Catholic Nutshell News: Saturday 12/20/25
Topics include: Kansas Catholic schools targeted; Charlotte seminary changes; Retired Albany bishop files for bankruptcy; & Australian state to ban ‘Globalize the intifada’
“We see through new tender verdant pecan leaves”
Today's sources: National Catholic Register, Catholic News Agency, The Pillar, Crux, Our Sunday Visitor, Catholic World News, & Aleteia. (Catholic Nutshell is a FREE subscription service for faithful, hopeful, & curious Catholics willing to exercise their Catholic News Muscle)
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Catholic News Agency
Kansas Catholic schools targeted by apparent bomb hoax
By Daniel Payne, December 20, 2025
Law enforcement agencies in the Kansas City area reported investigating threats at numerous Catholic schools on Dec. 19. The Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas confirmed in a press statement that “several” Catholic schools in the archdiocese had “received bomb threats” on both Dec. 18 and Dec. 19. “At this time, students and staff are safe,” Archdiocesan Superintendent Vince Cascone said in the statement. “Law enforcement continues to investigate, and we are following their guidance closely.” The archdiocese did not post a list of the schools affected by the bomb threats, though local media reported at least 13 schools targeted, 12 of which were Catholic. Roeland Park Mayor Michael Poppa wrote on Facebook that the threats were “unfounded.” The mayor described the hoaxes as “cowardly and deplorable attempts to spread fear and disrupt our community.” Poppa praised authorities as well as staff at St. Agnes Catholic School “for jumping into action immediately to prioritize student safety.”
The Pillar
Charlotte seminary changes prompt objections from clerics
By Michelle La Rosa, December 19, 2025
A change to priestly formation programs in the Diocese of Charlotte will see seminarians spend a year as high school or middle school teachers. Charlotte’s Bishop Michael Martin says the move will give seminarians a chance to experience the “ordinary demands” of Catholic lay life and to understand better how to teach the Catholic faith. But the plan has prompted some pushback among diocesan clerics, with sources saying both that the idea is a disruption to priestly formation, and that Catholics in the diocese are experiencing a kind of “Martin fatigue” — a sense that the area’s new bishop has made significant changes without sufficient consultation of local Catholics and clergy. Some priests in Charlotte say they are overwhelmed by recent liturgical and administrative changes in their diocese — and that those changes have impacted clerical morale.
CatholicVote
LifeFest to return ahead of 2026 March for Life in D.C.
By Mary Rose, December 19, 2025
As Catholics from across the country prepare to gather in Washington, D.C., for the annual March for Life, LifeFest, a major pre-march rally focused on prayer and renewal, will return to accompany it. Centered on the Church’s teaching on the sanctity of human life, it is scheduled for Jan. 23, 2026, just hours before the National March for Life. LifeFest, organized by the Sisters of Life and the Knights of Columbus, will be held at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in Oxon Hill, Maryland, near Washington, allowing participants to head directly to the march afterward, according to LifeFest’s website. Sister Marie Veritas, SV, said the rally and march are rooted in solidarity with women and families affected by abortion. “We march because we stand with women who are pregnant and in need,” she said. “We march because no woman who has experienced abortion is left unseen by God’s love and mercy. We march because every life is a gift.”
National Catholic Register
Retired Albany bishop files for bankruptcy after pension verdict
By Matthew McDonald, December 19, 2025
Bishop Edward Scharfenberger, 77, who served as bishop of Albany from April 2014 until his retirement in October, has filed for personal bankruptcy protection in federal court after a state jury verdict found him, along with other officials, personally liable for the collapse of a Catholic hospital pension fund that left about 1,100 retirees without the lifetime monthly payments they were expecting. It’s not clear whether a Catholic bishop in the United States has ever previously filed for personal bankruptcy protection. Last week, a jury found Bishop Scharfenberger 10% liable in a $54.2 million judgment in a civil lawsuit over the failed pension plan once provided by St. Clare’s Hospital in Schenectady, a Catholic hospital that operated from 1949 until 2008, according to The Evangelist, the diocese’s newspaper. The verdict and judgment, issued Dec. 12, cover compensatory damages but not punitive damages, which may be added in cases of recklessness, malice, or fraud.
The Times of Israel
Australian state to ban ‘Globalize the intifada’ chant
By ToI Staff and Agencies, December 20, 2025
The Australian state of New South Wales is planning to ban “Globalize the intifada” chants, according to a Saturday BBC report, amid a crackdown on “hateful” rhetoric and slogans in the wake of Sunday’s devastating terror attack at a Bondi Beach Hanukkah event. New South Wales is home to Sydney and its iconic Bondi Beach, where 15 people were killed and dozens wounded by two gunmen who opened fire on a crowd celebrating the Jewish holiday. The elder gunman, 50-year-old Sajid Akram, was shot and killed by police. His 24-year-old son, Naveed, survived and remains in the hospital under police guard, facing charges including terrorism and 15 murders. Since the attack, New South Wales Premier Chris Minns has said he plans to convene the state’s parliament and pass stricter hate speech and incitement laws. The mass shooting was Australia’s worst in nearly 30 years and is being investigated as an act of terrorism targeting Jews.
