s Conference, which took place Oct. 15–18, 2026, in Birmingham, Alabama. | Credit: Brent Patterson
Beatty said he believes a conference like the Fr. Chester P. Smith National Black Catholic Men’s Conference is needed “for folks to feel like they have a strong community.”“Sometimes folks might be going to an African-American parish in their respective city or sometimes theyʼre the only Black family in their parish, given on where they live or practice their Catholicism,” he explained. “So, I think a conference like this gives folks an opportunity to come together with like-minded men … and itʼs an opportunity to have conversations that sometimes they canʼt have in their respective parishes.”Beatty said he hopes that those who attended the conference took away “some energy to go back to their respective communities and still evangelize about what it means to be Catholic, about what it means to be Black and Catholic, about what it means to be a man that is Black and Catholic in terms of the leaders of their family, the leaders in their community, the leaders within their parishes, their churches, and take away some tools in order to enact those types of things of ministering to folks that might not have any idea of what it means to be Christian and to be Catholic.”](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/conference-encourages-black-catholic-men-to-lead-families-parishes-and-communities-catholic-twenty-four-years-ago-three-priests-from-the-society-of-the-divine-word-and-founders-of-the-bowman-franci.png "Conference encourages Black Catholic men to lead families, parishes, and communities #Catholic Twenty-four years ago three priests from the Society of the Divine Word and founders of the Bowman Francis Ministry had the idea to bring Black Catholic men together for fellowship, workshops, discussions, and prayer — with the hope that the men would then take what they learned back to their communities and ministries. That dream eventually became an annual conference, and its 24th gathering just took place in Birmingham, Alabama, Oct. 15–18.The Fr. Chester P. Smith National Black Catholic Men’s Conference was created by Father Chester P. Smith, Father Charles Smith, and Father Kenneth Hamilton and invites Black Catholic men from across the United States for a weekend of faith, leadership, brotherhood, and cultural reflection.This year’s conference — hosted by the Bowman Francis Ministry, the Society of the Divine Word Missionaries, and the Office of Black Catholic Ministry of the Diocese of Birmingham — had the theme of “The Rock I Stand On,” which aimed to equip participants with the spiritual and life skills needed to take on their roles as protectors and providers.Attendees were able to experience a guided, firsthand look at Birmingham’s role in the Civil Rights movement and engage in meaningful dialogue that connects faith, justice, and social responsibility. The Civil Rights Immersion Tour also included a Harambe Town Hall, which featured notable Birmingham community leaders debating todayʼs social and political climate.Cameron Beatty serves as the conference’s program chair. For him, the conference holds a special place in his heart — Father Chester P. Smith was his godfather.
Participants at the Fr. Chester P. Smith National Black Catholic Men’s Conference, which took place Oct. 15–18, 2026, in Birmingham, Alabama. | Credit: Brent Patterson
Beatty told EWTN News in an interview that he has been attending the conferences since they first started 24 years ago.“I was in high school during the first one and I would be like a reader or an altar server … then I would start leading workshops or doing the youth workshops,” Beatty recalled. “Then it kind of evolved once he [Smith] passed away. [It was] like, ‘Hey, we need somebody to step up and take on some more leadership roles,’ because he would do a lot of the planning and the executing and thatʼs how I got involved in more of a leadership role once he passed.”He added: “We want to make sure that his legacy lives on and his commitment to the ministry lives on, and I am very busy but this is something that Iʼm committed to because I believe in it strongly.”Smith grew up in Chicago’s inner city and made history when he and his identical twin — Father Charles Smith — were ordained priests in 1988, becoming the first pair of African American twins to become priests in the United States. As a priest, he rose to become an international leader in African American ministry and youth outreach.He founded Ambassadors of the Word, a peer group ministry program that fosters youth rites of passage and cross-cultural experiences. And he and his brother developed Boyhood to Manhood, a parish-based program to help young Black men realize their value, get in touch with their spirituality, and train future Church leaders. And he was a co-founder of the Bowman Francis Ministry, which is an outreach organization that evangelizes and ministers to Black Catholics.Smith died on April 8, 2020, at the age of 60. Father Charles Smith is still alive.Beatty called his godfather “an amazing, amazing person.”“We would say they’re [the Smith brothers] the Ying and the Yang,” he shared. “Father Chester was the outgoing one, the boisterous one. He was the one that would go out and do revivals in Black Catholic communities, he would go out and do the Lent services. People from all over the country knew him because they would invite him to their parish as a guest priest or a guest homilist … Father Charles, heʼs a little — and Iʼll say this to his face — heʼs a little bit more reserved. He likes to keep to himself. He can still preach, he can still minister. But, them together were just a powerful force.”Beatty explained that Smith’s great contribution to the Black Catholic community was that he remained “unapologetic” about the cultural aspect found in the identity of being a Black Catholic.A couple of years before Smith passed away, Beatty recalled an instance where Smith gave a powerful message at the men’s conference. While Smith typically never chose to include himself in the list of speakers — he preferred remaining as the planner behind the scenes — that year he decided to preach.“He preached that year and I just had never — Iʼve grown up with him, Iʼve known him my entire life — and Iʼve just never seen him preach that way,” Beatty shared. “He talked about the Promised Land, what does it mean to get to the Promised Land, and you canʼt just show up at the Promised Land, you have to work to get there … You hear it all the time, you hear the Scripture, you hear the reading, but I just had never heard it framed that way so passionately that it just resonated with me.”He added: “I could see after he had preached, he was so drained and exhausted because he put everything, his whole body, his whole spirit, into that message. And I just had never felt that or seen that from him as many times as Iʼve seen him preach. And to me that was just transformative for me, and thatʼs why I commit to this and hope to see the conference go on for many, many years.”
