Catholic Nutshell News: Monday 5/18/26
Topics include: Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical; Seizing diocesan land near El Paso; Catholic colleges and the demographic cliff; & Opinions on trans rights have barely budged
“Worth your weight in walnuts”
Today's sources are Crux, Graphs about Religion, Aleteia, The PILLAR, 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
Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical arrives on May 25
By Hannah Brockhaus, May 18, 2026
The Vatican announced Monday that Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical will be published on May 25, titled Magnifica Humanitas. Pope Leo will speak at a presentation for the release of the social encyclical — a papal letter to the Church — at 11:30 a.m. Rome time on May 25, in the Vaticanʼs Synod Hall. The Vatican also confirmed that the full title of the encyclical is Magnifica Humanitas: On the Protection of Human Dignity in the Age of Artificial Intelligence. Magnifica Humanitas is Latin for “Magnificent Humanity.” Leo signed the letter, which is expected to provide moral guidance on the digital revolution and emerging technologies such as AI, on May 15. Pope Leo XIV indicated at the beginning of his pontificate that he intended to follow in the footsteps of his predecessor Leo XIII by responding to todayʼs Industrial Revolution: “developments in the field of artificial intelligence.”
Related: In the AI revolution, Leo XIV wants a third way between Terminator and Wall-E, CRUX, By Charles Collins, May 17, 2026
Related: ‘Algorithmization’ of life and preserving human dignity, Vatican News, By Bruno Giussani, 17 May, 2026
CRUX
Trump admin sues Catholic diocese to seize land near El Paso
By Uriel J. Garcia/ The Texas Tribune, May 16, 2026
To install more border barriers, the Trump administration wants to seize 14 acres of land on an iconic mountain outside of El Paso owned by the Catholic Diocese of neighboring Las Cruces, New Mexico, that attracts thousands of people for an annual religious pilgrimage. The land the federal government wants to take sits at the bottom of Mount Cristo Rey, a 720-foot-tall mountain with a 29-foot-tall statue of Jesus Christ at its summit, that overlooks Ciudad Juárez, El Paso, and Sunland Park, New Mexico. Last week, lawyers for the Trump administration filed a lawsuit in a federal court in New Mexico against the diocese of Las Cruces, which is resisting the government’s attempt to take the land. The lawsuit argues that the federal government needs the land to install barriers and other technology “designed to help secure the United States-Mexico border.” The administration said in court documents that it has offered the church $183,000 for the land.
Aleteia
Our Lady of Akita’s powerful message to the modern world
By Philip Kosloski, May 14, 2026
On June 12, 1973, Sr. Agnes Sasagawa of the Handmaids of the Eucharist began receiving heavenly visions in a convent located in Akita, Japan. At first, she saw angelic beings worshiping the Eucharist, but then on July 6, 1973, Sasagawa saw a wooden statue of the Virgin Mary speak to her, relaying a powerful message similar to what the three shepherd children received in Fatima, Portugal. The statue soon began to bleed, and tears started to flow down her cheeks. Around 2,000 people witnessed tears streaming from the statue, and the liquid was collected and sent to a laboratory for testing. A professor from the Akita University Department of Biochemistry, as well as a non-Christian forensic specialist, Dr. Kaoru Sagisaka, studied the liquid. The blood was confirmed to be of human origin, as were the tears. The Vatican has not made an official statement, leaving it up to the local bishop's discretion.
Vatican News
Uganda postpones Martyrs’ Day celebrations amid Ebola outbreak
By Christopher Kisekka, May 11, 2026
President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni said he decided to postpone the Martyrs’ Day to a later date, “because Uganda receives thousands of pilgrims annually from Eastern Congo, which is currently experiencing an Ebola outbreak. To safeguard everyone’s lives, it is essential that this important event be postponed.” The President urged pilgrims already on the journey to return home, to observe all precautionary measures, to report any cases of illness, and to seek prompt medical attention. “We regret any inconvenience caused, but the protection of life must come first,” he added. A sizable number of foot pilgrims from the Catholic Diocese of Butembo-Beni in eastern DRC, an area affected by the current Ebola outbreak, crossed into Uganda on 15 May and are currently hosted at St. Michael Church-Kabuyiri in Kasese District. Several additional groups are reported to be en route. Health authorities have initiated screening, and onward travel has been suspended.
The PILLAR
Catholic colleges aim to navigate the demographic cliff
By Jack Figge, May 16, 2026
Whatever else they’re thinking about, every college president in the U.S. has one common concern right now — the coming demographic cliff. This year marks 18 years since the 2008 financial crisis — a watershed moment in American demographics. Historically, financial crises have led to lower birth rates as parents have fewer children due to financial concerns. When the economy rebounded, birth rates would too. In 2007, the number of births in the United States had reached an all-time high: 4,316,233 babies were born. According to a CDC report, birth rates fell by 4% between 2007 and 2009, with 4,131,019 babies born in 2009. Demographers attributed the decline to the Great Recession and the financial fears of would-be parents. But when the economy recovered, demography didn’t. In 2024, according to John Hopkins University, the U.S. recorded a birth rate of 1.6 births per woman, the lowest rate on record, well below the population replacement rate of 2.1 children per woman.
