Catholic Nutshell News: Monday 4/13/26
Topics include: “I am not afraid of the Trump administration"; Changing the dance card for US & Vatican; Korea received the faith from France; & Difference is not inequality but Divine Design
“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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EWTN News
Leo: ‘always seek peace and put an end to wars’
By Angela Ambrogetti, Marco Mancini, April 13, 2026
Pope Leo XIV said Monday that he will continue to speak out “loudly” against war, stressing that his role is to preach the Gospel, not to enter into political disputes. Speaking to journalists aboard the papal flight to Algiers on April 13, the pope responded to a question about a post by U.S. President Donald Trump. “I think people who read it will be able to draw their own conclusions. I am not a politician, and I have no intention of entering into a debate with him,” Leo said. “Rather, let us always seek peace and put an end to wars.” “I am not afraid of the Trump administration,” he added. “I speak about the Gospel; I am not a politician. I do not think the message of the Gospel should be misused in the way some people are doing.” He said, “I will continue to speak out loudly against war, to seek to promote peace and multilateral dialogue among states in order to find just solutions to problems,” he said. “The message of the Church is the message of the Gospel: Blessed are the peacemakers.”
Related: U.S. Bishops’ leader responds to Trump’s post on Pope Leo - US president denounced Pope Leo XIV as “weak” and “liberal” after papal warnings on war - Daniel Esparza - Aleteia, 04/13/26
CRUX
‘Frank discussion’ changing the dance card for US & Vatican
By Charles Collins, April 13, 2026
Diplomacy between nations is often like being on the dance floor – you try to watch your step, and you don’t always know what the other person is thinking. That came to mind after an accusation that a mosh-up took place between the Trump administration and Pope Leo’s officials on Jan 22 in the Pentagon, although both sides strongly denied it and rejected the characterization. If you want to know what kind of dance the U.S. and the Holy See are doing, the semi-official response to sensational reports about the January meeting between Under Secretary of War Elbridge Colby and then-Apostolic Nuncio Cardinal Christophe Pierre offers a crucial one-word key. The interesting word was “frank” – it is a word not often used by the Vatican’s diplomatic corps, which usually sticks with “cordial” by itself. Pope Leo XIV has spoken strongly against the ongoing war in the Middle East, which is not surprising – every pope since the 20th century has opposed wars in the Region. There’s an old saying in the Western United States: If a gunman is holding people hostage in a church, the pastor’s job is to tell the sheriff to make sure the situation ends peacefully, and to see no one gets hurt; the sheriff’s job is to shoot …
Aleteia
Korea received the faith from France, now they’re sending it back
By Theresa Civantos Barber, April 9, 2026
The 20th century saw Christianity decline in much of the Western world — but not in the East. And now, centuries after European missionaries carried Christianity to Asia, evangelization is happening in reverse. On February 20, the Archdiocese of Seoul, Korea, gathered at Myeongdong Cathedral for a departure Mass that “carried an unusual historical symmetry”: Three priests were commissioned for overseas service — two to France and one to Japan — marking what Church leaders described as a symbolic reversal of Korea’s missionary past. While Christianity declines in much of Europe, in other parts of the world — including India, Korea, and many African nations — the opposite is happening. Especially in South Korea, the Catholic Church is seeing explosive growth, with membership increasing by nearly 1,200% over the past 50 years to roughly 6 million people — about 11% of the population.
Indian Express
Order of Malta provides humanitarian aid to southern Lebanon
By Grace Porto, April 8, 2026
The Order of Malta gathered the leaders of southern Lebanon’s border villages in a meeting in Beirut during Holy Week, promising the leaders continuous humanitarian aid as the Hezbollah-Israel conflict threatens their livelihoods. The meeting came shortly after Israel threatened to occupy southern Lebanon. The Sovereign Order of Malta is a lay religious order of the Catholic Church established in 1113, dedicated to humanitarian aid. A subject of international law, it operates in over 130 countries and maintains diplomatic relations with over 100 states and the European Union. It also has permanent observer status at the United Nations. Vatican News reported that Marwan Sehnaoui, the president of the Order of Malta in Lebanon, called the journey to Beirut “an act of courage,” welcoming the mayors and other leaders from Rmeich, Aïn Ebel, Qwazah, Yaroun, Alma al-Shaab, Jdeidet Marjayoun, and Qlayaa. The organization is working to improve medical-social centers by equipping them with better care and facilities so they can better serve residents, especially the elderly and disabled.
