Catholic Nutshell News: Saturday 10/18/25
Topics include: Cancellation of military chapel contracts; DACA negotiations subject to courts; African countries struggle at the UN; & 673 million people without enough food
“We see through new tender verdant pecan leaves”
Today's news sources are Aleteia, CRUX, Catholic News Agency, National Catholic Register, Bishop Barron, First Things, & The Catholic Thing. (Catholic Nutshell is a subscription service for faithful, hopeful, & curious Catholics willing to exercise their Catholic News Muscle)
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National Catholic Register
Cancellation of military chapel contracts hurts Catholics
By Tyler Arnold/CNA, October 17, 2025
Archbishop for the Military Services Timothy Broglio, alarmed about the U.S. Army canceling specific chapel contracts, warned it “disproportionately harms Catholics.” In a pastoral letter sent to members of Congress, Broglio wrote that many in the Army who attend Mass and participate in faith formation noticed “contract services and contractor offices were dark and music was absent during Mass” starting Oct. 5, 2025. He said this was not a result of the ongoing 16-day government shutdown but caused by the U.S. Army Installation Management Command’s decision to cancel all chapel contracts for Coordinators of Religious Education (CRE), Catholic Pastoral Life Coordinators (CPLC), and musician contracts in the Army. “This action disproportionately harms Catholics, first, because Catholic chaplains are already so low density and in such high demand, and second, because the Catholic faith requires continuing religious education and sacramental preparation.”
Catholic News Agency
U.S. bishops warn that DACA negotiations are subject to courts
By Amira Abuzeid, October 18, 2025
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) released an update this week on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, highlighting the threat a looming court order may pose to the legal privileges of some immigrants in Texas. Immigrants covered by DACA who move to or from Texas could quickly face the loss of their work authorization under the new court order, according to the bishops’ Department of Migration and Refugee Services. The first Trump administration tried to end the program but was blocked from doing so in 2020 by the U.S. Supreme Court. While President Donald Trump has indicated a willingness to work with Democrats on the status of DACA beneficiaries, the program continues to be subject to litigation, with the latest developments centering on the Texas v. United States case.
Agenzia Fides
African countries struggle to find their role in the UN
By Cosimo Graziani, October 14, 2025
In its 80 years of existence, the United Nations Organization has never experienced a period of weakness like the current one. Long gone are the days when it was the scene of clashes between the Western and Communist blocs, which fought each other with heated exchanges, photographs, and shoes thrown at the podium. Given the current international situation, which threatens conflicts that could escalate into global conflicts, some analysts fear that the United Nations could suffer the same fate as the League of Nations, which disappeared after a long and painful process of delegitimization. Africa does not have a permanent member of the Security Council. There is no shortage of arguments for such admission, but Africa has a projected growth rate of four percentage points for 2025. The African Union has presented its own proposal for reforming the UN Security Council, calling for the admission of two countries as permanent members with veto power and five countries as permanent members without veto power.
Aleteia
Actors playing Jesus & Mary in ‘Passion of the Christ’ sequel
By Christine Rousselle, October 18, 2025
The roles of Jesus and Mary in the long-awaited sequel to 2004’s The Passion of the Christ will be played by Jaakko Ohtonen and Mariela Garriga, the entertainment magazine Variety announced October 14. Ohtonen replaces actor Jim Caviezel, and Garriga replaces Maia Morgenstern for The Resurrection of the Christ, a two-part telling of the three days between Christ’s death on the cross and his resurrection. Mel Gibson is directing the film. The film began shooting at Cinecittà Studios in Rome earlier this week, reported Variety, the same location where Gibson filmed The Passion of the Christ. The replacement of Caviezel in the role of Jesus came as a surprise. As recently as April 2025, Caviezel said he was set to reprise the iconic role in the film’s sequels. According to a source close to the film, the main reason Caviezel was replaced in the role was the actor’s age. “It made sense to recast the whole film,” the source told Variety. “They would have had to do all this CGI stuff, all this digital stuff — de-aging and all that — that would have been very costly.”
CBCPNEWS
Bishop renews call to protect indigenous people (IPs)
By CBCP News, October 13, 2025
Bishop Valentine Dimoc of Bontoc-Lagawe urged the faithful and local authorities to respect and defend the rights of indigenous peoples (IPs), stressing that they, too, are children of God deserving of dignity and protection. Dimoc lamented the continued displacement and marginalization of indigenous communities despite their ancestral claim to the land. The bishop made the remarks as the Church marked the 48th Indigenous Peoples’ Sunday on Oct. 12, first designated every second Sunday of October as IP Sunday in 1978 to highlight the Church’s solidarity with indigenous communities. In his homily, he lamented the continued hardships faced by indigenous peoples due to mining and other destructive projects. He described this year’s activities as “not merely a protest movement, but a prophetic journey.”