Mass is celebrated during the Fr. Chester P. Smith National Black Catholic Men’s Conference, which took place Oct. 15–18, 2026, in Birmingham, Alabama. | Credit: Brent Patterson
Beatty said he believes a conference like the Fr. Chester P. Smith National Black Catholic Men’s Conference is needed “for folks to feel like they have a strong community.”“Sometimes folks might be going to an African-American parish in their respective city or sometimes theyʼre the only Black family in their parish, given on where they live or practice their Catholicism,” he explained. “So, I think a conference like this gives folks an opportunity to come together with like-minded men … and itʼs an opportunity to have conversations that sometimes they canʼt have in their respective parishes.”Beatty said he hopes that those who attended the conference took away “some energy to go back to their respective communities and still evangelize about what it means to be Catholic, about what it means to be Black and Catholic, about what it means to be a man that is Black and Catholic in terms of the leaders of their family, the leaders in their community, the leaders within their parishes, their churches, and take away some tools in order to enact those types of things of ministering to folks that might not have any idea of what it means to be Christian and to be Catholic.”")
The national Black Catholic men’s conference took place in Birmingham, Alabama, Oct. 15–18, carrying on the legacy of Father Chester P. Smith.
A Catholic parish in western Singapore hosted the play “TO GAZE: St. Clare of Assisi” as part of celebrations for the Jubilee Year of St. Francis of Assisi.
The USCCB president called on Catholics to exercise their “right and responsibility” to vote while advocacy organization CatholicVote issued state voter guides.
As Pope Leo XIV recovers from lung cancer surgery, meet St. Peregrine Laziosi, the Servite priest healed the night before his amputation and now patron of cancer patients.
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View of the Basilica Cistern, Istanbul, Turkey. The Basilica Cistern, or Cisterna Basilica is the largest of several hundred ancient cisterns that lie beneath the city. This subterranean cistern was called Basilica because it was located under a large public square, the Stoa Basilica, on the First Hill of Constantinople. The cistern, built in the 6th century during the reign of Byzantine emperor Justinian I, provided a water filtration system for the Great Palace of Constantinople and other buildings on the First Hill, and continued to provide water to the Topkapı Palace after the Ottoman conquest in 1453 and into modern times. Today it is kept with little water, for public access inside the space.
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![New film depicts the transformative power of Eucharistic adoration #Catholic A new movie is bringing the transformative power of Eucharistic adoration to the big screen. “Adore Him: He Is Here” uses firsthand accounts of real encounters and transformation and depictions of salvation history to portray the powerful love of God that is found in the Blessed Sacrament.The docudrama features several prominent Catholic figures including Archbishop Paul Coakley of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City; Archbishop José Gómez of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles; Father Chris Alar of the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception; Curtis Martin, the founder of FOCUS; evangelist Chris Stefanick; and many more.The film will be in theaters across the United States Oct. 4–8.The inspiration for the film came as a response to the docudrama “Jesus Thirsts: The Miracle of the Eucharist,” which was released in theaters in 2024. Created by the same filmmakers as “Adore Him,” “Jesus Thirsts” was made in response to a poll that showed that roughly 70% of Catholics don’t believe in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.“We wanted to demonstrate that Jesus is real in the Eucharist,” Deacon Steve Greco, the filmmaker behind both films, told EWTN News in an interview. “So the people who saw that movie, many of them were inspired to say, ‘OK, now that Jesus is real, I have to do something different. My life has to be different.’ And in changing your life and your world, it really comes down to ‘I need to really be connected with him.’”He added: “So “Adore Him: He Is Here” is really meant to be a continuation, almost like a sequel, to the very first movie in which in order to activate Jesus, to activate the Holy Spirit in our hearts, we need to understand how to worship him. And Eucharistic adoration changes our entire life.”Greco also believes this film is necessary for today because “the Church is really being led back to Eucharist in a way like never before.”
