Catholic Nutshell News: Monday 4/28/25
Topics include: Potential pope candidates, Vatican prefects resign their jobs, ‘Conclave’ voting starts May 7, & 400 men in U.S. will ordained
“Worth your weight in walnuts”
Today's sources are Catholic News Agency, Crux, Graphs about Religion, OSV, Aleteia, Fides, National Catholic Register, & First Things. (Catholic Nutshell is a subscription service for faithful, hopeful, & curious Catholics willing to exercise the Catholic News Muscle)
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CRUX
Allen’s overview of potential pope candidates, so far …
By John L. Allen Jr., April 28, 2025
Apr 28 - Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa - Pizzaballa’s reputation for astute financial management comes at a time when the Vatican is facing a deep fiscal crisis
Apr 27 - Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu - Besungu marked the first time bishops of a continent said a Vatican edict will not be applied on their territory.
Apr 26 - Cardinal Péter Erdő - 72-year-old Erdő of Budapest is the most obvious, and perhaps the most promising, “discontinuity” candidate.
Apr 25 - Cardinal Matteo Zuppi - Zuppi of Bologna is arguably as close to a potential “Pope Francis II” as one will find among the plausible contenders.
Apr 24 - Cardinal Pietro Parolin - 70-year-old Italian Parolin, like Pacelli (Pope Pius XII) in his time, is currently the Vatican’s Secretary of State.
The Pillar:
With the death of a Pope, all Vatican prefects resign their jobs
By Edgar Beltrán, April 23, 2025
While all major decisions are halted until a new pope is elected, a lot of ordinary business must proceed, and secretaries and curial staff remain in their posts to keep their departments working. Praedicate evangelium, Pope Francis’ 2022 apostolic exhortation reforming the Roman curia, says that “when the Apostolic See is vacant, all heads of curial institutions and members cease from their office.” But there are two prominent exceptions: The Major Penitentiary, currently Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, oversees the Apostolic Penitentiary, which is responsible for issues related to the sacrament of confession; and, The Almoner of His Holiness, presently Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, “continues to exercise the works of charity …”
National Catholic Register
The ‘Conclave’ voting of gathered Cardinals starts May 7
By AC Wimmer/CNA, April 28, 2025
The Vatican announced Monday that the conclave to elect Pope Francis' successor will begin on May 7, as the Church enters the final preparatory phase for choosing its 267th pope. The announcement came following a morning General Congregation meeting at the Vatican, where cardinals have been gathering daily since Pope Francis’ burial at St. Mary Major Basilica on April 26. The cardinals have recently held regular general congregation meetings to discuss the current state and future direction of the Church and global affairs. May 7 falls within the traditional 15- to 20-day window following a pope’s death, allowing sufficient time for the “Novendiales” mourning period and for cardinal electors to arrive from across the globe. Of the 134 cardinals who will take part — those under 80 — nearly all have arrived in Rome.
Catholic Exchange
A program to find a new generation to the priesthood
By Dr. John M. Haas, April 21, 2025
The Catholic Church is facing a growing crisis: a steep decline in seminarians and an aging priesthood threaten the ability to serve parishes and Catholics nationwide. In response, the International Institute of Culture (IIC), a Philadelphia-based Catholic non-profit, has launched ThankAPriest.com, an initiative to restore the perception of the priesthood’s true dignity by sharing inspiring stories of priests who have profoundly impacted people’s lives. The mission of ThankAPriest.com is to highlight the noble calling of the priesthood. By sharing stories of priestly heroism and compassion, they hope to inspire young men to recognize the priesthood as a profound and fulfilling vocation.
Catholic News Agency
400 men in U.S. to be ordained in 2025
By Tessa Gervasini, April 17, 2025
More than 400 men will be ordained to the priesthood in the U.S. this year, and on average, they began to consider becoming a priest at just 16 years old, according to an annual CARA survey. The Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) released its 2025 national survey of seminarians scheduled for ordination this year. Of the 405 ordinands asked to respond, 309 participated in the study from Jan. 10 to March 20. 35% said they began considering entering the priesthood in elementary school between the ages of 6 and 13. The survey found that the graduating seminarians will be ordained at an average age of 34. The study showed the ordinands’ families and upbringings played pivotal roles in their paths to the priesthood.
Graphs about Religion
Are Catholic converts more hard core than ‘Cradle’ Catholics?
