Catholic Nutshell News: Monday 9/8/25
Topics include: Minneapolis shooting victims ‘new martyrs’; Crowds: more than 1 million people; The real pope has emerged; & African women theologians making changes
“Worth your weight in walnuts”
Today's sources are Catholic News Agency, Graphs about Religion, OSV, Aleteia, Fides, UCA, CWN, National Catholic Register, & JK Hanna. (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
Minneapolis shooting victims could qualify as ‘new martyrs’
By Hannah Brockhaus, September 8, 2025
Vatican experts said on Monday that the two children killed in last month’s shooting at a Minneapolis church could one day be included on a list they are compiling of “new martyrs and witnesses of the faith.” Harper Moyski, 10, and Fletcher Merkel, 8, were killed while attending a parochial school Mass at Annunciation Catholic Church on Aug. 27 — prompting some to ask whether they could be considered martyrs killed “in hatred of the faith.” “If the diocese or other local ecclesial entities present these figures to us as witnesses of the faith, we will examine them and see if we can include them in the list,” said Archbishop Fabio Fabene, president of the Vatican Commission of New Martyrs — Witnesses of the Faith. The commission, created by Pope Francis in 2023 under the Dicastery for the Causes of the Saints, is compiling an archive of the lives of Christian martyrs, both Catholic and non-Catholic, who have been killed in the new millennium.
CRUX
The real pope has likely already emerged
By John L. Allen Jr., September 7, 2025
A Sept. 5-7 pilgrimage of roughly 2,000 LGBTQ+ Catholics to Rome, as part of the ongoing Jubilee Year, although not formally part of the calendar of official celebrations, was welcomed by some church officials. The pilgrimage ended with a procession of participants into St. Peter’s Square for the pope’s traditional noontime Angelus address. Among many Vatican-watchers, pundits, and activists, the gathering and everything it represents are being styled as an acid test for Pope Leo XIV. People on both sides of the ideological tensions that any mention of the LGBTQ+ agenda inevitably awakens are breathlessly waiting for the real pope to emerge from beneath his cautious, careful, and measured façade. You may want to consider that the prudent, mindful, and measured façade, in the end, is the real pope. Anyone expecting something more from the pontiff, some dramatic public gesture, is almost certainly to be disappointed.
Aleteia
Marian event in Brazil, & others, draw more than 1 million
By Paulo Teixeira, September 8, 2025
Indeed, numbers are not everything, but they are an important sign of interest and commitment. At the Jubilee of Youth, Pope Leo XIV met with a million young people in Rome. Other papal events with his predecessors — especially during apostolic journeys, or with youth and families — have drawn similar numbers. Millions of pilgrims visit the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Tepeyac, Mexico, on the days before, during, and after her feast day. Brazil, the country with the most Catholics in the world, is by no means behind in this regard. The national shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida had more than 9 million visits during 2024. And this past August, an annual event saw in a single day more than one million people (including 3,000 volunteers) process in a “Walk with Mary” in honor of the Blessed Virgin in the northeastern Brazilian city of Fortaleza, in the state of Ceará.
Vatican News
African women theologians are making changes
By Sr. Christine Masivo CPS, September 8, 2025
The Nairobi conference, “Synodality in Action: Emerging Ecclesiologies, Vitality of Women and Discerning Leadership for the 21st Century", brought together renowned and emerging theologians, academics, clergy, and pastoral leaders from across Africa, Europe, and the United States. Despite decades of progress, theological scholarship within the Catholic Church remains largely male-dominated, in seminaries, of course, where the majority of students prepare for the priesthood and ordination. The conference highlighted synodality as central to Pope Francis’ vision of an inclusive Church. Sr. Jacinta stressed that for women theologians to participate requires education, networking, and leadership opportunities. The event’s primary goal is to create a network of African women theologians to mentor younger scholars, collaborate across disciplines, and influence theological education and parish life through research, writing, and pastoral initiatives.
The Pillar
Vandalism on the rise in Europe? The data is clear
By Luke Coppen, September 4, 2025
Europe consists, depending on how you count it, of around 50 countries of varying sizes and economic development. While some nations meticulously track incidents, others scarcely record them. Vandalism appears to be an ingrained form of human behavior. Given there are tens of thousands of churches across Europe, regular reports of vandalism are hardly surprising. One of the most authoritative collectors of church vandalism reports is the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe in Vienna, which began its monitoring work in 2005. The observatory’s annual reports are one of the most reliable ways to track trends across the continent. In 2021, they found 500 anti-Christian hate crimes, 300 related to vandalism. In 2023, the observatory found 2,444 anti-Christian hate crimes in 35 countries, with 62% vandalism (approximately 1,500 cases).
