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Forest fires in Spain: ‘Providence is taking super good care of us,’ priest says #Catholic The territory of the Diocese of Getafe, south of Madrid, Spain, is being especially hard hit by wildfires that have forced thousands of people to shelter in place or evacuate. The natural disaster finds the diocese’s priests on the front lines, welcoming, accompanying, consoling, and praying.In the central area of ​​Spain alone, 12 towns have been evacuated and another three are under a shelter-in-place order due to the wave of forest fires that in recent days have devastated thousands of acres. At least 50,000 people have been affected in the area.Faced with this human tragedy, the Catholic Church has set to work providing material aid, shelter, a listening ear, and the sacraments in efforts overseen by the auxiliary bishop of Getafe, José María Avendaño.Father Álvaro Piñero is the vicar of the parish in Villaviciosa de Odón, one of the towns serving as a place of refuge for those fleeing the fires who had nowhere else to go. Throughout the weekend, he has been coordinating the aid provided by the parish to the more than 300 displaced people arriving from Chapinería, Pelayos de la Presa, Navas del Rey, and other towns.Along with the residents, the parish priests from those towns are also being sheltered because as Piñero explained to ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, “even when displaced, one remains a priest and continues to minister to the people of oneʼs town.”“Many of the volunteers helping at the sports center are from Caritas or local confraternities from the town; they have ties to the parish,” noted Piñero, who is from Valdemoro, a nearby town where he has gone to pick up hosts for Mass.Instagram postIn addition to providing food and meeting material needs, the Church offers the treasure of the faith and the sacraments: “At the sports center, we have been attending to people, listening to them, hearing their confessions and above all, listening to so many suffering people. At the end of the day, the people here are extremely vulnerable.”The authorities specifically entrusted the care of the children to the parish. The youngsters are kept entertained with games and activities, so much so that when asked if they want to return home, some say no, “because it feels like camp.”Despite the magnitude of the tragedy, heart-wrenching from a purely human perspective, a supernatural outlook and a shepherd’s heart keep hope alive.“As St. Paul said in the reading: We hold this treasure in earthen vessels so that not only death but the glory of the Lord may be manifested in our lives. That is somewhat what we are experiencing; while we are keenly feeling the drama of so many very difficult situations, Providence is also taking super good care of us,” Piñero emphasized.“If God is looking after us now in this situation, why would he fail me tomorrow? If he is doing so now, then I believe trust is what sustains us in these moments, and not blind trust, but a trust we can tangibly feel here and now,” he explained, referring to the help provided by so many volunteers and donors.‘The Lord is going through this evacuation with us’One of the areas hardest hit by the fire is the Tiétar Valley, home to the town of Rozas de Puerto Real and the minor seminary of the Diocese of Getafe, where 130 students, 35 of whom are seminarians, normally study.The facility, currently spared by the flames, is in grave danger. A summer camp was taking place there until participants had to be evacuated on July 25, the feast of St. James the Apostle. “We were already surrounded by smoke and had to evacuate all the young people; it was done very quickly. In less than 25 minutes, the entire seminary had been cleared, and although there was great fear, everyoneʼs efforts made it possible,” Father Eliert Jerez, rector of the minor seminary, told ACI Prensa.In addition to the people, they removed the statues of the Immaculate Conception and St. Joseph, the archives, and the tabernacles containing the Blessed Sacrament from the site; these were taken to Villaviciosa de Odón, where Jerez is currently taking shelter. Father Eliert Jerez, rector of the minor seminary of the Diocese of Getafe in Spain | Credit: Nicolás de Cárdenas/ACI Prensa The moment the Body of Christ was being moved was captured on video. “I canʼt get that moment out of my head, and I donʼt want to let it go from my heart either,” the priest shared.“When you hold the Blessed Sacrament in your hand, when you can’t wear a cope or liturgical vestments — you realize the Lord’s closeness in those moments. You realize that the Lord was going through this evacuation with us, and I imagine he was also in this prayer and this plea for it to end,” he added.It’s precisely in prayer that they are finding great comfort: “Prayer is working real miracles such as the fact that the seminary has not yet been engulfed by the flames,” explained the rector, even as the burden of responsibility weighs heavily on him: “Many of our seminarians are going to be left homeless. Many of our seminarians will face immense difficulties in continuing their formation.”It’s not just for their sake that Jerez is aware of how this situation will transform life in the region for years to come: “So many towns have been affected. Many people will not get their jobs back because they make their living from the land, and that is very difficult to recover from. Many people have lost not only their homes but also their prospects for the future, and this is a reality that will stay with us in the years ahead.”Indeed, he admitted to his deep unease: “I have had trouble sleeping ever since the first flames appeared.”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.
