Catholic Nutshell News: Monday 5/19/25
Topics include: Vance meets the Pope and discusses peace; Google searches spike on becoming Catholic; Pope Leo XIV on social media; & Melancholy is a good thing
“Worth your weight in walnuts”
Today's sources are Catholic News Agency, Crux, Graphs about Religion, OSV, Aleteia, Fides, National Catholic Register, & Missio Dei. (Catholic Nutshell is a subscription service for faithful, hopeful, & curious Catholics willing to exercise the Catholic News Muscle)
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CRUX
Vance meets pope, discusses peace, religious freedom
By Elise Ann Allen, May 19, 2025
After attending Pope Leo XIV’s installation Mass, United States Vice President JD Vance on Monday had private meetings with the pontiff and other top-ranking officials, with key themes being religious freedom and the need for negotiation in conflict areas. According to a May 19 Vatican communique, earlier that morning, the pope and Vance held a private meeting, which lasted roughly 45 minutes, beginning around 7:56 a.m. and ending around 8:41 a.m., after which Vance met with the Vatican’s Secretary for Relations with States, British Archbishop Paul Gallagher. The parties also exchanged views on “some current international issues, calling for respect for humanitarian law and international law in areas of conflict and for a negotiated solution between the parties involved.”
CatholicVote
Google searches on how to become Catholic spike 373%
By Grace Porto, May 16, 2025
The Google search “how to become a Catholic” rose 373% from April 20–26, marking Pope Francis’ final public appearance and death. Zenit reported May 13 that Magdalena Petrusic, a senior travel analyst at Vatican Tickets & Tours, the company that tracked the data, said the surge was unlike anything she had seen before. “We’re used to seeing spikes in tourism or event inquiries when a major religious figure passes,” she said. “But this was different. People weren’t planning trips — they were seeking conversion.” She noted that it was remarkable how closely the spike in searches corresponded to Pope Francis’ death April 21. “It was as though the world paused, watched, and then responded — not with apathy or distraction, but with a hunger to understand what moved this man,” she said.
National Catholic Register
Leo XIV’s homily from Inauguration Mass: ‘This is the hour for love’
By Pope Leo XIV, May 18, 2025
In his first address to international media on Monday, Pope Leo XIV thanked journalists for their service to the truth and for communicating peace in difficult times. He met with several thousand international press members to thank them for their “long and tiring days” of work over the last few weeks as they reported on Pope Francis’ death, funeral, and the conclave. “In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus proclaimed: ‘Blessed are the peacemakers’ (Mt 5:9). This is a beatitude that challenges all of us, but it is particularly relevant to you, calling each one of you to strive for a different kind of communication, one that does not seek consensus at all costs, does not use aggressive words, does not follow the culture of competition, and never separates the search for truth from the love with which we must humbly seek it,” Pope Leo XIV said.
The Pillar
On Pope Leo's desk: Rupnik
By JD Flynn, May 14, 2025
Pope Francis may well be remembered as the pope who allowed Theodore McCarrick to be criminally tried and laicized in the Church. But on the whole, the late pontiff’s record on handling clerical sexual abuse in the Church is not likely to be recorded as universally positively by Church historians. For Francis, the most prominent symbol of his reputation on abuse is Fr. Marko Rupnik, the expelled Jesuit and once-renowned artist, who has been accused of serially sexually abusing around 30 religious sisters, in vile ways, in the context of creating the enormous tile church mosaics for which he became famous. Enter Leo XIV. Around the world, victims of clerical sexual abuse and their advocates have charged that mosaics created by Rupnik, displayed in cathedrals, basilicas, and shrines around the world — and prominently in Rome — have become symbols of a Vatican either unwilling or unable to aid them.
Catholic News Agency
The grand procession of the Jubilee of Confraternities in Rome
By CNA Staff, May 17, 2025
Thousands of the faithful took to the streets of Rome on Saturday to participate in elaborate and beautiful processions by members of Catholic confraternities from around the world who gathered in the Eternal City as part of the 2025 Jubilee festivities. A confraternity is a voluntary association of the faithful devoted to special works of Christian charity—many date back hundreds of years. The Saturday processions were held to mark the Jubilee of Confraternities. Two processions marched through the Roman streets and ended at the Circus Maximus. Many of the confraternities trace their origins to the Middle Ages. While they are most known for their penitential processions in Holy Week in Spain or on Marian feast days in other countries, they also continue to be engaged in works of charity and keep ancient forms of popular piety alive in villages and cities throughout Europe.
Graphs about Religion
The impact of education on church attendance in Europe & the U.S.
