The vehicles will support the daily work of governorate employees as Vatican City State moves toward its 2030 goal of a zero-emissions fleet.
Fiat will donate 30 electric vehicles to Vatican City State to support the daily operations of employees of the governorate as part of efforts to advance more sustainable mobility and reduce the environmental impact of its fleet.
The Italian automaker said the vehicles will be used for internal operations and will help improve transportation within the Vatican through low-emissions mobility.
The initiative is part of the Ecological Conversion 2030 program launched by the Governorate of Vatican City State in 2023. The plan calls for the gradual decarbonization of the Vatican's official fleet, with the goal of reaching zero emissions by the end of the decade.
The first phase of the project took place June 30 with the delivery of 20 Fiat Topolino vehicles. The handover was held on the esplanade in front of the Governorate Palace and was attended by Archbishop Emilio Nappa and lawyer Giuseppe Puglisi-Alibrandi, secretaries-general of the governorate, as well as Olivier François, CEO of Fiat and chief marketing officer of Stellantis.
The fleet will be completed with the addition of 10 Fiat TRIS vehicles, also fully electric.
The Ecological Conversion 2030 plan goes beyond the renewal of the Vatican's vehicle fleet. The project includes a range of measures aimed at reducing the environmental impact of the Holy See's activities, including the responsible use of natural resources, improved energy efficiency, and the modernization of technological infrastructure.
The initiative also seeks to promote cleaner energy sources for transportation, strengthen waste management policies, and support future reforestation projects as Vatican City State works toward climate neutrality.
After launching the program in 2023, the Governorate of Vatican City State said it intended to place itself among the leading states in sustainability by adopting innovative solutions that contribute both to care for the environment and to the transformation of its work and management practices.
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.
The answer has to do with profoundly different juridical and ecclesial realities.
The Holy See's declaration this month that formally recognizes the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) to be in a state of schism has prompted numerous questions among the faithful. One of the most frequently asked questions is why the Catholic Church recognizes the validity of marriages performed in Orthodox churches while marriages now performed by priests of the society are considered invalid.
Father Davide Cito, professor of canon law at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome, emphasized that the answer has to do with profoundly different juridical and ecclesial realities.
As he explained to ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, although the Orthodox churches are not in full communion with Rome, they are not currently in a state of formal schism comparable to that of the Society of St. Pius X.
"These are two different situations. The Orthodox are not in full communion with the Catholic Church, but they are not excommunicated. In contrast, the fraternity has committed a formal act of breaking ecclesial communion," he explained.
The canon lawyer noted that, prior to the recent declaration of schism, the situation of the SSPX was different. Although there were serious doctrinal and disciplinary tensions with Rome, it was not juridically in its current situation.
"The society could perform valid marriages because it was not in a state of formal schism," he noted.
In fact, during the pontificate of Pope Francis, the society's priests received faculties to validly hear confessions and, under certain circumstances, to witness marriages with the authorization of the competent ecclesiastical authority.
However, following the formal declaration of schism, the Vatican has made it clear that those faculties can no longer be exercised.
Specifically, sources in the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) emphasized to ACI Prensa "the invalidity of those two sacraments" (referring to confession and marriage), which Pope Francis had previously granted them permission to administer in 2019 as a gesture of pastoral outreach.
The DDF source went on to confirm that the dicastery's July 2 explanatory note on the matter "was published with the pope's approval. The pontiff himself formally warned that this would happen if they ordained bishops in the letter he sent to [SSPX Superior General Father Davide] Pagliarani just hours before the episcopal ordinations took place without a papal mandate. There is no doubt whatsoever regarding his will. That is the decision of the Holy See."
The DDF, led by Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, also clarified that, in declaring the schism, it did not get into considering the SSPX's past situation following the lifting of the excommunications by Benedict XVI in 2009 and the concessions subsequently made by Francis. Instead, it focused "on the fact that the new ordinations — a schismatic act — have undoubtedly created a situation of excommunication and schism, and that what they were clearly warned about is now being applied."