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Forest fires in Spain: ‘Providence is taking super good care of us,’ priest says #Catholic The territory of the Diocese of Getafe, south of Madrid, Spain, is being especially hard hit by wildfires that have forced thousands of people to shelter in place or evacuate. The natural disaster finds the diocese’s priests on the front lines, welcoming, accompanying, consoling, and praying.In the central area of ​​Spain alone, 12 towns have been evacuated and another three are under a shelter-in-place order due to the wave of forest fires that in recent days have devastated thousands of acres. At least 50,000 people have been affected in the area.Faced with this human tragedy, the Catholic Church has set to work providing material aid, shelter, a listening ear, and the sacraments in efforts overseen by the auxiliary bishop of Getafe, José María Avendaño.Father Álvaro Piñero is the vicar of the parish in Villaviciosa de Odón, one of the towns serving as a place of refuge for those fleeing the fires who had nowhere else to go. Throughout the weekend, he has been coordinating the aid provided by the parish to the more than 300 displaced people arriving from Chapinería, Pelayos de la Presa, Navas del Rey, and other towns.Along with the residents, the parish priests from those towns are also being sheltered because as Piñero explained to ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, “even when displaced, one remains a priest and continues to minister to the people of oneʼs town.”“Many of the volunteers helping at the sports center are from Caritas or local confraternities from the town; they have ties to the parish,” noted Piñero, who is from Valdemoro, a nearby town where he has gone to pick up hosts for Mass.Instagram postIn addition to providing food and meeting material needs, the Church offers the treasure of the faith and the sacraments: “At the sports center, we have been attending to people, listening to them, hearing their confessions and above all, listening to so many suffering people. At the end of the day, the people here are extremely vulnerable.”The authorities specifically entrusted the care of the children to the parish. The youngsters are kept entertained with games and activities, so much so that when asked if they want to return home, some say no, “because it feels like camp.”Despite the magnitude of the tragedy, heart-wrenching from a purely human perspective, a supernatural outlook and a shepherd’s heart keep hope alive.“As St. Paul said in the reading: We hold this treasure in earthen vessels so that not only death but the glory of the Lord may be manifested in our lives. That is somewhat what we are experiencing; while we are keenly feeling the drama of so many very difficult situations, Providence is also taking super good care of us,” Piñero emphasized.“If God is looking after us now in this situation, why would he fail me tomorrow? If he is doing so now, then I believe trust is what sustains us in these moments, and not blind trust, but a trust we can tangibly feel here and now,” he explained, referring to the help provided by so many volunteers and donors.‘The Lord is going through this evacuation with us’One of the areas hardest hit by the fire is the Tiétar Valley, home to the town of Rozas de Puerto Real and the minor seminary of the Diocese of Getafe, where 130 students, 35 of whom are seminarians, normally study.The facility, currently spared by the flames, is in grave danger. A summer camp was taking place there until participants had to be evacuated on July 25, the feast of St. James the Apostle. “We were already surrounded by smoke and had to evacuate all the young people; it was done very quickly. In less than 25 minutes, the entire seminary had been cleared, and although there was great fear, everyoneʼs efforts made it possible,” Father Eliert Jerez, rector of the minor seminary, told ACI Prensa.In addition to the people, they removed the statues of the Immaculate Conception and St. Joseph, the archives, and the tabernacles containing the Blessed Sacrament from the site; these were taken to Villaviciosa de Odón, where Jerez is currently taking shelter. Father Eliert Jerez, rector of the minor seminary of the Diocese of Getafe in Spain | Credit: Nicolás de Cárdenas/ACI Prensa The moment the Body of Christ was being moved was captured on video. “I canʼt get that moment out of my head, and I donʼt want to let it go from my heart either,” the priest shared.“When you hold the Blessed Sacrament in your hand, when you can’t wear a cope or liturgical vestments — you realize the Lord’s closeness in those moments. You realize that the Lord was going through this evacuation with us, and I imagine he was also in this prayer and this plea for it to end,” he added.It’s precisely in prayer that they are finding great comfort: “Prayer is working real miracles such as the fact that the seminary has not yet been engulfed by the flames,” explained the rector, even as the burden of responsibility weighs heavily on him: “Many of our seminarians are going to be left homeless. Many of our seminarians will face immense difficulties in continuing their formation.”It’s not just for their sake that Jerez is aware of how this situation will transform life in the region for years to come: “So many towns have been affected. Many people will not get their jobs back because they make their living from the land, and that is very difficult to recover from. Many people have lost not only their homes but also their prospects for the future, and this is a reality that will stay with us in the years ahead.”Indeed, he admitted to his deep unease: “I have had trouble sleeping ever since the first flames appeared.”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.

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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.

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France becomes first European country to ban social media for minors under 15 #Catholic The French Parliament on July 21 definitively passed a law banning children under the age of 15 from accessing social media, making France the first country in Europe to enshrine such a restriction in its national legislation. The measure is the culmination of a campaign led by President Emmanuel Macron since 2017 in which he has denounced anonymity on social media as a gateway to online abuse.The law, presented as a child protection measure against all the risks associated with the use of social media, from addiction to bullying and abuse, has also reignited concerns about increased government oversight of internet users, as the age verification requirements — intended to target minors — entail identity checks for everyone.“France is leading the way in Europe by becoming the first country to establish a ‘digital age of majority’ to better protect our children online,” said Anne Le Hénanff, minister delegate for digital sovereignty, following the vote.The Senate adopted the compromise bill by a vote of 243 to 2, and the National Assembly followed suit a few hours later, paving the way for Macron to sign the measure into law, subject to review by the Constitutional Council.The bill’s central provision bars minors under 15 from accessing “an online social network service.” Leading platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat are expected to fall under the ban, though lawmakers left the precise scope undefined. Wikipedia and other online encyclopedias, along with open-source software and educational platforms, are explicitly exempted. Responsibility for verifying users’ ages falls to the platforms themselves, which must offer at least two different verification methods.Enforcement will unfold in two different stages. New accounts will be subject to age checks starting Sept. 1, while existing accounts belonging to minors under 15 will have until Jan. 1, 2027, before they are suspended.The law also extends France’s existing smartphone ban in middle schools to high schools starting in the 2026 school year.France’s move makes it the first EU member state to enact a blanket social-network age floor, though it follows Australia, which imposed a minimum age of 16 in December 2025. Officials say a coalition of roughly 15 European countries is interested in adopting a similar standard. Le Hénanff confirmed Greece is ready to transpose the French model, with Spain expected to follow in the fall. The European Commission is separately developing its own EU-wide age-verification tool, expected to be available to member states by the end of the year.Under the model France has adopted — built around the “double anonymity” principle found in the EU’s Digital Services Act, the bloc’s main online-platform law — a trusted third party would verify a user’s age from an ID document or bank card and issue an anonymous token confirming only whether the user is over or under 15, without revealing the user’s identity or which platform requested the check. Le Hénanff has described this as a way of avoiding data collection by the platforms themselves. Critics, however, argue the system’s implementation is far less safe than officials suggest.The underlying concern is that this child-protection measure could evolve into a broader mechanism for verifying and tracking the identity of internet users generally. Opponents of the law claim that the mechanics of age verification remain largely undefined barely a month before the law takes effect.They also point to recent history of large-scale personal data breaches across government agencies as a reason for caution about centralizing age- or identity-verification data.La Quadrature du Net, France’s leading digital-rights advocacy group, and the Conseil national du numérique, an official government advisory body, both warned that the law amounted to what they termed “generalized surveillance disguised as child protection.”The European Center for Law and Justice, along the same lines, argues that France and the European Commission are each independently pushing to generalize identity checks across the EU under the banner of online safety policy.Several digital-rights groups are reportedly preparing separate challenges before France’s Council of State and the EU’s Court of Justice, arguing the law violates free-expression and proportionality principles.For now, all eyes are on Australia, the only country with a comparable ban already in force. An early analysis of survey data from roughly 400 young social media users, published in The BMJ on June 24, found little evidence that Australia’s Social Media Minimum Age Act had produced any substantial early drop in social media use among adolescents in its first three months — although researchers cautioned that legislative effects can take time to appear and called for longer-term evaluation.A companion analysis reported that roughly 85% of Australians aged 12 to 15 were still using restricted platforms, the most common workarounds being fake accounts and private browsers.
