Catholic Nutshell News: Monday 10/27/25
Topics include: Hope Lai freed in China; Old Latin Mass in St. Peter’s; U of I students publicly adore Christ; & Why we pray for the dead
“Worth your weight in walnuts”
Today's sources are Catholic News Agency, Graphs about Religion, OSV, Aleteia, Fides, UCA, CWN, National Catholic Register, & Christian Post. (Catholic Nutshell is a subscription service for faithful, hopeful, & curious Catholics willing to exercise the Catholic News Muscle)
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Catholic News Agency
Prayers & fingers crossed that Trump can get Lai freed in China
By Daniel Payne, October 25, 2025
Asked by EWTN News White House Correspondent Owen Jensen if he planned to speak with Xi on the topic of long-imprisoned Catholic activist Jimmy Lai, Trump — boarding Marine One at the White House en route to his Asia trip — responded: “I might do that, yeah.” Trump is scheduled to meet with Xi next week. In their Oct. 24 letter, the U.S. senators — including Republicans Mitch McConnell and Ted Cruz, along with Democrats Tim Kaine and Raphael Warnock — praised Trump’s “outspoken advocacy” for Lai. The president earlier this year vowed to do “everything [he] can” to “save” Lai, who has been imprisoned for years and convicted of numerous charges, including fraud and unlawful assembly. “The humanitarian case for Mr. Lai’s release is stronger and more dire than ever, which is why this must be addressed at the highest possible level,” the senators wrote.
CRUX
Old Latin Mass in St. Peter’s is a sign of change
By Nicole Winfield/AP, October 25, 2025
Cardinal Raymond Burke, the conservative American figurehead, celebrated a traditional Latin Mass on Saturday in St. Peter’s Basilica with the explicit permission of Pope Leo XIV, thrilling traditionalist Catholics who had felt abandoned after Pope Francis greatly restricted the ancient liturgy. A few thousand pilgrims, many of them young families with multiple children, and the women covering their heads with lace veils, packed the altar area of the basilica to standing room-only capacity. For many traditionalists, the moment was a tangible sign that Leo might be more sympathetic to their plight, after they felt rejected by Francis and his 2021 crackdown on the old liturgy. Pope Benedict XVI, in 2007, removed restrictions on celebrating the old Latin Mass, all but swept away by the 1960s Vatican II meetings that modernized the church. In July of 2021, Francis reversed Benedict’s reform and reimposed restrictions, saying bishops complained the 2007 reform was a source of division.
Aleteia
Students adore Christ at one of largest public universities
By Theresa Civantos Barber, October 25, 2025
The Main Quad at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is usually bustling with students rushing back and forth to classes, dorms, parties, and activities. In early October, the students were stopping, looking over, and pointing. Hundreds of students were worshiping Jesus in the Eucharist — sitting or kneeling, joining in prayerful song, or adoring quietly. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) is the fifth-largest public university in the U.S., with close to 60,000 enrolled students. The Newman Center community was celebrating “Feast Week,” a whole week of special events to honor their patron, St. John Henry Newman, whose feast day is October 9. “We decided to take it outside and bring Jesus onto the quad as a way to witness to the campus who we are and who Jesus is in the Eucharist, and to bring our faith into the public square,” said Fr. Daniel McShane, assistant chaplain.
Vatican News
Pope: Let us build a humbler, more welcoming Church
By Kielce Gussie, October 26, 2025
During the Mass for the Jubilee of the Synodal Teams and Participatory Bodies in St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Leo XIV invited all the participants to reflect on the “mystery of the Church.” He reminded them that she is not simply a religious institution with hierarchies and structures. Rather, the Church is “the visible sign of the union between God and humanity”, where God brings everyone together as one family united in love. Through contemplating what ecclesial communion—created and preserved by the Holy Spirit—means, the Pope explained we can begin to understand what synodal teams and participatory bodies are. “They express what occurs within the Church, where relationships do not respond to the logic of power but to that of love”, he underlined, stressing that the most important thing in the Christian community is the spiritual life.
The Pillar
Bishop’s upcoming meeting picks new head amid several issues
By JD Flynn, October 25, 2025
There are some pending USCCB issues not yet on the bishops’ public agenda at their plenary assembly in Baltimore next month — including a proposal to substantially revise the CCHD community organizing program, the prospect of revising substantially the Dallas Charter, and a rewrite of the bishops’ pastoral statement on ministry to people with disabilities, which has been in the works for several years, but not yet at point of circulating a draft. After the bishops elect a president from the 10 candidates on the slate, or, in the unlikely event of a floor nominee, they will elect a vice president from the remaining candidates to serve alongside him. While USCCB meetings were once almost entirely public affairs, the bishops have, in recent years, called most meetings into executive session, with public sessions restricted mostly to presentations and updates from conference committees and outside groups.