Deacon Steve Greco in the new film “Adore Him: He Is Here.” | Credit: Spirit Filled Hearts
“We have this great activation going on in which people are really desiring the Blessed Sacrament and the Eucharist and going before the Blessed Sacrament in a way like never before,” he said. “We see more and more churches going to 24/7 adoration. Theyʼre expanding their hours of adoration. More and more people are going before the Blessed Sacrament to really be energized and to receive graces.”For those who are feeling called to go to Eucharistic adoration, potentially for the first time, Greco would advise them to “start with 10 minutes and just talk to the Lord. Just have a conversation like with your best friend and just be quiet.”Then those 10 minutes can turn into 20, then half an hour, and finally a full hour. But, the most important thing you need to do, he said, is to “open up your heart to his love.”“You will find that when you go before the Blessed Sacrament, if you open your heart and youʼre silent before the Lord and youʼre listening before the Lord, … God will come to you in a powerful way and show you that you are his beloved,” Greco added.With this in mind, he said he hopes viewers of the film will take away “that first of all, Jesus is real; the Blessed Sacrament, the Eucharist is real. The Blessed Sacrament is there for us to allow us to get to really experience his love in a way like never before. We hope that people go to the Blessed Sacrament, to the chapel.”“When they see this movie [we hope] they just start going and believing and get into the habit of going a few times a week if not every day and just let God love you and that will transform their life. That will give them hope and joy.”](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/new-film-depicts-the-transformative-power-of-eucharistic-adoration-catholic-a-new-movie-is-bringing-the-transformative-power-of-eucharistic-adoration-to-the-big-screen-adore-him-he-is-here-scaled.png "New film depicts the transformative power of Eucharistic adoration #Catholic A new movie is bringing the transformative power of Eucharistic adoration to the big screen. “Adore Him: He Is Here” uses firsthand accounts of real encounters and transformation and depictions of salvation history to portray the powerful love of God that is found in the Blessed Sacrament.The docudrama features several prominent Catholic figures including Archbishop Paul Coakley of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City; Archbishop José Gómez of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles; Father Chris Alar of the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception; Curtis Martin, the founder of FOCUS; evangelist Chris Stefanick; and many more.The film will be in theaters across the United States Oct. 4–8.The inspiration for the film came as a response to the docudrama “Jesus Thirsts: The Miracle of the Eucharist,” which was released in theaters in 2024. Created by the same filmmakers as “Adore Him,” “Jesus Thirsts” was made in response to a poll that showed that roughly 70% of Catholics don’t believe in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.“We wanted to demonstrate that Jesus is real in the Eucharist,” Deacon Steve Greco, the filmmaker behind both films, told EWTN News in an interview. “So the people who saw that movie, many of them were inspired to say, ‘OK, now that Jesus is real, I have to do something different. My life has to be different.’ And in changing your life and your world, it really comes down to ‘I need to really be connected with him.’”He added: “So “Adore Him: He Is Here” is really meant to be a continuation, almost like a sequel, to the very first movie in which in order to activate Jesus, to activate the Holy Spirit in our hearts, we need to understand how to worship him. And Eucharistic adoration changes our entire life.”Greco also believes this film is necessary for today because “the Church is really being led back to Eucharist in a way like never before.”
Deacon Steve Greco in the new film “Adore Him: He Is Here.” | Credit: Spirit Filled Hearts
“We have this great activation going on in which people are really desiring the Blessed Sacrament and the Eucharist and going before the Blessed Sacrament in a way like never before,” he said. “We see more and more churches going to 24/7 adoration. Theyʼre expanding their hours of adoration. More and more people are going before the Blessed Sacrament to really be energized and to receive graces.”For those who are feeling called to go to Eucharistic adoration, potentially for the first time, Greco would advise them to “start with 10 minutes and just talk to the Lord. Just have a conversation like with your best friend and just be quiet.”Then those 10 minutes can turn into 20, then half an hour, and finally a full hour. But, the most important thing you need to do, he said, is to “open up your heart to his love.”“You will find that when you go before the Blessed Sacrament, if you open your heart and youʼre silent before the Lord and youʼre listening before the Lord, … God will come to you in a powerful way and show you that you are his beloved,” Greco added.With this in mind, he said he hopes viewers of the film will take away “that first of all, Jesus is real; the Blessed Sacrament, the Eucharist is real. The Blessed Sacrament is there for us to allow us to get to really experience his love in a way like never before. We hope that people go to the Blessed Sacrament, to the chapel.”“When they see this movie [we hope] they just start going and believing and get into the habit of going a few times a week if not every day and just let God love you and that will transform their life. That will give them hope and joy.”")