National Catholic Register
The formula behind a fast-growing French pilgrimage
By Edward Pentin, May 17, 2026
A rapidly growing pilgrimage in western France is showing how a new Catholic movement can be successfully founded by focusing on mission, tradition, and heritage. The Feiz e Breizh pilgrimage, meaning “Faith in Brittany,” began in 2017, the initiative of four lay Catholic friends and backed by their local ordinary, Bishop Raymond Centène of Vannes. “They wanted to create a special event that brings people together by focusing on what is essential: their faith,” said Korantin Denis, the pilgrimage’s current director. “So their objective was to create a family pilgrimage open to everyone.” The two-day journey, covering 30 to 40 miles at the end of September, concludes at the famous shrine of Sainte-Anne-d’Auray, where the grandmother of Jesus appeared to Yvon Nicolazic in the 17th century — the only recorded and Church-approved apparition of St. Anne, Brittany’s patroness.
Graphs about Religion
Opinions on trans rights have barely budged
By Ryan Burge, May 18, 2026
It’s hard to poll on trans issues because the debate takes on so many forms. There are battles over bills designed around bathroom access, legislation about whether high school students can compete in sports that don’t match their birth gender, and strong debate over whether teachers can use different pronouns with students without notifying their parents. In the previous dustup about homosexuality, the question really centered on one thing: should a same-sex couple have the right to marry one another? The trans rights backlash is real. A majority of voters would support a national law requiring people to use public restrooms that correspond with their birth sex. Sixty percent believed that high school athletes should be required to compete with people who share their birth sex. Almost two-thirds of Independents favor a ban on medical care for gender transition for minors. The opposition among Republicans is rock-solid and near-unanimous. It’s orthodoxy in the GOP now.
Our Sunday Visitor
America 250 occasion to reflect on equality as a God-given right
By Kate Scanlon, May 17, 2026
The nation prepares to celebrate its 250th birthday. It should reflect on how the American understanding of equality is grounded in the belief that all people are equally children of God, said Bishop Robert E. Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, on May 17 at a prayer rally on the National Mall. “As we reflect on our history, from the founding through the trials of the Civil War to the struggle for civil rights, we can see this consistent thread, the conviction that human dignity, equality, rights, freedom, and the rule of law are all grounded in God,” he said. Organizers of “Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise & Thanksgiving” aim to mark the nation’s upcoming 250th anniversary with Scripture, testimony, prayer, and rededication of our country as One Nation to God. The event primarily featured Protestant faith leaders. In addition to Bishop Barron, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, retired archbishop of New York, spoke by video, and Rabbi Meir Soloveichik spoke in person.
EWTN, UCA, and CW News for 5/18/26
EWTN News
EWTN’s top headlines — May 18, 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.
SSPX and Rome: a half century of canonical tensions - By Victoria Cardiel - As one of the leading international experts on Lefebvrism sees it, reconciliation is impossible as long as the Societyʼs rejection of certain parts of the Second Vatican Council persists.
‘That They May Be One’: New film explores call to Christian unity - By Francesca Pollio Fenton - Inspired by Jesus’ prayer in John 17:21, a new movie called “That They May Be One” is exploring the theme of Christian unity — both across history and in the present day.
Christian faith looms large at ‘Unite The Kingdom’ protest in London - By Elliot Hartley - This weekend, tens of thousands of protesters gathered under an overcast sky in central London for a rally led by political activist and recent Christian convert, Tommy Robinson.
UCA News
The Union of Catholic Asian World News - 5/18/26
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
Thai-Cambodia tensions flare over temple ‘abuse’ - May 18, 2026, Terry Friel - Phnom Penh accused its neighbor of breaching century-old treaties, disrespecting sacred sites. Cambodia has angrily condemned what it calls another Thai assault on its territory by opening a revered captured temple to tourists and “religious ceremonies.”
Iran Nobel laureate returns home after hospital release - May 18, 2026, AFP, Paris - Family and supporters warned that sending Narges Mohammadi back to prison would endanger her life. They warned of the risk of any return to prison for the 2023 laureate, who suffers from a heart condition and whose health deteriorated drastically following her most recent arrest in December.
HK prosecutor says Tiananmen vigil leaders incited unlawful acts - May 18, 2026, AFP, Hong Kong - The two accused leaders defended their actions, saying their calls for democracy were protected speech. Hong Kong and Macau were once the only places in China where people could publicly mourn Beijing's deadly crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989.
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.