Zeale News
Catholicism helped build America and remains vital to its future
By Zeale News, April 11, 2026
Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered a virtual address on April 9 to a conference at the Catholic University of America, arguing that Catholicism is not a late addition or outlier in the American story, but one of its deepest civilizational roots – and one that will remain essential as the nation approaches its 250th anniversary. In remarks that blended history, political philosophy, and civilizational memory, Rubio pushed back against claims that the Catholic faith is at odds with the American founding. Instead, he argued that Catholicism helped prepare the cultural and moral soil from which the nation grew. “In 1895, Pope Leo XIII penned an encyclical to the Catholic Church in the United States,” Rubio said. “‘All intelligent men are agreed,’ he wrote, ‘that America seems destined for greater things. Now, it is our wish that the Catholic Church should not only share in, but help to bring about this prospective greatness.’”
National Catholic Register
Divine Mercy Shrine in Hollywood becomes beacon of hope
By Joseph Pronechen, April 12, 2026
Divine Mercy is so essential, especially in these troubled times, with war and other serious problems worldwide. “There is conflict because of division, and it’s because we know [if] we’re not close to God, we’re not going to be close to one another,” explained Father Juan Ochoa, director of the Office for Divine Worship for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and rector of the Shrine of Divine Mercy located in Christ the King Catholic Church in Hollywood. “And mercy is about reconciliation. It’s about bringing people together — closer to God, but also to one another. The beautiful Eucharistic prayers that the Church has given us in the liturgy, especially with Eucharistic Prayer I, which speaks about reconciling with God, and then Eucharistic Prayer II, to be reconciled to one another. And this is what Divine Mercy is.” This year, people were planning well ahead of Divine Mercy Sunday to celebrate this day at the shrine.
Graphs about Religion
‘I go to Church a little bit’
By Ryan Burge, April 13, 2026
Folks who report attending religious services multiple times a week make up about 6–8% of the country, and they are a qualitatively different group from people who report attending weekly. Do seldom attenders have a different posture toward organized religion than those who choose “never”? According to the Cooperative Election Study, this group made up about a quarter of the population back when Barack Obama took up residence in the Oval Office. In fact, it stayed at 24% or higher through 2012. It was 23% through 2016, then dipped to 22% through 2023. The “seldom” category jumped to an all-time high of 26% in 2021, but that’s almost certainly about the weirdness of COVID and the fact that the GSS had to change its methodology. You can see that in the last two surveys, the ‘seldom’ share has started to drift back toward its historic baseline. Still, a bit more than 20% of Americans land in the ‘seldom’ category of attendance. Never attenders have exploded in size, while seldom attenders have basically held steady. One possible explanation is that Americans are simply sliding down the attendance scale.
The Pillar
‘There’s nothing wrong with being countercultural’
By Luke Coppen, April 9, 2026
Archbishop Richard Moth is the new de facto leader of Catholics in England and Wales. less than two months into his tenure at Westminster, that he is now a national figure facing a level of scrutiny normally reserved for politicians and celebrities. Moth, who previously served as Bishop of Arundel and Brighton, spoke to The Pillar from Archbishop’s House, Westminster, a grand but somewhat dilapidated residence attached to Westminster Cathedral, the mother church of Catholics in England a”My caution arises because a statistician would not say that one or two years of increased baptism numbers is a revival. A statistician would say, ‘Well, let’s wait five or 10 years and look back and see what’s been happening.’ You can do all sorts of things with statistics.” He said, “…the world’s in a bit of a pickle. Are people turning to faith because of that? That may be the case. Ultimately, the voice of faith would say that perhaps the promptings of the Holy Spirit are being heard afresh.”
EWTN, UCA, and CW News for 4/13/26
EWTN News
EWTN’s top headlines — April 13, 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.
‘Even Just One of These Children’ is the theme for 2026 World Day of Migrants and Refugees - By Almudena Martínez-Bordiú - The Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development explained that the pope chose this title to emphasize the duty to welcome migrant and refugee children.
Pope Leo XIV departs for Algeria, beginning his third apostolic journey - By Andrea Gagliarducci - The pope’s April 13–23 visit will also include stops in Cameroon, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea, making it the longest trip of his pontificate so far. After earlier visits to Turkey and Lebanon and a brief trip to the Principality of Monaco, Leo is now traveling to four African nations with distinct histories, cultures, and pastoral realities.
7 things to know about the Catholic Church in Algeria - By Francesca Pollio Fenton - Algeria has roughly 45 million to 48 million people, but only a few thousand Catholics, often estimated at no more than 10,000, a fraction of 1% of the population. Most Catholics are expatriates, sub-Saharan African students, migrant workers, diplomats, and religious; Indigenous Algerian Catholics are very few.
UCA News
The Union of Catholic Asian World News - 4/13/26
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
Pastor arrested for ‘conversion’ in India’s Madhya Pradesh state - April 13, 2026 | Bijay Kumar Minj - Police search for another pastor who is absconding after Hindu activist complained against ‘faith healing’ meeting.
Cambodian giant ‘HeroRAT’ honored with a statue - Magawa cleared a record number of mines in a 5-year career. Barely 45 centimeters long himself, Magawa, an African giant pouched rat, was trained in Tanzania by the Belgian charity APOPO.
