Catholic Nutshell News: Saturday 10/4/25
Topics include: FACE Act used against protestors; Spanish priest denounces radical Islam; Saints who received the stigmata; & Aging is a ‘boom cycle’ for Catholicism
“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
FACE Act used against protestors at Synagogue in New Jersey
By Tyler Arnold/CNA, October 3, 2025
President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit against individuals and entities — Party for Socialism and Liberation New Jersey and American Muslims for Palestine New Jersey — that staged a protest outside of a New Jersey synagogue, which officials say descended into violence. One protester allegedly charged toward the event organizer in response, which led a second worshipper to pepper-spray the protester to halt the alleged attack. The DOJ alleges protesters used threats, intimidation and violence while protesting the Congregation Ohr Torah synagogue, which interfered with the community’s right to exercise its religion. The lawsuit was brought under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which imposes federal penalties on people who restrict access to places of worship.
Catholic News Agency
Spanish priest prosecuted for denouncing radical Islam
By Martin Barillas, October 3, 2025
Freedom of speech and religion in Spain is in play as Father Custodio Ballester faces a possible three-year prison sentence and fines after a trial this week found him guilty of making allegedly “Islamophobic” statements in print and in an interview. Questioned by CNA about his upcoming sentencing, Ballester said: “The survival of freedom of expression in today’s Spain depends on the ruling in this case. Otherwise, we’ll be headed toward a new Cuban dictatorship. One where you were arrested for what you said as well as for what you thought, if it differed from what [Cuban communist dictator] Fidel Castro decided.” Ballester and two others, fellow priest Father Jesús Calvo and journalist Armando Robles, were accused of making allegedly Islamophobic statements in complaints filed before Spain’s socialist government by the Association of Spanish Muslims Against Islamophobia.
Agenzia Fides
Madagascar protests continue despite government resignation
By Agenzia Fides, October 23, 2025
Anti-government protests in Madagascar continue. Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets yesterday (October 2) in various cities to demand the resignation of President Andry Rajoelina, despite his dismissal of the entire government just a few days earlier in an attempt to quell growing discontent. The demonstrations, which began on September 25, were fueled by frustration over poor governance and the persistent lack of water and electricity. Calls for Rajoelina’s resignation intensified after a violent crackdown that, according to the United Nations, left at least 22 dead and hundreds injured, a claim the government denies. The protests were triggered by the arrest on September 19 of two key politicians who had organized a peaceful demonstration in the capital, Antananarivo, to protest chronic problems with water and electricity supplies. Primarily, young people from the so-called “Generation Z” are being urged, primarily through social media campaigns, to demand a say in their country’s future.
Aleteia
Saints who received the stigmata of Jesus Christ
By Philip Kosloski, September 16, 2018
When we speak of saints who had the stigmata, we are referring to the miraculous presence of Jesus’ wounds reproduced in the body of the saint. The word, stigmata, is from the Greek word for marks made by a pointed instrument. One of the earliest to receive the stigmata was St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226). St. Catherine of Siena (1347-1380) received the stigmata after receiving communion. St. Rita of Cascia (1381-1457) is unique in that she asked Jesus for a portion of the stigmata, and her request was answered. St. Gemma Galgani (1878–1903) St. Gemma Galgani (1878–1903) had a deep devotion to the Sacred Heart and received a special vision of Jesus. Her stigmata continued for years up until her’s death, appearing on Thursdays and disappearing on Fridays. Bl. Mariam Baouardy (1846–1878) experienced the stigmata early on in her life as a religious novice in the convent of the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Apparition. The stigmata occurred every week from Wednesday through Friday.
CBCPNEWS
Bulacan parish to return donated vehicle linked to corruption
By CBCP News, September 22, 2025
A Catholic parish in Bulacan province returned a vehicle donated by a Department of Public Works and Highways official implicated in alleged irregularities in flood control projects. The pastoral council of San Pascual Baylon Parish, also known as the National Shrine of Our Lady of Salambao in Obando town, returned a Nissan Navara pickup donated on June 1, 2024, by then–DPWH First District Engineer Henry Alcantara. The parish explained that the vehicle had been accepted in “good faith” to support pilgrimages of the image of the Virgin of Salambao to different parishes. “[It] was given wholeheartedly and we accepted it without judgment on the intent of the donor,” the council said in a statement. After reports surfaced linking Alcantara to corruption allegations, church leaders deliberated and decided to return the donation. “We are now undertaking the necessary steps to return it properly to the rightful person or institution, through the appropriate legal process.”