Our Sunday Visitor
Praying for the dead is a form of love
By Father Joshua J. Whitfield, October 27, 2025
Falling on a Sunday this year, All Souls Day takes precedence. The church will not celebrate the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time but instead the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed. A medieval feast in origin, at least as it’s still celebrated today, when you go to Mass on Sunday, the prayers, the homily, the music will all lean into the truth Dante was getting at in the Purgatorio, the idea that we all are connected, even the living to the dead, the notion that we are bound together in a communion of charity and prayer. “Not small is the authority … of the whole Church,” St. Augustine wrote, “that in the prayers of the priest which are offered to the Lord God at his altar, the commemoration of the dead also has its place.” Praying for the dead is something Christians have always done. The idea is simple; it’s that by faith and sacraments, we are truly one in Christ, “a single mystical person,” St. Paul VI said.
Graphs about Religion
The Democrats have a religion problem
By Ryan Burge, October 27, 2025
Eighty percent of the people who voted for Donald Trump identify as some type of Christian. It was 48% for Harris voters in 2024. Just 17% of Trump voters identified as atheist, agnostic, or “nothing in particular.” In 2024, nearly half of Democrats (45%) were non-religious. It’s much easier to deliver a coherent religious message as a Republican candidate than as a Democrat. If you’re working for the GOP, something along the lines of “God, Country, and Traditional Family Values” resonates with nearly all your voters. For Democrats, it’s not that simple. A message of faith and values will probably turn off as many voters as it attracts. Their “religion problem” is deeply entangled with race. Essentially, the party now has a large cohort of non-religious white voters alongside a diverse coalition of voters of color who remain deeply religious. In 2008, most white voters who supported Barack Obama were religious. By 2024, those numbers had flipped.
National Catholic Register
Surge in Bible sales and faith following Kirk’s Assassination
By Alyssa Murphy, October 22, 2025
In the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s killing on a Utah college campus in September, Bible sales have soared. First reported by The Wall Street Journal, sales spiked by 36% in the month compared to 2024, totaling 2.4 million Bibles sold in September alone, according to Circana Bookscan, a national book tracker. “September brought a wave of troubling events — violence, geopolitical tensions, and economic uncertainty — underscoring a pattern: In times of crisis, more people turn to faith for comfort and support,” Brenna Connor, an analyst at Circana Bookscan, told The Wall Street Journal. And other publishers are experiencing an increase, including Ascension Press, home to The Bible in a Year podcast featuring Father Mike Schmitz. “We’re continually moved by the stories we hear of people returning to Mass, going to confession for the first time in decades, or encountering Christ for the first time,” said Ascension President and CEO Jonathan Strate.
CatholicVote
5 immigrant Catholic priests could be forced to leave Idaho
By Hannah Hiester, October 24, 2025
Due to immigration law changes and visa processing delays, regular access to Sunday Mass is threatened for thousands of Catholics because five foreign-born priests in eastern Idaho may be forced to leave by June 2026. The 79 priests of the Diocese of Boise, Idaho’s only diocese, serve over 280,000 parishioners. Twenty-two percent of the priests are foreign-born. In eastern Idaho, five of the area’s 11 priests are foreign-born. A 2023 immigration backlog has left many religious workers waiting years for green cards; if R-1 visas expire, they must leave the U.S. for a year before reapplying. The Religious Workforce Protection Act, a bipartisan bill, aims to extend religious worker visas but has made little progress, especially amid the ongoing government shutdown.
CNA, UCA, and CNW News for 10/27/25
Catholic News Agency
CNA’s top headlines — October 27, 2025
The Catholic News Agency provides reliable, free, and up-to-the-minute news affecting the Universal Church, emphasizing the words of the Holy Father and the happenings of the Holy See to anyone with internet access.
Pope Leo XIV: The first lesson for every bishop is humility - Oct 26, 2025 - By Hannah Brockhaus - Bishops should be humble servants and men of prayer, not possession, Pope Leo XIV said at a Mass to consecrate a new bishop, Monsignor Mirosław Stanisław Wachowski, on Sunday, as apostolic nuncio to Iraq.
Influencer son of evangelical pastors embraced the Catholic faith - Oct 26, 2025 - By Walter Sánchez Silva - Jonatan Medina Espinal is a young Catholic influencer who, as the son of evangelical pastors, was considered unlikely to embrace the Catholic faith, but he did so five years ago after a long and intense spiritual journey.
Federal judge strikes down Biden-era health care rule - Oct 24, 2025 - By Tyler Arnold - Biden’s administration interpreted the ban on “sex” discrimination to imply a prohibition on discriminating against a person based on sex characteristics, including “sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex stereotypes.” Neither Title IX nor the ACA defines “sex” in this way.
UCA News
The Union of Catholic Asian World News - 10/27/25
UCA News (UCAN) is the leading independent Catholic media service from Asia, with a convergent media approach that couples traditional journalistic practices with multimedia and social media
Sri Lankan unions oppose allowing Islamic dress for nurses - October 27, 2025 -The Government proposed changes after Muslim clerics requested head coverings and longer dresses.
Cambodia, Thailand pull out heavy weapons after signing peace deal - October 27, 2025 - Kuala Lumpur Peace Accord welcomed but falls short of expectations and hope. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet described the accord as a “historic moment” while his Thai counterpart, Anutin Charnvirakul, seemed less optimistic.
