Catholic Nutshell News: Monday 7/6/26
Catholics should know: America’s first Catholic bishop; Eucharistic Pilgrimage 2026 ends in Philly; Beijing releases Zion Church’s Pastor; & Leo’s complex relationship with the U.S.
“Worth your weight in walnuts”
Your 5-minute daily Catholic briefing. Today's sources: National Catholic Register, EWTN News, The Angelus, The Pillar, Crux, First Things, Zenit, & Aleteia. (Catholic Nutshell is a FREE subscription service for faithful, hopeful, & curious Catholics willing to exercise their Catholic News Muscle)
Please support the following Catholic news services and spiritual support sites. Click here to view this email on the Catholic Nutshell News website. Today’s Catholic Nutshell News audio podcast is available on the Substack App.
National Catholic Register
Benjamin Franklin picked America’s first Catholic bishop
By Matthew McDonald, July 4, 2026
Benjamin Franklin stopped going to church as a young man and about five weeks before he died expressed “some Doubts” as to whether Jesus is God. Yet Charles Carroll, a Catholic, and Franklin ended up choosing the first Catholic bishop of America. Father John Carroll of Maryland, Charles brother, thought to have influence with Canada, joined Franklin and Carroll’s delegation in February 1776 to persuade Canada to join the Thirteen Colonies’ revolt against Great Britain. The American mission to Canada failed. Father Carroll made almost no headway because Quebec Bishop Jean-Olivier Briand ordered priests to have nothing to do with the anti-Catholic Americans. The approximately 25,000 Catholics in the new United States of America had about 25 priests to serve them, but no bishop. Franklin and Father Carroll’s friendship led to Benjamin’s influence, years later, in Carroll as bishop.
EWTN News
National Eucharistic Pilgrimage 2026 ends in Philadelphia
By Stephanie Green, July 6, 2026
Evangelization was the chief mission of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage 2026, which ended Sunday after passing through 18 dioceses since it began on May 24 in St. Augustine, Florida. The final stop in Philadelphia took on a patriotic theme in the City of Brotherly Love as about 2,000 believers squeezed into the Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul for Mass. Beforehand, sisters knelt before the relics of St. Katharine Drexel, one of America’s first saints. This year’s pilgrimage placed special emphasis on the American saints who have contributed not only to the Church but also to the American story. Many chose to wave American flags and wear their patriotism on their sleeves. Kevin and Janet Daly from Michigan were among those who wore the “One Nation Under God” motto.
Related: Young adult who made a pilgrimage to all 94 US basilicas says they ‘represent the real American dream’, McKenna Snow, Zeale, July 3, 2026
PIMA asia news
Beijing releases Zion Church’s Pastor as a gesture to Trump
By Beijing’s AsiaNews, July 6, 2026
After more than eight months in detention, Pastor Jin Mingri’s release on 4 July follows talks between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, during which Jimmy Lai was also mentioned, although the latter’s situation remains unchanged. Meanwhile, the crackdown on house churches continues in China: eight other pastors remain in prison. Last February, Jimmy Lai was sentenced to 20 years in prison on charges of “collusion with foreign forces,” in one of the most high-profile trials since Beijing imposed its national security law on Hong Kong in 2020. The case reflects the different political weight that Chinese authorities give to the two cases. Lai is considered by Beijing to be one of the symbols of Hong Kong's pro-democracy protests and a challenge to central power. Mingri’s release should not be interpreted as a reversal of the trend regarding religious freedom in China.
The Pillar
The Church can limit a broader SSPX schism
By Ed. Condon, July 2, 2026
While no informed observer ever doubted excommunication would be the consequence for the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) bishops, there has been considerable discussion about what wider canonical effects the new SSPX schism would have for its associated clergy and faithful. The challenge facing the hierarchy now, both in Rome and at the local level, will be explaining the Church’s position — and acting in accordance with it — in a way which coherently addresses inevitable SSPX arguments. The Vatican’s legal advice has drawn distinctions between the clergy of the society and laity who associate themselves with its churches, and has laid out the need for a competent Church authority to determine that automatic excommunication has been incurred. Hopefully, the excommunication of swathes of clergy and faithful will not take place by laying out the circumstances under which the penalty could and should be declared.
aciafrica
Eucharistic desecration: Gabon Diocese declares weekly fasting
By Jude Atemanke, July 5, 2026
The Catholic Diocese of Franceville in Gabon has called on Catholics across the Diocese to observe weekly fasting, penance, and Eucharistic adoration after what its Bishop has described as a “heinous act of vandalism” involving the desecration of the Blessed Sacrament at Sacred Heart Lastoursville Parish. “It is with profound sorrow and deep emotion that I wish to inform you of an incident of extreme gravity that has occurred within our ecclesiastical jurisdiction,” Bishop Ephrem Ndjoni said. Describing the incident as an attack on the heart of the Catholic faith, he said, “To violate the Holy Eucharist is to attack the very heart of our faith – the real and sacred presence of Our Lord Jesus Christ among His people.” Ndjoniaid the desecration had left the Diocese, particularly the Christian community of Lastoursville, in mourning.