Regarding this point, Cito explained that "a schismatic cannot validly hear confessions or validly witness a marriage, because since the Council of Trent, these sacraments require a canonical faculty or authorization."
Why are Orthodox sacraments recognized?
Relations between Catholics and the Orthodox underwent a decisive shift during the Second Vatican Council and the pontificate of St. Paul VI. In December 1965, Pope Paul VI and Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I signed a joint declaration lifting the mutual excommunications pronounced in 1054, events traditionally regarded as the beginning of the Great Schism between East and West.
Although that gesture did not restore full communion, it put an end to centuries of mutual condemnations and excommunications and opened a new chapter of ecumenical dialogue.
"We are in communion, though not in full communion," Cito summarized. "That is why there are areas where it is possible to share sacramental life, something unthinkable in a situation of formal rupture caused by a schism, such as the situation of the fraternity," he observed.
The Catholic Church recognizes the validity of Orthodox sacraments because it maintains that the Eastern churches have preserved apostolic succession and a valid priesthood. For this reason, Cito explained, there is the possibility of a certain "communicatio in sacris" — participation in certain sacraments among the faithful of different churches as provided for by canon law.
"Canon 844allows Catholics and Orthodox, in certain cases, to receive some sacraments from one another. I myself have seen this in pastoral practice. This is possible because there is authentic sacramental communion, even if it is not full," he stated.
The expert pointed out that the situation is very different for those affected by excommunication or who knowingly participate in a schismatic group.
Excommunication is a canonical penalty that prohibits the administration and reception of certain sacraments. Schism, on the other hand, entails the rejection of communion with the Church and the authority of the Roman pontiff — in other words, a formal separation from the Catholic Church.
In the case of the Society of St. Pius X, the Holy See considers that there is now a formal rupture of that communion, which entails juridical and sacramental consequences.
"When someone rejects an ecumenical council or denies essential elements of communion with the pope and the college of bishops, the situation becomes very complex from a canonical standpoint," Cito said.
The professor pointed out that some traditionalist communities that emerged from the SSPX, such as the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP), have remained in full communion with Rome and continue to celebrate the traditional liturgy without any difficulty.
"The problem has never been simply the liturgy. The issue touches upon fundamental doctrinal aspects related to the Second Vatican Council and ecclesial communion," he stated.
How those who leave the SSPX might return to Catholic unity
New regulations issued by the Holy See establish that the faithful and priests who decide to leave the SSPX and return to full communion with the Church will no longer depend on a specific structure like the Ecclesia Dei Commission, created by St. John Paul II in 1988.
Going forward, they may turn directly to diocesan bishops or to the heads of traditionalist institutes that are fully integrated into the Church. The new protocol from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith aims to facilitate this return.
"The procedures for doing so are very simple because, ultimately, these are people who want to be Catholic and desire to be in communion with the Church," Cito added.
The Vatican document warns that those wishing to fully rejoin the Catholic Church may not continue to regularly attend activities of an institution now considered schismatic.
"The explanatory note from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, attached to the decree of excommunication, is very clear on this point: The sacred ministers administer the sacraments illicitly and, regarding penance and matrimony, also invalidly. Therefore, dioceses and their pastors are urged to be vigilant and to exhort the faithful to remain steadfast in ecclesial communion and not to participate in celebrations or activities promoted by the SSPX," noted Father Pierpaolo dal Corso, who teaches at the St. Pius X department of penal canon law in Venice, Italy.
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.
The court said Maine is permitted to exclude St. Dominic Academy from public funding if the school won't abide by state nondiscrimination rules.
Maine is allowed to exclude Catholic schools and other private institutions from public funding if the schools refuse to abide by gender- and sexuality-related nondiscrimination laws, a federal appeals court said this month.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit on July 2 ruled against St. Dominic Academy in the Diocese of Portland, denying the school's request for an injunction against Maine's LGBT-related nondiscrimination rules. If granted, the injunction would have allowed the school to access public funding streams.