CRUX
673 million people do not eat enough each day
By Giada Zampano/AP, October 16, 2025
Pope Leo XIV on Thursday called on world leaders to show responsibility as he urged the international community to focus on the multitudes across the globe who face hunger, wars, and misery. Addressing the World Food Day global ceremony that also marked the 80th anniversary of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization at its headquarters in Rome, the American pontiff urged the international community not to look the other way when faced with world food emergencies. The pope openly named the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, along with Haiti, Afghanistan, Mali, the Central African Republic, Yemen, and South Sudan. Pope Leo cited U.N. data showing that around 673 million people do not eat enough each day.
The PILLAR
‘Sedentary, screen-staring, meaning-devoid creatures’
By Jack Figge, October 18, 2025
There are plenty of apps, devices, and even built-in phone features aimed at beating the screen addictions that are so pervasive in modern society. Many of them include timers that monitor phone use and then issue warnings when a certain screen time limit is exceeded. Others disable the use of certain apps or features at specific times of day or after a use limit has been met. A program called Humanality emphasizes small groups that meet regularly, in-person, to foster accountability, education, and the creation of authentic relationships. Humanality’s founder says this approach reflects a Catholic anthropology, and that while the program itself is not explicitly religious, it can pave the way for people to encounter the Gospel. Andrew Laubacher, a former seminarian and worship leader, launched Humanality in 2023 to address the growing crisis of tech addiction. “Humanality is essentially helping people use technology with intentionality and detox from digital addiction; that could be from screens, social media, gaming, pornography, or whatever.”
CatholicVote
Catholic trade school expands after winning ACLU challenge
By Hannah Hiester, October 17, 2025
Following a court victory over an ACLU challenge that approved a disputed $5 million state grant to the College of St. Joseph the Worker in Steubenville, Ohio, the Catholic trade school is hard at work expanding its campus across the Ohio River into West Virginia, its founder and president recently told CatholicVote. In an interview, Jacob Imam called the court’s decision “a great victory for sanity” as well as “a victory for Christ”. He celebrated the chance to grow the school while also revitalizing part of West Virginia. He explained that the grant enables St. Joseph to train students actively working on the renovation of historic buildings in Weirton. As CatholicVote previously reported, the state’s Water Development Authority (WDA) awarded the grant to fund the expansion and encourage economic development in the area, saying that training tradesmen would also “fill a need in West Virginia’s workforce.”
CNA, The LOOP, & Pillar Posts for 10/18/25
Catholic News Agency
CNA’s top headlines — October 18, 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 McElroy of Washington, D.C., urges a shift away from political polarization - Oct 17, 2025 - By Tyler Arnold - Cardinal Robert McElroy of Washington, D.C., expressed concerns about political polarization, urging Americans to remember “that which binds us together.”
Department of Homeland Security denies ICE targeted Chicago parish - Oct 17, 2025 - By Madalaine Elhabbal - The Department of Homeland Security pushed back on reports of immigration enforcement officers present outside a Chicago parish.
New York man receives $8 million from Diocese of Albany in abuse settlement - Oct 17, 2025 - By Daniel Payne - A New York man has received an $8 million settlement from the Diocese of Albany over claims that he was abused for years by a priest when he was a child.
CatholicVote: Daily LOOP
Daily news and political impact stories at the LOOP
Elections and politics matter. The LOOP gives you daily gems on the news, which seek “to renew our country and culture.” CatholicVote’s advertised mission is “To inspire every Catholic in America to live out the truths of our faith in public life.” Today’s Monday topics from the LOOP include:
10,000 US TROOPS STATIONED NEAR VENEZUELA - President Donald Trump has sharply expanded U.S. military operations in the Caribbean, bringing the number of deployed troops in the region to roughly 10,000 as part of an escalating campaign against Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, according to several reports.
THE WOMAN WHO GAVE DIGNITY TO THE DISCARDED - In 1988, a group of pro-lifers rescued the bodies of hundreds of aborted babies that had been dumped onto a loading dock from being destroyed as “medical waste.” The woman behind an effort to give them a proper burial and a place of memorial will be honored today in a ceremony at a Delaware graveyard.
JERUSALEM PATRIARCH DISCUSSES GAZA PEACE PLAN - Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, recently provided his perspective on what is needed for long-term peace in the Holy Land. “People are returning” to their homes and communities in Gaza, he said, “but they are returning to the ruins. Hospitals are not functioning; schools do not exist.”
