Catholic Nutshell News: Monday 5/5/25
Topics include: More potential pope candidates, 'Life or death for the Church', Catholic Café served by disabled, & Now in Rome, 133 Cardinals will participate
“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: The next five …
By John L. Allen Jr., May 5, 2025
Apr 29 - Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline - the 66-year-old Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline from Marseille, France is often described as the late pontiff’s favorite bishop
Apr 30 - Cardinal Luis Antonio “Chito” Tagle - Tagle was 55 when a contender for the papacy in 2013, but was seen as way too young. He’s again a serious possibility.
May 1 - Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost - An American has a serious shot in 69-year-old Prevost, who served in the ultra-powerful Dicastery for Bishops.
May 2 - Cardinal Anders Arborelius - Presiding over the counter-intuitive Catholic revival in Sweden, 75-year-old Arborelius is a convert to Catholicism.
May 3 - Cardinal Mario Grech - You never know what you might get from Grech, conservative or liberal, but it is often something astonishing.
The Pillar:
Synodality: ‘A matter of life or death for the Church …’
By The Pillar, May 4, 2025
Cardinal Joseph Zen, 93, was among the most outspoken members of the College of Cardinals during the Francis papacy, critiquing especially the pope’s signature Synod on Synodality initiative. On April 30, Zen addressed the Church’s cardinals, gathered for a general congregation meeting. He touched on the cardinal’s memories of Pope Francis and his continuing criticism of the synod on synodality initiative. “I admired [Francis’] great pastoral zeal. That’s why he was among my five top papabili in that conclave. Once he became pope, he revealed himself as a loving father. Many of our faithful, perhaps the majority in our diocese of Hong Kong, are probably rejoicing that we’ve had a great pope of reformation, as the secular media also claims. The word “reform” is magical, especially for the young, but it is also dangerous. A historic “reform” once tore a large part of the Church away from us.”
National Catholic Register
Catholic Café served by disabled — one cookie at a time
By Jack Figge, May 3, 2025
Patrick Fitzgerald loves to bake. In high school, he spent hours perfecting his snickerdoodle cookie recipe. Afterward, he earned a food-service certificate from the local community college in Pittsburgh, hoping to find work in a bakery. Patrick is on the autism spectrum and mostly non-verbal, yet he thrives in social settings and is an incredibly hard worker. His parents, Mike and Terri Fitzgerald, began praying the Rosary daily for their son, asking God and the Blessed Mother to help him find his way in the world. Thus, Brother André’s Café, a Move a Mountain Missions ministry, was born. Since the opening of Brother André’s, Father Donley of Divine Mercy parish, the Fitzgeralds, and staff have been able to welcome other adults with disabilities and their families into this vibrant community. Today, Brother André’s employs 26 adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Vatican News
133 Cardinals will participate in the upcoming conclave
By Tiziana Campisi & Kielce Gussie, May 1, 2025
A confirmed 133 Cardinals will participate in the upcoming conclave to elect the next Successor of St. Peter. Based on a paragraph in the Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici Gregis (UDG), the limit of voting cardinals is 120—13 fewer than what the College of Cardinals has announced will be participating next week. However, the number of Cardinals in the College has often exceeded the limit, despite the regulations laid down in UDG. On October 1, 1975, Pope Paul VI first established the rule that the “maximum number of cardinal electors shall not exceed 120” in the Apostolic Constitution, Romano Pontifici Eligendo. Despite Pope John Paul II confirming the rule limiting the number to 120, recent Popes have created more Cardinals. So, this 2025 conclave will be the first time one will take place with more than 120 Cardinal electors.
Catholic News Agency
Catholic OB-GYN finds life-changing alternative to IVF
By Kate Quiñones, May 4, 2025
Dr. Christopher Stroud was a Catholic OB-GYN who prescribed birth control and gave referrals for in vitro fertilization (IVF) until a priest admonished him in the sacrament of reconciliation. Stroud now runs a life-affirming fertility clinic that uses Natural Procreative Technology — a treatment model that embraces life-affirming Catholic ethics. “It changed my life,” Stroud said of the confession. “Probably for all eternity, it changed my life.” Stroud’s clinic is based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and trained in Nebraska at St. Paul VI Institute — an organization founded in 1985 that trains doctors in “NaProTechnology.” And the demand for NaProTechnology? It’s “unlimited,” Stroud said. Teresa Hilgers, an OB-GYN at the St. Paul VI Institute, added that NaProTechnology often brings a couple’s fertility “back to life.”