“Let us repeat together: ‘I love you, Jesus. I love you, Mary,’” the pontiff said in his remarks before the rosary in the Vatican Gardens.
“In a world connected online and disconnected offline, be people of presence,” Cardinal Pietro Parolin said. “In a world asking whether we can remain human, answer with the witness of your lives.”
This nighttime view of the United States, dotted with city lights looking toward New York City (center), was taken at approximately 3:40 a.m. local time from the International Space Station as it orbited 259 miles above Earth.
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France’s Catholic culture and the energy of the country’s young people stole the show at a prayer vigil at the national stadium in Saint-Denis, France.
Addressing the scourge of sexual abuse, the archbishop of Panama requested the services of the Transparency Commission, a project sponsored by Notre Dame Law School and Madrid’s Villanueva University.
Although church attendance is low and the society is quite s quite secularized, the president of Uruguay’s bishops’ conference believes Pope Leo’s visit will give a boost to the country’s spiritual renewal.
The longtime Vatican journalist and writer received the award in Ostrowiec, Poland, on Sept. 21.
![Venezuela: Talks with opposition, oil deal, Delcy Rodríguez in New York, and the Church’s stance #Catholic Sept. 15 marked the start of the second round of negotiations between a Venezuelan opposition delegation and the country’s ruling socialist regime, a process promoted and driven by the U.S. government with an eye toward potential presidential elections in the South American nation.Dinorah Figuera, who leads the opposition delegation, arrived in Venezuela on Sept. 13 and before national and international media explained that once this weekʼs discussions conclude, the country could expect an announcement regarding the agreements reached.Meanwhile, Jorge Millán, who is also part of the opposition delegation, stated that they would continue “pursuing a Supreme Court of Justice with honorable, independent, and impartial judges capable of providing Venezuela with an upstanding judicial system after so many years. At the end of the cycle [of talks], we will present clear and verifiable objectives.”He also stated that this round of negotiations would also address the status of political parties, political guarantees, and “the dismantling of the repressive apparatus” established by Chavismo (the socialist government established by President Hugo Chávez and continued by President Nicolás Maduro) for over two decades. The state of freedom of expression in Venezuela will also be one of the items on the agenda.“The foundation for achieving a full democracy requires creating the conditions for elections to be held in Venezuela as soon as possible, as quickly as possible. We are laying the groundwork to reach those important areas that will enable all Venezuelans to elect our leaders very soon, with the speed we desire but also allowing for the time this will take,” Millán added.Concerns and proposals from the Catholic ChurchLast week, Cardinals Baltazar Porras and Diego Padrón, together with Bishop Emeritus Ramón Ovidio Pérez Morales, once again spoke out regarding the political and social situation in Venezuela. The prelates had previously raised their voices at the start of negotiations, offering to serve as guarantors of the process.On this occasion, they addressed the state of “indeterminacy, confusion, and uncertainty” prevailing in the country, offering “certain opinions, judgments, and proposals” that seek to “open the way” to help overcome the current crisis and achieve solid institutional stability and the national common good.Following the capture and extradition of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, by U.S. forces on Jan. 3, the prelates noted that “changes have occurred, yet neither the desired and expected change nor a shift toward the structuring and functioning of the country in line with the preamble and fundamental principles of the 1999 Constitution is perceptible.”The cardinals and the bishop cite as examples of this lack of change that there are still political prisoners and a climate of repression as well as a state monopoly on the media and the continued centralization of power. Although these issues have been placed on the negotiating tableʼs agenda, the prelates maintain that these talks “operate within a framework of limited scope and authority.”In this regard, they pointed out that the state is operating on “shaky and legally undefined ground,” while the executive branch is “illegitimate regarding both its origins and its exercise of power.” Consequently, they emphasized the urgent need to call for elections soon.Oil deals with few detailsA few weeks ago, the Trump administration and the Chavista regime signed a massive energy deal granting the United States effective control over approximately one-third of Venezuelan oil, some 65 billion barrels of proven reserves.Beyond the economic aspects, the agreement has sparked particular controversy by including Venezuelan businessman Alejandro Betancourt López as an intermediary. He has been the subject of several investigations regarding alleged corruption, inflated prices in electricity contracts, and money laundering linked to the oil sector.Within Venezuela, Betancourt is singled out as one of the key figures responsible for the serious deterioration of the electrical grid, which has led to daily, hourslong blackouts across the country for years, severely impacting the populationʼs daily lives and even resulting in loss of life due to various causes.While acknowledging they are not experts in the field, Porras, Padrón, and Pérez Morales call for greater transparency in the negotiations and recommend “prudence and a gradual approach regarding commitments.” This, they state, reflects the prevailing sentiment among the Venezuelan people, who are concerned about the fate and use of the “vast sums of money” the state is set to receive.Greater emphasis on the need to call electionsIn light of the foregoing, the cardinals and the bishop underscored the priority of allowing the sovereign people of Venezuela to have a “a defined and clear mandate” regarding the nation’s future, a step that would also offer a sure path toward “encounter, social reconciliation, and peace.”