“Worth your weight in walnuts”
Your 5-minute daily Catholic briefing. Today's sources: National Catholic Register, EWTN News, The Pillar, Crux, First Things, Zeale, & Aleteia. Please support their ministries and apostolates. (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.
CRUX
‘Their lands are coveted’: Amazon Cardinal on Indigenous
By Eduardo Campos Lima, August 30, 2026
The Cardinal Archbishop of Manaus has decried a startling increase in violence against indigenous persons in Brazil, as Indigenous communities face various attempts to drive them off what little they still hold of their ancient lands and further into marginalization. “Our society is experiencing tremendous tension when it comes to human dignity,” Cardinal Leonardo Steiner told Crux Now, “and Indigenous people, of course, suffer because their lands are coveted.” A Franciscan friar since 1976 and a bishop since 2005, Steiner was appointed by Pope Francis to lead the Manaus archdiocese in 2019. Francis created him a cardinal – the first from the Amazon region – in 2022. In a wide-ranging exclusive interview with Crux Now, Steiner also shared his view of upcoming general elections, praising the accomplishments of President Lula da Silva’s administration and lamenting legislative obstruction, especially on measures favoring Indigenous rights and dignity.
National Catholic Register
China pressures Catholic group to censor Chinese speaker
By Zelda Caldwell, August 31, 2026
They complied. The U.S.-China Catholic Association (USCCA) yielded to pressure from Chinese government officials to cancel a prominent professor’s invitation to speak at its conference, emails obtained by the Register show. Fenggang Yang, a Chinese-born sociology professor at Purdue University and director of the Center on Religion and the Global East, was informed by USCCA in June that he would no longer be giving the keynote address at the organization’s biennial conference at the University of St. Thomas in Houston. Yang, a Protestant scholar who has expressed support for religious groups not sanctioned by the Chinese government, several members of the USCCA’s board of directors and leadership explained that Chinese government officials requested his removal from the program and that organizers feared a backlash. “We are afraid of being blacklisted and not allowed to visit China again. We also have two Board members in China. They could get into trouble,” said Peter Tan, chair of the USCCA’s board.
EWTN News
Dangerous lack of guardrails for abortion pill prescriptions
By Kate Quiñones, August 29, 2026
A five-month-long investigation by Republicans in the U.S. Senate found that abortion pill manufacturing companies are falling short on critical oversight while bringing in millions of dollars in revenue. The manufacturers are not fulfilling their obligation to oversee prescribers while making tens of millions of dollars each year, according to the report released by U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana). The investigation also found that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s “lack of guardrails ensuring a sufficient provider-patient relationship creates accountability gaps for a product that carries risks of significant adverse health outcomes,” according to the report. Three companies, Danco Laboratories, GenBioPro, and Evita Solutions, reportedly did not provide details on how they followed existing federal regulations.
PIMA asia news
After four years, the conciliar rite returns to Ernakulam Cathedral
By Nirmala Carvalho, August 31, 2026
In the long-running dispute over the liturgy that has long divided the Syro-Malabar Church in India, an important step towards reconciliation was taken yesterday. At the Cathedral Basilica of St Mary in Kochi, in the Archieparchy of Ernakulam-Angamaly, on Sunday 30 August, for the first time in four years, the Eucharist was once again celebrated with the celebrant facing the congregation, as part of a compromise solution which, whilst safeguarding the ‘unified rite’ decided by the Synod, has allowed for certain exceptions. The crisis began in November 2021 when the collegial body governing the Syro-Malabar Church – seeking to resolve the existing situation in which some communities celebrated the Holy Qurbana (the Eucharistic rite of this Eastern Church) with the priest facing the altar whilst others followed the conciliar form – had adopted a mixed solution in which the celebrant faced the altar throughout the entire Eucharistic prayer.
The Pillar
‘Growing aggression’ between Ukrainians and Poles
By Luke Coppen, August 28, 2026
Polish bishops appealed this week for reconciliation amid what they described as “cases of growing aggression between Ukrainians and Poles.” Poland welcomed 1.7 million refugees after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The refugees, some of whom traveled on to other European Union countries, joined a pre-existing Ukrainian population of around 1.3 million people, many of whom had sought work in Poland. The Polish bishops’ permanent council urged the authorities Aug. 26 to step up efforts to prevent “incidents motivated by national animosity,” which have reportedly occurred amid political tensions between Poland and Ukraine. “We appeal to believers and non-believers alike, and to all people of goodwill in Poland, to seek above all a spirit of reconciliation and Christian love in Polish-Ukrainian relations,” the bishops said. According to figures cited by Poland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 77% of Poles actively helped Ukrainian refugees, with 7% offering shelter in their homes.