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France becomes first European country to ban social media for minors under 15 #Catholic The French Parliament on July 21 definitively passed a law banning children under the age of 15 from accessing social media, making France the first country in Europe to enshrine such a restriction in its national legislation. The measure is the culmination of a campaign led by President Emmanuel Macron since 2017 in which he has denounced anonymity on social media as a gateway to online abuse.The law, presented as a child protection measure against all the risks associated with the use of social media, from addiction to bullying and abuse, has also reignited concerns about increased government oversight of internet users, as the age verification requirements — intended to target minors — entail identity checks for everyone.“France is leading the way in Europe by becoming the first country to establish a ‘digital age of majority’ to better protect our children online,” said Anne Le Hénanff, minister delegate for digital sovereignty, following the vote.The Senate adopted the compromise bill by a vote of 243 to 2, and the National Assembly followed suit a few hours later, paving the way for Macron to sign the measure into law, subject to review by the Constitutional Council.The bill’s central provision bars minors under 15 from accessing “an online social network service.” Leading platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat are expected to fall under the ban, though lawmakers left the precise scope undefined. Wikipedia and other online encyclopedias, along with open-source software and educational platforms, are explicitly exempted. Responsibility for verifying users’ ages falls to the platforms themselves, which must offer at least two different verification methods.Enforcement will unfold in two different stages. New accounts will be subject to age checks starting Sept. 1, while existing accounts belonging to minors under 15 will have until Jan. 1, 2027, before they are suspended.The law also extends France’s existing smartphone ban in middle schools to high schools starting in the 2026 school year.France’s move makes it the first EU member state to enact a blanket social-network age floor, though it follows Australia, which imposed a minimum age of 16 in December 2025. Officials say a coalition of roughly 15 European countries is interested in adopting a similar standard. Le Hénanff confirmed Greece is ready to transpose the French model, with Spain expected to follow in the fall. The European Commission is separately developing its own EU-wide age-verification tool, expected to be available to member states by the end of the year.Under the model France has adopted — built around the “double anonymity” principle found in the EU’s Digital Services Act, the bloc’s main online-platform law — a trusted third party would verify a user’s age from an ID document or bank card and issue an anonymous token confirming only whether the user is over or under 15, without revealing the user’s identity or which platform requested the check. Le Hénanff has described this as a way of avoiding data collection by the platforms themselves. Critics, however, argue the system’s implementation is far less safe than officials suggest.The underlying concern is that this child-protection measure could evolve into a broader mechanism for verifying and tracking the identity of internet users generally. Opponents of the law claim that the mechanics of age verification remain largely undefined barely a month before the law takes effect.They also point to recent history of large-scale personal data breaches across government agencies as a reason for caution about centralizing age- or identity-verification data.La Quadrature du Net, France’s leading digital-rights advocacy group, and the Conseil national du numérique, an official government advisory body, both warned that the law amounted to what they termed “generalized surveillance disguised as child protection.”The European Center for Law and Justice, along the same lines, argues that France and the European Commission are each independently pushing to generalize identity checks across the EU under the banner of online safety policy.Several digital-rights groups are reportedly preparing separate challenges before France’s Council of State and the EU’s Court of Justice, arguing the law violates free-expression and proportionality principles.For now, all eyes are on Australia, the only country with a comparable ban already in force. An early analysis of survey data from roughly 400 young social media users, published in The BMJ on June 24, found little evidence that Australia’s Social Media Minimum Age Act had produced any substantial early drop in social media use among adolescents in its first three months — although researchers cautioned that legislative effects can take time to appear and called for longer-term evaluation.A companion analysis reported that roughly 85% of Australians aged 12 to 15 were still using restricted platforms, the most common workarounds being fake accounts and private browsers.

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“France is leading the way in Europe by becoming the first country to establish a ‘digital age of majority,’” said the country’s minister delegate for digital sovereignty.

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Earthquake in Peru: statue of Mary untouched as church roof caves in #Catholic Following an earthquake the night of July 18 in Junín, Peru, that left at least five people dead, a statue of the Virgin Mary remained intact even as the roof and part of the façade of St. James the Apostle parish church collapsed.Speaking from the scene, Father Henry Díaz described the extensive damage to the church, RPP’s Rotafono reported.“A large part of the church nave has collapsed. You can see huge cracks everywhere and roof tiles that have come loose. The high altar collapsed into the rubble. The statue of the Virgin remains intact,” the priest recounted.Instagram post“The Viceroyalty-era altars have been …very damaged. It appears the church tower is leaning slightly backward and to the right,” Díaz noted.The priest called on the Ministry of Culture and the authorities who visited the earthquake-affected area to help rebuild the church.He also noted that the church’s restoration could cost more than 7 million soles (.06 M) and take about a year to complete.July 18 earthquakePeruʼs bishops offered prayers and expressed their solidarity with the victims of the earthquake that struck the night of July 18, leaving at least five people dead, more than 20 injured, and hundreds more affected.The earthquake, recorded around 9 p.m., was centered in the district of Chongos Bajo, Chupaca province, Junín region, in the central Peruvian Andes, 193 miles east of Lima, according to the National Civil Defense Institute.As a result of the quake, the historic Cani Cross erected in 1534 and located in the main square of Chongos Bajo, one of the regionʼs oldest religious monuments, also collapsed.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.
