Catholic Nutshell News: Friday 5/15/26
Topics include: FDA promises pro-life, pro-family agenda; Regulations further restrict migrants; 'Synod report must be forcefully refuted’; & The newest pandemic is mental health
Fridays, "Living that coconut kinda life."
Today's sources: National Catholic Register, EWTN News, OSV News, Zeale, Bishop Barron, & 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 News
FDA acting commissioner promises pro-life, pro-family agenda
By Elise Winland, May 14, 2026
Acting Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Kyle Diamantas is committed to advancing a pro-life, pro-family agenda at the agency, a Health and Human Services (HHS) official told EWTN News, as Diamantas seeks to reassure pro-life leaders after concerns over his past legal work for a Planned Parenthood affiliate. Diamantas, who previously served as the FDA’s deputy commissioner for human foods, became acting commissioner after Marty Makary’s departure on May 12. As Zeale News previously reported, President Donald Trump announced the leadership change, which comes amid continued pro-life criticism of Biden-era FDA policies that have allowed the abortion drug mifepristone to be prescribed by telehealth and mailed directly to patients. CatholicVote Director of Government Affairs Tom McClusky, however, argued that Makary’s ouster had “zero to do with the pro-life cause.”
Related: Supreme Court leaves in place mail-order distribution of Mifepristone during legal challenge, OSV News, by Kate Scanlon, May 14, 2026
OSV News
Regulations further restrict housing, work eligibility for migrants
By Kate Scanlon, May 14, 2026
The U.S. bishops and other Catholic groups have issued public comments expressing concern about still-pending proposed federal regulations that would further restrict asylum-seekers and other migrants and their families from work authorization and housing assistance. A proposed regulation from the Department of Housing and Urban Development would prohibit persons other than U.S. citizens or certain categories of eligible noncitizens from the department’s assisted housing programs. Procedural barriers to apply for work, she said, create “more economic consequences for these individuals,” which can be “very dehumanizing.” Barriers to work also create a need for housing benefits, she said. Critics argued the proposal, which has sometimes been referred to as the mixed-status rule, would force otherwise eligible families with both citizen and ineligible noncitizen members from participation in housing assistance outright rather than the current practice of offering prorated rates for eligible members.
Aleteia
UK diocese officially opens cause for joyful university student
By Philip Kosloski, May 14, 2026
The Catholic Church is seeing an increasing number of young people being considered for canonization -- individuals who only lived a short time on this earth but scaled the heights of holiness quickly. Such was the case of Pedro Ballester, a university student from England who died in 2018 at the age of 21. While many of his peers were busy enjoying college life, Pedro remained faithful to God and his Catholic faith. The Diocese of Salford announced on May 13 that it has officially opened the cause for the canonization of Pedro and is collecting testimonies from people who knew him. After high school, Pedro attended Imperial College London, where he began studying Chemical Engineering. Shortly after beginning studies in 2014, Pedro felt intense pain and was diagnosed with advanced cancer of the pelvis. Despite the pain he was in and the reality of constantly being in the hospital, Pedro went out of his way to maintain relationships and to be a beacon of joy.
National Catholic Register
Cardinal Eijk: ‘Same-sex synod report must be forcefully refuted’
By Cardinal Willem Eijk, May 14, 2026
The recently published report from Synod Study Group 9 represents a troubling departure from the Catholic Church’s consistent moral teaching. While the authors claim they lack “the expertise or, above all, the necessary ecclesiastical authorization” to address individual moral issues definitively, the report’s methodology and framework systematically undermine the Church’s ability to proclaim and apply her moral doctrine. This is not merely a technical deficiency — it is a fundamental contradiction of Catholic teaching that demands a forceful response. The most immediate concern involves the report’s treatment of same-sex relationships. The document presents testimonies from individuals with homosexual attractions without providing the Church’s moral framework for understanding these experiences. The report says that one witness “bears witness to the discovery that sin, at its root, does not consist in the (same sex) couple relationship, but in a lack of faith in a God who desires our fulfillment.” The authors of the report reproduce this claim without correction or clarification.
Related: Reports: General Synod Secretariat distances itself from Synod working group report on homosexuality, Zeale, By McKenna Snow, May 14, 2026
EWTN News
Pew report: How Americans feel about religion’s influence
By Tessa Gervasini, May 14, 2026
A Pew Research Center survey found a growing minority of U.S. adults believe religion is gaining influence in American life, and more than half of adults have a positive view of religion — 61% of U.S. adults said religion is losing influence in American life. In contrast, 37% said it is gaining influence, a figure that has risen 19 percentage points in the past two years. The research found that 65% of Catholics reported having a positive view of religion, 12% reported a negative view, and 22% reported a neutral or unclear view. Overall, 55% of U.S. adults expressed a positive view of religion’s role in American life, either saying religion’s influence is growing and this is a good thing (21%) or that it is declining and this is a bad thing (34%). The survey found a small increase in the percentage of Americans who said they want the government to declare Christianity the nation’s official religion. Overall, 17% of U.S. adults express this view, up from 13% in 2024.