By Ryan Burge, May 19, 2025
The relationship between weekly church attendance and education is a positive one. Among those with a high school diploma, only 23% indicate they attend church regularly. For those who have an associate’s degree, it’s 26%. It’s two points higher for people who completed a four-year program, and among those who went beyond an undergraduate education, 30% are weekly attenders. Once you reach the “post-secondary” and above group of respondents, things level off at 10-12% weekly attendance rates. While the relationship between education and religious attendance in the United States is undoubtedly positive, it is a negative correlation on the continent of Europe. Are there any European countries that have a positive relationship between education and religious attendance? Not really.
Aleteia
Spiritual formation and authentic brotherhood for Catholic men
By Theresa Civantos Barber, May 19, 2025
The Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal organization with a 143-year legacy of service and charity, is experiencing a spiritual renewal driven by its younger members. The new Cor initiative — Latin for “heart” — brings deeper spiritual formation and authentic brotherhood to an already beloved institution for Catholic men. Cor, a flexible framework of prayer, formation, and fraternity, is designed to help Catholic men focus on Jesus by building Christ-centered brotherhood. It reflects the initial mission of the Knights envisioned by its founder, Blessed Michael McGivney. “Through Cor we hope that every man who attends is able to encounter our Lord Jesus through their time of prayer, formation, and fraternity,” said Sean Pott, senior director of evangelization and education for the Knights of Columbus.
Our Sunday Visitor
Pope Leo XIV on social media
By Cindy Wooden, May 18, 2025
Pope Leo XIV deleted the account he began as Father Robert F. Prevost on Twitter, now X. In 2011, the Vatican launched new accounts for him on X and Instagram. “The Holy Father Leo XIV has chosen to maintain an active social media presence through the official papal accounts on X and Instagram,” said the Dicastery for Communication. The first post on the “Pope Leo XIV @Pontifex” account on X was released May 14 and was a quote from his inaugural greeting to the public May 8 when he was elected: “Peace be with you all! This is the first greeting spoken by the Risen Christ, the Good Shepherd. I would like this greeting of peace to resound in your hearts, in your families, and among all people, wherever they may be, in every nation and throughout the world.” The new @pontifex Instagram account of Pope Leo XIV had more than 13 million followers by May 16.
Agenzia Fides
Catholic University a beacon of academic excellence in Sudan
By Agenzia Fides, May 16, 2025
Founded in 2019, the Catholic University’s St. John Yambio Campus has quickly grown into a respected institution, producing top-performing graduates. Bishop Hiboro explained that the University is expanding its academic programs for next year and that the initiative spearheaded by the Catholic Diocese of Tombura-Yambio aims to empower South Sudanese youth with a globally competitive education rooted in local values. As South Sudan continues to navigate economic recovery and nation-building, institutions like the Catholic University, St. John Campus in Yambio are stepping up to nurture the skills, knowledge, and leadership necessary for long-term development.
From CNA to Agenzia, plus Satire for 5/19/25
Catholic News Agency
CNA’s top headlines — May 19, 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.
Ohio Catholic Charities joins national pilot program to help moms out of poverty - May 19, 2025 - By Madalaine Elhabbal -The pilot program will run for 18 months and will monitor the status of at least 20 families.
A papacy begins: Pope Leo XIV calls for united Church at inaugural Mass - May 18, 2025 - By Hannah Brockhaus - Pope Leo XIV, the first U.S.-born pontiff, began his papacy with a richly-symbolic inaugural Mass, celebrated at the Vatican.
‘My first Hail Mary in 45 years’: Rosary Team brings prayer to memory care residents - May 18, 2025 - By Francesca Pollio Fenton - The Rosary Team, which began in 2019, is now made up of over 500 volunteers who pray with memory-care residents.
Agenzia Fides
News of the Pontifical Mission Societies for 5/19/25
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.
AFRICA/CAMEROON - Archbishop of Garoua: “Father Mbaibarem is free and in good physical condition” - Yaoundé (Agenzia Fides) – After eight days of captivity, Father Valentin Mbaibarem, parish priest of the Church of Saint John the Baptist in Madingring, kidnapped on May 7 along with five other people.
ASIA/HONG KONG - Cardinal Chow: Pope Leo has been to China several times and is familiar with Chinese culture and reality - Hong Kong (Agenzia Fides) – Before becoming Successor of Peter, Robert Francis Prevost “visited China several times and got to know the Chinese culture and reality,” said Jesuit Cardinal Stephen Chow Sau-ya.