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Earthquake in Peru: statue of Mary untouched as church roof caves in #Catholic Following an earthquake the night of July 18 in Junín, Peru, that left at least five people dead, a statue of the Virgin Mary remained intact even as the roof and part of the façade of St. James the Apostle parish church collapsed.Speaking from the scene, Father Henry Díaz described the extensive damage to the church, RPP’s Rotafono reported.“A large part of the church nave has collapsed. You can see huge cracks everywhere and roof tiles that have come loose. The high altar collapsed into the rubble. The statue of the Virgin remains intact,” the priest recounted.Instagram post“The Viceroyalty-era altars have been …very damaged. It appears the church tower is leaning slightly backward and to the right,” Díaz noted.The priest called on the Ministry of Culture and the authorities who visited the earthquake-affected area to help rebuild the church.He also noted that the church’s restoration could cost more than 7 million soles ($2.06 M) and take about a year to complete.July 18 earthquakePeruʼs bishops offered prayers and expressed their solidarity with the victims of the earthquake that struck the night of July 18, leaving at least five people dead, more than 20 injured, and hundreds more affected.The earthquake, recorded around 9 p.m., was centered in the district of Chongos Bajo, Chupaca province, Junín region, in the central Peruvian Andes, 193 miles east of Lima, according to the National Civil Defense Institute.As a result of the quake, the historic Cani Cross erected in 1534 and located in the main square of Chongos Bajo, one of the regionʼs oldest religious monuments, also collapsed.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.

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The walls of the colonial era church are still standing, but the roof collapsed into the nave. The parish priest estimated restoring the church will cost $2 million.

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Sicar: The retreat transforming the lives of young people in Latin America #Catholic The Sicar retreat (“Sychar” in the English Bible) has given rise to one of the most notable youth evangelization experiences in Latin America. It came about through a process of discernment by a Mexican religious in her own search for God, a dynamic movement that today reaches thousands of young people.With over 30 years of consecrated life, Mother María Elena Martínez has dedicated her life to the spiritual formation of young people and adults through “Mary, Mother of Love,” a private association of the faithful she founded in Mexico in 2015.The community is centered on retreats making a spiritual impact, such as Emmaus, which is held in parishes and correctional facilities, and Sicar, which is aimed specifically at young adults. Mother María Elena Martínez. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Mother María Elena Martínez Her life, marked from childhood by a quest for God, would ultimately become bound up in an initiative that is active today in several Latin American countries, including Mexico, Guatemala, Paraguay, Argentina, and Peru.“I remember as a little girl I had a great thirst for God,” she shared in an interview with ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News.That initial calling deepened over time. At age 11, she recalled, a desire to please Jesus arose within her. “A desire for purity … I wanted to live a life of virginity,” she noted, explaining that she prayed insistently to the Virgin Mary, asking for that consecration. Mother María Elena Martínez in front of an oasis. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Mother María Elena Martínez However, her path was neither immediate nor direct. “Religious life wasn’t something that particularly appealed to me,” she admitted. In her youth, she went through various experiences ranging from completing a degree in translating to exploring broader spiritual concerns, which eventually led her to try out consecrated life with the Missionaries of Charity.Some time later, she tried cloistered contemplative life. “I wanted something more interior, deeper,” she confessed.A concern arises: ‘What about the young people?’The Sicar retreat did not originate as a planned initiative but rather as a pastoral response that only gradually took shape. According to Mother María Elena, for years many people approached her with the same concern: “What about the young people?” “Do something for the young people,” they would tell her. Sicar team members in Mexico. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Mother María Elena Martínez The Gospel account of the Samaritan woman began to take center stage in her prayer and discernment. Jesus’ dialogue at the well of Sychar — “If you knew the gift of God” (cf. Jn 4:1-42) — served as the starting point for helping young people discover Christ. “The passage about the Samaritan woman was so rich, so rich, that I could draw so much from it,” she explained.The decisive step came in 2016, when the first Sicar retreat was held. Mother María Elena remembered it as the beginning of something small and simple yet deeply meaningful. Young people with prior experience in movements like Emmaus were the first to participate. Sicar Mexico. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Mother María Elena Martínez Sicar began to expand. After establishing itself in cities such as Mexico City, Tehuacán, and Tecamachalco (in the state of Puebla), as well as San Luis de la Paz (Guanajuato state), Veracruz, Mérida (Yucatán state), and Cuernavaca (Morelos state), the initiative began to cross borders beyond Mexico. The first retreat in Guatemala took place in 2017; Buenos Aires in 2018; Paraguay in 2022; and in Peru in 2023.“It has been growing in many places, rescuing so many young people,” Mother María Elena said with gratitude.In Mexico, 38 Sicar retreats have been held with an average of 50 participants each, amounting to nearly 2,000 young people. In Peru, where the initiative arrived in 2023, seven retreats have already taken place with around 70 participants each, reaching approximately 490 people. Sicar Mexico. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Mother María Elena Martínez Ottmar Ricalde, a Sicar volunteer in Mexico, noted that “Sicar means and has meant so much over these past 10 years.” “I could write and speak about all the stories, all the laughter, and all the tears, but the most important thing of all is the love of God that has been a gift to me,” he stated.“My life was always focused on pleasing others, but when I met God and realized how much he loves me, I began wanting to please him,” he said.In Paraguay, Sicar coordinator Fátima Correa highlighted that the experience “was a time of growth and renewal. It allowed us to view our history with fresh eyes.” Sicar Paraguay 2026 team members. | Credit: Sicar Paraguay “It was a retreat organized by young people for young people, where every testimony reflected realities many of us could relate to,” she added.A couple from Argentina who participated in the retreat and are now married say that Sicar marked a turning point in their lives. “We arrived as boyfriend and girlfriend and returned with completely transformed hearts … today, we feel that one of the greatest fruits was our marriage.”A growing community in PeruSicar arrived in Peru in 2023 and has since established a growing community.Geraldine Spihlman, director of Sicar in Peru, explained that the initiative arose after a need was identified within youth ministry. “When young people reached the age of 24 or 25, they no longer had a place to continue their journey of faith,” she noted.Following contact with Mother María Elena, it was decided to launch the initiative in Lima, which holds two retreats a year: in May and November.Spihlman highlighted that the most visible fruit is the community: “Many young people have discovered that it’s hard to go it alone but that everything is easier in community. It is a community where you can see how they love one another.”Instagram post‘God’s mercy knows no bounds’One of the most common fruits of these retreats is a shift in how one views others.In personal encounters, transformation occurs not only for those receiving the retreat but also for those who put it on. “God’s mercy knows no bounds,” Mother María Elena stated. “You look at people with eyes of mercy. You no longer judge the person; instead, you see them as a child of God,” she explained.Eros Acevedo, another team member, said the retreat “was an encounter with God that changed everything … I arrived bearing wounds, and his presence touched them. I left renewed.” Sicar Peru team members, May 2026. | Credit: Sicar Peru Rafael Mansilla, 27, said Sicar taught him to persevere in the faith. “Faith is not a flame that goes out but a steady flame,” he said.Dina Dávila shared that the retreat was the instrument God used to call her. “The love I have experienced in the community is overwhelming,” she added.‘A living Jesus’Through the retreats, Mother María Elena explained, people are invited to encounter “a living Jesus.” “God continues to act; he continues to perform miracles every day,” she affirmed. She said she lives one day at a time. “Each day I tell the Lord, ‘For one more day, I say yes to you.’” Participants in a Sicar retreat in Mexico. | Credit: Sicar Mexico The Sicar retreat, born of a contemplative reading of the Gospel, continues to spread wherever young people seek meaning, healing, and an experience of mature faith.Today, the young “Samaritans” who have lived this experience carry with them the words that marked their encounter with God: “Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst” (Jn 4:14).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.