The school had argued against requirements that it facilitate student "gender transitions" and had said it would not require staff to refer to students by opposite-sex pronouns.
The court, however, said that "combatting sexual-orientation and gender-identity discrimination" is a "legitimate governmental pursuit" and that requiring publicly funded schools to follow those rules "rationally relates" to that pursuit.
Such schools are also required to publicly affirm the "gender identity" of their students, the court said.
The ruling comes several years after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Maine could not ban students from using public student aid to attend religious schools. The high court ruled that the state in its policy "identif[ied] and exclude[d] otherwise eligible schools on the basis of their religious exercise."
A "neutral benefit program in which public funds flow to religious organizations through the independent choices of private benefit recipients" does not violate the U.S. Constitution, the court held in the 2022 case Carson v. Makin.
Adèle Keim, an attorney with the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which is representing the Catholic school in the suit, told EWTN News that ahead of the Carson decision Maine moved to alter its public funding policy to include the rules regarding gender and sexuality nondiscrimination.
"They knew it would be a red line for the schools that had been suing the state," she said.
Keim said this month's appeals court ruling was partially favorable to St. Dominic Academy; it found, for instance, that the state cannot dictate faith-related hiring practices and cannot dictate religious expression rules on school campuses.
Yet the appeals court ruled that schools enjoy "no constitutional protection" related to the nondiscrimination policies, she said. She argued that the decision runs afoul of multiple Supreme Court decisions, including the Carson ruling along with the landmark 2025 decision in Mahmoud v. Taylor.
The schools could mount a bid to the Supreme Court over the appeals decision, she said.
A similar lawsuit had been brought by the nondenominational Crosspoint Church, which runs a K–12 Christian school. The appeals court had partly combined the suits of the respective churches into one ruling.
Keim said that Catholic education had been publicly funded for decades in Maine before lawmakers in the early 1980s targeted Catholic schools for exclusion.
"It's a [sparsely populated] state," she said. "Its population is spread out over a large territory. The government has always partnered with private schools to get the job done of meeting the state constitutional guarantee of free education for all kids."
She said the parts of the appeals court ruling that found in favor of the Catholic schools were "terrific." But the nondiscrimination portion of the ruling "really jumped off a cliff," she argued.
On X, meanwhile, Becket attorney Eric Rassbach said after the appeals ruling that the Supreme Court will consider a similar case in October related to nondiscrimination rules and public funding of religious schools.
Governments "cannot evade [Supreme Court precedent] by relabeling discrimination against religion as 'nondiscrimination,'" he wrote. "The Constitution demands more."
Christians accused under Pakistan's blasphemy laws face bribe demands, stalled trials, and courtroom intimidation, according to a new report by two leading human rights organizations.
A new report by leading human rights groups says entrenched corruption throughout Pakistan's criminal justice system disproportionately harms the country's poorest religious minorities, particularly Christians accused under its controversial blasphemy laws.
"Ethnic and religious minorities continue to face rampant discrimination in Pakistan — issues that are compounded by the fact that they also come from low-income communities," the report states.
"Many of the victims in cases targeting Christians, for example, are sanitation workers or daily laborers, meaning that their resources to pay legal representation with necessary social and political connections or to pay bribes are very limited, if not absent, in effect widening the gap in access to justice."
The report is based on 30 interviews conducted by FIDH and HRCP in February and March with lawyers, journalists, civil society activists, academics, and judges.
Several interviewees said anti-minority and anti-poor bias was evident in the language used by some judges in their rulings.
Bribes and stalled trials
Its findings echo those of a 2025 report by Human Rights Watch, which said blasphemy accusations were increasingly being used for financial gain, with some police officials allegedly demanding bribes from victims to avoid the registration of false first information reports.
