Catholic Nutshell News: Friday 3/20/26
Topics include: Marquette University church vandalized; Africa’s water crisis; Americans support US international leadership; & UK’s up-to-birth abortion vote
Fridays, "Living that coconut kinda life."
Today's sources: National Catholic Register, EWTN News, OSV News, ACIAfrica, CatholicVote, Zeale, & Aleteia. (Catholic Nutshell is a FREE subscription service for faithful, hopeful, & curious Catholics willing to exercise their Catholic News Muscle)
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Zeale
Catholic Church at Marquette University was vandalized
By Grace Porto, March 19, 2026
The Church of the Gesu at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was extensively vandalized on March 18, just months after it underwent a $10 million renovation. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the university stated that police have arrested a suspect connected with the incident. The suspect is not affiliated with the university, and the investigation is ongoing. “We will support the parish as we always have,” the university statement read, “bonded by our Catholic, Jesuit tradition and a shared desire to serve God in all things.” Father Michael Simone, the church’s pastor, sent an email to parishioners explaining the extent of the damage: The vandal shattered statues and the Stations of the Cross in the lower church and damaged kneelers, chairs, and candle stands in the front of the church. The outlet noted that Fr. Simone was “ready to forgive” and that he encouraged others to forgive the suspect. “He needs our prayers. He needs our help.”
aciafrica
Africa’s water crisis demand collective response
By Nicholas Waigwa, March 19, 2026
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Cross Catholic Outreach (CCO) has emphasized that tackling Africa’s urgent water crisis requires a united effort, describing the challenge not only as a humanitarian concern but also as a spiritual call to action. In an interview with ACI African Thursday, March 19, Jim Cavnar, who is also the Co-founder of the Vatican-endorsed charity organization, said, “Put simply, we must meet this urgent need because Jesus told us to.” Referring to the Gospel of Mathew 25: 31-34 he emphasized, “To demonstrate true faith, we must answer the cries of people in need. Giving water is one way that we directly serve the Lord. Of course, no one person can solve all water poverty. But by working together as the Body of Christ, we can do mighty works in his name.”
CatholicVote
Gallup finds Americans support US international leadership
By Hannah Hiester, March 19, 2026
A Gallup survey conducted shortly before the U.S.-Iran conflict began found that majorities of Americans supported the U.S. taking on a significant role in global affairs but were pessimistic about the country’s global standing. The survey, conducted Feb. 2-16, discovered that 21% of respondents said the U.S. should take a leading role in solving international problems and 43% said it should play a major role. Both Republicans and Democrats agreed that the U.S. should play at least a major role on the global stage (73% and 67%, respectively), but Republicans were twice as likely as Democrats to say the U.S. should take the lead (30% vs. 14%). Nearly four in 10 Americans were satisfied with the U.S.’s global position, while just over six in 10 were not. Satisfaction has fluctuated over the past 25 years under various presidential administrations, hitting a low of 30% in 2008 under former President George W. Bush and rising to 53% in February 2020 under President Donald Trump. Satisfaction dipped again under former President Joe Biden and increased slightly in the current administration.
National Catholic Register
‘A tragic moment for our nation’: UK’s up-to-birth abortion vote
By Edward Pentin, March 19, 2026
Catholic bishops in England and Wales have decried a House of Lords vote on Wednesday evening that effectively decriminalizes abortion up to birth. Archbishop John Sherrington of Liverpool, the lead bishop for life issues, called the vote “deeply distressing” and warned it is “likely to lead to more late‑term abortions, putting pregnant women and their babies at risk.” He added that many women may now face “even greater risks of isolation, coercion, and pressure.” A statement from the Archdiocese of Southwark called it “a devastating moment for our country,” with its archbishop, John Wilson, saying it was “a truly tragic moment for our nation.” He wondered how such “frightening legislation” has “any place in a civilized society.” Archbishop Wilson said there is “another life involved which is now to be ignored and silenced. There are also serious concerns for the safety of women.”
EWTN News
Cesar Chavez Mass canceled in Los Angeles Archdiocese
By Daniel Payne, March 19, 2026
An annual Mass in the nation’s largest Catholic diocese honoring legendary labor leader Cesar Chavez will not take place this year after a bombshell report alleged that the activist sexually abused multiple girls at the height of his popularity decades ago. The explosive allegations came on March 18 in an investigation by the New York Times, one that alleged that Chavez abused multiple young girls in a “pattern” of sexual misconduct for years. The revelations sent numerous organizations scrambling to distance themselves from Chavez, who has loomed large in U.S. politics for decades, including being honored by President Joe Biden with a bust in the Oval Office during his administration. The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels has held an annual Mass in March to acknowledge the advocate’s “commitment to the struggle for justice and dignity for all workers,” but an archdiocesan spokeswoman said the Mass would not take place in at least 2026.