PIME asianews
Vicar of Arabia: A Christmas of diverse rites and traditions
By Dario Salvi, December 19, 2025
There are numerous challenges, said Monsignor Aldo Berardi, Apostolic Vicar of Northern Arabia, from internal disputes among the Syro-Malabars to the need for formation that prevents faith from slipping into mere devotionalism. Local and universal jubilees are experienced with “dynamism and creativity,” Bernardi said, but stressed that tradition must not become an end in itself. The Christmas season, especially Christmas Week, is ‘intense’ with each community contributing “the characteristic elements of its own faith.” Filipinos, Indians, Maronites, and Europeans are part of a Church that is rooted in unity in diversity, which represents both a richness and a complexity. “There are several unresolved issues,” he said. “A primary factor is that of jurisdiction, which is not recognised at the legal level because in the various countries [legal personality] refers to the Latin vicariate. It will take time to achieve recognition as an independent Church, and for the time being, they will have to depend on the vicariate for visas and places of worship.”
CRUX
Philippine Church rejects $138-million budget for ‘insurgency’
By Joseph San Mateo, December 20, 2025
The Philippine Catholic Church rejected a proposed $137.8-million budget to “reward” villages that have “cleared” themselves of communists, saying that the government should address the “structural roots of poverty” instead. Caritas Philippines, the social action arm of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, demanded a “moral scrutiny” of the proposed $137.8-million allocation for the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC). The NTF-ELCAC is the anti-communism task force that was created by then-president Rodrigo Duterte in December 2018 to stamp out the five-decade-old communist insurgency. “Precisely because we seek genuine and lasting peace, we raise grave concern over this allocation, which is presented as a ‘reward’ for local government units and barangays (villages) declared ‘cleared’ of insurgency,” Caritas said in a pastoral statement posted by its president, Bishop Gerardo Alminaza.
Vatican News
Coming up: Leo convenes his first Consistory of Cardinals
By Vatican News, December 20, 2025
The Holy See Press Office released details of Pope Leo XIV’s first Extraordinary Consistory of Cardinals, which will be held in the Vatican on January 7-8, 2026. A Consistory, which comes from the Latin “consistere” meaning “stand together,” is a formal meeting of the College of Cardinals. They can be either Ordinary, which are largely ceremonial in nature and attended by Cardinals residing in Rome, or Extraordinary. Extraordinary Consistories, such as the one held in January, include all Cardinals worldwide who can travel and allow the Pope to consult with the entire College on various issues affecting the life of the Church. “The meeting will unfold over two days and will be marked by moments of communion and fraternity, as well as times dedicated to reflection, sharing, and prayer,” read the statement, to offer “support and counsel to the Holy Father in the exercise of his lofty and weighty responsibility in the governance of the universal Church.”
CNA, aciafrica, & CWR for 12/20/25
Catholic News Agency
CNA’s top headlines — December 20, 2025
Catholic News Agency provides reliable, free, up-to-the-minute news affecting the Universal Church, with updates on the words of the Holy Father and the Holy See.
CNA explains: What is natural family planning? - Dec 20, 2025 - By Amira Abuzeid - In an era when artificial contraception often dominates public discussions on family planning, the Catholic Church continues to champion natural family planning methods.
How Iskali is helping young Latino Catholics encounter God and find their purpose - Dec 20, 2025 - By Francesca Pollio Fenton - Iskali is a nonprofit based in Chicago that promotes the leadership and holistic development of Latino youth, helping them flourish.
Cardinal Pizzaballa visits Holy Family Parish in Gaza days before Christmas - Dec 19, 2025 - By Amira Abuzeid - Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, arrived in Gaza City on Dec. 19 for a pastoral visit to Holy Family Parish, the only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip, just days before Christmas.
aciafrica
aciafrica’s top headlines — December 20, 2025
ACI Africa was founded in 2019 to provide free, up-to-the-minute news affecting the Catholic Church in Africa, with particular emphasis on the words of the Holy Father and the activities of the Holy See.
Catholic University Graduates in Cameroon’s Buea Diocese Urged to be Job Creators, not Seekers - Dec 19, 2025 - By Jude Atemanke - Graduates of the Catholic University Institute of Buea (CUIB) have been urged to remain grateful to God, resilient in life, and committed to becoming job creators.
Radio Maria Cape Verde Lauded for over Three Decades of Evangelization - Dec 19, 2025 - By João Vissesse - The Director of Radio Maria Cape Verde has praised the Catholic radio station for its enduring role in spreading faith, nurturing hope, and uniting people in prayer across the island nation for over 30 years.
