Catholic Nutshell News: Friday 7/25/25
Topics include: Poland still leads in religious vocations; Mishandled spiritual manipulation; The ‘trans’ lie is losing; & Why fire theologian Ralph Martin?
Fridays, "Living that coconut kinda life."
Today's sources: National Catholic Register, The UK Tablet, Catholic News Agency, Word on Fire, CatholicVote, Agenzia Fides, & Missio Dei. (Catholic Nutshell is a FREE subscription service for faithful, hopeful, & curious Catholics willing to exercise their Catholic News Muscle)
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Catholic News Agency
Poland remains a leader in religious vocations in Europe
By Solène Tadié, July 25, 2025
Poland stands out as the undisputed leader in religious vocations in Europe in 2025, with 206 new ordained priests, the highest number on the continent. This recent data from the Polish Catholic Information Agency KAI, reported by the Catholic Herald, shows that while much of Europe grapples with declining ordination figures, Poland’s numbers remain robust, reflecting a deep-rooted commitment to religious life, in contrast to much of Europe, where the number of new priests has fallen below replacement levels. The nation’s deeply ingrained Catholic identity continues to shape the lives of Polish citizens. According to the 2021 census, nearly 71.4% of the population identifies as Roman Catholic—a noticeable decline from the 88% a decade earlier. Poland still boasts one of the highest church attendance rates in Europe — 29.5% in 2022 — a vital element in sustaining vocations to the priesthood.
The Pillar
Woman says Raleigh diocese mishandled spiritual manipulation
By The Pillar, July 24, 2025
A Catholic woman says a North Carolina diocese did not sufficiently address Fr. Steven Costello’s alleged pattern of sexual and spiritual manipulation in the context of spiritual direction. And while Costello has been banned from a Catholic university in Virginia due to the allegations against him, he was appointed as a parish administrator in the Diocese of Raleigh last month. The Diocese of Raleigh says the priest engaged in a consensual relationship between adults, but the woman says that Raleigh’s Bishop Luis Zarama has not taken seriously a very different account of the relationship. She said their friendship represented “Christ the bridegroom and his bride and beloved” — and was uniquely given to them by God. He referenced erotic portions of Song of Songs to describe how God had united them.
CatholicVote
The ‘trans’ lie is losing
By Kelsey Reinhardt, July 24, 2025
LA Children’s “gender care” clinic for kids shut down on Tuesday. Then in quick succession, more followed. D.C. Children’s. UChicago. University of Pittsburgh. Ending irreversible puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and mutilation surgeries for kids. The world is getting safer for children by the day. All this in response to the fact that the White House is preparing to cut off federal funding for hospitals that provide so-called gender-transition procedures to minors. Last year, Catholics across the country rallied for an agenda that included protecting America’s children from a trans movement that was pushing harmful, life-altering procedures. This builds on the momentum initiated by January’s executive order, ‘Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation.’
National Catholic Register
Firing was ‘a shock’ for theologian Ralph Martin
By Matthew McDonald, July 24, 2025
Martin, 82, who had taught at Sacred Heart Major Seminary since 2002, said Archbishop Edward Weisenburger told him Wednesday he “was terminating my position at the seminary effective immediately.” “When I asked him for an explanation, he said he didn’t think it would be helpful to give any specifics but mentioned something about having concerns about my theological perspectives,” Martin said in a written statement Thursday afternoon. “This news came as a shock,” Martin said. “I want what I say about this situation to be truthful, but I also do not want to unnecessarily contribute to current polarization in the Church.” A spokesman for the archbishop declined comment on Thursday. Martin and another theologian, Eduardo Echeverria, 74, were fired on Wednesday. Echeverria taught philosophy and systematic theology, but declined further comment, citing a non-disclosure agreement.
Related: Martin and Eduardo Echeverria critiqued what they perceived as doctrinal ambiguity under Pope Francis - National Catholic Register - Jonathan Liedl News July 24, 2025
Catholic News Agency
Catholics say U.S. plan for AI must uphold human dignity
By Tyler Arnold, July 17, 2025
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is asking a federal district court to block the government from enforcing any portion of an abortion “accommodation” rule against them while they appeal a court order that provided only partial relief from the rule. Under the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) abortion accommodation rule, the USCCB can deny workplace accommodations for employees who obtain purely elective abortions, but they may still have to provide accommodations for abortions related to treating medical conditions. The rule stems from the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, passed under President Joe Biden, which requires employers to provide reasonable workplace accommodations for women with limitations resulting from pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.