The Pillar
Ed Condon’s Pillar Post for Friday, 10/17/25
The Pillar offers a daily news summary, their capsule take on the Catholic News. Here’s Ed Condon’s analysis of the news from yesterday’s Pillar Post:
The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors released its second annual global child protection report Thursday - The report highlights “the importance of clearly communicating the reasons for [a bishop’s] resignation or removal, and issuing a public statement when these reasons are related to the abuse of minors or vulnerable adults, negligence, or less serious actions that nonetheless may have led to such a decision.”
KwaZulu-Natal province bishops urged priests not to engage in traditional African healing practices - Eight bishops cautioned priests against syncretism, which they defined as “the blending of Catholic beliefs and practices with traditional African practices, especially ubungoma, in ways that contradict the Gospel.”
Fr. Custodio Ballester of the Archdiocese of Barcelona, Spain has denied media reports claiming that he was convicted in a hate crimes trial which stems from comments made during a 2017 streaming broadcast on radical Islam — The charges against Ballester stemmed from a 2017 broadcast about radical Islam in Catalonia, on a show called La Ratonera (The Mouse Trap), produced by Alerta Digital.
Nutshell reflections for 10/18/25:
USCCB Daily Reflection - AUDIO - October 18, 2025
Feast of Saint Luke, Evangelist
First Things
A new revival, an elite sympathy for religion
By Carl R. Trueman, October 2, 2025
The Psalmist asks: “What is man?” So urgent is the question of man that the question of God has re-emerged among our intellectual and cultural leaders. Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Niall Ferguson, Paul Kingsnorth, and Russell Brand have all recently professed faith. Tom Holland and Elon Musk have commented on the importance of Christianity to culture. Most surprisingly, Richard Dawkins has claimed the mantle of “cultural Christian,” though he subsequently assured the world that reports of his spiritual evolution had been greatly exaggerated. This development is not unprecedented. In 1950, Partisan Review ran a series titled “Religion and the Intellectuals.” The authors included Hannah Arendt, W. H. Auden, I. A. Richards, John Dewey, Robert Graves, A. J. Ayer, Sidney Hook, and Paul Tillich. Today, as in the aftermath of World War II, what it means to be human is contested. Those who perceive this seek a stable foundation for an answer, and they see it in religion.
The Catholic Thing
The American presbyterate is thriving
By Stephen P. White, October 18, 2025
The Catholic Project at The Catholic University of America (where I serve as executive director) has just published the results of a new major survey of American priests. The study builds on our past research (here and here), giving a clearer picture of the American presbyterate as it currently stands and hinting at what the future might hold for the Church in the United States. This result is neither controversial nor surprising, but it should not be overlooked. It strongly underscores the highly personal nature of the relationships between bishops and their priests. Men who enter the priesthood tend to flourish. It’s not all wine and roses, of course. But whatever concerns priests have, whatever challenges they face, should be understood against this backdrop: on the whole, American priests are thriving. American priests are already engaged in many of the “synodal practices” recommended by the Synod, even if priests don’t connect those activities with “synodality” or the Synod itself.
Bishop Barron
Do not cling to the Gospel for our own benefit
By Bishop Robert Barron, October 18, 2025
Friends, our Gospel (Luke 10:1-9) shows us what Jesus wants his followers to be doing and how they ought to do it. We are a missionary Church. The Lord sends us to spread his word and do his work. The Gospel is not just something that we are meant to cling to for our own benefit; it is seed that we are meant to give away. Prayer is not incidental to ministry. It is not decorative. It is the lifeblood of the Church’s efforts. Without it, nothing will succeed; without it, no ministers will come forward. At all times pray, pray, pray. Poverty and simplicity of life are prerequisites to the effective proclamation of the Gospel. What is the first thing that the minister should do upon entering a city? “Cure the sick in it.” Christ is Soter, healer of both body and spirit. The second great task of the Church is to proclaim that “the Kingdom of God is at hand.” The Church is an announcing, proclaiming, and evangelizing organism.
National Catholic Register
Is it a sin to watch pirated content online?
By E. Christian Brugger, October 17, 2025
First, the act that you commit must constitute “grave matter,” referring to the degree of the wrongness of the act. If an act is wrong, but not a grave violation of human good and our relationship with God, \we refer to its wrongness as “light matter.” If an act is a grave violation of charity, something that seriously injures human good, it constitutes “grave matter.” The Catechism of the Catholic Church (1858) mentions murder and adultery as examples of grave matter, but also mentions stealing. Catholic tradition has recognized that not all acts of taking possession against an owner’s will are grave matter. The second condition for mortal sin is called “sufficient reflection.” You must know the act’s wrongness at the time of choosing. Finally, you must engage in “deliberate consent.” Yet, suppose you have sufficient control of your faculties to make and carry out moral judgments, and honestly believe that something is mortally sinful, and then freely choose to do it. In that case, you subjectively have met the conditions for mortal sin.
Image of Pecans by tseiu from Pixabay
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