The report also cited figures from the National Commission for Human Rights, a government human rights body, showing a sharp increase in blasphemy prosecutions. It said 767 people were detained on blasphemy charges as of July 25, 2024, compared with 213 in 2023, 64 in 2022, nine in 2021, and 11 in 2020.
Behram Francis, legal adviser for the Catholic bishops' National Commission for Justice and Peace, said the findings matched what he has seen on the ground.
"Police start dealing with families of blasphemy victims after an accusation is made and the case is publicized. Given the security risk, sensitivity, and public sentiment associated, the usual bribe rate in such cases starts from at least 50,000 rupees [$180]," Francis told EWTN News.
"Trials in lower courts can drag on for years, and the victim continues suffering in prison, as the accuser can easily get the next hearing postponed by paying 15,000 rupees to the court reader. Our lawyers usually encounter prejudice against Christians during trials."
Concerns in the courtroom
Riaz Anjum, president of the Christian Lawyers Association of Pakistan, said procedural delays and intimidation inside courtrooms remained among the biggest obstacles to defending Christians accused of blasphemy.
"These cases are often not listed in the regular cause list, forcing us to file separate applications just to obtain a hearing," Anjum told EWTN News.
"Muslim lawyers sometimes openly threaten us in front of judges and mobilize madrassa students outside courtrooms. The risk of external pressure and mob intimidation influencing judicial proceedings remains very high."
Pakistan ranked 123rd out of 143 countries in the World Justice Project's 2025 Rule of Law Index for absence of corruption, placing it second from the bottom in its regional rankings.
The execution medical team spent more than an hour unsuccessfully trying to place a second intravenous line required in case the primary IV failed.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee told reporters in Knoxville on Tuesday that there will be no changes to the protocol for capital punishment in the state following the botched execution attempt of death row inmate Tony Carruthers on May 21.
In May, the Republican governor suspended Carruthers' execution for one year after the medical team failed to find a vein when trying to set up the backup IV line of lethal drugs. They tried to set up the IV line for more than an hour.
"The Department of Corrections did exactly what they were supposed to," Lee told reporters. "I decided to suspend the execution. I have the authority to do that. I'm the only one who can."
"Given the circumstances of not being able to find a vein, I made that decision," the governor added. "But the protocol itself and the process for the death penalty in this state — which is the law of Tennessee that the people have decided — but the protocol itself still stands, as it should."
After the botched execution, eight Republican lawmakers wrote a letter to the governor, which urged him to review the death penalty protocol, according to the Tennessee Lookout. The letter called the incident a failure "to carry a lawful sentence of its own courts," but the lawmakers still expressed support for the death penalty.
Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy, executive director of the Catholic Mobilizing Network — a group that works with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops on opposition to the death penalty — expressed disappointment in Lee's comment in a statement to EWTN News.
"Tony Carruthers' botched execution reminds us that every execution — regardless of the method or the procedures that take place — is a barbaric act that disregards the sanctity of life," she said. "I am heartbroken to hear that Gov. Bill Lee has decided to let current lethal injection procedures stand."
Murphy noted that Republican lawmakers urged the governor to commission an independent review of how the execution was botched.
"It is helpful to pause in times like this and ask ourselves: To what lengths will the state go to seek revenge?" she said. "There is nothing appropriate in this situation. The only way to avoid perpetuating more violence and harm is to step back from executing people altogether."
Father Jeffrey Nowak has been on administrative leave for nearly six years, following allegations of inappropriate conduct with children.
A priest who has been on administrative leave for more than half a decade, in part over allegations of inappropriate conduct with children, has been charged by federal authorities with possession of child pornography, a U.S. attorney announced on July 8.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of New York said in a press release that Father Jeffrey Nowak of Lackawanna, New York, was arrested and charged with both the receipt and possession of child pornography.
The charges "carry a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum of 20 years," the attorney's office said.
Nowak has been the subject of investigations by authorities as far back as 2019, when he was placed on administrative leave that year after a seminarian reported that the priest had sexually harassed him.