The Pillar
October gathering for ‘synodal discernment’ on Amoris laetitia
By Edgar Beltrán, March 19, 2026
Pope Leo XIV has invited the presidents of the world’s episcopal conferences to meet in Rome in October 2026 “to proceed, in mutual listening, to a synodal discernment on the steps to be taken in order to proclaim the Gospel to families today.” The letter does not specify whether the October meeting will be a Synod of Bishops or instead a special gathering. It mentions only the presidents of bishops’ conferences, so for now it remains unclear whether other participants, such as cardinals, theologians, or lay people, will be included, as happened in several major synodal assemblies and Vatican meetings during Francis’s pontificate. Amoris laetitia followed the two-year Synod on the Family, 2014 and 2015. While it addresses a range of issues related to spiritual accompaniment and the evangelization of families, it sparked significant controversy for the possible reception of communion by divorced and civilly remarried individuals or couples in irregular situations.
CRUX
The true crisis in the Benue state of Nigeria
By Ngala Killian Chimtom, March 20, 2026
What began decades ago as disputes between farmers and herders in Nigeria’s Benue State has evolved into a complex security crisis characterized by banditry and terrorism, according to a new analysis by the Justice, Development and Peace Commission (FJDP) of Nigeria’s Makurdi state. The findings, part of a “remapping” initiative supported by Misereor, the German Catholic Bishops’ development organization, challenge the long-held narrative that the violence remains primarily a resource-based conflict between agricultural and pastoral communities. What started as farmer-herder conflicts in 1986 has evolved into a new form of conflict characterized by banditry and acts of terrorism, according to Valentine Kwaghchimin, project manager for FJDP Makurdi. He told Crux Now that the nature of the violence, its targets, and the actors involved have all transformed significantly.
OSV News
House speaker defends role of religion in public life
By Kate Scanlon, March 19, 2026
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., defended the role of religion in public life during comments March 19 at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington. “Religion in the public sphere happens to be one of my favorite topics,” Johnson, who is an evangelical Christian, said. “I’m convinced it’s one of the most misunderstood issues in American public life.” Citing Thomas Jefferson’s Letter to the Danbury Baptists, noting “a wall of separation between Church & State,” Johnson argued some “take that phrase, and they turn it around.” “Jefferson clearly did not mean at all to keep religion from influencing our government,” Johnson said. “The founders wanted to protect the Church and the religious practice of citizens from an encroaching state, not the other way around.” “Our founders understood that a free society and a healthy republic depend upon religious and moral virtue; not only because these things help prevent the abuse of power, but also because those convictions make it possible to preserve our central freedom,” he said.
Big Pulpit, EWTN News & Loop for 3/20/26
Big Pulpit
Tito Edwards Catholic site: March 20, 2026
The Big Pulpit website is a news aggregator that gathers quality insights and analysis on the Catholic Church worldwide.
What St. Frances of Rome Saw in Heaven – Catholic Spiritual Direction
10 Habits of Classically Feminine Women – The Swish Magazine
St. Gregory of Nazianzus Warns: Don’t Think Too Highly of Yourself – David Mills at The Catholic Register
In Defense of Mass Deportations – S.A. McCarthy at The American Spectator
Hubristic Self-Serving Study Supports Stealth Priestesses – Catholic Conclave
EWTN News
EWTN’s top headlines — March 20, 2026
EWTN News provides reliable, free, up-to-the-minute news affecting the Universal Church, with updates on the Holy Father's words and the Holy See.
Supreme Court to hear case on processing asylum seekers turned away at border - By Stephanie Green - The Supreme Court will consider whether the federal government must inspect and process asylum seekers who present themselves at a U.S. port of entry rather than turning them away to wait in Mexico.
Michael Knowles: U.S. founding mirrors Catholic political philosophy - By Gigi Duncan - The conservative commentator argues that the U.S. Constitution reflects St. Thomas Aquinas’ “mixed regime” and a broader natural law tradition, despite the founders’ Protestant roots.
Notre Dame announces tuition assistance for families with income below $150,00 - By Madalaine Elhabbal - The move comes as “a bold expansion” of its Pathways to Notre Dame Initiative, launched by Notre Dame President Father Robert A. Dowd, CSC, in September 2024.
Zeale / Loop / CatholicVote
Zeale is CatholicVote, hosting the LOOP
Over half a million people receive the LOOP news rundown six days a week. Zeale is the new home of the LOOP. Zeale is a project of CatholicVote, America’s top Catholic advocacy organization leading the fight for faith, family, and freedom.