Graphs about Religion
It looks like religious decline has slowed significantly
By Ryan Burge, May 5, 2025
What country has the lowest share of weekly attenders? The answer is Iceland at 3%, followed by Sweden, Norway, and Finland. It shouldn’t take a deep knowledge of geography to know what those countries have in common — religion is nearly extinct in Scandinavia. In Poland, 39% of folks are weekly attenders, the highest of a group of 24 European nations. Poland is followed by Slovakia (35%), Cyprus (29%), Ireland, and Italy (both at 26%). In 15 countries out of 24, the share of never attenders changed by only 3% points between two surveys being fielded. Stasis is the norm. This may point to the fact that secularization has run its course through most of the continent. Europe's average weekly attendance rate in earlier polls was 14%, and 25% in the United States. That hasn’t changed in the latest data. It looks like religious decline has slowed significantly.
Aleteia
Jesus is recorded appearing 10 times after his resurrection
By Philip Kosloski, May 5, 2025
Technically speaking, we don't know every single time that Jesus appeared to his disciples during the 40 days between his resurrection and ascension. John explained that the Gospel accounts were not a complete historical record: "Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book" (John 20:30). However, the Gospels record several of them. — appearing 10 times to his disciples in his resurrected body: First To Mary Magdalene “Jesus said to her, ‘Mary.’ She turned and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabboni!’ (which means Teacher).” (John 20:16-17) To Five Hundred Disciples “Then he appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.” (1 Corinthians 15:6)
The Daily Signal
Asylum seekers are largest group in spike of sheltered homeless
By Rachel Greszler, May 5, 2025
Between 2022 and 2024, the U.S. saw a record 43% rise in “sheltered homelessness”—staying in some sort of emergency shelter, as opposed to living on the street. That is shocking, but according to a new study, a contemporaneous spike in asylum seekers accounted for a stunning 60% increase. “Asylum seekers”—as referenced in the survey—are all recent immigrants seeking residence in the U.S., regardless of their legal status. Unsheltered homelessness has been on the rise since 2015, but sheltered homelessness had declined by 12% from 2007 to 2022 before its sudden 43% spike between 2022 and 2024. According to data from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the total homeless population in the U.S. increased by about 189,000 from 2022 to 2024 (from 582,000 to 771,000).
Related: CRS Urges Congress to Prioritize Critical Poverty-Reducing Humanitarian Aid in FY26 Appropriations, CRS, by Robyn Fieser, April 2, 2025
Agenzia Fides
Seven Nigerian Capuchin Friars die in a tragic road accident
By Agenzia Fides, May 5, 2025
Seven Capuchin Friars, members of the Custody of St. Francis and St. Clare of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin in Nigeria, lost their lives in a serious traffic accident that occurred on May 3, 2025, while traveling from Enugu State to Cross River State. The news was confirmed by Brother John-Kennedy Anyanwu, OFM Cap., Custos of the Order, in an official statement released on May 4 from the Capuchin Friars Convent in Enugu. According to the statement, the thirteen friars had left the community of Ridgeway (Enugu State) bound for Obudu (Cross River State) when the vehicle transporting them was involved in an accident, resulting in the death of seven of them. The six surviving friars suffered injuries of varying severity and were transferred back to Enugu for medical care.
From CNA to Agenzia, plus Satire for 5/5/25
Catholic News Agency
CNA’s top headlines — May 5, 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.
FOCUS founder calls for evangelism amid upcoming conclave: ‘The world is looking to us’ - May 5, 2025 - By Kate Quiñones -“God is inviting Catholics to transform the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ — and the world is looking to us,” Curtis Martin said.
LIVE UPDATES: Cardinals celebrate ninth and final Novendiales Mass for Pope Francis - May 5, 2025 - By CNA Staff - 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.
How Pope Francis shaped the College of Cardinals - May 4, 2025 - By Hannah Brockhaus - Of the 133 cardinals with the right to vote in this conclave, 108 were created by Pope Francis and will be participating in the election of a pontiff for the first time.
