Catholic Nutshell News: Saturday 3/28/26
Topics include: What Americans consider moral; Covering crucifixes and statues during Lent; Monaco, Europe’s last Catholic state; & When a prayer makes you uncomfortable
“We see through new tender verdant pecan leaves”
Today's sources: National Catholic Register, EWTN News, The Pillar, Crux, First Things, 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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Zenit
What do Americans consider moral, and what don’t they?
By Jorge Enrique Mújica, March 27, 2026
A sweeping new set of surveys suggests that the moral landscape of the United States is neither collapsing nor cohering—but fragmenting in complex and revealing ways. Far from embracing moral relativism across the board, Americans are drawing selective lines: permissive on many personal behaviors, sharply condemnatory on others, and deeply divided along political, religious, and generational fault lines. The Pew Research Center paints a portrait of a society that has largely normalized practices once considered contentious, while still maintaining strong moral boundaries in specific areas—especially those touching on trust and fidelity. Americans show a striking degree of moral acceptance. Eating meat is universally regarded as morally unproblematic, with 96% of adults having no ethical concern. Similarly, 91% say the use of contraception to prevent pregnancy raises no moral issue. A clear majority, 63%, say physician-assisted suicide is morally acceptable or not a moral issue — 60% express the same view regarding homosexuality.
Aleteia
Why do Catholics cover crucifixes and statues during Lent?
By Philip Kosloski, March 19, 2026
While it may appear counterintuitive to veil statues and images during the final weeks of Lent, the Catholic Church recommends this practice to heighten our senses and build within us a longing for Easter Sunday. It is a tradition that should not only be carried out in our local parish, but can also be a fruitful activity for the “domestic church” to practice. The rubrics can guide us. In the Roman Missal, we find the instruction, “In the Dioceses of the United States, the practice of covering crosses and images throughout the church from [the fifth] Sunday [of Lent] may be observed. Crosses remain covered until the end of the Celebration of the Lord’s Passion on Good Friday, but images remain covered until the beginning of the Easter Vigil.” Veiling from the Fifth Sunday of Lent onward is minuscule compared to what was once practiced. For example, in Germany, there was a tradition of veiling the altar from view throughout Lent.
The Pillar
Archbishop Caccia said UN slavery resolution unfair to Catholics
By Edgar Beltrán, March 20, 2026
Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, the Vatican’s representative to the United Nations, said the U.N’s approach to the issue contained a “partial narrative” that “does not serve the cause of truth” — especially suggesting that the historical context and intent of some ecclesial documents were not fully understood. The document included two 15th century papal bulls authorizing the slavery of Africans as primary examples of the legal codification of chattel slavery — “the papal bull Dum Diversas of 18 June 1452 and the Romanus Pontifex of 8 January 1455,” which, it said, “authorized the reduction of African persons to ‘perpetual slavery.’” Caccia, recently appointed as nuncio to the US, said, “The Holy See unequivocally condemns slavery, including in its modern forms. “For example, as early as 1435, Pope Eugene IV condemned the enslavement of the inhabitants of the Canary Islands and excommunicated those who refused to free them.” He said, “Historical research clearly demonstrates that the papal documents in question, written in a specific historical period and linked to political questions, have never been considered expressions of the Catholic faith.”
EWTN News
Billionaires, martyrs, and Europe’s last Catholic state
By Francesca Pollio Fenton, March 28, 2026
On March 28, Pope Leo XIV will make history as the first pope in the modern era to pay an apostolic visit to Monaco. Tucked along the Mediterranean coast, the principality of Monaco — whose official language is French — is often associated with Formula 1, wealth, glamor, and the famed Monte Carlo Casino. Yet beneath its polished exterior lies a profoundly Catholic heritage that continues to shape its laws, culture, and monarchy. Unlike many modern European nations, Monaco officially recognizes the Catholic Church as the state religion. The ruling family of Monaco, the House of Grimaldi, has long been closely tied to Catholicism. Monaco is smaller than New York City’s Central Park. Only Vatican City is smaller than Monaco. The small country only has one diocese, the Archdiocese of Monaco, and the Guinness World Records recognizes it as the smallest diocese in the world by territory. Six parishes and 15 churches and chapels serve this tiny country.
Jerusalem Post
Palestinian Authority accelerates heritage as tensions rise
By Dana Ben-Shimon, March 24, 2026
After months of restoration, Palestinian Authority officials gathered recently in the town of Dura, south of Hebron, to celebrate the reopening of one of the West Bank’s largest antiquities museums. PA officials who attended the event celebrated the completion of the museum’s renovation, highlighting its role in preserving cultural heritage. With updated exhibits and new artifacts, the Dura museum is part of the ongoing efforts by Palestinian authorities to promote heritage sites across the West Bank, with the aim of protecting – and projecting – the Palestinian narrative. “Museums are one of the most central tools for maintaining our national history,” he said. “The items and displays document our heritage. It’s important that people come to see the meaning of our national identity, and we will focus on that issue.” According to ministry data, some 69 excavations were conducted in different areas across the West Bank over the past year.