CRUX
Rapid aging of society a potential ‘boom cycle’ for Catholicism
By John L. Allen Jr., October 4, 2025
Leo clearly acknowledged that rapid aging of societies is one of the key hallmarks of our time: “The growing number of elderly people is an unprecedented historical phenomenon that calls us to discern and understand the reality in new ways,” he said. Basic demographic data backs up that observation. In the United States, the median age was 30 in 1950, but it is projected to reach 41 by 2050. In Europe it will be 47.1, and in Japan a staggering 52.3. Fully a third of all Japanese will be over 60 within a decade, creating a potentially severe shortage of elder care facilities and personnel. Pope Leo called the aging, “Young elderly.” Having finished their working years, they “have the opportunity to enjoy an increasingly long period of good health, economic well-being, and more free time.” He then applied that insight to Catholic life: “Often they are the ones who attend Mass assiduously and lead parish activities, such as catechesis and various forms of pastoral service.”
The PILLAR
Bibles: Unexpected root of France’s ‘baptism boom’
By Luke Coppen, October 2, 2025
The French bishops’ conference announced in April that more than 10,000 adults were due to be baptized in 2025 — a 45% increase on the year before. It’s not just adult baptisms that are booming. A record 19,000 people, many young, attended this year’s Paris to Chartres pilgrimage. An unprecedented 13,500 high school students took part in the 2025 Lourdes FRAT pilgrimage, a major annual youth event. The country is also seeing what French media call a “boom biblique”: a rapid rise in sales of the Bible. Religious bookstores report a 20% increase in purchases since 2024. Enquête sur ces jeunes qui veulent devenir chrétiens (“Inquiry into Why Young People Want to Become Christians”) by Antoine Pasquier, a journalist at the French Catholic weekly Famille Chrétienne, explores what young French adults seeking baptism as catechumens say about themselves. Reading the Bible plays a more fundamental role in conversions than the internet and social media.
CatholicVote
Scott Hahn explains why the Rosary is an extraordinary prayer
By Hannah Hiester, October 3, 2025
Theologian Scott Hahn recently offered a reflection on the value and importance of praying the Rosary, saying that reciting the Rosary is not only an extraordinary prayer but a fulfillment of a prophecy found in Scripture. Hahn pointed out that praying the Rosary allows the faithful to say “Blessed are you among women” at least 50 times, fulfilling Mary’s prophecy in her Magnificat that “all generations will call me blessed. To repeat these words is a delight, because they’re rich with meaning, amplified by the Gospel scenes that are the focus of our meditations,” Hahn wrote. Hahn added that the Rosary is also a special form of prayer because “it engages the whole person.” Those who pray the Rosary can use their speech to form the words and their hearing to listen to the prayer’s meaning, and tracking the prayers on Rosary beads gives their sense of touch a chance to become involved.
CNA, The LOOP, & Pillar Posts for 10/4/25
Catholic News Agency
CNA’s top headlines — October 4, 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.
Texas boys school establishes policy to destroy smartphones - Oct 4, 2025 - By Amira Abuzeid - After years of boys (and their parents) repeatedly ignoring the rules, a private boys’ school in Houston has a new digital device policy: Bring it to school, and “we will destroy it.”
Milwaukee archbishop open to granting Mass dispensation for migrants - Oct 3, 2025 - By Madalaine Elhabbal - Milwaukee could become the third U.S. diocese to lift Mass obligations for immigrants fearing deportation.
Seminary administrators weigh in on downward trends - Oct 3, 2025 - By Madalaine Elhabbal - Seminaries are rethinking what formation should look like in the U.S. following reports that enrollment at graduate-level seminaries is continuing to decline.
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:
CATHOLICVOTE JOINS LETTER AGAINST NEW ABORTION DRUG APPROVAL - CatholicVote President Kelsey Reinhardt joined other leaders yesterday calling on Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary to immediately reverse the FDA’s recent approval of a new generic version of the abortion drug mifepristone.
FBI CUTS TIES WITH NOTORIOUS ‘HATE’ TRACKER - The FBI announced it has severed ties with the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a left-wing group notorious for labeling mainstream conservative groups and Catholics as extremists on its “hate map.” FBI Director Kash Patel said the SPLC “long ago abandoned civil rights work and turned into a partisan smear machine.”
