Catholic Nutshell News: Monday 2/9/26
Topics include: Jimmy Lai sentenced to 20 years; Everyone lies about voting; marriage in Heaven?; & Archbishop Sheen will be beatified as a Saint.
“Worth your weight in walnuts”
Today's sources are Crux, Graphs about Religion, Aleteia, Zeale News, OSV News, Catholic Culture, & EWTN News. (Catholic Nutshell is a subscription service for faithful, hopeful, & curious Catholics willing to exercise the Catholic News Muscle)
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Zeale News
Hong Kong sentences Catholic Jimmy Lai to 20 years
By Zeale News, February 8, 2026
On Feb. 9, Jimmy Lai received a 20-year jail sentence in a Hong Kong court. The prominent media mogul’s five-year imprisonment and prosecution have sparked global concerns about China’s communist regime encroaching on civil liberties in Hong Kong. The severe sentence comes as family members warn Lai’s health has seriously deteriorated during his time in detention, much of which has been spent in solitary confinement. He turned 78 in December 2025. Lai, founder of the now-defunct Hong Kong newspaper Apple Daily, was arrested and charged in 2020 as Beijing sought to crack down on widespread demonstrations in Hong Kong against the Chinese regime’s imposition of “national security” measures widely viewed as draconian. He was convicted on one charge of conspiring to publish seditious materials and two charges of colluding with foreign forces. The Hong Kong court justified the harshness of Lai’s final sentencing in part by claiming he played the role of a “mastermind” in alleged efforts to spread dissident messages in the semi-autonomous territory, according to Reuters.
CRUX
Peru’s Bishop Izaguirre explains the Pope’s version of synodality
By Eduardo Campos Lima, February 8, 2026
Bishop Jorge Izaguirre of Chosica, Peru, said, Pope Leo “made it very clear to us that synodal work is key. Mission, missionary work, and synodality are two topics that the cardinals recently discussed with him, and he also guided us [in this], encouraging us to make this synodal path possible.” For Leo, synodality is in perfect continuity with Pope Francis’s vision, emphasizing listening and facilitating dialogue for everyone, including the weakest and most vulnerable. “Broad listening is key, but the main listening is to the Holy Spirit, to the Lord. Where do you want to lead us, Lord?” he said, saying the emphasis on walking together “cannot be a mere slogan, walking together must be real.” A sense of appreciation for everyone, regardless of their vocation or social status, is needed, as is a sense of co-responsibility for what is being done, Izaguirre said.
Aleteia
Will there be marriage in Heaven?
By Philip Kosloski, February 6, 2026
Jesus clearly states that there will be no marriage in Heaven, though that doesn’t mean we won’t be connected to our spouse. For many married couples, it is difficult to imagine Heaven separated from each other, not able to remain married for all eternity. The thought of not being with our spouse can seem unbearable for some people. This might seem like a “lesser” type of existence, where we are no longer united with our spouse in Heaven. However, this does not mean we won’t be united with our spouse for eternity. The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes Heaven as a place of “communion”: This perfect life with the Most Holy Trinity—this communion of life and love with the Trinity, with the Virgin Mary, the angels, and all the blessed—is called “heaven.” Heaven is the ultimate end and fulfillment of the deepest human longings, the state of supreme, definitive happiness. Marriage is a pathway designed to help us on our way to Heaven, and once we finally arrive at our destination, there will no longer be a need to hold on to it.
OSV News
Archbishop Sheen beatification advances after 6-year pause
By OSV News, February 9, 2026
Venerable Fulton J. Sheen will soon be beatified, now that the Vatican has given the green light, the Diocese of Peoria, Illinois, announced Feb. 9. No date or location for the beatification was given. The announcement comes six years after the Holy See postponed the beatification, initially scheduled for December 2019, only weeks before it was to take place. The bishop said the date and event details will be released soon through celebratesheen.com, the website for Archbishop Sheen’s cause. “Archbishop Fulton Sheen was one of the greatest voices of evangelization in the Church and the world in the 20th century,” said Bishop Louis Tylka of Peoria. Sheen’s cause for canonization, opened in 2002, was stalled by two controversies — a public battle to relocate his remains from St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York to its current location at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Peoria; and, more significantly, concerns that as bishop of Rochester from 1966-1969, he may have overlooked sexual abuse by former diocesan priests.
EWTN News
U.S. government reminds public schools to allow prayer
By Daniel Payne, February 6, 2026
Public schools in the United States are required by the U.S. Constitution to allow students and staff to pray, the government said this week on on Feb. 5, with U.S. Department of Education Office of the Secretary Chief Counsel Josh Kleinfeld writing that schools in general should “allow the individuals who make up a public school community to act and speak in accordance with their faith.” Schools must adopt a “stance of neutrality” regarding faith, the guidance says, with educators required to allow personal religious conduct so long as it does not infringe upon the rights of other students and the school itself does not show favoritism to one religion or another. Following Supreme Court decisions on free speech and religious expression in schools, the guidance offers “concrete scenarios” in which schools are required to accommodate religious expression—where students “pray privately and quietly by themselves” and cases where students “dress in accordance with their religious faith,” such as wearing crosses, yarmulkes, or headscarfs.