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Sicar: The retreat transforming the lives of young people in Latin America #Catholic The Sicar retreat (“Sychar” in the English Bible) has given rise to one of the most notable youth evangelization experiences in Latin America. It came about through a process of discernment by a Mexican religious in her own search for God, a dynamic movement that today reaches thousands of young people.With over 30 years of consecrated life, Mother María Elena Martínez has dedicated her life to the spiritual formation of young people and adults through “Mary, Mother of Love,” a private association of the faithful she founded in Mexico in 2015.The community is centered on retreats making a spiritual impact, such as Emmaus, which is held in parishes and correctional facilities, and Sicar, which is aimed specifically at young adults. Mother María Elena Martínez. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Mother María Elena Martínez Her life, marked from childhood by a quest for God, would ultimately become bound up in an initiative that is active today in several Latin American countries, including Mexico, Guatemala, Paraguay, Argentina, and Peru.“I remember as a little girl I had a great thirst for God,” she shared in an interview with ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News.That initial calling deepened over time. At age 11, she recalled, a desire to please Jesus arose within her. “A desire for purity … I wanted to live a life of virginity,” she noted, explaining that she prayed insistently to the Virgin Mary, asking for that consecration. Mother María Elena Martínez in front of an oasis. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Mother María Elena Martínez However, her path was neither immediate nor direct. “Religious life wasn’t something that particularly appealed to me,” she admitted. In her youth, she went through various experiences ranging from completing a degree in translating to exploring broader spiritual concerns, which eventually led her to try out consecrated life with the Missionaries of Charity.Some time later, she tried cloistered contemplative life. “I wanted something more interior, deeper,” she confessed.A concern arises: ‘What about the young people?’The Sicar retreat did not originate as a planned initiative but rather as a pastoral response that only gradually took shape. According to Mother María Elena, for years many people approached her with the same concern: “What about the young people?” “Do something for the young people,” they would tell her. Sicar team members in Mexico. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Mother María Elena Martínez The Gospel account of the Samaritan woman began to take center stage in her prayer and discernment. Jesus’ dialogue at the well of Sychar — “If you knew the gift of God” (cf. Jn 4:1-42) — served as the starting point for helping young people discover Christ. “The passage about the Samaritan woman was so rich, so rich, that I could draw so much from it,” she explained.The decisive step came in 2016, when the first Sicar retreat was held. Mother María Elena remembered it as the beginning of something small and simple yet deeply meaningful. Young people with prior experience in movements like Emmaus were the first to participate. Sicar Mexico. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Mother María Elena Martínez Sicar began to expand. After establishing itself in cities such as Mexico City, Tehuacán, and Tecamachalco (in the state of Puebla), as well as San Luis de la Paz (Guanajuato state), Veracruz, Mérida (Yucatán state), and Cuernavaca (Morelos state), the initiative began to cross borders beyond Mexico. The first retreat in Guatemala took place in 2017; Buenos Aires in 2018; Paraguay in 2022; and in Peru in 2023.“It has been growing in many places, rescuing so many young people,” Mother María Elena said with gratitude.In Mexico, 38 Sicar retreats have been held with an average of 50 participants each, amounting to nearly 2,000 young people. In Peru, where the initiative arrived in 2023, seven retreats have already taken place with around 70 participants each, reaching approximately 490 people. Sicar Mexico. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Mother María Elena Martínez Ottmar Ricalde, a Sicar volunteer in Mexico, noted that “Sicar means and has meant so much over these past 10 years.” “I could write and speak about all the stories, all the laughter, and all the tears, but the most important thing of all is the love of God that has been a gift to me,” he stated.“My life was always focused on pleasing others, but when I met God and realized how much he loves me, I began wanting to please him,” he said.In Paraguay, Sicar coordinator Fátima Correa highlighted that the experience “was a time of growth and renewal. It allowed us to view our history with fresh eyes.” Sicar Paraguay 2026 team members. | Credit: Sicar Paraguay “It was a retreat organized by young people for young people, where every testimony reflected realities many of us could relate to,” she added.A couple from Argentina who participated in the retreat and are now married say that Sicar marked a turning point in their lives. “We arrived as boyfriend and girlfriend and returned with completely transformed hearts … today, we feel that one of the greatest fruits was our marriage.”A growing community in PeruSicar arrived in Peru in 2023 and has since established a growing community.Geraldine Spihlman, director of Sicar in Peru, explained that the initiative arose after a need was identified within youth ministry. “When young people reached the age of 24 or 25, they no longer had a place to continue their journey of faith,” she noted.Following contact with Mother María Elena, it was decided to launch the initiative in Lima, which holds two retreats a year: in May and November.Spihlman highlighted that the most visible fruit is the community: “Many young people have discovered that it’s hard to go it alone but that everything is easier in community. It is a community where you can see how they love one another.”Instagram post‘God’s mercy knows no bounds’One of the most common fruits of these retreats is a shift in how one views others.In personal encounters, transformation occurs not only for those receiving the retreat but also for those who put it on. “God’s mercy knows no bounds,” Mother María Elena stated. “You look at people with eyes of mercy. You no longer judge the person; instead, you see them as a child of God,” she explained.Eros Acevedo, another team member, said the retreat “was an encounter with God that changed everything … I arrived bearing wounds, and his presence touched them. I left renewed.” Sicar Peru team members, May 2026. | Credit: Sicar Peru Rafael Mansilla, 27, said Sicar taught him to persevere in the faith. “Faith is not a flame that goes out but a steady flame,” he said.Dina Dávila shared that the retreat was the instrument God used to call her. “The love I have experienced in the community is overwhelming,” she added.