Zeale
Singles go to Fulton Sheen beatification in hopes of future spouses
By Elizabeth Ervin, August 28, 2026
Amid reports of growing dating app fatigue, a community for unmarried Catholics is organizing a five-day pilgrimage to Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s beatification, where participants can meet others who hope to build a marriage rooted in their faith. In an Aug. 27 press release, 365 Catholic Singles Community invited unmarried Catholics weary of dating apps to attend a five-day pilgrimage to Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen’s beatification, saying the trip encourages greater trust in God’s providence when seeking a spouse. “If we profess trust in God’s providence, we have to do the work of attending in-person events with fellow Catholics. We spend years filtering people out on screens by arbitrary traits, forgetting to leave room for the Holy Spirit to act as matchmaker,” Kline said. “God cannot work through your journey if you remain isolated at home scrolling apps alone.”
Aleteia
St. Raymond Nonnatus is a patron saint of childbirth
By Philip Kosloski, August 31, 2026
St. Raymond Nonnatus has a unique name, directly tied to how he came into this world. "Nonnatus," is Latin and is often translated as "no birth." It refers to his own birth, which did not end well for his mother. St. Raymond had to be forcibly removed from his mother’s womb, as she died during childbirth. He was able to survive, but his mother did not. Thankfully, modern medicine has improved the chances of survival for both mother and child during childbirth, and the chances of dying are small in most countries. Childbirth is a stressful experience, especially with a complicated birth that does not happen as it normally should. In such times, it’s helpful to turn to God and to invoke the heavenly court for aid. St. Raymond Nonnatus is one of those individuals who looks tenderly upon all pregnant women, interceding for them before God, asking for a smooth delivery.
Zenit
Mexican bishop imposes restrictions on lay presiding at liturgies
By ZENIT Staff, August 28, 2026
The Diocese of Texcoco has drawn a firm line between lay participation and the functions reserved to ordained ministers, with Bishop Carlos Enrique Samaniego López issuing a decree intended to confront what he describes as growing confusion over who may legitimately preside over Catholic rites. The measure does more than regulate who can lead a particular ceremony. It addresses a broader pastoral problem: the risk that Catholics may no longer be able to distinguish between legitimate lay ministries, the ordained priesthood, and unauthorized individuals presenting themselves as religious celebrants. Under the new provisions, laypeople who have not been instituted in the stable ministry of acolyte may not preside over celebrations of the Word, funeral rites, sacramentals or other liturgical acts proper to ordained ministers. The restriction applies not only inside diocesan churches but also when such ceremonies are attempted elsewhere.
Keep informed - 8/31/26 news for Catholics:
Snippets: EWTN News, Aleteia, & Catholic World News
EWTN News
EWTN’s top headlines — August 31, 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.
Sixth Chinese bishop ordained under Pope Leo XIV - By Victoria Cardiel & Rose Bryan - The ordination is the third episcopal consecration in China in just two months and the sixth to take place during Leo’s pontificate, although not all six episcopal appointments originated under the current pope.
Cenotaphs: Street memorials and signs of hope after a violent death - By Diego López Colín - Makeshift public memorials are a way for friends and family to commemorate a loved one who died at that location, often a street or road, and in the case of murder, can serve as a call for justice.
Department of Justice says government can’t restrict funding based on religious status - By Daniel Payne - The U.S. Department of Justice this week said that the government’s practice of restricting federal funding from religious activities is “presumptively unconstitutional,” paving the way for greater public funding of religious groups.
·
Aleteia
Aleteia’s free access to Catholic news
Launched in 2013, Aleteia is a free online daily news publication. The site is available in six languages (French, English, Portuguese, Spanish, Polish, and Slovenian). Aleteia reaches nearly 50 million people worldwide, making it one of the leading online Catholic media outlets.
How Prom night can help you understand Purgatory - 08/31/26 - Rose Bryan - When explaining Purgatory, you can’t escape that suffering is caused by sin, all the way back to Eden. Teens do understand well that choices have consequences. So many ridiculous Hollywood movies have convinced them the Prom dance will be the great coming-of-age moment
Should a saint be called a “founding mother” of the USA? - 08/30/26 - Jenny Lark Snarski - Nations are not sustained by constitutions alone. The National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton’s shrine staff have had and continue to host multiple initiatives this year, showing the links between Mother Seton and the founding of the United States.
Ratzinger’s insight into why the Beast has a number, not a name - 03/05/18 - D. R. Esparza - God’s antagonist, “this Beast,” Ratzinger explains, “does not have a name, but a number. The Beast is a number and transforms into numbers.” The watchful presence of God reveals itself with a name and, one might even argue, in a name.