Our Sunday Visitor
There is a new suicide loss program called ‘Remember’
By Katie Yoder, September 7, 2025
When Sister Kathryn Maney learns that someone is struggling with suicidal thoughts, she asks her little sister — her biological sister — to join her in praying for them. “She and I are kind of mission partners now,” Sister Kathryn said of her sister, Clare, who died by suicide on June 15, 2020. Today, Sister Kathryn, a Marian religious sister, directs a suicide loss program called “Remember” at Red Bird Ministries, a Catholic grief support ministry. The 12-week grief support program launched in June and promises to accompany those who have lost a loved one to suicide. The virtual program is free for participants (except for a $25 journal that they will use during the program). “Through guided reflections, heartfelt discussions, and the strength of shared faith, this 12-week program helps participants navigate their sorrow while embracing hope,” Remember’s web page reads. “You are not alone. Healing is possible.”
Graphs about Religion
The gender gap of more men as Republicans similar for religion
By Ryan Burge, September 8, 2025
If one were to teach any course on political behavior, it’s almost universally the case that one class period should touch on the gender gap. It’s pretty simple to explain - men tend to vote for Republicans and women favor the Democrats. What about the gender gap when it comes to religion? If we compare just white evangelical men and women, is it still there? What about atheists? Or Jews? The gender gap cuts across religion. There are outliers. Among white evangelicals aged 18-35, 68% of women identify as Republicans, compared to 63% of men. Young Black Protestant men tend to be more Republican than women of the same age. You can also see how agnostic men are significantly more Republican than agnostic women of the same age. That’s not so evident among the atheists. Trump managed to win over a pretty significant share of Christian women. For men, his vote share was up 3 points among Catholics and 2 for evangelicals. Women are warming to Trump.
National Catholic Register
Maronite bishops call for full restoration of Lebanese sovereignty
By Aci Mena/CNA, September 8, 2025
Lebanon must seize available regional and international opportunities to restore full sovereignty over its territory and unite around constitutional institutions, the Maronite bishops stressed in a recent statement. They emphasized that full sovereignty is essential for achieving the state’s reform agenda and for leading Lebanon out of its ongoing crisis. The bishops welcomed the international consensus to extend the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon in the south for one more year. They expressed hope that the mission would receive the support it needs so that this extension can mark the final phase of its mandate, in coordination with the Lebanese Army and security forces, in service of Lebanon’s stability. They also praised the ongoing efforts of the Lebanese military to fulfill its government-assigned mission of collecting illegal weapons across the country.
CatholicVote
Christian foster families fight Massachusetts LGBT policy
By Hannah Hiester, September 5, 2025
Two Christian foster families sued Massachusetts officials Sept. 3 after they were told that they cannot keep their foster care licenses if they refuse to promote LGBT ideology to the children in their care. Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), one of the law firms representing the two families, stated in a news release that the state Department of Children and Families (DCF) has a new policy that “requires every family to promise that they will encourage a child to ‘transition’ socially and medically, use a child’s chosen pronouns, and otherwise ‘affirm’ without question a child’s desire to change their gender, even if doing so violates their faith.” ADF Senior Counsel Johannes Widmalm-Delphonse said the Massachusetts foster care system includes 1,400 children in need of foster families. Because of Nick and Audrey Jones’ Christian beliefs on sexuality and gender, DCF intends to revoke their foster-care license, according to the release.
CNA, UCA, and CNW News for 9/8/25
Catholic News Agency
CNA’s top headlines — September 8, 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.
Diocese investigates sainthood cause of Virginia father who saved son - Sep 8, 2025 - By Kate Quiñones - A group of Catholics is working with the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, to open the cause for sainthood for Tom Vander Woude.
Mary’s birthday: The Church celebrates the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary - Sep 8, 2025 - By CNA Staff - The Catholic Church celebrates the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary on Sept. 8, nine months after the Dec. 8 celebration of her immaculate conception as the child of Sts. Joachim and Anne..
Chicago chefs to open eco-friendly restaurant at Vatican’s papal retreat - Sep 7, 2025 - By Amira Abuzeid - Pope Leo XIV announced a partnership between the Vatican and two Chicago restaurateurs, Art Smith and Phil Stefani.
UCA News
The Union of Catholic Asian World News - 9/8/25
UCA News (UCAN) is the leading independent Catholic media service from Asia, with a convergent media approach that couples traditional journalistic practices with multimedia and social media
Lebanon Christian party urges Hezbollah to disarm - Monday, September 8, 2025 - Samir Geagea, head of the Lebanese Forces and parliament's main Christian bloc, said Hezbollah's weapons had "no impact" against Israel and only brought "destruction, ruin, displacement, and invited new occupation."
Holy See tells nations at UN to end nuclear threat - Saturday, September 6, 2025 - A world free of nuclear weapons is not just a strategic necessity but a profound moral responsibility, said Archbishop Gabriele G. Caccia, the Holy See's U.N. permanent observer.