The U.S. attorney's office said Nowak was also the subject of "allegations of inappropriate contact with children."
The priest was also linked to an email address reportedly connected with child sexual abuse material, according to the prosecutor's office. A two-year FBI investigation into the matter was ultimately closed.
The FBI reopened its investigation into Nowak in March of this year, the prosecutor said. On July 8 a search warrant was executed at Nowak's residence during which investigators found child pornography on his electronic devices.
U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo said in the release that the priest "hid behind a keyboard and took part in the tragic exploitation of one of society's most vulnerable populations, our children."
"Nowak has now been exposed and can no longer hide and will be held accountable for his disgraceful behavior," the prosecutor said.
A spokesman for the Diocese of Buffalo, meanwhile, said in a statement on July 9 that Nowak "was placed on permanent leave in 2019 and has not been permitted to function as a priest since then."
"We are not aware of any attempt by law enforcement officials to contact the diocese regarding these allegations," the statement said.
The diocese "has just learned of the allegations against him and will cooperate fully with any inquiry by law enforcement officials," it added.
Below-replacement fertility is widespread across the country, according to the report by the Institute for Family Studies.
A report from the Institute for Family Studies warns that the United States is approaching a demographic turning point, with fertility rates continuing to fall well below replacement levels and population declines increasingly likely in the coming decades unless current trends change.
The report, titled "The Demographic Dead End: 2026 State of Fertility Report," presents estimates of fertility trends for every state dating back to 1917. As part of the nation's 250th anniversary, researchers also reconstructed birth rates in Massachusetts dating to 1660, offering one of the longest historical views of American fertility ever compiled.
According to the report, the U.S. fertility rate has fallen to about 1.6 children per woman, well below the replacement level of about 2.1 needed to maintain a stable population without immigration. Researchers said the decline is no longer a temporary consequence of delayed childbearing but reflects a sustained demographic shift.
The authors projected that if trends continue, the U.S. population will likely peak during the 2050s before entering a prolonged period of decline. They contend that many mainstream demographic forecasts underestimate the pace of falling fertility and assume a rebound that has yet to materialize.
The report notes fertility has declined in nearly every state over the past two decades, though the pace varies geographically. States with higher levels of religious participation, marriage, and family stability generally continue to post comparatively higher birth rates than states with lower rates of marriage and family formation.
Although Americans' desired family size has remained relatively stable, the gap between how many children they want and how many they ultimately have continues to widen. Surveys consistently show Americans expect to have about two children and ideally would like to have an average of 2.4.
"I'd be careful treating that gap as pure unmet demand — people fall short of almost everything they say they want, and stated desires are aspirations measured before the real tradeoffs arrive," Pakaluk told EWTN News. "What 'I want 2.4' mostly reflects is a preference stated in the abstract, which softens once a child is weighed against everything else a life can hold."
Why are fewer Americans having children?
Pakaluk said economic pressures and delayed marriage play a role but are not the primary cause of declining birth rates.
"Cost and later marriage matter at the margin, but they aren't the engine," she said. "The driver is a shift in the relative value placed on children."
She added that prolonged low fertility could reshape American society, leading to "an older population, a thinner worker-to-retiree ratio that strains Social Security and Medicare" as well as "thinner kin networks and more people aging without family nearby."
Limits of government policy
Researchers argue reversing the trend will require more than financial incentives for parents. Pakaluk agreed that public policy has limits.
"The most honest thing I can say is that the levers government actually controls aren't the ones that move completed family size," she said. "Policy can clear obstacles at the margin, but the decisive factors live in culture, faith, and community, where government has a light touch."
She said measures such as expanding housing supply, strengthening the child tax credit, and removing marriage penalties may help families but cautioned that "no wealthy country has policy-engineered its way back to replacement."
Global demographic challenge
The findings come as concerns over declining birth rates are growing worldwide. More than two-thirds of countries have fertility rates below replacement, prompting governments across Europe, Asia, and North America to examine ways to encourage family formation.