By Ryan Burge, April 24, 2025
A lot of Catholics were grumpy with the fact that Catholic converts tend to be a different type of believer than people who were raised in the church from infancy. Catholic converts are really hardcore about their faith, and that’s often seen as being expressed through a more conservative ethic on things like abortion, immigration, etc. J.D. Vance, Trump’s pick for vice president, converted to Catholicism in 2019. His religious timeline began as a nominal evangelical during his childhood, dabbling with atheism in his college years, and then he joined the Catholic Church in his mid-thirties. When asked about this event by Rod Dreher, Vance explained it simply, “I became persuaded over time that Catholicism was true.”
Aleteia
The Vatican banned the Divine Mercy devotion for 20 years
By Philip Kosloski, April 21, 2025
The Vatican's initial ban of the Divine Mercy devotion was based on faulty translations of St. Faustina's Diary, which led to erroneous views of what she received. While the Catholic Church currently endorses the Divine Mercy devotion revealed to St. Faustina Kowalska, initially this was not the case. The Vatican banned the Divine Mercy devotion for 20 years, forbidding anyone to spread or promote it. Eventually, this ban was put into question by Archbishop Karol Wojtyła before becoming John Paul II. Wojtyła began the process of canonization of Sr. Faustina in 1965 and gave the texts of her Diary to another Polish theologian, Prof. Ignacy Różycki. St. John Paul II eventually declared the Second Sunday of Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday, and the devotion became widely known worldwide.
The Daily Signal
Should parents play God and discard embryos at high risk?
By Katrina Trinko, April 27, 2025
Orchid, which labels itself as “the world’s most advanced whole genome screening for embryos during IVF,” was highlighted in a recent New York Times article headlined “This baby was carefully selected as an embryo.” Orchid, writes journalist Anna Louie Sussman, “screens embryos’ DNA for hundreds of conditions” and also “offer[s] what is known as polygenic screening, which gives parents what is essentially a risk profile on each embryo’s propensity for conditions, such as heart disease,” including (but not limited to) autism, severe obesity, Alzheimer’s, inflammatory bowel disease, schizophrenia, diabetes, and breast cancer. The ugliness of Orchid is that once you do embryo screening, you select from a batch of many human beings. Parents may pick the lowest-risk embryo of the lot as the one that gets to stay alive and grow up. But that doesn’t guarantee control.
Agenzia Fides
‘I try not to disturb the Lord's work’
By Agenzia Fides, April 25, 2025
“What St. John Paul II repeatedly emphasised, especially on the 150th anniversary of the foundation of the Pontifical Society of the Holy Childhood, is true: the cooperation of children in evangelisation is irreplaceable for the world,” said Sister Elizabete Ferreira de Souza, a Brazilian Xaverian missionary in Thailand for 15 years and responsible for the Missionary Childhood and Adolescence of the Diocese of Chiang Rai. Sister Elizabete has been working with the Missionary Childhood and Adolescence (IAM) for 13 years, shortly after her arrival in Thailand, and she recounts her constant amazement at seeing how, every day in a predominantly Buddhist country, it is children who carry on the work of evangelisation. “Here, the Holy Spirit truly blows where He wills … I try not to disturb the Lord's work because He wants to be known and recognized.”
From CNA to Agenzia, plus Satire for 4/28/25
Catholic News Agency
CNA’s top headlines — April 28, 2025
Catholic News Agency provides reliable, free, up-to-the-minute news affecting the Universal Church, emphasizing the words of the Holy Father and happenings of the Holy See to anyone with access to the internet.
CNA explains: What is the St. Malachy prophecy, and why are people talking about it? - Apr 28, 2025 - By Jonah McKeown, Jimmy Akin - The recent death of Pope Francis on April 21 has reignited interest in the centuries-old “Prophecy of the Popes.”
Pope Francis tells young people ‘learn how to listen’ in video published after death - Apr 27, 2025 - By Hannah Brockhaus - The video, shared by the Italian weekly magazine “Oggi,” was made public one day after the funeral Mass of Pope.
Wrongfully imprisoned 36 years, Missouri woman still advocates for incarcerated mothers - Apr 27, 2025 - By Francesca Pollio Fenton - Currently an administrative assistant for Catholic Charities of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Judy Henderson continues to assist incarcerated mothers and families.
Agenzia Fides
News of the Pontifical Mission Societies for 4/28/25
Fides has become an excellent center for collecting and producing material information on the missionary world through current news, photographs, mission studies, and missionary work.