CathNews Australia
Archbishop challenges misrepresentation of Muslim procession
By Darren Ally, July 25, 2025
Melbourne Archbishop Peter A. Comensoli said the July 7 religious procession of Muslims that passed by St Patrick’s Cathedral, after a video of the procession captured global attention and heightened anger. Archbishop Comensoli said, “This was a peaceful event that has occurred annually for over a decade. This procession has been misrepresented in some quarters as an attack on Christians and, specifically, on St Patrick’s Cathedral. This is simply not the case.” He further explained, “Like all Victorians, the Islamic community is entitled to exercise freedom of religion. As Catholics, we expect nothing less.” The archdiocese has been in contact with leaders within the Shia community to discuss the misrepresentation of the procession on social media and to assure them that they had no problem with the procession.
CRUX
Ordained ministers & lay faithful both need a solid formation
By Charles Collins, July 25, 2025
At aDicastery for the Clergy international gathering Pope Leo XIV said the call by God to be missionaries “requires of us all, ordained ministers and lay faithful alike, a solid and integral formation, which is not limited to specialized knowledge, but must aim to transform our humanity and our spirituality so that they reflect the Gospel, and so that we have ‘the same mind’ as Christ Jesus.” He said hope is not to remain a mere slogan because formation is essential. “Indeed, it is necessary that the ‘house’ of our life and vocational journey, whether priestly or lay, be founded on ‘rock’ [cf. Mt 7:24-25], that is, on solid foundations with which to face the human and spiritual storms from which even the lives of Christians, priests, and missionaries are not exempt. We need personally to experience the closeness of the Master; to know that we have been seen, loved, and chosen by the Lord by pure grace and without merit on our part.”
Our Sunday Visitor
The new school choice law is reason for Catholics to rejoice
By Bishop David M. O'Connell, July 24, 2025
The first federal school choice tax credit in our nation’s history, a landmark legislation led by Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Tim Scott, R-S.C., was modeled on the Educational Choice for Children Act — to expand parental choice in education to an estimated 2 million children across the country. For years, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has endorsed this bill because it aligns with our church’s teaching that parents are the first and primary educators of their children and, therefore, have the right to select the best educational environment for them. The groundbreaking new law deserves accolades for its recognition of the rights of parents, but there are significant questions about how it will be implemented at the federal and state levels.
Pillar, CNA & ChurchPOP for 7/25/2025
The Babylon Bee remains in the doghouse until its managing editor explains a series of viral, anti-Catholic non-satirical epithets that warrant a public apology.
Big Pulpit
Tito Edwards Catholic site: July 25, 2025
The Big Pulpit website is a news aggregator offering quality insight & analysis on the Catholic Church worldwide.
Ralph Martin Issues Statement on His Abrupt Firing frm Sacred Heart Seminary – Ch. Niles, J.D.
Is Pope Leo XIV Moving Forward With The Francis Reforms? – Joe McLane at A Catholic Take
Community Life: A Possible Solution to the Priestly Crisis – Fr. Mario Proietti at Zenit
Bishop Allowed Gay Clergy for 33 Yrs, Lost $250B to Abuse, Connection? – Ch Manion KM PhD
Catholic News Agency
CNA’s top headlines — July 18, 2025
Catholic News Agency provides reliable and free up-to-the-minute news affecting the Universal Church, with updates on the words of the Holy Father and the Holy See.
Excitement in Tanzania as over 200 young people prepare for Jubilee of Youth in Rome - Jul 25, 2025 - By Agnes Aineah - It is a huge number, coming from Africa, where denied visa applications have blocked many youth from participating in the global July 28 to Aug. 3 event.
Exclusive: Gaza priest injured in Israeli bombing discusses impact on parish community - Jul 24, 2025 - By Madalaine Elhabbal - “It was a shocking experience,” said Father Gabriel Romanelli, noting that while the parish grounds were struck toward the beginning of the war in December 2023, last week’s attack marked the first time the church itself was hit.
Children’s hospitals nationally end transgender surgeries on minors amid Trump rules - Jul 24, 2025 - By Tyler Arnold - Hospital systems and individual hospitals in several states that have performed transgender surgeries on minors are halting the procedures in response to President Donald Trump’s executive actions and his administration’s regulatory changes.