For the Catholic Church, concern over declining birth rates has long been connected to its teaching on marriage, openness to life, and support for families. Recent popes have repeatedly warned that demographic decline carries not only economic consequences but also cultural and social implications for future generations.
"In a spirit of goodwill, I pray that your service and mission as apostolic nuncio will continue to foster a deep friendship between the United States and the Holy See," Speaker Mike Johnson wrote.
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson extended greetings to Archbishop Gabriele Giordano Caccia in a letter marking his appointment as apostolic nuncio to the United States.
Johnson sent a formal letter July 1, shared exclusively with EWTN News, that welcomed the nuncio to his diplomatic mission in the United States and affirmed Congress' respect for the Holy See's role in promoting peace, human dignity, and care for vulnerable communities.
"On behalf of the United States House of Representatives, I'd like to extend my heartfelt congratulations on your recent appointment as apostolic nuncio to the United States of America," Johnson wrote. "It is my great honor to welcome you to Washington, D.C., during this semiquincentennial year as we commemorate 250 years of American independence."
U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson addresses the March for Life on Jan. 23, 2026, in Washington, D.C. | Credit: EWTN News
The letter follows Caccia's appointment to the position in March, succeeding Cardinal Christophe Pierre, who turned 80, the retirement age for cardinals, in January.
"As our country celebrates its 250th anniversary, we are reminded of our long-standing commitment to the principles of human dignity and religious liberty, enshrined most famously in the Declaration of Independence," Johnson said. "These ideals were shared and practiced by Archbishop John Carroll, our nation's first Catholic bishop."
Johnson cited Carroll's commitment to integrating faith into American civil life, stating that he believed the bishop "would be proud to know that today, nearly 150 members of Congress and six of our nine justices on the U.S. Supreme Court are Catholic."
"In a spirit of goodwill, I pray that your service and mission as apostolic nuncio will continue to foster a deep friendship between the United States and the Holy See," he said, adding: "Please accept my warmest welcome and congratulations."
Kamar Galíndez credits his survival to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Miraculous Medal he wore was torn from his neck as the building collapsed and inexplicably ended up in one of his zippered pockets.
In Playa Grande, a neighborhood in the city of La Guaira, Venezuela, Kamar Galíndez was on the top floor of Chipi's Beach Hotel, preparing to start his daily workout in the gym, unaware that his life was about to change forever.
It was Wednesday, June 24, the feast day of St. John the Baptist and a national holiday commemorating the anniversary of the decisive Battle of Carabobo. At 6:05 p.m., the peaceful atmosphere created by the stunning ocean view from the top of the hotel was shattered by the thunderous violence of two consecutive earthquakes that took everyone by surprise, sowing anguish and confusion.
Speaking with ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, Galíndez, a 53-year-old lawyer, recalled how the heavy gym machines began moving from one side to the other, much like an air hockey puck. Disaster struck within seconds.
"The floor split, and immediately I saw half the building tilting forward while the section I was in collapsed straight down; I felt my feet were no longer standing on anything, and the next thing [I knew], I was trapped in the rubble," he recounted.
Remains of Chipi's Beach Hotel in Playa Grande, from which Kamar Galíndez managed to come out alive. | Credit: Andrés Henríquez/EWTN News
Faced with imminent death: 'Lord, have mercy!'
Galíndez recounted that the only thing he managed to do was to seek protection beside a nearby wall. As he felt the building collapsing, what came to his mind was the image of the Lord Jesus as he first appeared to St. Faustina Kowalska on Feb. 22, 1931.
"I remember thinking of the merciful Christ and praying, 'Lord, have mercy,'" he said, on the verge of tears. "The next thing was feeling the building collapse because with that violent shaking, I kept saying, 'It's going to fall,' and of course, it did."
Galíndez never lost consciousness. He said he felt every blow but that "amid the shock and fear, physical sensations become secondary." Once the confusion of the collapse subsided, he realized he was alive, though his body was completely buried in the rubble and pinned by a massive beam crushing his chest.