Pew study reveals nonreligious adults' nuanced beliefs - Friday, September 5, 2025 - 1 in 5 unaffiliated adults worldwide believe in life after death, showing complex spiritual views. Pew also found that "large shares of 'nones' in some countries say 'there is something spiritual beyond the natural world, even if we cannot see it.'" In Mexico and Brazil, 61% and 65% of those who are religiously unaffiliated "express this belief."
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.
Dig for the Cross as St. Helena did, Pope Leo tells pilgrims at the jubilee audience - Commencing a new series of monthly Saturday jubilee audiences, Pope Leo XIV spoke on September 6 on the theme of “To hope is to dig: Empress Helena.”
Pope Leo canonizes Pier Giorgio Frassati, Carlo Acutis - Pope Leo XIV canonized Saints Pier Giorgio Frassati (1901-1925) and Carlo Acutis (1991-2006) during a Mass in St. Peter’s Square on September 7.
‘The Church needs Mariology,’ Pope tells pontifical academy - Pope Leo XIV emphasized the importance of Mariology as he addressed participants in the Pontifical International Marian Academy’s 26th International Mariological Marian Congress.
Nutshell reflections for 9/8/25:
USCCB Daily Reflection AUDIO - September 8, 2025
Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The Obscure, Forgotten, and Undiscovered
Prison awakening: A story worth telling
By James K. Hanna, September 4, 2025
Jack Kerouac has appeared often on these pages, but I don’t believe we’ve ever featured his buddy, Neal Cassady, aka “Dean Moriarty” in On the Road. If you’re looking for the criminal element in Kerouac’s circle of friends, look no further than Cassady, who began stealing and fencing cars in Denver as a teenager. Like Kerouac, Cassady was Catholic, though not nearly as fervent—his Catholicism was well dampened during his teen and young adult years. But his faith resurfaced in a place where it often does—prison, though in Cassady’s case it did so in a most unusual way. In The Holy Goof (Paragon House, 1990), William Plummer’s biography of Cassady, we are told of this spiritual awakening. Plummer tells us that while incarcerated, Cassady began reading books by the Trappist monk Thomas Merton (perhaps a seed planted by Kerouac). He took on the “habit” of monastic life—developing devotionals, composing prayers to be said throughout the day, and even standardizing morning and evening prayers.
National Catholic Register
Duchess of Kent: 1st senior royal to become Catholic in 300 years
By Edward Pentin, September 5, 2025
Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent, who became the first senior British royal to be received into the Catholic Church since the 17th century, has died at the age of 92. Her 1994 reception into the Church by Cardinal Basil Hume marked the first public conversion of a senior British royal since the Stuart era. Born into a notable aristocratic and land-owning family, Katharine Lucy Mary Worsley was raised an Anglican and, in 1961, married Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, a grandson of King George V and a first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. Her journey to the Catholic faith was historically significant and born out of considerable personal loss and suffering. While pregnant with her fourth child in 1975, the duchess contracted measles and, following her doctors’ advice, terminated the pregnancy for medical reasons. In 1977, when happily pregnant again, she declared human life was a gift from God and uniquely valuable, as every birth is a miracle.
George Weigel
Time to move beyond ‘synoding’?
By George Weigel, September 3, 2025
Pope Benedict XVI saluted the important contributions that historical-critical analysis of the literary forms and editorial “layers” of ancient texts had made to understanding the Bible—the essential fruits of that method had been harvested. Might something analogous be said about the Church’s recent explorations of “synodality” — that its essential fruits have been reaped and that it is time to bring those fruits to bear on the Church’s mission. First, the younger Churches of Africa and Asia, where many living parts of global Catholicism are found, have been heard. Second, the universal missionary mandate that summons every baptized Catholic to be an evangelist has been underscored. Third, the obstacle that a clerical caste system poses to evangelization has been identified. Fourth, the living parts of the world Church have made a powerful case that successful evangelization means offering and living Catholicism in full — not treading water in the Church of Maybe.
Catholic Culture
Young people are attracted to the stronger stuff, like Mother Teresa
By Peter Wolfgang, September 5, 2025
On September 5th, the feast day of Mother Teresa, the Wall Street Journal’s weekly “Houses of Worship” column asked, “Has Britain Stopped Secularizing?” Says the subtitle, “Across the country, a wealth of evidence tells of a modest but real Christian revival.” There is an uptick in church attendance. Young people, in particular, are attracted to the stronger stuff. Things like “‘the more traditional strands’ of Catholicism.” They want their religion straight, without a chaser of modernism to wash it down. It would be hard to overstate the importance of Mother Teresa and John Paul II to a Catholic my age who felt an attachment to his Catholic identity. Thank you, Holy Church, for canonizing this holy woman. Thank you, Mother Teresa, for showing the world of my lifetime that sanctity is real. Saint Teresa of Kolkata, pray for us—and for this new generation finding their way home to the Catholic Church.
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