“Worth your weight in walnuts”

Your 5-minute daily Catholic briefing. Today's sources include National Catholic Register, EWTN News, The Pillar, Our Sunday Visitor, Zeale, & Aleteia. Please support their ministries and apostolates. (Catholic Nutshell is a FREE subscription service for faithful, hopeful, & curious Catholics willing to exercise their Catholic News Muscle)

Please support the following Catholic news services and spiritual support sites. Click here to view this email on the Catholic Nutshell News website. Today’s Catholic Nutshell News audio podcast is available on the Substack App.

Our Sunday Visitor

US lawmakers call for Pope Leo to address next Congress

By Gina Christian, November 8, 2026

Ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections, a bipartisan group of more than 90 U.S. lawmakers urged House Speaker Mike Johnson to invite Pope Leo XIV to address Congress, saying the U.S.-born pope’s “unique perspective” and “ties to our country” would be “a unifying force” for officials. On Oct. 30, Catholic lawmakers, Rep. Mike Thompson, D-Calif., and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., spearheaded a letter signed by 91 members of Congress, asking Johnson and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to formally invite the Chicago-born pope to speak at a joint session of the legislative body in January, when it convenes for its 120th session. “As the first ever American-born Pope, his unique perspective and ties to our country would serve as a unifying force for members of Congress,” said the lawmakers in their letter. “Following a divisive election, Pope Leo’s unifying message of service, compassion for fellow mankind, and the importance of human dignity would be especially timely.”

National Catholic Register

Chaldean monks return historic manuscripts to Iraqi Archdiocese

By Georgena Habbaba/ACI MENA, November 8, 2026

After safeguarding them for more than half a century, the Chaldean Antonian Order of St. Hormizd has returned a collection of historic manuscripts belonging to the former Chaldean Diocese of Akra in northern Iraq to its ecclesiastical authorities. The formal handover ceremony took place at the Monastery of the Servant of God and Martyr Gabriel Danbo in Ankawa, a predominantly Christian district of Erbil, Iraq. Archbishop Najeeb Michaeel of Mosul and Akra, Abbot Samer Soreshow, superior general of the Chaldean Antonian Order of St. Hormizd, and several monks attended. The manuscripts were entrusted to the order in the 1960s amid the difficult circumstances and widespread displacement affecting the region, Soreshow explained in an interview with ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News. According to Soreshow, Abdul-Ahad Rabban, a member of the order who served as its superior general and later became bishop of Akra, sought to protect the ecclesiastical heritage from being lost.

EWTN News

Nationwide tax-funded abortion is top priority for Democrats

By Tyler Arnold, November 6, 2026

The Democratic Party will head into the 2027 legislative session with majorities in the House of Representatives and the Senate following a landslide victory in the midterm elections, and one of its focuses will be to advance pro-abortion legislation. Earlier this year, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries promised healthcare would be one of the top Democratic priorities for 2027 and created a Cost-of-Living Healthcare Working Group to develop a legislative plan, led by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, and Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Alabama. Based on a memo developed by the working group and obtained by Politico in late September, Democratic plans to codify the now-defunct Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision, which made abortion legal nationwide, and plans for tax-funded elective abortions, “should be considered for advancement in the first 100 hours” of the legislative session.

Crux

Democrats get a religious win. Will they keep it?

By Charles Collins, November 8, 2026

“I’m proud to be an American and to exercise the right.” These were the words of Pope Leo XIV on Friday as he flew to Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, the first leg of his three-nation visit to South America. The voyage came just a few days after the Democratic Party swept control of both houses of Congress in the United States and won a number of state elections, including in Texas, where Republicans had been in power for over 30 years. When asked specifically about the results in Texas, Leo said, “No comment.” Polls show that support for the Trump administration has dropped among U.S. Catholics (along with the general population), especially Hispanic Catholics. The elections are also giving the Catholic Church an interesting seat at the table in U.S. politics. The Catholic Church is the swing state of Religion in the United States. The Trump administration has made efforts to support Catholics who support pro-life issues, while sidelining those who oppose it for progressive reasons.

Related: Here’s How the Catholic Vote Shaped the 2026 Midterm Elections in the United States - Jorge Enrique Mújica, Zenit, November 8, 2026

Refer a friend

The Pillar

Syro-Malabar leader dissolves liturgy dispute tribunal

By Luke Coppen, November 4, 2026

The head of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church has dissolved a controversial tribunal established in 2024 to hear the cases of priests accused of defying orders related to the introduction of a new “uniform” liturgy, after the Vatican’s supreme court suspended the tribunal’s proceedings. The dissolution of the Special Tribunal for the Archeparchy of Ernakulam-Angamaly, a jurisdiction in Kerala, southern India, ends the epicenter’s role in a decades-long liturgical dispute within the Syro-Malabar Church. Thattil established the special tribunal on Dec. 18, 2024, to address “ongoing disciplinary issues” involving clergy in the Ernakulam-Angamaly archeparchy. Most priests and lay people in the Ernakulam-Angamaly archeparchy favored the Holy Qurbana celebrated facing the congregation, a local custom adopted more than 50 years earlier.