AMERICA/PARAGUAY - In an atmosphere of celebration, joy and gratitude, the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians celebrated 125 years of presence in the country Asunción (Agenzia Fides) – On April 29, 2025, "The first nine missionaries who came to Paraguay were moved by the missionary zeal that Christ had awakened in Don Bosco and Mother Mazzarello, and felt the passion and fervent desire to transmit the faith..."
Babylon Bee’s SATIRE News
Study: Nobody Thinks They’re Stupid, But Many Are
By Science Staff, May 16, 2023
A newly released Harvard study on human intelligence has provided conclusive evidence that while nobody thinks they're stupid, many are. According to the results of the study, 100% of people think they are not stupid, which means that 100% of all stupid people think they are smart. But they're not smart. They're stupid. "The results of this study were particularly shocking to me and my colleagues," said Dr. Anton Phoenix, a Harvard psychologist. "According to our findings, there is a possibility that we might be stupid. We certainly don't think we are, but according to the study, that's exactly what stupid people think." One participant in the study was skeptical of the results. "There are obviously some flaws in the results, because I know I'm not stupid," said Thomas Ridley, who thinks Attack of the Clones was the best Star Wars movie.
Nutshell reflections for 5/19/25:
USCCB Daily Reflection AUDIO & VIDEO - May 19, 2025
Monday of the Fifth Week of Easter
Missio Dei
For God so loved the world
By Kaleb Hammond, May 18, 2025
Not only will all men be resurrected, their full human personhood restored from its unnatural separation into spirit and body at death – “And they that have done good things, shall come forth unto the resurrection of life; but they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment” (Jn 5:29) – but all of Creation will be reclaimed from the dominion of Satan, freed from its bondage to suffering and decay and with man reinstated to his Adamic sovereignty over it, as St. Paul so beautifully expounds: “For I reckon that the sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come, that shall be revealed in us. For the expectation of the creature waiteth for the revelation of the sons of God” (Rom 8:18-23). Through Scripture, God shows us His love by revealing the unfathomable gifts He has in store for us. He will not leave us in our sin and darkness, or even in the bliss of Heaven, which is still incomplete for us, but will return us to our glorified and spiritualized bodies.
Catholic Exchange
Melancholy keeps us searching for Jesus
By M.C. Holbrook, May 19, 2025
Very often, the Lord does not infuse us with instant peace, hope, and resolution because He wants us to come to Him. And not with only a please, please, please; He longs for us to “hang out” for a while. He yearns for us to hang on to the refuge of His cloak, where we will find our shelter from the storm. This is the whole purpose of the melancholy God allows to enter into our lives, and it differs vastly from depression and despair. Depression and despair cause us to withdraw into ourselves and prevent us from seeing anything beyond our own pain. Melancholy keeps us searching for Jesus in a quietude of heart and mind that has nowhere else to go. In this sense, it is a good thing. It is seasonal—that is to say, temporary—and instructive, in that it teaches us to trust more deeply and love more fully.
National Catholic Register
St. Isidore: How work and prayer can be combined
By Jim Graves, May 15, 2025
Isidore was canonized by Pope Gregory XV on March 12, 1622 (along with four other well-known saints, Ignatius of Loyola, Francis Xavier, Teresa of Ávila and Philip Neri). As the story of the lives of Isidore and María became known in Spain, farmers began to invoke their intercession for bountiful harvests. He is the patron of farmers, rural communities, and Madrid. It is also said that St. Isidore’s intercession has helped Spain’s kings. In 1211, he is said to have appeared to the King of Castile to offer him help defeating an enemy. In the 1600s, when King Philip III of Spain was seriously ill, Isidore’s incorrupt remains were brought to the king’s room, and the king recovered. St. Isidore is a model of how work and prayer can be combined.
Caeli Catholic
NaPro doctors helped me develop a holistic view of my health
By Claire Collins, May 16, 2025
On my wedding day, I was excited to begin my vocation but nervous about immediately getting pregnant. I was hesitant about becoming a mom so soon into something as new and important as my vocation. Balancing moving to a new state and learning a new job seemed hard enough. I knew that the Church had been inviting me to be open to life from day one of my marriage, but deep down, I also really wanted some time just to be married. Many of my friends had chosen to put off having kids when they were first married; I was tempted to desire the same, reluctant to consider that God was inviting me to true openness to life within my marriage. My charting experiences and now multiple NaPro doctors have helped me develop a more holistic view of my health, seeing my body as a unified whole where parts affect one another and can either help or hinder my overall health.
Related: NaPro works cooperatively with a woman’s menstrual and fertility cycles, leveraging the power of the CREIGHTON MODEL FertilityCare™ System (CrMS) biomarkers for precise monitoring
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