NETANYAHU BLASPHEMES; IRAN STRIKES ENERGY, AND ISRAEL - Speaking at a press conference in Jerusalem yesterday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu drew backlash from Christians and Catholics for employing blasphemous language. Iran launched retaliatory missile and drone strikes on Gulf energy infrastructure, prompting accusations from the countries' governments of targeting civilian sites. Iran also fired missiles toward Israel, where debris killed four women and one unborn child in the West Bank. READ
POPE LEO WRITES MESSAGE TO NATIONAL CATHOLIC PRAYER BREAKFAST - More than 1,000 Catholics gathered in Washington for the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast. Attendees heard written messages from Pope Leo XIV, who urged Americans to deepen their prayer lives and renew evangelization as the nation approaches its 250th anniversary, and President Donald Trump, who described them as “incredible patriots.” Guest speaker and Catholic actor Jonathan Roumie led the Divine Mercy Chaplet, and keynote speaker Michael Knowles spoke about what he argued was the "intrinsically Catholic character" of the U.S. READ
USCCB ISSUES STATEMENT AGAINST ANTISEMETISM - As the Triduum approaches, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) posted a message against antisemitism given by the archbishop of Portland, Oregon, who decried that in the past Easter has been marked by some through “outbursts of hatred and even violence against Jews.” READ
Nutshell reflections for 3/20/26:
USCCB Daily Reflection: AUDIO - March 20, 2026
Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent
Catholic365
Jesus had no modern means of spreading his message
By John Brander Fitzpatrick, March 19, 2026
Jesus must have had some awesome power to appear from nowhere, metaphorically snap his fingers, and get these weather-beaten fishermen to follow him like lambs. In fact, he had almighty power, but that did not mean he wanted just anyone to follow him, nor that everyone he called would follow him. He knew that by recruiting these men, he was virtually sentencing them to death. Most of them paid a high price for this devotion as they were all later martyred for their faith, apart from St John and Judas the traitor. Jesus had no such means of spreading his message. He did so with his words before individuals, groups, and crowds. There was no mass communication in his days, and his fame and message spread by word of mouth. Before he went to his Passion, he delegated his authority to his disciples and told them to go out into the world, take nothing with them, and spread the word just as he had – with their tongues and not at the point of a spear.
Catholic Weekly
From the mosque to music ministry
By Darren Ally, March 20, 2026
A former Muslim who found Christ at Hillsong and spent more than a decade in a Pentecostal church, Adlina Schneider is now preparing to be confirmed Catholic – and pouring her gift for music into the choir at St Joseph’s Parish, Enfield. There is a moment, Adlina Schneider says, when her fingers find the piano keys and everything else falls away. “When I play music – in a church setting or just by myself – I’m right at home,” she says. “It’s magic.” That sense of homecoming has taken on a new depth. Adlina is now on the threshold of full communion with the Catholic Church, preparing for her confirmation at St Joseph’s Parish in Enfield, where she plays piano with the choir twice a month. It is the latest chapter in a spiritual journey that spans continents, faiths, and a profound transformation of heart. “I met a girl who was a Christian and she told me all about Christ, that’s how I learned about him.” The woman took Adlina to different churches, and one Sunday at Hillsong, Adlina accepted Christ. It was the beginning of a new life.
Aleteia
John Paul II believed we are at a crossroads of technology
By Philip Kosloski, March 20, 2026
For the past 30 years, technology has been developing at an unprecedented rate. Never before has humanity seen such strides in technology in such a short amount of time. For example, the locomotive was invented in the early 19th century, and it took a century for the automobile to come off the assembly line. Prior to that, technology typically did not advance for hundreds of years, giving humans time to adapt to and evaluate the new weapons and tools developed. In recent years, technology has advanced exponentially, especially with the development of artificial intelligence (AI) and its near-instant adoption by major tech companies within weeks. It can be a little overwhelming at times, and while St. John Paul II died over 20 years ago, he was able to wisely see the consequences of such rapid growth. “Humanity now has instruments of unprecedented power: we can turn this world into a garden, or reduce it to a pile of rubble.”
Bishop Barron
Disturbing tendency: Turn Jesus into an inspiring spiritual teacher
By Bishop Robert Barron, March 20, 2026
Friends, the Gospel for today centers around a theme that we can never speak of enough: the divinity of Jesus. There has been a disturbing tendency in recent years—you can see it clearly in Eckhart Tolle’s best-selling book The Power of Now—to turn Jesus into an inspiring spiritual teacher, like the Buddha or the Sufi mystics. But if that’s all he is, the heck with him. The Gospels are never content with such a reductive description. Though they present Jesus quite clearly as a teacher, they know that he is infinitely more than that. They affirm that something else is at stake in him and in our relation to him. In our Gospel today, Jesus plainly declares his relationship with his Father: “I did not come on my own, but the one who sent me, whom you do not know, is true. I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me.”
Image of Coconut by Celio Nicoli from Pixabay
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