He couldn't breathe properly. His head had not been buried, and through that immense mountain of twisted metal, bricks, and earth, he could see the sky, still lit by the last rays of the evening sun. All around, the desperate screams of other people trapped in the rubble could be heard.
Galíndez wiped his face and tried to move to free himself. Then he realized his left arm was broken: "A lot of desperation, a lot of fear" is what he recalled feeling, yet amid the suffering, he didn't hesitate to entrust himself to God's protection.
"Then I prayed to stay calm. What I did was to pray a lot: 'OK, Father God, help me get out of here. Keep me calm' was the first thing I prayed. 'Keep me calm and tell me what I need to do,'" he recounted.
He signaled for help as best he could. He said he has no idea how long he was underneath the rubble, but he knows it "felt like an eternity." Finally, a man who had climbed the mountain of debris helped him break free.
'The Miraculous Medal saved me'
Galíndez made his way down the remains of the collapsed building on his own. Upon realizing the magnitude of the tragedy, which claimed thousands of lives in a split second, he is positive that emerging virtually unharmed was a miracle, one he attributes to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, to whom he has always been devoted.
"I was wearing a small chain with a crucifix and a tiny medal of the Miraculous Virgin. Among the things I lost track of, the chain broke, though, of course, I hadn't noticed it at the time," he recalled.
On his way to his home, which was also completely destroyed, a couple of young people helped Galíndez with first aid. While they were tending to him, he became aware of one of those small miracles that holds profound meaning for someone with sincere faith.
He asked the young people to help him put his watch into one of the pockets of his shorts, as he needed to remove it to hold his fractured arm still. And then, the inexplicable happened.
"I was wearing shorts with a small zippered pocket, and when I looked — don't ask me where from, don't ask me how — a piece of the chain and the Miraculous Medal were caught inside."
"Of course, I told the boy: 'Please, put that little medal away for me too, because that was what saved me,'" he said. "I haven't the slightest doubt."
"Absolutely, absolutely," he replied when asked if he truly believes his life is a miracle obtained through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin.
The Miraculous Medal that Kamar Galíndez wore around his neck, which broke during the collapse and later appeared — inexplicably — in the pocket of his shorts. | Credit: Andrés Henríquez/EWTN News
Many people didn't make it out of what was left of the hotel. For Galíndez, having survived is the work of the mercy of God, who listened to his pleas in every instant and granted him his request for a reason he still does not know.
"In the greatest adversity, you begin to see it in terms of what is most basic, because the most basic thing becomes impossible. When the most basic thing is impossible and you manage to do it anyway, you say: 'Only God can do that,'" he reflected.
"There is a God who looks after you in that moment, attending to what you are asking of him and what you need. From freeing up an arm or reminding you of his presence by leaving a small medal hanging from your [shorts]," he said.
He then emphasized what he considers most important following his harrowing experience: "I have the greatest gift God [my dear] Father gave me, which is life."
Galíndez said he feels deeply grateful to be alive. For him, what happened serves as a humbling reminder that what we have comes from the will and mercy of God, who does not abandon his people; who does not abandon Venezuelans, especially during times of greatest suffering.
At the time of publication, the official death toll in Venezuela from the double earthquake has risen to 3,535, while the number of injured has reached 16,740. Estimates by independent organizations indicate that tens of thousands of people are still missing.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
A positio for Servant of God Rhoda Wise was submitted to the Vatican. She has been associated with hundreds of unexplained, miraculous healings in the United States.
The canonization cause for Servant of God Rhoda Wise crossed another hurdle after formal documents that outline her life, heroic virtues, and holiness were submitted to the Vatican's Dicastery for the Causes of Saints.
Wise — who was born in 1888 in Cadiz, Ohio, and died in 1948 in Canton, Ohio — was a laywoman and a mystic who received visions of Jesus Christ and St. Thérèse of Lisieux. In 1939, she reported a miraculous healing of her stomach cancer and a wound that doctors told her was incurable.
