Catholic Nutshell News: Monday 8/11/25
Topics include: RISE Awards recognize campus evangelism; Catholics and the deaf community; Pope Leo’s first 100 days; & ‘Nones’ are mostly there in name only
“Worth your weight in walnuts”
Today's sources are Catholic News Agency, ChurchPop, Graphs about Religion, OSV, Aleteia, Fides, National Catholic Register, & Catholic Digest. (Catholic Nutshell is a subscription service for faithful, hopeful, & curious Catholics willing to exercise the Catholic News Muscle)
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Catholic News Agency
RISE Awards recognize evangelization projects on campuses
By Francesca Pollio Fentonl, August 10, 2025
As more efforts are placed on reaching young adults on college campuses, the Associates of St. John Bosco (ASJB) is encouraging Catholic campus ministries to think outside the box when it comes to helping students grow in faith and reach those who are unfamiliar with the Gospel message. ASJB recently announced its first-ever winners of the RISE Awards (Renewal of Innovative Student Evangelization) on Aug. 6. This year’s winners include George Mason University, The Catholic University of America (CUA), and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech). The three Catholic campus ministries have been selected to receive a total of $25,000 in funding for their standout evangelization plans, which aim to engage students with the Catholic faith.
Related: Father Mike Schmitz: Campus ministry is ‘best of both worlds’ - by Francesca Pollio Fenton, CNA Staff, Aug 10, 2025
Aleteia
History of Catholics and the deaf community
By Theresa Civantos Barber, August 11, 2025
Most people don’t know that one of the major developers of sign language was a French Catholic priest, Father Charles-Michel de l’Épée, who founded the world’s first free school for deaf people in 1760. Many other Catholic priests and nuns founded or ran several of the earliest schools for deaf students. For example, the Sisters of St. Joseph came from France to St. Louis, Missouri, in response to a call to teach deaf children, which the order shared on social media in honor of the 375th anniversary of their founding. Several broad efforts to unite the deaf Catholic community exist, such as the National Catholic Office for the Deaf. There are also Catholic schools for children who are hard of hearing, like St. Rita School for the Deaf in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Children of Peace School in Chicago, Illinois.
Vatican News
Pope expands rights for parents working in the Vatican
By Vatican News, August 11, 2025
The Prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy, approved by the Holy Father, introduced several new measures regarding paternity leave, the rights of parents with children who are incapacitated or have a severe disability, and the granting of family allowances. Five days paid leave for Vatican employees on the birth of a child and three paid days each month for parents of disabled children are two of the new provisions contained in the Rescript published Monday. A family in which the Medical Board has recognized a person as severely disabled or incapacitated is entitled to the family allowance. This right also extends to holders of direct, indirect, or survivor Vatican pensions who have been recognized as severely disabled or incapacitated by the Medical Board. Concerning family allowances, the Rescript clarifies that beneficiaries include families with “legitimate or legitimated children or their equivalent, over the age of 18” in education programs.
The Pillar
Emmanuel Community leader steps down amid member abuses
Luke Coppen, August 8, 2025
Michel-Bernard de Vregille, leader of the embattled Emmanuel Community, an association of the faithful dedicated to adoration, evangelization, and serving the poor, announced his resignation this week. As De Vregille's second term began, Fr. Benoît Moulay, a former priest of the Emmanuel Community incardinated in the French Diocese of Le Mans, was dismissed from the clerical state after being found guilty of sexual violence against two women and abuse of power. In 2024, the prominent Emmanuel Community member Fr. Bernard Peyrous was indicted on charges of rape and sexual assault, which he denied. In the Aug. 6 letter announcing his resignation, de Vregille wrote: “Abuses committed by members and certain blind spots that may have hindered our ability to listen to victims have been a source of deep sadness for me.”
Our Sunday Visitor
Pope Leo’s first 100 days: Leaning into his new role
By Cindy Wooden, August 8, 2025
A pope is elected for life, without having promised voters anything or having presented a platform. The first 100 days of Pope Leo’s pontificate seemed mostly about him getting used to the role, the crowds, and the protocol. He did not issue a slew of the canonical equivalent of executive orders in his first days. Instead, he lived up to his reputation as a person who listens before deciding, holding a meeting with the College of Cardinals and individual meetings with the heads of Vatican offices. His upcoming choices for members of his team will send signals not only about what he wants to do but also how he wants to do it. He outlined six fundamental points early on: Return to the primacy of Christ in proclamation; missionary conversion; growth in collegiality and synodality; attention to the people of God’s sense of the faith; care for the least and rejected; and “courageous and trusting dialogue with the contemporary world.”