‘A living Jesus’Through the retreats, Mother María Elena explained, people are invited to encounter “a living Jesus.” “God continues to act; he continues to perform miracles every day,” she affirmed. She said she lives one day at a time. “Each day I tell the Lord, ‘For one more day, I say yes to you.’” Participants in a Sicar retreat in Mexico. | Credit: Sicar Mexico The Sicar retreat, born of a contemplative reading of the Gospel, continues to spread wherever young people seek meaning, healing, and an experience of mature faith.Today, the young “Samaritans” who have lived this experience carry with them the words that marked their encounter with God: “Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst” (Jn 4:14).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.

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Through her own spiritual journey seeking God, Mother María Elena Martínez founded a community and a retreat movement that is touching the lives of thousands of young people in Latin America.

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UK bishops welcome child safety but cautious on social media ban for under 16 #Catholic Catholic bishops across the United Kingdom say they need to see more legislative detail before supporting government proposals to ban social media for youth under 16. On June 15, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation, and Technology Liz Kendall announced to the House of Commons that the government "will ban social media companies providing their services to under 16s.”Kendall said that the UK would be following the same model as Australia, which was the first country in the world to ban social media for youth under 16. The UK ban is due to come into effect early next year.In an email response to EWTN News on June 17 regarding whether bishops of England and Wales support the proposed ban, a spokeswoman for the Catholic Bishops' Conference for England and Wales said: “Until the government publishes further details it’s hard to give a yes or no answer.” But Bishop John Arnold, the lead bishop for communications for the conference, “is very keen to ensure that the safety and protection of the dignity of young people online is a central concern for all,” the statement said.In a separate email to EWTN News, Bishop Arnold wrote that the “safety of children and young people in the digital world is paramount. Young people face many pressures today, which are often exacerbated by unrealistic and harmful material which they have accessed online.”“When it comes to the responsible and appropriate use of technology, the protection of children and young people is a shared responsibility among parents, schools, government and society,” he said.“I urge all people to work together to protect and place the dignity of the human person, especially children, the young and vulnerable, at the center of technological and legislative developments,” the bishop said.The Bishops’ Conference of Scotland, meanwhile, said it would “prefer not to comment directly on the specific policy issue, but rather give a considered response to the noble principles behind online safety measures.” “The bishops support the introduction of any new measures which increase online safety for children and young people,” the conference said."We have a responsibility to ensure that children and young people are protected from harmful and age-inappropriate content, and from online environments that can negatively affect their wellbeing, relationships and healthy development,” the statement continued.The UK governmentʼs proposal includes banning youth usage of platforms like Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook, and X. They do not intend for messaging services like WhatsApp and Signal to be included in the ban.Livestreamers and strangers being able to contact children will also be restricted for those under‑16 on other online services like gaming.“Who should take responsibility?”Edwin Fawcett, a Catholic psychotherapist based in England and Wales, is also unsure about the benefits and drawbacks of the proposal.“At this point the toll taken on mental and emotional health by social media, especially for developing brains, is virtually undisputed. Who should take responsibility for young peopleʼs formation and education?” he told EWTN News. “The Churchʼs wise answer: parents. Yet in a busy, driven and fragmented society the tsunami of digital hyper-reality is almost impossible to avoid or withstand,” he said.Fawcett argued that there is “a pandemic of relational wounds and deficits in the real world” which “has set the stage for widespread mental health issues, which are being activated and worsened by addictive online behavior — behavior chosen in an attempt to anesthetize the same wounds.”He continued: “Whether the ban is designed to support the rights and responsibilities of the family is hard to say. But letʼs pray that a deep renewal of family life, communities and culture will begin filling the void which social media has falsely promised to do — a void which may now be exposed by the incoming ban.”Lucy Marsh, a spokeswoman for the Family Education Trust — a secular research body which supports traditional family values — said that the ban has not been sufficiently “thought through.”“Children should not have unsupervised access to social media, but the government’s rushed plan to ban under-16s from using certain platforms is the wrong way to go about it,” she told EWTN News.“Rather than educating parents on how to restrict their child’s access to the internet and raising awareness about why young children should not have smartphones, the government is trying to introduce digital ID via the back door. This means using facial recognition and biometrics which involve giving even more information to tech companies. In the name of protecting children, those children will be under even more surveillance.”The government “should focus on ensuring tech companies make phones for children which cannot access social media apps, including WhatsApp, which is used by predatory adults to share pornography and groom children,” she said.