India’s top court suspends criminal case against Catholic priest - April 13, 2026 | UCA News reporter - Father Vineet Vincent Pereira was accused of outraging the religious feelings of non-Christians. The Supreme Court, on April 10, suspended proceedings against Father Vineet Vincent Pereira, who is based in Varanasi city. It served notices to the state government seeking its reply in the case.
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.
Catholic Left projects its own misdeeds onto Trump Administration - The Democratic Party was attempting to foster a rival Catholic authority to the U.S. Bishops because the Bishops were making trouble for the Democratic Party. The very thing of which Christopher Hale loudly accuses the Trump Administration of doing against the Pope for the Republican Party
Fine Catholic writing: A delightful collection in our library - The volume was entitled A Century of the Catholic Essay, and it included 45 essays by 39 different writers, many of whom, like the controversialist G. K. Chesterton, the novelist Robert Hugh Benson, the poet Francis Thompson, and the scholar St. John Henry Newman are still well-known today. One of the latest writers included in the collection was Fulton Sheen, whose cause for canonization is currently active.
The Skepticism Lives Loudly in Him - Skepticism, contra “Christian atheist” Bart Ehrman in his historian’s chair, is not a virtue. Yes, it may help when encountering strangers and telemarketers, but when engaging people and scholarship it presents insidious dangers: it paralyzes relationships and undermines understanding. Worst of all, it generates a hard heart that becomes impervious to love: the love of God and the love of other people.
Nutshell reflections for 4/13/26:
USCCB Daily Reflection AUDIO - April 13, 2026
Monday of the Second Week of Easter
Word on Fire
Difference is not inequality but Divine Design
By Senne Van Boven, April 13, 2026
Any possibility of changing one of the constitutive elements of the sacrament of holy orders for human purposes is excluded a priori. Although all the baptized share in the priesthood of Christ, according to can. 204 §1 of the Code of Canon Law (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church 871), this priesthood differs from the sacrament of holy orders both in degree and in essence (Lumen Gentium 10), since the latter confers “sacred power” (sacra potestas) upon its recipient. However, it appears that the Anglican Church holds a very different opinion, since on the very same day of Pope Leo’s catechesis on the priesthood being reserved to men, Dame Sarah Mullally was installed as archbishop of Canterbury. Whereas the Anglican Church proudly presented Dame Sarah Mullally as the first woman to lead the Church of England, Catholics maintain that the priesthood is inherently connected to being male.
Dominicana
Can You Handle the Truth?
By Br. Cyprian Boehm, O.P., April 9, 2026
It seems contrary to human reason to think that something made perfect would retain the markings of imperfection. If Jesus truly conquered death, why would he choose to keep the wounds from his crucifixion? He could just close them and erase the scars, why doesn’t he? Christ keeps his wounds as a testament to his victory. Just as he invited Thomas to feel, Jesus invites us to touch his wounds so that we too may believe in him (ST III, q. 54, a. 4). Moreover, these wounds did not go away but remained as he ascended into heaven where they continue to give witness to his saving love for us. The way that he appeared to the Apostle Thomas is the way he plans to greet us at the end of time: bearing his wounds to receive us into his victory.
The Catholic Gentlemen
The Wind of the Spirit
By Ana Luque, April 13, 2026
Though the Pharisee does come in the dead of night, the Spirit is already “shaking things up.” His questions and uncertainty are not signs of failure. They are, in fact, the opposite! We often experience this, too. At times, we may sense a gentle pull towards God. It might be the urge to pray again, or the feeling that something in our lives needs to change. Like the wind, these moments are subtle and easy to overlook, but they matter all the same. We are, in short, being invited to take up our crosses and follow Him! And just like Nicodemus, we may not see where God is taking us, but if we remain open to it, the Spirit will guide us out of darkness and into the light. After all, as St. Francis de Sales once said, “The will of God will not lead you where the grace of God cannot keep you!”
Bishop Barron Reflections
‘How can a man once grown old be born again?’
By Bishop Robert Barron, April 13, 2026
Friends, today in this inexhaustibly rich conversation with Nicodemus in the Gospel, Jesus tells the Israelite elder: “Unless one is born from above, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.” He is speaking with great directness here about metanoia, about the change of attitude required before one is capable of living in the energy of the incarnation. Jesus senses that Nicodemus, a “ruler of the Jews,” is caught in the net of ego concerns, still clinging fearfully to his power and status, still exulting in his grasp of the religious traditions of his people. And Jesus’s concerns are confirmed by the almost comic rationalism of Nicodemus’s response to his invitation to rebirth: “How can a man once grown old be born again? Surely he cannot reenter his mother’s womb and be born again, can he?” While Jesus speaks the evocative and analogical language of the soul, Nicodemus hears with the ears of the ego, the rational power that wishes to know clearly and control.
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