“God has given us this country as a setting in which to build a ‘new society,’ the ideal of the civilization of love. We Venezuelans, through our own efforts and by invoking divine assistance, must keep hope alive and continue working on this compelling task, striving to reap its fruits of peace, freedom, justice, and fraternity,” the prelates stated.Delcy Rodríguez in New York?According to a Sept. 14 Bloomberg report, Venezuelaʼs interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, is considering a trip to New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly, which takes place next week.If the trip goes ahead, Rodríguez would be in the same city where Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores are in U.S. custody. When asked about a possible meeting with the Chavista leader, President Donald Trump simply replied: “Maybe, maybe.”Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated that an in-person meeting “probably will happen” if the presence of the interim regimeʼs president is confirmed.Rodríguezʼs presence on U.S. soil would mark a milestone in relations between Washington and Caracas, following more than two decades of tension and discord. Within Venezuela, the growing rapprochement between the U.S. government and the remnants of Chavismo is fueling concern and uncertainty regarding the possibility of real political change.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/2026/09/venezuela-talks-with-opposition-oil-deal-delcy-rodriguez-in-new-york-and-the-churchs-stance-catholic-sept-15-marked-the-start-of-the-second-round-of-negotiations-between-a-venezuelan-op.jpg "Venezuela: Talks with opposition, oil deal, Delcy Rodríguez in New York, and the Church’s stance #Catholic Sept. 15 marked the start of the second round of negotiations between a Venezuelan opposition delegation and the country’s ruling socialist regime, a process promoted and driven by the U.S. government with an eye toward potential presidential elections in the South American nation.Dinorah Figuera, who leads the opposition delegation, arrived in Venezuela on Sept. 13 and before national and international media explained that once this weekʼs discussions conclude, the country could expect an announcement regarding the agreements reached.Meanwhile, Jorge Millán, who is also part of the opposition delegation, stated that they would continue “pursuing a Supreme Court of Justice with honorable, independent, and impartial judges capable of providing Venezuela with an upstanding judicial system after so many years. At the end of the cycle [of talks], we will present clear and verifiable objectives.”He also stated that this round of negotiations would also address the status of political parties, political guarantees, and “the dismantling of the repressive apparatus” established by Chavismo (the socialist government established by President Hugo Chávez and continued by President Nicolás Maduro) for over two decades. The state of freedom of expression in Venezuela will also be one of the items on the agenda.“The foundation for achieving a full democracy requires creating the conditions for elections to be held in Venezuela as soon as possible, as quickly as possible. We are laying the groundwork to reach those important areas that will enable all Venezuelans to elect our leaders very soon, with the speed we desire but also allowing for the time this will take,” Millán added.Concerns and proposals from the Catholic ChurchLast week, Cardinals Baltazar Porras and Diego Padrón, together with Bishop Emeritus Ramón Ovidio Pérez Morales, once again spoke out regarding the political and social situation in Venezuela. The prelates had previously raised their voices at the start of negotiations, offering to serve as guarantors of the process.On this occasion, they addressed the state of “indeterminacy, confusion, and uncertainty” prevailing in the country, offering “certain opinions, judgments, and proposals” that seek to “open the way” to help overcome the current crisis and achieve solid institutional stability and the national common good.Following the capture and extradition of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, by U.S. forces on Jan. 3, the prelates noted that “changes have occurred, yet neither the desired and expected change nor a shift toward the structuring and functioning of the country in line with the preamble and fundamental principles of the 1999 Constitution is perceptible.”The cardinals and the bishop cite as examples of this lack of change that there are still political prisoners and a climate of repression as well as a state monopoly on the media and the continued centralization of power. Although these issues have been placed on the negotiating tableʼs agenda, the prelates maintain that these talks “operate within a framework of limited scope and authority.”In this regard, they pointed out that the state is operating on “shaky and legally undefined ground,” while the executive branch is “illegitimate regarding both its origins and its exercise of power.” Consequently, they emphasized the urgent need to call for elections soon.Oil deals with few detailsA few weeks ago, the Trump administration and the Chavista regime signed a massive energy deal granting the United States effective control over approximately one-third of Venezuelan oil, some 65 billion barrels of proven reserves.Beyond the economic aspects, the agreement has sparked particular controversy by including Venezuelan businessman Alejandro Betancourt López as an intermediary. He has been the subject of several investigations regarding alleged corruption, inflated prices in electricity contracts, and money laundering linked to the oil sector.Within Venezuela, Betancourt is singled out as one of the key figures responsible for the serious deterioration of the electrical grid, which has led to daily, hourslong blackouts across the country for years, severely impacting the populationʼs daily lives and even resulting in loss of life due to various causes.While acknowledging they are not experts in the field, Porras, Padrón, and Pérez Morales call for greater transparency in the negotiations and recommend “prudence and a gradual approach regarding commitments.” This, they state, reflects the prevailing sentiment among the Venezuelan people, who are concerned about the fate and use of the “vast sums of money” the state is set to receive.Greater emphasis on the need to call electionsIn light of the foregoing, the cardinals and the bishop underscored the priority of allowing the sovereign people of Venezuela to have a “a defined and clear mandate” regarding the nation’s future, a step that would also offer a sure path toward “encounter, social reconciliation, and peace.”