The Pillar
Polish archdiocese trials new priest appointment model
By Luke Coppen, May 14, 2026
In what may be a first in Poland, an archbishop has invited priests to apply to lead vacant parishes by submitting a résumé and a proposed pastoral program tailored to each parish's needs. The new approach is a marked departure from the traditional Polish model, in which priest assignments are made by the bishop, with input from the diocesan curia, but with no formal application process. Budzik, who has led the Lublin archdiocese since 2011, has invited priests to apply by May 20 to lead one of 16 vacant parishes, in the first test of the new process. Fr. Adam Jaszcz, chancellor of the archdiocesan curia, told media that “there’s no shortage of applicants.” “There is a great deal of interest; applications are constantly being received by the curia and will be reviewed by the bishops’ council,” he said, referring to an advisory body composed of auxiliary bishops and senior clergy. Jaszcz has previously said the change was inspired by practices in U.S. dioceses.
CRUX
Easter convert numbers are up, but only a ‘drop in the bucket’
By Crux Now Staff, May 15, 2026
Dioceses that saw tremendous year-over-year growth include the Diocese of Norwich, Connecticut (119%); the Diocese of Pittsburgh (108%); the Diocese of Gaylord, Michigan (100%); and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles (139%). “We need to be very clear about how big the Catholic Church is — the number from 2020 was 62 million people. So, to see the Catholic Church actually grow in a substantial way, you need to be seeing half a million to a million converts each year,” Ryan Burge, professor at Washington University in St. Louis, said, noting also the demographic challenges that exist. “In order for Catholicism to grow, the inflows have to exceed the outflows,” he explained. After decades of decline, the number of religious Americans has remained largely the same since 2020. He assured that religion will decline in the future unless “something radically changes.” He thinks, “we’ve gotten close to bedrock of American religion, somewhere between 60% of Americans are Christian, 30% are non-religious, and the rest are from another faith group.”
Zenit News
France and England: Pro-life victories in the culture of discard
By Elizabeth Owens, May 14, 2026
At a moment when assisted suicide and euthanasia laws continue advancing across parts of Europe, two major parliamentary developments in France and the United Kingdom suggest that resistance to legalizing medically assisted death remains politically and morally significant. In Paris, the French Senate has once again refused to endorse legislation on so-called “assisted dying,” while in Britain, a controversial bill to legalize assisted suicide in England and Wales has collapsed after failing to complete the parliamentary process before the legislative session expired. Although the political circumstances differ in each country, both episodes reveal a deeper European debate no longer centered only on personal autonomy, but increasingly on the protection of vulnerable people, the limits of medicine, and the moral identity of societies facing aging populations and strained healthcare systems.
Big Pulpit, EWTN News & Loop for 5/15/26
Big Pulpit
Tito Edwards Catholic site: May 15, 2026
The Big Pulpit website is a news aggregator that gathers quality insights and analysis on the Catholic Church worldwide.
Archbishop Sample of Portland Makes St. Michael Prayer After Mass Mandatory – Fr. Z’s Blog
A Benedictine Bishop: Belleville’s New Shepherd Sees Monastic Roots as an Asset – The Reg
Five Unavoidable Problems for Atheism – Clement Harrold at The Catholic Herald
Jesus Ascends . . . Into Space? – Jimmy Akin at Catholic Answers Magazine
EWTN News
EWTN’s top headlines — May 15, 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.
Philippine bishops press Senate to begin Duterte impeachment trial - By Santosh Digal - The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) on May 12 urged the national senate to act swiftly on the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte after the countryʼs House of Representatives impeached her for the second time.
135 years later, Rerum Novarum inspires Pope Leo XIV and still shapes Catholic social teaching - By Tyler Arnold - When Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was elected supreme pontiff of the Catholic Church on May 8, 2025, he chose the name Leo XIV in part, he said a few days later, to honor Leo XIII and his historical encyclical Rerum Novarum.
Pope Leo XIV rejects use of death penalty in fight against organized crime, drug trafficking - By Almudena Martínez-Bordiú - Pope Leo XIV called for respect for human dignity in the fight against organized crime and drug trafficking and reiterated his rejection of the death penalty, torture, and any degrading punishment in the face of a scourge that, he warned, “imperils the very future of our societies.”
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.