Addressing Gen Z Catholics and the New Jew-Hatred - by Peter Wolfgang | Friday - The best guy to address the New Jew-Hatred is Gideon Lazar, a Gen Z Jewish convert to Catholicism. Because the New Jew-Hatred is not the Old Jew-Hatred, and Gideon understands it way better than we do.
The deception and danger of “Reproductive Freedom Amendments” - by Robert G. Marshall | Wednesday - The purpose of this study of reproductive freedom amendments is to alert Americans who have the gift of Faith or a personal understanding of the Natural Law, so that they can counter the tactics, policies, and actions of those who are advancing what they mislabel as “Reproductive Freedom”, but which undermines the blessings of natural birth, children, and a well-ordered liberty within the social order.
St. John of the Cross: The Mystical Doctor - by Way of the Fathers | Wednesday | Way of the Fathers (Podcast) - St. John of the Cross (1542 - 1591) Arguably the most famous of the mystics, St. John of the Cross is well known for the concept of the “dark night of the soul.” He was the “first friar” of the Discalced Carmelites, co-founder of the reform movement with St. Teresa of Avila, and one of the greatest Spanish poets of all time.
Nutshell reflections for 5/18/26:
USCCB Daily Reflection AUDIO - May 18, 2026
Monday of the Seventh Week of Easter
Word on Fire
Colorado’s intolerant ideologues
By Henry T. Edmondson III, May 18, 2026
The “Colorado Ideologues”—if I may call them that—are on a losing streak. The playing field is the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS). The cadre of woke political elites in Denver is in competition with traditional values, but they have now struck out against a baker, a web designer, and, on March 31, a mental health counselor. Not an encouraging record. Colorado is going to bat again. The Supreme Court just agreed on April 20, 2026, to hear St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy. The dispute has to do with a challenge by Colorado Catholic preschools that are excluded from a state-funded universal preschool program because of Colorado policies against any school that does not admit LGBTQ+ children or those with LGBTQ+ parents. The case pits the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment against Colorado’s nondiscrimination requirements. Will Colorado’s self-appointed guardians of misguided virtue strike out again?
What We Need Now
Catholic teaching for a dangerous moment
By Bishop James Conley, May 12, 2026
The story of Father George Zabelka, the military chaplain who blessed the Enola Gay crew before Hiroshima, and who spent the rest of his life wrestling publicly with it, is a story that I only recently came across. Father George Zabelka was a Catholic chaplain with the U.S. Air Force and served as a priest for the airmen who dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In August of 1945, he was called upon to give the crew of the Enola Gay, the aircraft that dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, a blessing for their safety. This was an action that he had routinely performed hundreds of times, if not thousands. As a bishop of the Catholic Church and the proud son of a World War II veteran who served as a gunner on an aircraft carrier in the Pacific theater, it is important for me to discern carefully whether today is a historical moment and a key time when I should speak out clearly as a representative of the Catholic Church. One could make the consequentialist, utilitarian argument that—without moving in these directions—bad things will happen. What we need now is a serious consideration of the just war theory in light of advancing technologies.
George Weigel
Doing justice while making Catholic schools affordable
By George Weigel, May 13, 2026
Recently, Senator Mark Kelly (D-Arizona) secured 29 fellow senators' support for his bill to repeal the federal tax credit scholarship program, which was created in 2025 and will take effect next year. A Wall Street Journal editorial quoted Senator Kelly’s claim that scholarships funded by this program will take “money out of public schools and giv[e] it to private ones.” That is false. It was also a rather blatant pander to the teachers’ unions—arguably America’s most reactionary social force of organizations, whose ground game and financial help Kelly surely wants if he makes a run for the White House in the 2028 election cycle. Rather, the bill says If you owe federal income tax in the 2027 tax year, and if you donate that same year to a qualified non-profit scholarship-granting organization, you can reduce your federal income tax liability by the amount of the donation (for up to $1,700), while supporting an organization that helps children attend schools of their parents’ choice, including Catholic schools.
The Christian Post
Who are the ‘poor in spirit’? It’s not who you think
By Mark Creech, May 17, 2026
“Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3).
At first glance, those words sound strange. We do not normally associate blessing with poverty. We associate it with strength, confidence, success, self-esteem, and self-sufficiency. Yet Jesus opens His description of the Christian life not with triumph but with bankruptcy. Not material bankruptcy, but spiritual. That distinction matters greatly today. Many progressive Christian leaders have emphasized material poverty and economic inequality as central concerns of the Gospel. Christians absolutely should care about the materially poor. A church indifferent to suffering is not like Christ. But when Jesus says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” He is not primarily speaking about economic conditions. He is speaking about the soul. The central problem of humanity is not ultimately political oppression, low wages, or unequal distribution of wealth. The central problem is sin. The Gospel does not begin with social reform. It begins with spiritual ruin.
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