Agenzia Fides
News of the Pontifical Mission Societies for 5/5/25
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/NIGERIA - The serious security situation in Imo State also affects priests and religious - Abuja (Agenzia Fides) - “The situation is dire. Kidnappings for ransom, abductions for organ harvesting, and violent invasions of people’s lands and farms are now commonplace across Imo State and Igbo land”
AFRICA/SOUTH SUDAN - One year after the disappearance, there is no news of Father Lukas and his companion - Juba (Agenzia Fides) - "One year has passed, and their silence haunts us. The disappearance of Fr. Luke and Michael is not just a personal loss - it is a wound to the heart of our society," said the Bishop of Tambura-Yam
ASIA/SRI LANKA - The 167 Catholics killed in the Easter massacre to be included in the list of “Witnesses of Faith” Colombo ( Fides Agency) - The 167 Catholics killed in churches in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, April 21, 2019, will be included in the List of “Witnesses of Faith” of the 21st century compiled by the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints and presented during the Jubilee Year.
Babylon Bee’s SATIRE News
Deadly Consequences Of Defunding NPR
By Media Staff, May 2, 2023
Severe ramifications of NPR being defunded:
No one will know the plight of Mongolian yak farmers: How will people learn if they are not told?
Fewer job opportunities for people with low-register voices: The job market will become oversaturated by women with glasses who whisper.
NPR programs will now be interrupted every two minutes with commercials for hemp muumuus and Birkenstocks: Ads targeting NPR's loyal listeners.
From now on, only a few things will be considered: Cutbacks have consequences.
In other news: Fox News had to shut down since all its on-air personalities have gone to work for the Trump administration.
(Come on, it sounds kind of mean, but satire is fair and balanced and a breath of fresh air.)
Nutshell reflections for 5/5/25:
USCCB Daily Reflection AUDIO & VIDEO - May 5, 2025
Monday of the Third Week of Easter
First Things
Praying for an end to the revived liturgy wars
By Salvatore J. Cordileone, May 5, 2025
It should come as no surprise that the full gamut of Church teaching, from morality to the exercise of authority to dogmatic truths of the faith, was doubted and even outright denied, and religious vocations plummeted after the confusing and tumultuous era of “the changes” that came after the Second Vatican Council. The era of the “liturgy wars” was not about rearranging ornamentation; at a time of confusion and dissent in all areas of Church life, it was foundational to all that happened. At one point in the recent past, we seemed to have come to a peaceful coexistence with what Pope Benedict referred to as the two forms of the Roman Rite in his motu proprio Summorum Pontificum. However, after Traditionis Custodes and severe restrictions from the Dicastery for Divine Worship on the celebration of the Roman Rite according to the 1962 Missal, the liturgy wars have been revived.
Catholic Exchange
Moralistic Therapeutic Deism is alive and deficient
By Christopher Rogers, May 1, 2025
Two decades ago, Christian Smith and Melinda Denton discovered that nearly all US teens, regardless of their religious upbringing, shared a common belief system. They named this religion “Moralistic Therapeutic Deism,” summarized into these tenets:
A God exists who created and orders the world and watches over human life on earth. [Deism]
God is not involved in one’s life except to resolve a problem. [Therapeutic]
God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible: be happy and feel good about oneself. [Moralistic]
Good people go to heaven when they die. [the Conclusion]
The Moralistic Therapeutic Deism deity is incomplete, deficient, and restricted. It is not the Holy Trinity. We should offer this argument in conversations, homilies, confessions, Bible studies, essays, art, literature, podcasts, and movies. And especially in our private petitions and meditations.
Bishop Barron Reflections
One eats and one must eat soon again
By Bishop Robert Barron, May 5, 2025
Friends, in today’s Gospel, the crowd that experienced the miracle of the loaves pursues Jesus to see more wonders. They finally track him down in the synagogue in the lakeside town of Capernaum. When they ask Jesus how he got there ahead of them, the Lord chides them: “Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled. Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life.” Ordinary bread satisfies only physical longing, and it does so in a transient way: one eats and one must eat soon again. But the heavenly bread, Jesus implies, satisfies the deepest longing of the heart, and does so by adapting the one who eats it to eternal life.
Caeli Catholic
How God can use the time I don’t spend scrolling
By Kate Trinio, May 1, 2025
When I first deleted the apps from my phone on Ash Wednesday, I didn’t feel holy or heroic. I just felt twitchy. My thumb had memorized the exact spots where the apps used to be. My hand moved before my brain even registered what I was doing. That reflex alone told me something needed to change. We don’t always realize how deeply these platforms form us until we step away. For me, the noise had become so normal that I forgot what silence felt like. Within a few days, I noticed a subtle shift: My thoughts became clearer. I wasn’t constantly reacting, comparing, and consuming. I had space to think, to pray, to notice. Social media isn’t evil. It can be used for good, for connection, even for evangelization. But in my life, it had started to fill every spare moment and occupy every crack in the day that could otherwise be an opening to grace.
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