‘Hijab’ row in Indian Catholic school settled ‘amicably’ in court - October 27, 2025 - The top court in southern Indian Kerala state has closed a case involving a Catholic school accused of barring a Muslim student from wearing a hijab, after the student’s counsel informed the court that she no longer wished to continue her studies there.
Catholic World News
CatholicCulture.org from Trinity Communications
Catholic World News (CWN) is an independent Catholic news service staffed by lay Catholic journalists, dedicated to providing accurate global news from a distinctly Catholic perspective.
Pope, at jubilee Mass, calls for a servant Church that is ‘entirely synodal’ - Preaching at Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica yesterday (booklet, video), Pope Leo XIV called for “a Church that is entirely synodal, ministerial and attracted to Christ and therefore committed to serving the world.”
Vatican dicastery releases ‘Catholic Approaches to Mining’ - “There is still much to be done so that each local Church can accompany the human development of their people where mining is planned, going on, or has ceased,” said Cardinal Michael Czerny, SJ, the dicastery’s prefect. “As the efforts continue, our Dicastery remains ready to listen, encourage, and advise.”
Brazilian cardinal decries evangelical missionary work that destroys indigenous culture - Cardinal Leonardo Ulrich Steiner, OFM of Manaus, Brazil, denounced attacks against indigenous people, including violence, mining, and lack of respect for land rights. He condemned evangelical Protestant missionary activity that destroys indigenous culture. The Catholic Church “has chosen a different path.” Liturgy and books are translated into indigenous languages, and indigenous seminarians receive training to preserve their ancient traditions.
Nutshell reflections for 10/27/25:
USCCB Daily Reflection AUDIO - October 27, 2025
Monday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
Our Sunday Visitor
Wine is good, but it’s not the basis of authentic Catholic culture
By Father Dominic Bouck, October 24, 2025
The famous couplet by the Catholic writer Hilaire Belloc: “Wherever the Catholic sun doth shine, / There’s always laughter and good red wine” belongs in a historical context. While alcohol is a core component of human life, and even rises to the level of the most Blessed Sacrament, Belloc grew up in the prudishness of Victorian Great Britain and later traveled throughout Prohibition-era America. It was a time when Protestant radicals, especially in colder climates, cast great suspicion on alcohol. Warmer, more Catholic countries looked upon these teetotaling brethren with humorous disdain. Some Catholic colleges today have the reputation of being “party schools.” In fact, moderation and asceticism are more properly Catholic dispositions than the use of any one particular thing. We can’t just make alcohol the center of an event and, citing Belloc, call it Catholic. Culture is centered around an activity that 1) glorifies God and 2) brings people together in an authentic way.
National Catholic Register
We’re at a pivotal point for international religious freedom
By Andrea M. Picciotti-Bayer, October 27, 2025
International Religious Freedom Day commemorates the anniversary of the passage of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA). As American Catholics gathered together this past Sunday to celebrate the Holy Mass, the Oct. 27 observance comes at a pivotal moment. Just last week, Aid to the Church in Need — a pontifical foundation whose mission is to support the persecuted — launched its Religious Freedom Report, warning that nearly two-thirds of the world’s population live in countries where serious religious freedom violations take place. The IRFA, strengthened by the 2016 Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act, provides our government with concrete mechanisms to identify, condemn, and sanction the worst perpetrators of religious persecution. These aren’t merely symbolic gestures — they’re legal obligations.
George Weigel
John Paul II is a model for Catholics in fighting antisemitism
By Madalaine Elhabbal/CNA, March 13, 2025
Speaking at a conference, “Catholics and Antisemitism — Facing the Past, Shaping the Future,” on March 13, Weigel reflected on John Paul II’s “distinctly personal” relationship with the Jewish people. Growing up in a small town outside Kraków, Karol Wojtyla had many Jewish friends and lived in an apartment owned by a Jewish family. Many Jews died in the Shoah. “That cauldron of hatred and violence was, I believe, the most formative experience of Karol Wojtyla’s life,” Weigel said, referring to Poland during the war years. “As a determined foe of antisemitism,” he stated, “John Paul would be appalled, sad, heartbroken, and very angry at the recrudescence of that ancient plague we have discussed today in the form of an exterminationist anti-Zionism the world has witnessed since Oct. 7, 2023. And he would want to name that evil for what it is.”
The Christian Post
Pressure to hold Nigeria accountable for violence against Christians
By Anugrah Kumar, October 27, 2025
Around three dozen prominant religious freedom advocates have signed onto a letter urging President Donald Trump to have the U.S. State Department designate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern under the International Religious Freedom Act, saying “several years have seen a burgeoning of violent attacks specifically targeting rural Christians in the country’s Middle Belt, while the government in Abuja barely lifts a finger to protect them.” Their letter comes after a similar letter by Rep. Riley Moore, R-W.V., called on Secretary of State Marco Rubio to designate Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern, following a sharp rise in killings, kidnappings, and displacement across the West African country. Moore cited figures from an NGO suggesting that more than 7,000 Christians were killed in Nigeria in the first seven months of 2025.
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