Pope Leo XIV Strengthens Legal Protections for Employees of the Vatican and Holy See - Dec 19, 2025 - By Victoria Cardiel - The reform, established through a pontifical rescript signed on Nov. 25, introduces significant changes that strengthen institutional representation, improve internal coordination, and underscore the pontiff’s care for employees and the application of the Church’s social doctrine.
Cathlic World Report
CWR’s Columns, Analysis, & Features - December 20, 2025
Catholic World Report is a free online magazine that examines the news from a faithful Catholic perspective.
State Department set to roll out religious worker visa plan next month - December 19, 2025, CNA - U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there will be a plan “early next month” for religious worker visas that would avoid giving preference to one denomination over another.
Church leaders condemn arson attack on top Bangladesh newspaper offices - December 19, 2025 CNA - A group set fire to the office of the country’s top Bangla newspaper, Prothom Alo, late on Dec. 19, 2025, to protest the killing of Sharif Osman Hadi, a front-line leader of a 2024 uprising in Bangladesh.
Massachusetts removes LGBT ideology requirements for foster care parents - CNA Staff, Dec 19, 2025 - Massachusetts will no longer require prospective foster parents to affirm gender ideology to qualify for fostering children, with the move coming after a federal lawsuit from a religious liberty group. Alliance Defending Freedom said Dec. 17 that the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families “will no longer exclude Christian and other religious families from foster care” because of their “commonly held beliefs that boys are boys and girls are girls.”
Nutshell reflections for 12/20/25:
USCCB Daily Reflection: AUDIO - December 20, 2025
Saturday of the Third Week of Advent
Aleteia
Things Our Lady did not say — and neither should we
By Sarah Robsdottir, December 20, 2025
She never complained. She never explained or defended herself. She didn’t freak out on Gabriel -- as I certainly would have, turning pink in the face and spastically sputtering something like, “Don’t you know I could get stoned for being pregnant out of wedlock???” Instead, Mary “treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” (Luke 2:19) I have been thinking about this a lot lately because I’m dealing with a distant relative, and the relationship is very stressful. I often feel that I am being treated unfairly, falsely accused, and totally misunderstood. In these moments, it's my tendency to overexplain and defend myself. But Our Lady never did this, even though she had good reason. She never ran to St. Joseph or anyone else and begged them to understand her perpetual virginity. She didn't go around building herself up, proclaiming her innocence, and blabbing about what the angel told her.
First Things
Language is being impoverished
By Erik Varden, December 16, 2025
For words are forms of life; and life, to be spoken of well, requires critical, deliberate, humane articulation. Such articulation is under threat. Language is being impoverished. The real stakes of Babel may, in fact, be pitched at a different level. When you think of it, Scripture talks of linguistic multiplicity before anyone had thought of tower-construction. In an account of the offspring of Noah’s son in Genesis 10, we read: “These are the descendants of Japheth in their lands, with their own language, by their families, in their nations.” Scholars embarrassed by this verse have stressed that Scripture’s narratives are not always in strict chronological order. We may, though, responsibly get around a sense of felt contradiction. In Hebrew, the beginning of the next chapter, Genesis 11:1, reads: “Now the whole earth had one language and the same words.” The learned Rabbi Joseph Herman Hertz, though, thought it better to translate the Hebrew phrase in this way: “Now the whole earth had one language and few words,” that is to say, a small vocabulary.
The Catholic Thing
A new battlefront is emerging in the ‘War on Christmas’
By John M. Grondelski, December 19, 2025
A new battlefront is emerging in the “War on Christmas.” For years, the “war on Christmas” was primarily a confrontation with encroaching secularism: many Americans’ first encounter with the “naked public square” was the city hall park from which the traditional Nativity scene had been evicted, usually by court order. As wokeness spread, “Happy Holidays” became the euphemism for the holiday that dared not speak its name. But the “War on Christmas” seems to have taken on a new frontline: Christians wanting to co-opt Christian symbolism as agitprop for political causes. The 2025 cause célèbre is immigration law enforcement. News reports confirm that using crèches as partisan props is not limited to Massachusetts. In Illinois, one Nativity scene apparently features a Baby Jesus whose hands are zip-tied, the detention tactic used by ICE.
Christian Post
Christmas wasn’t a quaint, quiet affair
By Mike Sharrow, December 20, 2025
The Almighty God looked upon a world imprisoned by sin and death and declared it time for liberation. The Nativity was the moment heaven stormed the beaches of a fallen world. The birth of Jesus Christ of Nazareth was the first strike in a divine campaign that would shatter the powers of darkness and reclaim what was lost since the Garden of Eden. It was God’s D-Day for the liberation of mankind. The Bible tells us, “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.” (1 John 3:8). That’s not gentle imagery. It’s military language. The cries of a baby in Bethlehem were the sound of war being waged against evil itself. The angels’ songs of “glory to God” and “peace on earth” were like Allied leaflets dropped across occupied Europe, announcing that freedom was coming, that rescue was at hand.
Image of Coconut by Celio Nicoli from Pixabay
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