ASIA - “We must go to Asia.” What prompted Pope Francis to look East? - by Paolo Affatato (Fides Agency) - Universality, inculturation, mercy, and reference to the Sacraments: throughout his pontificate, Pope Francis has recognized the dynamic spread and living of the Gospel in Asian countries.
“Pope Francis, now we ask you to pray for us” - by Fabio Beretta Vatican City (Fides Agency) - “The Easter sun shines brightly” on the day when the Church and the whole world bid farewell to Pope Francis, the 265th Successor of Peter, who passed away April 20.
AFRICA/NIGERIA - Priest kidnapped in northwestern Nigeria - Abuja (Fides Agency) - Another Catholic priest has been abducted in Nigeria. The victim is Fr. Ibrahim Amos, pastor of St. Gerald Quasi Parish in Kurmin Risga, in the local government area of Kauru, Kaduna State, in northern Nigeria.
Babylon Bee’s SATIRE News
Ignorant Kids Have No Idea How Cool Dad Is
By Family Staff, April 24, 2023
According to sources, the children of local father Jaxon Holt are completely ignorant of how cool their dad is. Holt, who has a steady job working in business insurance and drives a Honda Fit, loves his children dearly and even occasionally picks them up from school. Yet they reportedly have no idea how cool that is. "I don't know how I can convince them," he said as he built another scale model of the HMS Titanic. "I'm the coolest guy I know. Did you know that when the Titanic sank, it went down with a slight list to starboard? I do." Despite how cool Holt is, his kids routinely roll their eyes at their dad for doing cool things like answering obscure movie trivia or wearing cargo shorts. "I love my dad, but he's a total nerd," said Billy Holt, age 15.
Nutshell reflections for 4/28/25:
USCCB Daily Reflection AUDIO & VIDEO - April 28, 2025
Monday of the Second Week of Easter
First Things
How abortion lost its cool
By Carmel Richardson, April 28, 2025
Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential election victory shocked many. The deplorables won the day, the elites were disgraced, and history was shown to have at least one more chapter. As Matthew Yglesias said, “the vibes, they are a-shiftin’.” Liberal shibboleths are eroding. Concerning abortion, several data points from November bear this out. According to exit polls, women aged sixty-five and over were the only female age cohort to vote as loyally for Kamala Harris as they had for Joe Biden. Younger women shifted away from the Democratic candidate. Though it can hardly be said that young women are becoming pro-life, neither can it be said that they are single-issue pro-abortion voters. In exit polls, only 13% of young voters named abortion as their top priority, down from 44% in 2022. A surprising share of Trump’s female swing was delivered by eighteen-to-twenty-nine-year-olds.
Vatican News
Slow pace of national reconciliation in Angola
By Sasembele Anastácio, April 18, 2025
Cristiano Augusto Andre, a Catholic, legal scholar, and former Chief Justice of Angola’s Supreme Court from 1997 to 2014, expressed his concerns regarding the national reconciliation plan and the pace of economic development in Angola. Angola will celebrate the 50th anniversary of its independence on 11 November. Angola’s conflict from 1975 to 2002 was brutal. It is estimated to have cost the lives of more than 500,000 civilians, with over a million others displaced. The country has still not recovered from the damage to its infrastructure. Justice Cristiano André stated that his compatriots must come to terms with their past. “Angolans need to reconnect and ease their inner turmoil.”
Bishop Barron Reflections
Clinging fearfully to power and status
By Bishop Robert Barron, April 28, 2025
Jesus tells Nicodemus, 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 can live in the Incarnation's energy. Jesus senses that Nicodemus, the great “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. Jesus’ concerns are confirmed by the almost comic rationalism of Nicodemus’ response to his invitation to rebirth. “How can a man once grown old be born again?” 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.
The Abbey of Misrule
Who’s Seraphim Rose?
By Paul Kingsnorth, April 27, 2025
“America is Babylon,” I said to my audience. Remembering I was speaking to Americans, I quickly added a qualification. “It’s Babylon,” I said, “but it might also be the place that counters Babylon. It’s as if one force somehow begets the other. After all, California is home to Silicon Valley, but it’s also home to the monastery of Seraphim Rose.” Somebody asked, “Who’s Seraphim Rose?” The strange name I had conjured is hardly widely known—a man who embodied the twentieth-century West’s aching search for meaning. A man who pushed himself out of the desert of modern materialism, through a banquet of “alternative spiritualities,” and into an ascetic, monastic life in the oldest and most traditional stream of Christianity: the Eastern Orthodox Church. Seraphim Rose is the unofficial patron saint of lost Western people; only America could have made him.
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