The Angelus
The theologian who wanted Christianity to abandon Israel
By Mike Aquilina, July 6, 2026
Marcion of Pontus was one of the most dangerous men in Christian history — and one of the most fascinating. He arrived in Rome around the middle of the second century and believed Christianity could not be reconciled with the religion of ancient Israel. The God of the Old Testament was a deity of law, wrath, judgment, and tribal violence. The Father proclaimed by Jesus Christ was a different God altogether — a God of mercy, love, and pure grace. Marcion’s solution was bold and terrifyingly simple: cut Christianity loose from Judaism. Discard the Old Testament. Reject the creator God. Keep only a purified version of Luke’s Gospel and the letters of Paul. According to the account, Marcion once approached the aged bishop Polycarp of Smyrna on the streets of Rome and said, “Do you recognize me?” Polycarp replied: “I recognize you as the firstborn of Satan.” The Church’s rejection of Marcion was one of the decisive moments in Christian history.
ZENIT
Anglicans in Canada offer official ritual liturgies for Euthanasia
By ZENIT Staff, July 3, 2026
The Anglican Church of Canada has entered one of the country’s most sensitive ethical debates by publishing a new pastoral resource for ministers accompanying people who choose medically assisted death. Rather than taking a formal position on the morality of assisted dying, the document focuses on the Church’s pastoral responsibilities, a decision that has already drawn both support and sharp criticism. The newly released text, entitled Pastoral Liturgies at the Time of Death in Contexts of Medical Assistance in Dying, states that its purpose is not to settle the ethical controversy surrounding assisted death or to argue either for or against the practice. Instead, it emphasizes that the Church is called to accompany those who are suffering, seriously ill, or approaching death, offering pastoral care whenever it is requested.
CRUX
Leo’s complex relationship with the U.S.
By Charles Collins, July 5, 2026
The pontiff has yet to visit his homeland after his election. Pope Francis never returned to his native Argentina after his election, although Pope Saint John Paul II visited his native Poland and Pope Benedict XVI his native Germany shortly after taking office. Many observers speculated that Leo’s reticence about visiting the U.S. has two factors: It is a midterm election year, and both the American pope and his Argentinian predecessor have had conflicts with the current president, Donald Trump. Trump has even attacked Leo, calling him “terrible” and “weak” when the pope refused to support the war against Iran. In many ways, Pope Leo has somewhat downplayed his strong links to the United States. He has tried to limit his discussion of U.S. politics, although Trump’s statements have led him to answer many questions. Leo’s knotty relationship with the current U.S. administration is unlikely to be overshadowed by his visit to his other homeland, which has its own complexities.
Related: Pope Leo XIV dines with U.S. ambassador on Independence Day, by EWTN News Staff, July 5, 2026
Keep informed - 7/6/26 news for Catholics:
Snippets: EWTN News, Catholic World Report, & Catholic World News
EWTN News
EWTN’s top headlines — July 6, 2026
EWTN News provides reliable, free, up-to-the-minute news affecting the Universal Church, with updates on the Holy Father's words and the Holy See.
Vatican October meeting to focus on divorce, other family issues - By Hannah Brockhaus - A Vatican meeting of bishops in October will focus on divorce and separation, among other family-related issues, according to the preparatory document published Monday.
Catholic Charities Fort Worth expands research-backed anti-poverty program to Illinois - By Amira Abuzeid - In the heart of one of Chicago’s most challenged neighborhoods, a proven, dignity-centered approach to breaking the cycle of poverty is about to take root.
‘Thanks to John Paul II, my father always kept hope alive,’ Jérôme Lejeune’s daughter says - By Nicolás de Cárdenas - June 22 was the centenary of the birth of Jérôme Lejeune, the physician who discovered the cause of Down syndrome. He maintained a close relationship with St. John Paul II, who appointed him the first president of the Pontifical Academy for Life in 1994.
Catholic World Report
CWR’s Columns, Analysis, & Features
Catholic World Report is a free online magazine that examines the news from a faithful Catholic perspective.
Theology of the body and the reality of our mortality - Shemaiah Gonzalez, July 5, 2026 - My teen son noticed I was a bit quieter than usual as we sat, waiting for Mass to begin. Nothing was wrong, just a bit of fatigue and distraction. But he is the son most like me, so he is attuned to the tiny fractions of movement in others' needs and moods, especially mine.
What links disintegration? On Rousseau, gnosticism, and Saint Michael - Jose Yulo, July 1, 2026 - The truth will not only “make us free,” but it is itself free. We all, in fact, come to know the same truth; otherwise, we could not communicate with one another at all. This is why the modern-day denial of truth is, at the same time, a denial of real human communication.
Social contagion and the rise and fall of transgenderism - Anne Hendershott - June 30, 2026 - For more than a decade, the United States and much of the Western world witnessed a dramatic rise in transgender identification, especially among female adolescents and young adults. The speed, the scale, and the demographic concentration of this shift were unprecedented.
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.