She was raised Protestant but was introduced to Catholicism by religious sisters during her hospital stay, where she developed a strong devotion to the rosary and St. Thérèse.
After news of the miracle spread, hundreds of people visited her home weekly, with whom she would pray. Hundreds of those who visited her home both during and after her lifetime reported miraculous, unexplained healings, including EWTN Founder Mother Angelica, who developed a close friendship with Wise after being healed of a stomach ailment.
Wise also had a visible stigmata — which resembles the wounds Christ had at the Crucifixion — that appeared on her body from noon until 3 p.m. for two and a half years, from 1942 to 1945.
On July 7, Father John Sheridan — liaison between the Diocese of Youngstown, Ohio, and the Rhoda Wise House in Canton, Ohio — announced that the Vatican had received the formal "positio," which is a collection of documents that details the holiness of her life and makes the case for why Pope Leo XIV should consider her beatification.
Valentina Culurgioni, the postulator tasked with preparing the document, gave the paperwork to the dicastery several months ago, but it was first announced by Sheridan during the Diocese of Youngstown's annual Mass for the cause of beatification of Wise.
Following the Mass, Sheridan delivered the news to the faithful gathered by reading a letter he received from Culurgioni.
"Testimonies of healings and graces received through the intercession of Rhoda Wise continue to arrive at the shrine, which testify [to] her growing reputation of holiness and signs, and I would like to entrust to all of you two prayer intentions for this year, related to the progress of the cause in the Vatican," Culurgioni wrote in the letter.
"First, that all the experts — historians and theologians — who will be called upon to study and evaluate the 'positio' may be enlightened by the Holy Spirit in their valuable and delicate work," she added. "Second, that among all the reports of graces and healings we receive, suitable cases may be identified for investigation as alleged miracles."
"Do not stop praying to God, asking for the spiritual or material graces you need through the intercession of Rhoda, and continue to share and bear witness to the wonders of his powerful love in your lives," Culurgioni wrote.
Next steps
Ryan Schweitzer, assistant director of the Rhoda Wise House and Grotto, told EWTN News that the next step is the dicastery's review of the "positio," which includes evaluations by theologians, historians, and Catholic hierarchy. The dicastery will provide its conclusions to the Holy Father, who will determine whether to beatify her and grant her the title "venerable."
He said there's no real estimate for the timeline of this process but asked Catholics to "continue to pray for Rhoda's intercession and continue to pray for her beatification."
Schweitzer called the news of this development "exciting." He said if Leo elevates her status to "venerable," "that's a very small group of individuals on their pathway to canonization." He said that would increase her visibility and "Our Lord can utilize that visibility and knowledge of Rhoda to pray for her intercession."
Rhoda Wise's legacy
The Rhoda Wise House and Grotto continues to host visitors and frequently receives reports of miraculous healings on a regular basis, now nearly 80 years after her death.
According to Schweitzer, hundreds of people still visit Wise's home weekly, many of whom come "because they're seeking healing," whether that be physical, mental, or spiritual. He said many of the visitors come because "they heard that something happened to a friend, some healing" and some visitors return to share stories of their healing.
Wise had a strong friendship with Mother Angelica — then Rita Rizzo — when she was just 19 years old, before entering religious life. Schweitzer noted that Rizzo "suffered from a really debilitating stomach ailment," and her mother took her to see Wise.
Rizzo began praying a nine-day novena to St. Thérèse of Lisieux with Wise and continued to pray it each day until its conclusion, at which point she was healed of her ailment. Schweitzer said this experience served as "a catalyst to become serious about her spiritual life" and Rizzo became close friends with Wise, who served as a mentor to her.
Schweitzer said one of the most important things to know about Wise is that she was "a very humble housewife," a person who is "not someone who is unreachable" for the average person.
"She really reflects troubles that many people today are associated with," Schweitzer said.