Graphs about Religion
‘Nones’ are mostly there in name only
By Ryan Burge, August 9, 2025
To create a new typology of the nones, we used a bit of machine learning. In this case, it was k-means clustering. We didn’t want to bias the process with our own assumptions of how the nones should look. The four groups are: NiNos (Nones in Name Only), SBNRs (Spiritual but not Religious), the Dones, and the Zealous Atheists. Some of these groups are well-known to interested observers of the study of non-religion in the United States. Nones in name only make up 21% of the entire non-religious sample. They are fairly religious on a bunch of metrics, but they still don’t classify themselves as part of a religious group. One-third attend a house of worship at least once a year, over half of them say that they pray on a daily basis, and a similar percentage say they believe in God without a doubt. You see what we mean when we conclude that they are ‘nones in name only’?
Christian Post
World Vision can pull job offer from woman in same-sex marriage
By Anugrah Kumar, August 11, 2025
The Evangelical humanitarian organization World Vision was within its rights to withdraw a customer service job offer from a woman in a lesbian marriage expecting a baby, said the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, as it overturned a lower court ruling that found World Vision discriminated against an applicant based on her sex, sexual orientation and marital status under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Washington Law Against Discrimination. During the interview process, McMahon said she was "aligned" with World Vision's standards of conduct, which require sexual activity to be within a marriage between a man and a woman. She had not initially disclosed her marriage to a woman. World Vision argued that its customer service representatives are responsible for conveying the organization's message to donors, praying with them, and encouraging them to participate in its religious mission through contributions.
National Catholic Register
Youth answer the social-media call to rebuild Christian France
By Bénédicte Cedergren, August 10, 2025
A 19th-century convent, long forgotten and in disrepair, is now being restored thanks to the efforts of a group of young people and the dedication of a Catholic priest. For the fourth year in a row, Father Mathieu Raffray of the Institute of the Good Shepherd has been reaching out to French youth through social media, inviting them to join him in “rebuilding Christian France.” The Institute of the Good Shepherd has undertaken various restoration projects, including a seminary, as well as other Catholic structures near Chartres and Mont-Saint-Michel. Father Raffray has been particularly focused on engaging young people in these efforts. This year’s project aims to turn the former convent into a spiritual retreat center. Father Raffray explained he offers “young people, who are often very isolated in their daily lives, the chance to meet other Catholic youth, to encounter priests, to ask questions, to discover the traditional Mass (TLM), all while helping to preserve heritage.”
CatholicVote
Leo tightens Vatican contract rules in financial transparency push
By Rachel Quackenbush, August 11, 2025
Against the backdrop of ongoing financial challenges at the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV has approved new rules aimed at strengthening transparency and efficiency in the awarding of public contracts, Vatican News reported Aug. 9. The decree, issued Aug. 5 by the Secretariat for the Economy, is the first major step in carrying out the 2024 motu proprio To Better Harmonize. They set out clear requirements for competitive bidding, oversight, and equal access for qualified contractors, while also aiming to cut through unnecessary bureaucracy. Vatican News said the policy was shaped through cooperation among multiple departments. The text explains that the changes are meant to safeguard fairness and accountability, ensure resources are used responsibly, and uphold Catholic social teaching in financial matters.
CNA, Agenzia, & ChurchPOP for 8/11/25
Catholic News Agency
CNA’s top headlines — August 11, 2025
The Catholic News Agency provides reliable, free, and up-to-the-minute news affecting the Universal Church, emphasizing the words of the Holy Father and the happenings of the Holy See to anyone with internet access.
Cardinal Chomali: 21st-century Christian ‘will either be a martyr or will not be a Christian’ - Aug 11, 2025 - By Julieta Villar - “The Christian of the 21st century will either be a martyr or will not be a Christian,” said the archbishop.
Mother Marie André: From CIA hopeful to cloistered Poor Clare abbess - Aug 11, 2025 - By Francesca Pollio Fenton - After graduating from the University of California, Santa Barbara, she wanted to enter a government service such as the CIA, Drug Enforcement Administration, or FBI.
Nagasaki cathedral bells toll as bishops gather for 80th atomic bomb anniversary - Aug 8, 2025 - By AC Wimmer - The reconstructed Urakami Cathedral — once destroyed by the world’s second atomic bomb — became the focus of a 24-hour prayer vigil that bridged continents, generations, and faiths in a unified call for nuclear disarmament.
Agenzia Fides
News of the Pontifical Mission Societies for 8/11/25
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 - Northeast Nigeria affected by food insecurity - Abuja (Agenzia Fides) – According to the International Red Cross, more than 3.3 million people in northeast Nigeria are affected by food insecurity. Most of these people are farmers.
ASIA/SOUTH KOREA - Catholic Bishops: 80 years after the division, let us not silence the desire to live together in the "common home" of the Korean people - Seoul (Agenzia Fides) – “We will support and actively participate in exchanges with North Korea based on cooperation and reciprocity.”