PIME Asia News
Conservative Takaichi wins a supermajority in Japan’s elections
By PIME Reporter, February 9, 2026
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi won enough seats to advance her conservative platform after her Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) secured a two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives (lower house) in yesterday’s elections. With 316 of 465 seats, the LDP will now be able to amend the Constitution and approve bills even if they are rejected by the House of Councillors (upper house), where the governing coalition remains in the minority. The victory was so overwhelming that the centre-right party was forced to concede 14 seats to opposition parties because it had failed to field enough candidates in seats allocated through proportional representation. The centrist alliance — formed by the union of Komeito (a party close to the Buddhist community that was allied with the LDP for 26 years) and the Constitutional Democratic Party to counter Takaichi — saw its seats halved, forcing leaders Yoshihiko Noda and Tetsuo Saito to hint at resigning.
Related: Changing Face of Catholic Church in Japan Amid Nation’s Existential Crisis, Victor Gaetan, June 12, 2024 – National Catholic Register
Graphs about Religion
Everyone lies about voting (Even the Religious)
By Ryan Burge, February 9, 2026
Most surveys simply ask people whether they voted. Many respondents say “yes” even when they didn’t. Voter validation tackles that problem by using public voter files. After the election, survey firms match respondents to official state voter records. Those records don’t tell you who someone voted for, but they do tell you whether they actually cast a ballot. In the 2024 Cooperative Election Study, among respondents who took both portions of the survey (the one taken right before and the one taken right after the November election), the self-reported turnout rate was an unbelievable 97%. Yes, that’s the reported number. What was the actual calculated turnout according to the Census Bureau? 65.3%. 97% claimed to have cast a ballot in the 2024 presidential election. Among those who reported attending church multiple times per week, it was 99%. In other words, essentially all of them. The actual turnout—Jews at 75%, Mainline Protestants at 72%, white evangelicals at 69%, atheists at 67%, white Catholics at 65%, and black Catholics at 40%.
The Pillar
NY insurance company made up a fake ‘victims rights’ group
By The Pillar, February 3, 2026
The Archdiocese of New York has charged in a legal filing that its insurance company set up a fraudulent website and a fake victims’ advocacy group to pressure the archdiocese into dropping a major lawsuit over coverage for sexual abuse claims. The archdiocese said that the Chubb insurance company, with whom it has been in protracted litigation over coverage for sex abuse liability, should be held liable for fraud over the deceptive website. According to the motion, Chubb began in 2023 “fraudulently posing as a victims’ rights organization known as the ‘Church Accountability Project’ and attempting to undermine and weaken the [archdiocesan] defense in an attempt to elevate Chubb’s own financial interests (and leverage in the dispute).” The archdiocese wrote, “Chubb willfully undertook to undermine its policyholders in a years-long corporate scheme to protect its own financial interests, to the detriment of its insureds and survivors.”
EWTN, UCA, and CW News for 2/9/26
EWTN News
EWTN’s top headlines — February 9, 2026
EWTN News provides reliable, free, up-to-the-minute news affecting the Universal Church, emphasizing the words of the Holy Father and the activities of the Holy See, and is available to anyone with internet access.
Pope Leo XIV will not travel to the United States in 2026, the Vatican says - By Angela Ambrogetti - Pope Leo XIV will not travel to the United States in 2026, the director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni, said Sunday, denying circulating reports that the pontiff might make an apostolic trip to his native country.
University student from England being considered for canonization - By Andy Drozdziak - Vatican representatives are in the process of reviewing the life of Pedro Ballester, a British university student who died of cancer in 2018, to gauge whether his canonization cause should be opened.
The story of the 4-year-old whose faith led to lowering the age of first Communion
By Patrick J. Passmore - In 1910, “Little Nellie” was a 4-year-old child from Cork, Ireland, whose piety and closeness to God helped lower the age at which children could receive their first holy Communion.
UCA News
The Union of Catholic Asian World News - 2/9/26
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
‘Official’ Chinese Church backs ban on unregistered clergy - February 9, 2026 - China’s state-sanctioned Catholic bishops’ body has issued a statement supporting the government’s ban on unregistered clergy engaging in pastoral work and using unapproved sites for worship. Religious activities must adhere to ‘national and public interests,’ said the Chinese Communist Party.