Zeale

Knights of Columbus elated over 105,000 new members

By Elizabeth Ervin, November 6, 2026

Pointing to signs of Catholic renewal in the U.S., Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly said the Church is in “a moment of promise and hope” — one he urged the Knights of Columbus to meet by encouraging more men to join. Kelly quoted a French convert who described the Church in France as moving from “a Christianity that was once inherited to a Christianity that is chosen.” “Think about that — transitioning from an inherited faith to a chosen faith,” Kelly wrote. “It’s not only happening in France. It’s also happening in the United States, Canada, and many other countries the Knights of Columbus calls home.” Kelly noted a similar shift within the Knights, particularly among young men choosing to join, and highlighted that the order welcomed more than 105,000 new members last year, the most in more than a century. Kelly challenged the Knights to respond to the renewal he sees in both the Church and the order.

Aleteia

Your child left the faith? Pope Leo offers prayerful hope.

By Kathleen N. Hattrup, November 9, 2026

Pope Leo concluded the first stage of his 12-day South America tour on Sunday, celebrating Mass in Uruguay before departing for Argentina. In his homily, the Pope focused on the many challenges to family life in our increasingly secular world, especially the role of women in history and in passing down the faith. In this context, he spoke especially to the parents of fallen-away Catholics, drawing on the example of his own spiritual mother, St. Monica. He said: “I know that many of you carry a very specific sorrow. You taught your children to pray, and today they no longer do so. You used to attend Mass together, and it has been years since they entered a church. You spoke to your grandchildren about God, and now you do not know if those words left a mark. Saint Monica … knew that pain well. She prayed for years for a son who seemed to be drifting further and further from God, but she never stopped trusting in his grace. The Lord himself taught us that the seed can grow without the sower knowing how (cf. Mk 4:27).”

Zenit

More false priests — Now in Colombia

By Rafael Manuel Tovar, November 7, 2026

The Diocese of Pereira, Colombia, has reported a false priest who uses manipulated images on social media to mislead others. The Diocese’s warning states that a man named Steven Gutiérrez “presents himself as a priest,” yet he does not belong to the Catholic clergy, nor is there any record of him serving as a minister in any other reputable religious denomination. The warning notes that Gutiérrez uses his social media posts, including photographs from diocesan activities in which he appears as a priest, alongside “manipulated images and digital content that could mislead people regarding his identity and ecclesiastical status.” The press release advises caution regarding offers of Masses, blessings, sacraments, and spiritual guidance, as well as requests for money made by individuals falsely claiming to represent the institution.

Share Catholic Nutshell News

Keep informed - 11/9/26 news for Catholics:

Snippets: EWTN News, Aleteia, & Catholic World News

EWTN News

EWTN’s top headlines — November 9, 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.

LIVE UPDATES: Leo XIV to celebrate Mass in Buenos Aires after warm welcome in Argentina - By EWTN News Staff - After speaking about the unborn, young people, and civic unity on his first day in Argentina, Leo XIV will visit the Cottolengo in Claypole and celebrate Mass in Buenos Aires on Monday.
Spain’s Toledo Cathedral at 800: A tour of its Marian and Eucharistic heart - By Nicolás de Cárdenas - The Archdiocese of Toledo in Spain is celebrating a jubilee on the occasion of the 800th anniversary of the laying of the first stone of its cathedral in August 1226.
Built to flex, made to last: Inside New Zealandʼs first new cathedral in a century - By EWTN News Staff - The church will have seating for 800 people and go up on Barbadoes Street, a mere 20 meters (65 feet) from where its 1905 predecessor stood until it was demolished in 2020, nine years after the Canterbury earthquakes left it beyond repair.

Aleteia

Aleteia’s free access to Catholic news

Launched in 2013, Aleteia is a free online daily news publication. The site is available in six languages (French, English, Portuguese, Spanish, Polish, and Slovenian). Aleteia reaches nearly 50 million people worldwide, making it one of the leading online Catholic media outlets.

Australia’s incredible solution to Catholic school renewal - It’s called Spiritus, Australian Catholic University’s preeminent formation program for Catholic educators and education leaders. Spiritus teaches school leaders to prioritize two high-impact strategies: youth leading youth, and staff witnessing and leading.
A Hobbit and a Benedictine monk walk into a half marathon - Consistency, companionship, and the quiet holiness of finding your own pace: What running has in common with monasticism, old marriages, and the road to sanctity.
Philippines: 12 Hours of the Rosary on December 12 - The six-month pilgrimage of Our Lady of Guadalupe will conclude in Manila with a special invitation to pray the Rosary for peace on December 12. "Filipinos have been devotees of this advocation of Mary since the early Spanish colonial period.”

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.