SUPREME COURT ALLOWS MIFEPRISTONE SALES WHILE LOUISIANA CASE PROCEEDS - The Supreme Court on May 14 declined to immediately restore in-person safeguards for the abortion pill mifepristone, allowing companies to keep offering mail-order abortion drugs online while a Louisiana-led lawsuit proceeds in lower courts. READ
CALIFORNIA CATHOLIC STUDENTS PUSH NEWSOM FOR SCHOOL CHOICE - More than 1,100 Catholic students from St. Genevieve Parish Schools in Panorama City, California, formed a one-mile human chain May 13 to urge Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom to enroll the state in Trump's federal school choice program. READ
'SAVE WEST BANK CHRISTIANS' INITIATIVE CONFRONTS SETTLER VIOLENCE - Vatican News recently reported that Israeli settler attacks on Christian Palestinians in the West Bank are going on with no accountability. Zeale News spoke with Vulnerable People Project founder Jason Jones about his apostolate's "Save West Bank Christians" initiative, which is designed to bring the accountability the Vatican News report warned is lacking. READ
Nutshell reflections for 5/15/26:
USCCB Daily Reflection: AUDIO - May 15, 2026
Friday of the Sixth Week of Easter
Catholic365
The newest pandemic isn’t hantavirus ...
By The Catholic Nurse, May 15, 2026
A mental-health crisis can fit the CDC’s definition of a pandemic when it shows epidemic-level increase and spreads across multiple countries or continents, affecting large populations. Stats include: 5.9 million ER visits — Annual U.S. emergency-department visits involving mental-health conditions; 1 billion global cases — People worldwide living with a mental-health condition; and the third-leading cause of death is suicide among ages 15–29. Behind these statistics lie deep fractures: childhood abuse, loneliness, fragmented families, economic instability, and the erosion of communal structures that once held people together. Many individuals face trauma without support, grief without ritual, and fear without guidance. Even in a world marked by global grief and pandemic pressure, God's grace offers steady strength.
Catholic Weekly
Revelation of devotion to the Holy Face
By Fr. John Flader, May 15, 2026
The nun who first received revelations from God about devotion to the Holy Face was Sr. Marie of Saint Peter (1816-1848). From 1844 to 1847, Sr. Mary received messages from Jesus in her prayers about spreading devotion to His Holy Face. Jesus told her that he desired the devotion in reparation for sacrilege and blasphemy, which he described as being like a “poisoned arrow.” In answer to this poisoned arrow, Jesus dictated to her the “Golden Arrow” prayer, which is an act of reparation for blasphemy and the profanation of the Lord’s Day, the two sins that most offended him. He called this prayer the “Golden Arrow” because those who recited it would pierce him with delight and heal those other wounds inflicted on him by the malice of sinners. The other nun was Sr Giuseppina Pierina de Micheli (1890-1945). Born near Milan in 1890, she was aware from an early age of the Holy Face devotion promoted by Sr Mary of St Peter and the Holy Family. In 1940, she obtained permission from the Curia in Milan to reproduce the photograph of Christ’s face on the Shroud of Turin as the Holy Face Medal.
Aleteia
Depressed? Here’s a patron saint for you
By Philip Kosloski, May 14, 2026
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, an "estimated 16.1 million adults" suffer from depression on a yearly basis, a number that continues to rise each year. On the spiritual side of the issue, many saints can be invoked for heavenly aid. One saint in particular is St. Dymphna, known for her intercession for those suffering mental disorders, depression, and anxiety. Born in Ireland during the 7th century, Dymphna was the daughter of a pagan chieftain and a Christian mother. Her mother died while Dymphna was a teenager, and her father began to make advances on Dymphna, who promptly fled the country. Dymphna refused her father’s continued advances, and for that, he killed her. During the Middle Ages, a church housing her relics was dedicated to Dymphna in Geel. Hundreds of pilgrims came from all over Europe seeking healing from their mental illnesses. Countless miracles were credited to her intercession, and the city of Geel became a center for treating mentally ill patients.
Bishop Barron
Christ our Lord!
By Bishop Robert Barron, May 15, 2026
Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus exhorts us to pray with expectant faith: “Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.” Invoking the name of Jesus is an effective way to monitor the quality and shape the content of our prayer. When we pray “through Christ our Lord,” we are assuming the stance and attitude of Jesus, aligning ourselves to him, compelling ourselves to desire what he desires. Accordingly, it is altogether consistent to pray in the name of Jesus for peace, justice, the forgiveness of our enemies, greater faith, or the health of those we love. Those are all goods that Jesus would want. But how anomalous it would be to pray for vengeance against our enemies in Jesus’s name, or for a Maserati through Christ our Lord!
Image of Coconut by Celio Nicoli from Pixabay
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