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.
Imitate St. Peter’s sincerity and docility, Pope tells pilgrims - Reflecting on the Sunday Gospel reading (Matthew 16:21-27), in which St. Peter rebuked Jesus, Pope Leo XIV said that “it is not always easy to understand and accept God’s ways, especially when they are very far from our own. Then the temptation arises—against all the reasoning of faith.”
Sensational report from China: a new split in the Church? - If secret episcopal ordinations are occurring more frequently than the “official” ordinations authorized through the mysterious and awkward provisions of the Beijing-Vatican accord, then that agreement is a farce.
The temptation to ‘tell no one’ - When Jesus tells the disciples “to tell no one,” Jesus is asking them to act against the prompting of human nature to share an amazing story. Our Lord makes some similar requests at other times recorded in the Gospels. He reveals his mission only to those who are ready to believe.
August 31, 2026 - USCCB Daily Mass Readings
You can listen HERE — or read HERE:
Monday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time
Today’s Catholic commentary:
First Things
The England I knew is gone
By Carl R. Trueman, August 27, 2025
My annual visit to the land of my childhood and youth exposed me to a culture very different from the one that nurtured me. Growing up as a grammar schoolboy in 1970s and ’80s England, I absorbed the importance of personal restraint; emotional self-control in public; privacy; acting with honesty and fairness, even to one’s own hurt; and respecting others regardless of their social status or opinions. At the level of society, such personal values promoted freedoms—of speech, of religion, of expression. All of that is gone, at least from the class that presumes to define the country’s mores and morals. In retrospect, I see that I grew up at a breaking point in English culture. I was (perhaps symbolically) the last person at my school to study Latin and the last not to take computer science. The ancient disciplines were already on life support, and the technocrats were waiting in the wings. Yesterday’s virtues have become today’s oppressive vices, as the moral register has shifted in a psychological direction—most notably in the trivialization of trauma.
Zenit
Why so many Americans no longer feel free to speak their minds
By Zenit Staff, August 29, 2026
The most revealing number in a new survey on free expression in the United States may also be the simplest: just 32% of Americans say they feel “very comfortable” expressing their views about abortion rights without fear of repercussions. The finding comes from the August 2026 National Speech Index, produced by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression and conducted by Dartmouth’s Polarization Research Lab. Its results offer a troubling measure not necessarily of what Americans believe, but of what they believe they can safely say. The figures become more complicated when political identity is considered. Among respondents describing themselves as very liberal, 55% said they were very comfortable discussing the subject. Among the very conservative, the figure was 52%. By contrast, comfort fell to roughly one quarter among those in the middle.
Our Sunday Visitor
The women behind Archbishop Sheen’s missionary work
By Ines San Martin, August 18, 2026
When Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen is beatified Sept. 24 in St. Louis, attention will rightly fall on the celebrated television preacher whose broadcasts brought Catholic teaching into millions of American homes. But for almost two decades, behind Archbishop Sheen’s extraordinary reach stood a largely unknown group of women who opened thousands of letters, recorded donations, thanked contributors, and helped transform his words into material support for missionaries and young churches around the world. This responsibility was central to Archbishop Sheen’s priesthood and public ministry. Alongside his radio and television work, he traveled, preached missionary appeals, and served as editor of MISSION Magazine, which the national office of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith began publishing in 1951. Envelopes poured into the society’s national office in New York. Some contained large checks. Behind the scenes, a small army of women opened those envelopes, recorded the offerings, and made sure the donors received a response.
The Catholic Thing
The Bible was born into the Church, authoritatively confirmed
By Rev. Jerry J. Pokorsky, August 30, 2026
From a Bible-alone perspective (what Luther codified as sola Scriptura), it’s an inconvenient truth. Why was a Church necessary in the first place? And if it was necessary, couldn’t He have done better with a qualified, highly educated man, sophisticated in the ways of the world, and relating well to the Jewish elites? Why did Jesus need to identify a mere mortal – and a fisherman at that – as his vicar? Yet after the Resurrection, at Pentecost, the Church emerges publicly under Peter’s apostolic leadership. Peter’s ministry abruptly ended in Rome, where he was crucified. For a couple of hundred years, his successors suffered similar fates. Yet somehow, the gates of Hell didn’t prevail over the infant Church. That Bible didn’t float down from heaven. It was born into the Church, recognized within the Church, and authoritatively confirmed by her bishops and popes. Church history is distressing. Yet, year after year, century after century, Church teaching somehow remains consistent while developing organically in depth and understanding.
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 …