“God has given us this country as a setting in which to build a ‘new society,’ the ideal of the civilization of love. We Venezuelans, through our own efforts and by invoking divine assistance, must keep hope alive and continue working on this compelling task, striving to reap its fruits of peace, freedom, justice, and fraternity,” the prelates stated.Delcy Rodríguez in New York?According to a Sept. 14 Bloomberg report, Venezuelaʼs interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, is considering a trip to New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly, which takes place next week.If the trip goes ahead, Rodríguez would be in the same city where Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores are in U.S. custody. When asked about a possible meeting with the Chavista leader, President Donald Trump simply replied: “Maybe, maybe.”Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated that an in-person meeting “probably will happen” if the presence of the interim regimeʼs president is confirmed.Rodríguezʼs presence on U.S. soil would mark a milestone in relations between Washington and Caracas, following more than two decades of tension and discord. Within Venezuela, the growing rapprochement between the U.S. government and the remnants of Chavismo is fueling concern and uncertainty regarding the possibility of real political change.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.")
Ongoing talks between the socialist regime and the opposition in Venezuela are making some progress while the Church is trying to contribute to the transition to democracy and freedom.
![Vatican vegetable garden goes 100% organic #Catholic A vegetable garden and orchard inside the Vatican walls, which historically provided food for the pope’s household, is now cultivated using exclusively organic farming techniques.The private garden covers almost a tenth of an acre of cultivable land inside the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery property, where Pope Benedict XVI lived during his retirement and now reside cloistered Benedictine nuns from the Abbey of St. Scholastica in Victoria, Argentina.Sometimes known as “the pope’s garden,” the vegetable plot “has always been a defining feature of the Vatican Gardens because, in fact, the Vatican Gardens were originally created primarily for that purpose — to provide sustenance for the [Apostolic] Palace,” Stefano Giampaolo, a forestry expert and head of the Gardens and Environment Service of the Vatican, told EWTN News.Giampaolo explained that now the plot is more accurately understood as the vegetable garden of the Vatican Gardens — an area that covers roughly half of Vatican City at 57 acres.
Mater Ecclesiae Monastery, built inside Vatican City in the 1990s to house nuns who support the ministry of the pope through prayer, has an adjoining vegetable garden and orchard. | Credit: Hannah Brockhaus/EWTN News
The Benedictine nuns at Mater Ecclesiae Monastery, who pray for the pope, eat the fruit and vegetables grown in the garden and use them to make jams and other food preserves. The excess produce is given to a Vatican soup kitchen run by the Missionaries of Charity.The move to biological farming techniques has been underway for several years, partly in response to Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’, Giampaolo said.The challenges of organicAccording to Gilberto Bianchi, the gardener responsible for the orchard and vegetable patch since 2008, the Vatican has a “desire to respect nature” in how it cares for the plants and trees on its land.But it’s far from easy.“Clearly, running a completely organic vegetable garden presents challenges, partly because insects are aggressive, and we use natural predators in the soil to control them,” Bianchi said. “No chemical fertilizers or insecticides are used.”He added that soil drainage and water conservation are also challenges.“This type of soil drains very well, so to conserve water, we add coconut fiber to retain moisture. And it’s watered with a drip irrigation system specifically to target the plants and avoid wasting water,” he said.Part of an organic agriculture also means respecting the seasons, he said. “Right now, the winter crops are being planted, while the summer crops are being harvested.”
The fresh produce grown in the vegetable garden and orchard in Vatican City feeds the Benedictine nuns living in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery and supports the nearby Missionaries of Charity-run soup kitchen. | Credit: Governorate of Vatican City State
The end-of-summer harvest includes tomatoes, eggplants, green beans, zucchini, cucumbers, and peppers, while the fall and winter crop has broccoli, spinach, lettuce, and pumpkins.According to Vatican Media, the garden also includes garlic, basil, and a Peruvian variety of chili peppers known for its intensity. Kiwi plants were also added recently at the request of the Argentinian nuns.Next to the garden is a small orchard of around 15 citrus trees, some of which are 150 years old.“At this time, we’re planting savoy cabbage,” Bianchi said. “In short, whatever is in season. … So whatever is planted is because nature dictates it at that moment. The plants are grown from seed. We don’t use lab-grown plants.”A historic collection of gardensBianchi, who has worked for more than three decades in the Vatican Gardens, “is the one with the most expertise in this field, and he is now passing that knowledge on to a new gardener,” Giampaolo said.The expert gardener is part of a team of around 35 gardeners and administrators who oversee the Vatican’s green spaces and provide the flower arrangements for papal ceremonies.