ChurchPOP Trending
ChurchPOP provides fun, informative, and authentically Catholic news and culture - July 25, 2022
'Good Saint Anne, Find Me a Man!': The Prayer to the Mother of Mary for Singles Seeking a Spouse - Looking for a spouse? Turn to Saint Anne, the mother of Our Lady, to be your heavenly matchmaker!
From Friary to the Newsroom: A Day in the Life of a Capuchin Intern’s Summer - What's it like being a Capuchin friar *and* an intern in the EWTN News room? Here's a preview from this Franciscan brother!
Fascinating Facts About Saint Charbel Makhlouf, the Miraculous Healing Saint - “People never saw his face when he was alive. He always kept his head down in church, at work, or when walking, always looking to the ground. He would lift his eyes only to heaven. When in church, he always faced the altar with his eyes fixed on the tabernacle.”
Nutshell reflections for 7/25/25:
USCCB Daily Reflection: AUDIO - July 25, 2025
Feast of Saint James, Apostle
Aleteia
The Orthodox-Catholic split amid hopes for reunification
By Alicia Ambrosio, July 17, 2025
In 1054, Pope Leo IX of Rome and Patriarch Michael I Kiroularious (or Cerularius) of Constantinople excommunicated each other. This mutual act marked the culmination of several East-West disputes, ultimately leading to a schism within the Church. Eastern dioceses remaining loyal to Constantinople claimed the banner of Orthodoxy. Nearly 1,000 years passed before a joint Catholic-Orthodox commission was established to study the causes of the division and work toward possible reunification. This occurred in 1964, when Pope Paul VI and Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I of Constantinople met for the first time in Jerusalem. One of the key issues that drove East and West apart was the primacy of the Bishop of Rome. Eastern Christians did not deny that the See of Rome held primacy over all other Churches, even Constantinople, but they did dispute the juridical claims that bishops of Rome were increasingly making regarding this primacy.
Crisis Magazine
Thank Heaven for little girls
By Sheryl Collmer, July 25, 2025
The little girls, woken in the sleepiest part of the morning of July 4th, and swept away in the flood surge, break my heart in places that haven’t been exposed for decades. The fact that we are most grieved by the loss of little girls is not sexist or racist or any other -ist that people invent. It’s natural. The raw reaction of our hearts is a recognition that there is something special about little girls, something precious, quickly lost and unrepeatable. At that age, cuteness precedes beauty. They still have missing teeth, untamed hair, funny smiles. Even Pope Leo noted it when he expressed condolences to the bereaved families who had lost loved ones, “in particular, their daughters.” Little girls of a certain age are all hope and promise, especially girls being raised to honor and love Jesus, as attendance at a Christian camp implies.
Word on Fire
The apostles and their successors have always used letters
By Caroline Kurt, July 25, 2025
As the world awaits the first encyclical from the new pope, Catholics should pick up encyclicals from past vicars of Christ. Though their Latin names may suggest otherwise, these encyclicals—or papal letters—aren’t just for theologians to enjoy. I began reading them as a high school student and discovered, to my surprise, encyclicals are both accessible and comprehensible to the average Catholic: a free way to better understand the current pope, Church history, and the moral and intellectual life of the Church. As early Church history shows, the apostles and their successors have always used letters to instruct, correct, and commend the faithful. Some of the most well-known passages of the New Testament come from the apostle Paul’s epistles to various Christian communities
Missio Dei
This bold mother speaks for ‘these two sons of mine’
By Veronicæ, July 25, 2025
In today’s Gospel reading for the Feast of St. James, it’s not St. James’ and John's father who speaks to Jesus on their behalf, it is their mother who petitions Jesus to secure their place in heaven. She almost demands it. She’s like another determined woman we know from the Gospel — the woman with the veil who captures the image of Christ along His Via Crucis. Like Veronica, Salome (her name according to tradition), is courageous enough to break through crowds to walk among men for the love of God. The Bible is full of Jariuses, lepered men, and men with withered hands who confidently approach our Lord for miracles, but rarely do we see a woman approach Jesus so confidently to ask her heart’s desire. Only Martha speaks to Jesus with this ‘If only..’ tone. Telling Jesus to “Command” is quite the request!
Image of Coconut by Celio Nicoli from Pixabay
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