CatholicVote
NYT reports record conversions to Catholicism across US
By Grace Porto, March 27, 2026
The New York Times reported on March 26 that Catholic churches across the U.S. are seeing a huge surge in conversions as catechumens prepare to enter the Church on Easter Vigil. Reporter Elizabeth Dias contacted 24 dioceses, from large urban ones, such as Los Angeles, to small ones, such as Allentown, Pennsylvania, and found that each saw “a significant jump,” the Times report states. Cardinal Robert McElroy, archbishop of Washington, said in the report that his archdiocese is welcoming 1,755 people on Easter Vigil, the highest number in over 15 years. The Archdiocese of Detroit will receive 1,428 new Catholics into the Church, its highest number in 21 years. The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, Texas, will have its highest number of converts in 15 years. In the Diocese of Des Moines, the count jumped from 265 people to 400, up 51% from last year, according to the report.
CRUX
Murder of Ecuadorian priest mystifies authorities
By Eduardo Campos Lima, March 28, 2026
The Ecuadorian police have not yet determined the motive behind the killing of Father Maximiliano Estupiñán Gaisbauer, 64, who was found dead in his house in Quito on Mar. 23. His body, discovered by a house worker in the yard, showed signs of violence, especially to the head, and a trail of blood could be seen nearby. According to Liria Gordillo, a niece of the priest, Father Max — as he was known among churchgoers — was probably caught off guard by criminals upon arriving home at night. She told TV station Ecuavisa that some of his belongings were missing: an old laptop, a smartphone, a watch, a bracelet, and US$200. “For those things he was killed,” Gordillo said. The crime shocked many in Ecuador, which has been facing one of the worst security crises in its history. “The country is going through an unparalleled crisis of violence,” said David Tatayo Narváez, a former seminary student, “with criminals having more rights than citizens,”
National Catholic Register
Life’s indignities reveal our eternal dignity
By Larry Chapp, March 27, 2026
My 90-year-old mother, who has advanced Alzheimer’s, is in a nursing home. She had fallen at home in the bathroom and cracked five ribs and punctured a lung, which was beyond her major injuries. My father, who is 92, could no longer care for her. And as we approach the end of this Lent, I have been given an object lesson in these past months on the Ash Wednesday beginnings of the season: “Remember that you are dust and unto dust you shall return.” Dust indeed is what we are, and that dust is both fungible and fragile. This is probably why God created matter in the first place, since living as a body-soul unity requires us to embrace the kenotic divestment of our earthly bodies before we can inherit our spiritual body in the Kingdom. Life is therefore a series of dependencies, and not one of us is truly, in any meaningful way, an independent being in charge of his or her ultimate destiny.
EWTN News, aciafrica, & CWR for 3/28/26
EWTN News
EWTN’s top headlines — March 28, 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.
Pope Leo XIV warns of a faith reduced to ‘custom’, asks for Church to reflect the love of God - By Victoria Cardiel - Pope Leo XIV warned about the risks of reducing faith “to custom” and called on the faithful to be like Christ, defending the poor and marginalized against individualistic secularism.
Bangladesh bishops say ‘no’ to government financial support - By Zoe Romanowsky - After the government of recently elected Prime Minister Tarique Rahman of Bangladesh announced on March 14 that it would offer a monthly allowance for priests, the Bangladesh Catholic Bishops’ Conference has officially decided to decline it, according to Crux.
U.S. chemical abortions as a result of telehealth rise by 25%, report finds - By Kate Quiñones - The U.S. saw a slight increase in all abortions in 2025 and a more than 25% increase in chemical abortions obtained through telehealth, according to a report from the Guttmacher Institute. There were 1,126,000 total abortions recorded in 2025 in the U.S., a 1% increase from 2024.
aciafrica
aciafrica’s top headlines — March 28, 2026
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.