US BISHOPS ASK FTC TO PROBE MISLEADING ‘TRANS’ ADS - The legal advisors for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops have urged the Federal Trade Commission to investigate what they called deceptive advertising of so-called “gender-affirming care,” warning that drugs used to “transition” children cause “physical, psychological, and spiritual harms.”
The Pillar
Ed Condon’s Pillar Post for Friday, 10/3/25
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:
Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich defended the original decision to honor Durbin - He said in a Sept. 22 statement that it was in line with Vatican guidance on the need for dialogue with politicians who oppose Church teaching on abortion.
The US bishops are visibly divided over the issue of Catholic politicians and abortion - With Cardinal Cupich breaking with the USCCB, while publicly calling for consensus. What happens next is unlikely to be a repeat of what’s come before.
This month marks a transition for the Traditional Latin Mass communities of Charlotte, North Carolina - The four TLM communities in the diocese have been instructed by Bishop Michael Martin that they may no longer continue to gather for Mass at their regular churches. Instead, the TLM may only be celebrated at one specific location, a small chapel renovated for this purpose.
Nutshell reflections for 10/4/25:
USCCB Daily Reflection - AUDIO - October 4, 2025
Memorial of Saint Francis of Assisi
First Things
Bring back the beautiful sermon
By Ephraim Radner, October 3, 2025
St. Augustine remains the Church’s greatest preacher. A single sermon of his can roam in many directions. That is a marvelous virtue, because it reflects reality: God’s glory is beheld in the breadth of the world, given to us in the breadth of Scripture. The homiletic habit of today—one point, please!—can be an enemy of divine beauty, the oratorical devolution of Benjamin Jowett’s dictum that any given text in the Bible has only “one meaning.” How wretched! A sermon should be its own microcosm, taking in the world and presenting it back to us in turn. After all, the world is God’s: “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein” (Ps. 24:1). Thus, in a good sermon, what is truly beautiful—the “beauty of the Lord” (Ps. 27:4) in all its perceptible glory—will unfold before our eyes and in our hearts as they behold a clear vision of God’s handiwork, revealed in his Son.
The Catholic Thing
‘Secular’ is not a bad word for Christians
By Daniel B. Gallagher, October 4, 2025
Pope Leo XIV recently reaffirmed a conviction Christians have held for centuries: “institutions need people who know how to live a healthy secularism, that is, a style of thinking and acting that affirms the value of religion while preserving the distinction – not separation or confusion – from the political sphere.” Leo gets at the heart of Saint Augustine’s understanding of saeculum, which can be roughly translated as “time,” “age,” or “era.” According to Augustine, we are living in an era when all human institutions are embraced by an ultimate sacred history that will be fulfilled in Christ’s second coming. In short, for Christians, “secular” is not a bad word. Far from it. It is indeed the proper way of describing reality as having already been redeemed but awaiting the full revelation of what that redemption has wrought.
Bishop Barron
Children don’t know how to disassemble
By Bishop Robert Barron, October 27, 2025
Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus calls his disciples and us “childlike”: “Although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned, you have revealed them to the childlike.” How so? Children don’t know how to disassemble, how to be one way and act another. “Kids say the darndest things,” because they don’t know how to hide the truth of their reactions. In this, they are like stars, flowers, or animals — things that are what they are, unambiguously. The challenge of the spiritual life is to realize what God wants us to be and thereby come to the same simplicity and directness in our existence, to find out what is in line with the deepest grain of our being. Why can a child immerse himself so eagerly and thoroughly in what he is doing? Because he can lose himself; because he is not looking at himself, conscious of the reactions, expectations, and approval of those around him.
Exaudi
Authority is a manifestation of good love
By EduFamilia, October 3, 2025
Affection, good example, and encouragement are not enough to educate. It is also necessary to exercise authority, always explaining, to the extent possible, the reasons that lead us to advise, impose, disapprove, or prohibit the conduct in question. Education outside of authority, once so vaunted, is now presented as a brief, failed, and obsolete fad, contradicted by those who have suffered from it. The child needs an authority to guide him: he seeks it and asks for it, even if he sometimes refuses to acknowledge it. If you don’t find clear signage around you, with well-marked paths, you become insecure or nervous. Even when playing with each other, children always invent rules that they must not break: they need to know the space, both material and figurative—the rules—in which to move freely. The child requires authority, even if he refuses to recognize it.
Image of Pecans by tseiu from Pixabay
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