ASIA - Thailand-Cambodia border agreement signed. Apostolic Nuncio Wells: "Let us now focus our efforts on helping the displaced" - Bangkok (Agenzia Fides) - "We are all very pleased that the path of dialogue undertaken by Cambodia and Thailand has led to numerous agreements that will hopefully lead to reconciliation and a stable and lasting peace.”
ChurchPOP Trending
ChurchPOP provides fun, informative, and authentically Catholic news and culture - August 11, 2025
The 13th-Century Nun Who Fearlessly Defeated an Army With the Eucharist - “Suddenly a voice like that of a child resounded in her ears from the tabernacle: ‘I will always protect you!’"
What is Saint Michael's Lent? The Powerful Little-Known Tradition We Need for Our Times - Let us pray with fervor, through the intercession of Saint Michael, for Christ’s help as we battle the forces of darkness!
How Will You Greet Jesus in Heaven? Parish Shows What They Would Do in Touching Video - How will you greet Jesus in Heaven? These Catholics show exactly what they would do in this tear-jerking video!
Nutshell reflections for 8/11/25:
USCCB Daily Reflection AUDIO - August 11, 2025
Memorial of Saint Clare, Virgin
The Obscure, Forgotten, and Undiscovered
More Kerouac, please, because it's hip to be square
By James K. Hanna, August 11, 2025
Kerouac fascinates me, his writing, yes, but even more, his life. The poor guy died in 1969 at 47 of alcoholism. He makes it easy for you to suffer along with him in his letters and journal entries. But it’s how and when he writes or talks about his Catholic faith that is most interesting; it’s his lifelong, at times enigmatic, relationship with the Church I find intriguing. There is a tendency—I haven’t found enough of it (yet) to call it a pattern—of leaning on his Catholic identity when his character is questioned—almost as a shield, a piece of armor, but not a weapon. Here is Kerouac in an interview about criticism from Kenneth Rexroth (1905-1982), the well-respected San Francisco-based writer. He called Karouac a “square.” “Well, old Rexroth says I’m a square. If he means because I was born French Canadian Catholic, sometimes devout, then I guess that makes me a square.” In the Kerouacian universe, it’s hip to be square, and I’m totally on board with that.
National Catholic Register
Smart glasses might offer a glimpse of the future, but …
By Andrew Likoudis, August 8, 2025
Eyeglasses have been around since the 13th century. Early precursors to so-called smart glasses emerged in the 1960s. Developments illustrate the march of technological advancement. What was once the dream of sci-fi shows like The Jetsons is now very much a reality in 2025. The debate over AI’s rapid advance has moved beyond developers and investors, reaching the Vatican, where Church leaders are weighing the technology’s theological, ethical, and social implications — and the stakes they entail. In July, addressing the international “AI for Good” summit in Geneva, he urged legislators to build regulatory frameworks that place the human person — not data — at the center of innovation, with what he called an “integral human development.” As new gadgets like this reshape how we experience the world, the Church is asking: Will they deepen our humanity, or distract us from it?
Exaudi
The corruption of the best is the worst
By Francisco Bobadilla in Voices, August 6, 2025
It’s hard for us mere mortals to strive for a life of integrity. There are those who live exemplary lives, but a Latin adage tells the tale. “The corruption of the best is the worst.” From personal experience, we know that at the first slip—or the second, or the third, or…—we cross the thin red line from good to evil. It’s human fragility and malice, also encouraged by the devil. It’s not just a stylistic device; it’s part of the human adventure to know that the devil lurks like a “roaring lion,” ready to tempt the best scribe into ruining his good handwriting. A history both human and divine, made of new and old fabrics. Every day a new stroke, sometimes good handwriting; other times, illegible handwriting and more than a few blots. The Latin adage is right when it states that when one is at the height of excellence, the moral fall is deeper. One is not exempt from either small stumbles or great falls, “because this is what happens to men seduced by the devil: they surpass the devil himself in all that is diabolical (p. 69),” worte Joseph Roth in his short story, The Leviathan (Acantilado, 2022).
Catholic Culture
Our own personal love is not as good as the love of Christ
By Dr. Jeff Mirus, August 8, 2025
We know that this Catholic peace, joy, and love is the answer to how we draw others to God, Jesus Christ, and the Church He founded, because the fundamental motive power of conversion is really God’s love for each one of us. It is precisely because God loves us that we are drawn to wholeness through an effort to return that incomparable love. But for those of us who recognize this reality—this stupendous fact that God loved us first—it becomes a mission not only to love God in return but to image God by loving others first, that is, before they love us. We might describe these relationships of love as “the reciprocity of self-giving”, a reciprocity brought to fullness when the lover and the beloved is God. However we articulate it, the hallmarks of this love are an unconquerable peace and joy. Love remains the ultimate cure for that self-closure, that turning inward, which we all so frequently substitute for the glorious adventure of knowing and serving God.
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