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UK bishops welcome child safety but cautious on social media ban for under 16 #Catholic Catholic bishops across the United Kingdom say they need to see more legislative detail before supporting government proposals to ban social media for youth under 16. On June 15, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation, and Technology Liz Kendall announced to the House of Commons that the government "will ban social media companies providing their services to under 16s.”Kendall said that the UK would be following the same model as Australia, which was the first country in the world to ban social media for youth under 16. The UK ban is due to come into effect early next year.In an email response to EWTN News on June 17 regarding whether bishops of England and Wales support the proposed ban, a spokeswoman for the Catholic Bishops' Conference for England and Wales said: “Until the government publishes further details it’s hard to give a yes or no answer.” But Bishop John Arnold, the lead bishop for communications for the conference, “is very keen to ensure that the safety and protection of the dignity of young people online is a central concern for all,” the statement said.In a separate email to EWTN News, Bishop Arnold wrote that the “safety of children and young people in the digital world is paramount. Young people face many pressures today, which are often exacerbated by unrealistic and harmful material which they have accessed online.”“When it comes to the responsible and appropriate use of technology, the protection of children and young people is a shared responsibility among parents, schools, government and society,” he said.“I urge all people to work together to protect and place the dignity of the human person, especially children, the young and vulnerable, at the center of technological and legislative developments,” the bishop said.The Bishops’ Conference of Scotland, meanwhile, said it would “prefer not to comment directly on the specific policy issue, but rather give a considered response to the noble principles behind online safety measures.” “The bishops support the introduction of any new measures which increase online safety for children and young people,” the conference said."We have a responsibility to ensure that children and young people are protected from harmful and age-inappropriate content, and from online environments that can negatively affect their wellbeing, relationships and healthy development,” the statement continued.The UK governmentʼs proposal includes banning youth usage of platforms like Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook, and X. They do not intend for messaging services like WhatsApp and Signal to be included in the ban.Livestreamers and strangers being able to contact children will also be restricted for those under‑16 on other online services like gaming.“Who should take responsibility?”Edwin Fawcett, a Catholic psychotherapist based in England and Wales, is also unsure about the benefits and drawbacks of the proposal.“At this point the toll taken on mental and emotional health by social media, especially for developing brains, is virtually undisputed. Who should take responsibility for young peopleʼs formation and education?” he told EWTN News. “The Churchʼs wise answer: parents. Yet in a busy, driven and fragmented society the tsunami of digital hyper-reality is almost impossible to avoid or withstand,” he said.Fawcett argued that there is “a pandemic of relational wounds and deficits in the real world” which “has set the stage for widespread mental health issues, which are being activated and worsened by addictive online behavior — behavior chosen in an attempt to anesthetize the same wounds.”He continued: “Whether the ban is designed to support the rights and responsibilities of the family is hard to say. But letʼs pray that a deep renewal of family life, communities and culture will begin filling the void which social media has falsely promised to do — a void which may now be exposed by the incoming ban.”Lucy Marsh, a spokeswoman for the Family Education Trust — a secular research body which supports traditional family values — said that the ban has not been sufficiently “thought through.”“Children should not have unsupervised access to social media, but the government’s rushed plan to ban under-16s from using certain platforms is the wrong way to go about it,” she told EWTN News.“Rather than educating parents on how to restrict their child’s access to the internet and raising awareness about why young children should not have smartphones, the government is trying to introduce digital ID via the back door. This means using facial recognition and biometrics which involve giving even more information to tech companies. In the name of protecting children, those children will be under even more surveillance.”The government “should focus on ensuring tech companies make phones for children which cannot access social media apps, including WhatsApp, which is used by predatory adults to share pornography and groom children,” she said.

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Bishops across the UK and other Catholic leaders say they want more information before endorsing a proposal to ban social media for youth under 16.

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5 powerful moments of faith at the 2026 FIFA World Cup #Catholic The 2026 FIFA World Cup began on June 11 — making history as the first World Cup jointly hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico.The FIFA World Cup is one of the most-watched sporting events with roughly 5 billion people tuning in to the tournament that brings together soccer’s best athletes from around the world.Despite only being a little over a week into the soccer tournament, the name of Jesus has already been made known many times from several of the athletes and teams as they compete on this global stage.Here are five powerful moments of faith we’ve seen at the World Cup so far:1. Croatian team shares the importance of their Catholic faithAhead of Croatia’s first match against England, two members of the team took part in a press conference where they discussed the role their Catholic faith plays in their lives.EWTN News correspondent Mark Irons was in attendance and asked Kristijan Jakić and Igor Matanović what Catholicism means to the team and if prayer and faith is important to them in their own lives.“I think faith is very important in my life. When you pray to God, it’s like a feeling that someone is listening to you, and that gives me a lot of strength,” Matanović said.Jakić added: “We are a country in which we are Catholics and in which faith means the path in our lives. I think faith represents the entire national team. Faith simply means everything in our lives.”Instagram post2. Players from Curaçao and Germany join in prayer after competing against one anotherThe national team from the country of Curaçao — which is a Caribbean island with a population of 150,000 — made history by qualifying for the World Cup for the first time. By qualifying, the island nation set a Guinness World Record as the smallest country by population to ever reach the global menʼs tournament.Despite losing to Germany in their first match 7-1, the players and coaches were visibly emotional realizing the achievement the team had accomplished. In a moment of gratitude, several of the athletes joined on the pitch for a moment of prayer. They were then joined by German players Jonathan Tah and Felix Nmecha — both outspoken Christians.In a postgame interview, Nmecha said: “During the game, we are opponents, but after the game we are all Christians and we are brothers… In our faith, we all believe that Jesus is glorified through the game and that’s why we came together and simply prayed together.”Instagram post3. Lionel Messi thanks God after making historyArgentina went up against Algeria on June 16 in Kansas City, Kansas, where over 69,000 fans watched history unfold at the feet of the famous Argentinian player Lionel Messi.During the 3-0 victory against Algeria, Messi recorded the first FIFA World Cup hat trick — when a single player scores three goals during one game — of his career. Additionally, Messi made history by tying former German soccer player Miroslav Klose’s record for most men’s World Cup goals scored at 16.After the game, Messi, a devout Catholic, said: “I can’t ask for more than what I received. As I’ve said many times, thank God that he has given me so much and everything that comes now is a blessing.”Instagram post4. Team USA shares a moment of prayer after historic win against ParaguayOn June 12, the men from the United States started their World Cup journey on a positive note with a 4-1 victory over Paraguay. After the game, defender Mark McKenzie led the team in a moment of prayer on the field.Leading into the tournament, several of the U.S. players were vocal about their faith. Star winger Christian Pulisic is known for leading several of his teammates in a Bible study he calls “Bible Time” and has discussed the important role reading Scripture plays in his daily life.Goalkeeper Matt Freese recently spoke to Sports Spectrum’s “What’s Up” podcast and discussed how his faith and career are intertwined.