Responsibility for evangelization? Refusal leads to hate - Prudence is one thing, but deliberate Christian invisibility is not only a heresy but a betrayal. Fortunately, most of us do not witness to Christ under life-threatening conditions. Our unwillingness to express and share our Faith openly arises from either embarrassment or timidity. Here we have at least one feeling and one vice which we are supposed to overcome. When directly challenged, we cannot deny Christ or the Church without committing grave sin. But we can proceed with caution.
What Are The Pearls? Examining the SSPX’s Declaration of Faith - Ironically, it is clear that the Society of St. Pius X recognizes the necessity of selectively revealing truths to different audiences according to their dispositions. That is why they deliberately omitted from their Declaration of Faith their teachings on the licitness of the Novus Ordo Mass and the status of priests and bishops consecrated by that rite.
St. Lawrence of Brindisi: Doctor of the Incarnation - St. Lawrence of Brindisi (1559-1619) was a Preacher, spiritual director, missionary, diplomat, confidant of princes and emperors, Papal Emissary, military chaplain, Provincial Vicar of the Capuchins, and Vicar General of the Franciscan order. Called the greatest preacher in the history of the Church, he was treated like a rock star during his lifetime. He was also one of the most prominent Catholic apologists of his generation.
July 6, 2026 - USCCB Daily Mass Readings
You can listen HERE — or read HERE:
Monday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Today’s Catholic commentary:
Aleteia
Saints Peter and Paul became ‘friends of God’
By Philip Kosloski, June 29, 2026
The two pillars of the Church were not “slaves” of God but “friends,” both deeply united in their friendship with Jesus, which united them in their mission. Too often, we can be tempted to view God as an oppressive slave master, or even a demanding father, who doesn’t really care about us or our lives. Yet, time and time again, God uses terminology that puts us in a more intimate relationship with him, calling us his sons and daughters, but also his “friends.” St. John Paul II highlighted this aspect of Sts. Peter and Paul's lives are in a homily he delivered in 2003. He explained the importance of this phrase: Friends of God! The word "friends" is particularly eloquent when we think that it was spoken by Jesus at the Last Supper: "No longer do I call you servants...", he said, "but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you" (Jn 15: 15).
Our Sunday Visitor
The longer defiance lasts, ‘the deeper the separatist spirit’
By Kimberley Heatherington, July 3, 2026
Father Gerald E. Murray, a canon lawyer who has studied the SSPX in relation to the Church’s law, said the practical implications of the excommunication are continued erosion of whatever relationship remains between SSPX adherents and those still in the fold of the Catholic Church. “The excommunicated SSPX bishops will be considered by many, if not most, SSPX sympathizers as the only reliably Catholic bishops. The pope and bishops in full communion with him will likely be considered by many SSPX sympathizers as obstacles to promoting the mission of the Church,” Father Murray said. The First Vatican Council in its 1870 dogmatic constitution on the Church in Christ, “Pastor Aeternus,” taught that, “Both clergy and faithful, of whatever rite and dignity, both singly and collectively, are bound to submit to this power by the duty of hierarchical subordination and true obedience, and this not only in matters concerning faith and morals, but also in those which regard the discipline and government of the Church throughout the world,”
First Things
Can Yale lead the reform of universities?
By R. R. Reno, May 28, 2025
In early April, Yale University released the “Report of the Yale Committee on Trust in Higher Education.” The faculty committee had been formed a year earlier, charged with the task of understanding why the American public increasingly distrusts fancy universities like Yale. The resulting report is blessedly succinct, intelligent, and in many regards helpful. But this reader found it inadequate, perhaps inevitably so, given the magnitude of problems facing higher education. Although legally private, as the report observes, prestigious universities like Yale must be “aligned with public purpose.” They are in a sense semi-public, not just because they receive substantial sums in federal grants, but more importantly because they function as the credentialed “mind of the nation,” and they form the next generation of leaders. Therein lies a grave problem. To an unprecedented degree, Yale and other schools of its ilk are transparently partisan, aligned only with the progressive side of the increasingly intense contest for the future of American society.
The Catholic Thing
America must not become a land of hate
By Msgr. Charles Fink, July 5, 2026
There are terrible injustices in our country. But there is no country on earth where one is likely to get a fairer trial or where one will have a better chance of having a wrong righted or an injustice undone. There are glaring inequalities in our society. But there is no society on earth where anyone – no matter his race, religion, or ethnic background – has a better chance of raising himself up and improving his lot. There is too much corruption in our government, in business, and even in our churches. But there is no nation on earth where corruption is more likely to be exposed in all its ugliness to the light of day, thence to be, if not eliminated entirely, at least ameliorated. There is a lot that is cheap, licentious, and obscene in our culture. Compared to Heaven, Utopia, or Shangri-La, ours is a dreadful, wicked, misbegotten country. Compared with any other nation on earth, past or present, it is the best human beings have managed to produce.
Image of Coconut by Celio Nicoli from Pixabay
Listen to an audio podcast of today’s Catholic Nutshell News on the Substack App!
At the top of your phone, while in the app and reading a post, you can press the ▶️ play button and have Catholic Nutshell News read to you every day …