“Queer theology” has no place in the Church - by Jacob Phillips - James Martin’s “LGBTQ Catholic Ministry,” Outreach, is doing more than just advocating acceptance of homosexuals. It is making subversive claims about God Himself. Martin makes a bold claim: that God’s own identity is somehow synonymous with celebrating gay identities.

Friendship with Jesus - by Fr. Jerry Pokorsky - Through Baptism, we are incorporated into the Mystical Body of Christ. The Sacraments direct and sustain us on our journey to our heavenly home. Our friendship with Christ is inseparable from friendship with the members of His Mystical Body.

The scandal of a woman-priest-promoter in the Vatican - by Thomas V. Mirus - Catholics who incline toward egalitarianism might also ask themselves: Had St. John Paul II not made his ex cathedra declaration, would I be tempted to say that women should be priests, given that I think women should otherwise do basically all the same things as men?

November 9, 2026 - USCCB Daily Mass Readings

You can listen HERE — or read HERE:

Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome

Today’s Catholic commentary:

Caeli

The power of a prayer, and thinking about death

By Caeli Catholic & Ava Frecker, November 7, 2026

Why do Catholics think so much about death? Are you looking forward to the end of Ordinary Time? Not yet? Here’s a brief guide to leaning into dressing during this liturgical season. (And no, it doesn’t mean you can only wear green.) “You Have No Idea What Your Prayer Is Doing.” Can you be steadfast amid boring seasons? Welcome to God’s waiting room. The biggest lesson from Blessed Fulton Sheen is the importance of a hidden interior life. “In all you do, remember the end of your life, and then you will never sin.” — Sirach 7:36

Catholic Weekly

‘Martyr’ comes from the Greek for ‘witness’

By George Weigel, November 6, 2026

Imagine yourself seventy-eight, diabetic, falsely convicted in a sham trial of threatening national security, imprisoned for over 2,200 days in a maximum-security solitary confinement cell from which you’re only freed for 50 minutes of exercise per day. Could you find it within yourself to respond, when asked whether what you’re enduring is worth it, “Yes, for the glory of God…”? Imagine yourself as that same person, reflecting on how you had gone from billionaire entrepreneur to political prisoner. Could you find it within yourself to write that you had “found prison a holy sanctuary with God”? In brief: can you imagine yourself as Jimmy Lai? The word “martyr,” from the Greek for “witness,” is typically understood today as referring to someone killed “in hatred of the faith.” A 7th-century Irish homily suggests “there are three kinds of martyrdom, which are accounted as a cross to man, to wit: white martyrdom, green and red martyrdom. White martyrdom consists in a man’s abandoning everything he loves for God’s sake, though he suffers fasting or labor thereat.”

National Catholic Register

Father Bill Atkinson: ‘You have to play the cards you’re dealt’

By Gigi Duncan, November 9, 2026

Augustinian Father Robert Hagan first knew Father Atkinson through family friends. Now prior provincial of the Augustinian Province of St. Thomas of Villanova, he remembers a man who “didn’t say a whole lot” but had a dry wit and was always willing to listen. “He would say, ‘You have to play the cards you’re dealt,’” Father Hagan recalled. “He would say, ‘Love the life God gave you.’” Now, as the Church considers his cause for canonization, those who knew him hope his story will reach generations who never had the opportunity to meet him. Born in Philadelphia on Jan. 4, 1946, William “Bill” Atkinson was the third of seven children. On Feb. 22, 1965, while tobogganing in the snow with two other novices, Atkinson’s sled veered off course and struck a tree, ending up paralyzed from the neck down. “He was always grateful for any little thing that was done for him,” Augustinian Father Frank Horn said. “I learned not to complain because of my relationship with Bill.”

Crisis Magazine

How the devil defeats us

By Casey Chalk, November 9, 2026

According to a 2021 survey, the share of men with six or more close friends today (27%) has been cut in half since 1990, and the share of men with no close friends (15%) has increased fivefold over the same period. A separate 2025 survey found that among American males ages 16 to 28, about half had two or fewer close friends. The spiritual effects, of course, are even more dangerous. If you do not have close friends, or you isolate much of your inner life from those friends, trouble is almost inevitable. The yearning for relational intimacy, built into even the most unsentimental of souls, is ineradicable, and if it does not find its natural object in other people (and supernatural object in God), it will try to find it elsewhere. “Every friendship is an act of opposition to a society that desires to conform and homogenize,” sagely writes Birzer. It is also an act of opposition to the devil, who in all things aims to achieve the diabolical, which is more than simply evil, but that which divides and dissociates. We were made for authentic communion, not only with God, but with each other.

Image of Walnut from Pixabay

Listen to an audio podcast of today’s Catholic Nutshell News on the Substack App!

At the top of your phone, while in the app and reading a post, you can press the ▶️ play button and have Catholic Nutshell News read to you every day …

Catholic Nutshell News is a subscription service hosted by Substack. Get up to a dozen recent articles, Monday-Saturday, to review regarding newsworthy issues. An easy way to browse top Catholic news and information services on the net. Edited by John Pearring.

Catholic Nutshell News: Monday 11/9/26