Stefano Giampaolo, left, head of the Gardens and Environment Service of Vatican City, and expert gardener Gilberto Bianchi, right, the main caretaker of the orchard and vegetable garden commonly known as “the pope’s garden,” share their expertise with EWTN News in the Vatican Gardens on Sept. 9, 2026. | Credit: Hannah Brockhaus/EWTN News
“People expect to see a single garden, but in reality, as the name suggests, they are the Vatican Gardens — a collection of gardens,” Giampaolo said.The Gardens date to the mid-13th century, when Pope Nicolas III moved the papal residence from the Lateran Palace to the Vatican, had the city state’s walls built, and ordered the creation of a lawn, orchard, and “viridarium” — a Roman-style garden with flowerbeds and a fountain.Today, Giampaolo said, “there are countless different species, both trees and flowers. This is because, over time, the gardens have been enriched by donations and the search for specific botanical material, to the point of becoming a true botanical garden.”“Visitors are often struck by the diversity of the spaces — so many different gardens contained within this small area.”Ultimately, he said, the gardeners hope to one day eliminate all synthetic fertilizers and pesticides from their care of the entire Vatican territory.“It’s a process — the transformation of all the Gardens into organic ones,” he said.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/vatican-vegetable-garden-goes-100-organic-catholic-a-vegetable-garden-and-orchard-inside-the-vatican-walls-which-historically-provided-food-for-the-popes-household-is-now-cultivated-using-scaled.jpg "Vatican vegetable garden goes 100% organic #Catholic A vegetable garden and orchard inside the Vatican walls, which historically provided food for the pope’s household, is now cultivated using exclusively organic farming techniques.The private garden covers almost a tenth of an acre of cultivable land inside the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery property, where Pope Benedict XVI lived during his retirement and now reside cloistered Benedictine nuns from the Abbey of St. Scholastica in Victoria, Argentina.Sometimes known as “the pope’s garden,” the vegetable plot “has always been a defining feature of the Vatican Gardens because, in fact, the Vatican Gardens were originally created primarily for that purpose — to provide sustenance for the [Apostolic] Palace,” Stefano Giampaolo, a forestry expert and head of the Gardens and Environment Service of the Vatican, told EWTN News.Giampaolo explained that now the plot is more accurately understood as the vegetable garden of the Vatican Gardens — an area that covers roughly half of Vatican City at 57 acres.
Mater Ecclesiae Monastery, built inside Vatican City in the 1990s to house nuns who support the ministry of the pope through prayer, has an adjoining vegetable garden and orchard. | Credit: Hannah Brockhaus/EWTN News
The Benedictine nuns at Mater Ecclesiae Monastery, who pray for the pope, eat the fruit and vegetables grown in the garden and use them to make jams and other food preserves. The excess produce is given to a Vatican soup kitchen run by the Missionaries of Charity.The move to biological farming techniques has been underway for several years, partly in response to Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’, Giampaolo said.The challenges of organicAccording to Gilberto Bianchi, the gardener responsible for the orchard and vegetable patch since 2008, the Vatican has a “desire to respect nature” in how it cares for the plants and trees on its land.But it’s far from easy.“Clearly, running a completely organic vegetable garden presents challenges, partly because insects are aggressive, and we use natural predators in the soil to control them,” Bianchi said. “No chemical fertilizers or insecticides are used.”He added that soil drainage and water conservation are also challenges.“This type of soil drains very well, so to conserve water, we add coconut fiber to retain moisture. And it’s watered with a drip irrigation system specifically to target the plants and avoid wasting water,” he said.Part of an organic agriculture also means respecting the seasons, he said. “Right now, the winter crops are being planted, while the summer crops are being harvested.”