Catholics hail election of first Dalit to head Indian bishops’ body - February 9, 2026 - Cardinal Poola Anthony, archbishop of Hyderabad, was elected president of Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI), a cardinal from the socially poor Dalit community. Poola, 64, becomes the first Dalit prelate to head the conference comprising bishops from India’s three rites — Latin, Syro-Malabar, and Syro-Malankara.
Dalai Lama’s office says he never met Epstein - February 9, 2026 - The office of the Dalai Lama said on Feb. 8 that he had never met convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, after Chinese media reported the Tibetan Buddhist leader’s name was mentioned in a cache of files released by the US government.
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.
Bishop describes the plight of Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, under Russian attack - Auxiliary Bishop Jan Sobilo of Kharkiv-Zaporizhzhia, a Latin-rite bishop, described the present situation in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia. Russian forces “are bombing our city, the energy system, everything that gives us light and heat. As a result, life is very hard for people and for the soldiers. Helping our soldiers is extremely important,” he added. “If they do not defend us, then any other aid will no longer matter. The occupiers would come and take everything.”
Westminster diocesan employee who stole $130K avoids jail - An employee of the Diocese of Westminster, England, received a two-year suspended sentence for transferring more than £96,000 ($130,600) of diocesan funds to her personal account. “All in all, you were funding yourself to a reasonably good standard of lifestyle—grossly and dishonestly,” Judge Mark Weekes told Francisca Yawson, formerly a gift aid and operations technician for the diocese.
USCCB publishes diocesan guide for evangelizing catechisis
The US bishops’ Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis has published a Companion to the Handbook on the Catechetical Accompaniment Process: Evangelizing catechesis, at its heart, is a ministry of accompaniment— walking with others toward a deeper encounter with Jesus Christ. This is a much richer process than solely intellectual formation, and includes liturgical, spiritual, and moral formation.
Nutshell reflections for 2/9/26:
USCCB Daily Reflection AUDIO - February 9, 2026
Monday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
Word on Fire
The suicide of legacy media
By Dr. Tod Worner, February 9, 2026
News emerged that three hundred (over a third) of the Washington Post’s journalists had been fired, and that many sections were curtailed (including Sports and Metro) or eliminated (including Books and the Post Reports daily podcast). According to The New York Times, Washington Post executive editor Matt Murray insisted that “the company had lost too much money for too long and had not been meeting readers’ needs.” In the age of the internet and artificial intelligence, being a dominant print media in the twentieth century is no guarantee of untrammeled success in the twenty-first century. Legacy media isn’t being murdered; they are committing suicide. By stepping away from the time-honored ethic of objective reporting and into the fray of ideological framing, readers have been frustrated, offended, and alienated. Thomas Sowell once noted, “The issue is not what various journalists or news organizations’ editorial views are. The issue is the transformation of news reporting into ideological spin, self-serving taboos, and outright fraud.”
Dominicana
We are urged to choose wisely
By Br. John David Corwin, O.P., February 5, 2026
To riff on Tertullian, what has obedience to do with love? How does obedience to God show love for him? To our modern sensibilities, the two seem opposing ways of relating to God—philosophy and revelation oppose one another in thinking about God. However, Scripture and the Church teach us that we offer our obedience freely to God and in doing so we love him. Among its many entries, the Oxford English Dictionary defines love as a “strong predilection, liking or fondness for, or devotion to something.” Obedience it defines as “submission to the rule or authority of another; doing what one is bidden.” Love pertains to that which I will and want to do, while obedience pertains to that which I must or ought to do, even if contrary to my own will. For Augustine, God’s commands and our obedience demonstrate our free will. “such precepts would not be given unless a man had a will of his own, wherewith to obey the divine commandments” (On Grace and Free Will, chap. 4 & 8)
Caeli
Some tips heading into Lent
By Caeli Catholic and Ava Frecker, February 9, 2026
Reflect on the Gospel readings this February with these sacred images.
For liturgical living, consider the book “Feast, Faith and Flourish” by the Ember Collective, a quarterly Ember journals.
When overcoming any type of sin, self-care can help you find healing by seeking regulation.
Lent is fast approaching! If digital minimalism is something you want to tackle during this season of fasting, here are some tips for normal people.
Bishop Barron Reflections
Miracles are actions of God breaking into our world
By Bishop Robert Barron, February 9, 2026
Friends, today’s Gospel reports Jesus healing many people at Gennesaret. We hear that people brought the sick from all over the region, and all of them were cured. “Whatever villages or towns or countryside he entered, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak; and as many as touched it were healed.” An awful lot of contemporary theologians and Bible commentators have tried to explain away the miracles of Jesus as spiritual symbols. Notoriously, many preachers explain the multiplication of the loaves and fishes as a “miracle” of charity, with everyone sharing the little that they had. But I think it’s hard to deny that the first Christians were intensely interested in Jesus's miracles and didn’t see them as mere literary symbols! They saw them for what they really were: actions of God breaking into our world.
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