“Godʼs given me so many opportunities within this game and within my career. I still have a role to play in that. I still have to do my part and take that opportunity and do something with it,” Freese said.He also shared that he’s a listener of Father Mike Schmitz’s “Bible in a Year” podcast.“Right now I’m listening to ‘Bible in a Year’ by Father Mike Schmitz. It’s been fantastic and it kind of makes me able to — even when I’m on the road or even if itʼs a busy stretch — make sure I’m spending some time every day, hopefully every day, [with Scripture],” he said.Instagram post5. Felix Nmecha honors Jesus in post-goal celebrationGerman midfielder Felix Nmecha honored Jesus by making a powerful gesture after scoring the first goal in Germany’s 7-1 victory against Curaçao on June 14.After scoring the goal, Nmecha knelt down on one knee and made the gesture of taking off a crown from his head, placed it on the ground, and then pointed up to the sky. This “crown down” gesture, as it has been called, symbolizes that every gift, every victory, and every moment of glory belongs to Christ.In a postgame interview, Nmecha said: “It was an incredible blessing to score my first goal for Germany and for it to be so fast. All the glory I give to God, because he is the one who has given me this talent and the opportunity to be here living this dream.”Instagram post
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5 powerful moments of faith at the 2026 FIFA World Cup #Catholic The 2026 FIFA World Cup began on June 11 — making history as the first World Cup jointly hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico.The FIFA World Cup is one of the most-watched sporting events with roughly 5 billion people tuning in to the tournament that brings together soccer’s best athletes from around the world.Despite only being a little over a week into the soccer tournament, the name of Jesus has already been made known many times from several of the athletes and teams as they compete on this global stage.Here are five powerful moments of faith we’ve seen at the World Cup so far:1. Croatian team shares the importance of their Catholic faithAhead of Croatia’s first match against England, two members of the team took part in a press conference where they discussed the role their Catholic faith plays in their lives.EWTN News correspondent Mark Irons was in attendance and asked Kristijan Jakić and Igor Matanović what Catholicism means to the team and if prayer and faith is important to them in their own lives.“I think faith is very important in my life. When you pray to God, it’s like a feeling that someone is listening to you, and that gives me a lot of strength,” Matanović said.Jakić added: “We are a country in which we are Catholics and in which faith means the path in our lives. I think faith represents the entire national team. Faith simply means everything in our lives.”Instagram post2. Players from Curaçao and Germany join in prayer after competing against one anotherThe national team from the country of Curaçao — which is a Caribbean island with a population of 150,000 — made history by qualifying for the World Cup for the first time. By qualifying, the island nation set a Guinness World Record as the smallest country by population to ever reach the global menʼs tournament.Despite losing to Germany in their first match 7-1, the players and coaches were visibly emotional realizing the achievement the team had accomplished. In a moment of gratitude, several of the athletes joined on the pitch for a moment of prayer. They were then joined by German players Jonathan Tah and Felix Nmecha — both outspoken Christians.In a postgame interview, Nmecha said: “During the game, we are opponents, but after the game we are all Christians and we are brothers… In our faith, we all believe that Jesus is glorified through the game and that’s why we came together and simply prayed together.”Instagram post3. Lionel Messi thanks God after making historyArgentina went up against Algeria on June 16 in Kansas City, Kansas, where over 69,000 fans watched history unfold at the feet of the famous Argentinian player Lionel Messi.During the 3-0 victory against Algeria, Messi recorded the first FIFA World Cup hat trick — when a single player scores three goals during one game — of his career. Additionally, Messi made history by tying former German soccer player Miroslav Klose’s record for most men’s World Cup goals scored at 16.After the game, Messi, a devout Catholic, said: “I can’t ask for more than what I received. As I’ve said many times, thank God that he has given me so much and everything that comes now is a blessing.”Instagram post4. Team USA shares a moment of prayer after historic win against ParaguayOn June 12, the men from the United States started their World Cup journey on a positive note with a 4-1 victory over Paraguay. After the game, defender Mark McKenzie led the team in a moment of prayer on the field.Leading into the tournament, several of the U.S. players were vocal about their faith. Star winger Christian Pulisic is known for leading several of his teammates in a Bible study he calls “Bible Time” and has discussed the important role reading Scripture plays in his daily life.Goalkeeper Matt Freese recently spoke to Sports Spectrum’s “What’s Up” podcast and discussed how his faith and career are intertwined.“Godʼs given me so many opportunities within this game and within my career. I still have a role to play in that. I still have to do my part and take that opportunity and do something with it,” Freese said.He also shared that he’s a listener of Father Mike Schmitz’s “Bible in a Year” podcast.“Right now I’m listening to ‘Bible in a Year’ by Father Mike Schmitz. It’s been fantastic and it kind of makes me able to — even when I’m on the road or even if itʼs a busy stretch — make sure I’m spending some time every day, hopefully every day, [with Scripture],” he said.Instagram post5. Felix Nmecha honors Jesus in post-goal celebrationGerman midfielder Felix Nmecha honored Jesus by making a powerful gesture after scoring the first goal in Germany’s 7-1 victory against Curaçao on June 14.After scoring the goal, Nmecha knelt down on one knee and made the gesture of taking off a crown from his head, placed it on the ground, and then pointed up to the sky. This “crown down” gesture, as it has been called, symbolizes that every gift, every victory, and every moment of glory belongs to Christ.In a postgame interview, Nmecha said: “It was an incredible blessing to score my first goal for Germany and for it to be so fast. All the glory I give to God, because he is the one who has given me this talent and the opportunity to be here living this dream.”Instagram post

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Christian athletes are making the name of Jesus known at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Here are five powerful moments of faith at the international tournament so far.

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