The fresh produce grown in the vegetable garden and orchard in Vatican City feeds the Benedictine nuns living in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery and supports the nearby Missionaries of Charity-run soup kitchen. | Credit: Governorate of Vatican City State
The end-of-summer harvest includes tomatoes, eggplants, green beans, zucchini, cucumbers, and peppers, while the fall and winter crop has broccoli, spinach, lettuce, and pumpkins.According to Vatican Media, the garden also includes garlic, basil, and a Peruvian variety of chili peppers known for its intensity. Kiwi plants were also added recently at the request of the Argentinian nuns.Next to the garden is a small orchard of around 15 citrus trees, some of which are 150 years old.“At this time, we’re planting savoy cabbage,” Bianchi said. “In short, whatever is in season. … So whatever is planted is because nature dictates it at that moment. The plants are grown from seed. We don’t use lab-grown plants.”A historic collection of gardensBianchi, who has worked for more than three decades in the Vatican Gardens, “is the one with the most expertise in this field, and he is now passing that knowledge on to a new gardener,” Giampaolo said.The expert gardener is part of a team of around 35 gardeners and administrators who oversee the Vatican’s green spaces and provide the flower arrangements for papal ceremonies.
Stefano Giampaolo, left, head of the Gardens and Environment Service of Vatican City, and expert gardener Gilberto Bianchi, right, the main caretaker of the orchard and vegetable garden commonly known as “the pope’s garden,” share their expertise with EWTN News in the Vatican Gardens on Sept. 9, 2026. | Credit: Hannah Brockhaus/EWTN News
“People expect to see a single garden, but in reality, as the name suggests, they are the Vatican Gardens — a collection of gardens,” Giampaolo said.The Gardens date to the mid-13th century, when Pope Nicolas III moved the papal residence from the Lateran Palace to the Vatican, had the city state’s walls built, and ordered the creation of a lawn, orchard, and “viridarium” — a Roman-style garden with flowerbeds and a fountain.Today, Giampaolo said, “there are countless different species, both trees and flowers. This is because, over time, the gardens have been enriched by donations and the search for specific botanical material, to the point of becoming a true botanical garden.”“Visitors are often struck by the diversity of the spaces — so many different gardens contained within this small area.”Ultimately, he said, the gardeners hope to one day eliminate all synthetic fertilizers and pesticides from their care of the entire Vatican territory.“It’s a process — the transformation of all the Gardens into organic ones,” he said.")
The move to biological farming techniques has been underway for several years in response to Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’.
Chad Pecknold, a longtime professor at The Catholic University of America, has begun working for the government agency that oversees immigration enforcement.
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The 108-metre-long Ponte Vittorio Emanuele II connects the historic centre of Rome, east of the Tiber, with the Vatican City.
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A memorial to victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting in front the Stonewall Inn in New York City. On June 12, 2016, a terrorist shot and killed 49 people and wounded 53 more in a mass shooting at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, USA.
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Chennai, on India’s southern coast along the Bay of Bengal and with a metropolitan population of about 8.7 million, shines with white LED streetlights in this photograph taken at approximately 9:13 p.m. local time on May 2, 2026, from the International Space Station.
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Fishing boats illuminate the Arabian Sea along India’s west coast with green lights designed to attract squid, shrimp, sardines, and mackerel in this nighttime photograph from the International Space Station, orbiting 259 miles above Earth. At lower right, the city lights of Hyderabad—renowned for its historic diamond and pearl trade—stretch westward toward the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, home to over 26 million people and the heart of Bollywood.
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Northern Japan, especially the island of Hokkaido, is home to some of the snowiest cities in the world. Sapporo, the island’s largest city and host of an annual snow festival, typically sees more than 140 days of snowfall, with nearly 6 meters (20 feet) accumulating on average each year.
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A green and red aurora streams across Earth’s horizon above the city lights of Europe in this Jan. 19, 2026, photograph, which looks north across Italy toward Germany. The International Space Station was orbiting 262 miles above the Mediterranean Sea at approximately 10:02 p.m. local time when the image was captured.
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Vasabron (Vasa bridge) across the Norrström in Stockholm, with Stockholms Stadshuset (city hall) in the background.
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The New York–Newark–Jersey City Metropolitan Statistical Area, which spans 23 counties across New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut and has a population of about 19.9 million, is pictured at approximately 3:29 a.m. local time Dec. 20, 2025, from the International Space Station as it orbited 262 miles above the Atlantic coast.
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The site of the former Götaverken Cityvarvet (Götaverken City Shipyards) in Gothenburg.
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Fortified city of Carcassonne during the blue hour, France. Founded during the Gallo-Roman period, the citadel derives its reputation from its 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) long double surrounding walls interspersed by 52 towers. The medieval citadel, situated on a hill on the right bank of the river Aude, was restored at the end of the 19th century by the theorist and architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. In 1997, it was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites because of its exceptional testimony to the architecture and planning of a medieval fortress town.
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The atmospheric glow blankets southern Europe and the northwestern Mediterranean coast, outlined by city lights. At left, the Po Valley urban corridor in Italy shines with the metropolitan areas of Milan and Turin and their surrounding suburbs.
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Damage following an Israeli airstrike on the El-Remal area in Gaza City on October 9, 2023, during the first few days of the Gaza War. The war is the deadliest for Palestinians in the history of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.
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