“We will not be silent”: Catholic Bishops on “degrading security, humanitarian situation” in DR Congo - Mar 28, 2026 - By Jude Atemanke - Members of the National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO) have reaffirmed their prophetic mission, pledging not to remain silent in the face of the worsening security and humanitarian crisis
Equatorial Guinea Denies Reports of Deducting Civil Servants’ Wages to Fund Planned Papal Visit - Mar 27, 2026 - By Jude Atemanke - The Government of Equatorial Guinea has rejected media reports alleging that civil servants’ salaries are being deducted to finance preparations for the planned Apostolic Visit of Pope Leo XIV
Catholic Bishop Calls for Investigation into Rising Extrajudicial Killings in Tanzania - Mar 27, 2026 - By Nicholas Waigwa - The Bishop of Tanzania’s Catholic Diocese of Musoma has called for concrete investigations to uncover the root causes of increasing cases of extrajudicial killings in the East African nation
Catholic World Report
CWR’s Columns, Analysis, & Features - March 28, 2026
Catholic World Report is a free online magazine that examines the news from a faithful Catholic perspective.
A Question of Perspective: Who Gets Fired and Why? - Dr. Randall B. Smith, March 27, 2026 - It has been ranked “as among the most significant developments in moral theology in the past fifty years.” This was how the late Fr. Richard McCormick described Catholic University of America’s decision in 1988 to fire Fr. Charles Curran from his position in the Department of Theology.
The Left’s cancellation of Cesar Chavez looks bad either way - David Paul Deavel, March 26, 2026 - Until last week, Chavez was still a civil rights icon in good standing. Upon entering the Oval Office in 2021, Joe Biden immediately took down a bust of Winston Churchill and replaced it with one of Chavez.
Flannery O’Connor’s “both/and” vision of reality - Matthew Becklo, March 25, 2026 - In the wake of Flannery O’Connor’s death on March 25, 1965, the Trappist monk and spiritual writer Thomas Merton said, “When I read Flannery O’Connor, I do not think of Hemingway, or Katherine Anne Porter, or Sartre, but rather of someone like Sophocles.
Nutshell reflections for 3/28/26:
USCCB Daily Reflection: AUDIO - March 28, 2026
Saturday of the Fifth Week of Lent
Catholic Stand
When a prayer makes you uncomfortable
By Kenneth Cramer, March 28, 2026
The prayer app I have been using during Lent introduced the Litany of Humility with the same line I have heard many times before, “This is a hard prayer.” It suggests that the prayer is about to demand something severe from us, something painful but necessary, like a bitter medicine we swallow for the sake of holiness. My discomfort with the prayer was not because it was difficult. It was because I wasn’t sure I believed it. That realization startled me. The Church has preserved many spiritual treasures, and the instinct to approach them with reverence is a good one. But when something unsettles me in prayer, I have learned not to ignore it. Instead, I try to understand it. This was not a prayer written in a vacuum. It was the prayer of a man who wanted to guard his soul from pride. Imagine living in a world where titles mattered, where influence mattered, where every room you entered carried subtle competitions for authority and recognition. Imagine trying to remain spiritually grounded while surrounded by the machinery of power.
National Catholic Register
The Catholic Church’s response to AI — so far
By Jonah McKeown, March 27, 2026
Pope Leo XIII was known for his engagement with the profound social changes of the industrial revolution, especially through his 1891 encyclical, Rerum Novarum. His successor Pope Leo XIV chose his papal name, in part, because of his desire to address what he has called the next “industrial revolution” — developments in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) that “pose new challenges for the defense of human dignity, justice and labor.” Though not yet confirmed by the Vatican, reports have emerged that Pope Leo’s first encyclical of his pontificate may soon be arriving and will likely address the ethical challenges AI poses and the profound consequences it may have for human work, social relations, and the dignity of the person. The Pontifical Academy for Life released the “Rome Call for AI Ethics” in 2020, and several major global tech companies, including Microsoft and Cisco, have since signed on to the pledge.
First Things
Päivi Räsänen and the failure of hate speech laws
By Robert Clarke, March 27, 2025
Päivi Räsänen, a doctor, grandmother, and long-serving member of the Finnish parliament, was found guilty of “insult” for a church pamphlet she wrote in 2004, in which she expressed her views on sexual morality. On the basis of the decades-old pamphlet, she has been criminally convicted for “making available to the public a text that insults a group.” Finland’s highest court fined her €1,800—giving her a criminal record—and ordered the offending passages destroyed and removed from the internet. Fortunately, the court unanimously acquitted Räsänen for a 2019 tweet in which she criticized her church’s sponsorship of a Pride event and quoted Romans—the impetus for her whole ordeal. For nearly seven years, the Christian parliamentarian was subjected to police investigation, three criminal charges, three trials, and now a conviction for “hate speech” under the “War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity” section of Finland’s criminal code. All of this for peacefully expressing her beliefs in the public square. This is not a sign that the law needs fine-tuning. It is evidence that the enterprise is misconceived.
The Catholic Thing
Scott Hahn and his happy band of convert brothers
By Fr. Raymond J. de Souza, March 28, 2026
On March 29, 1986, Scott Hahn was received into the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil. So much good for the Catholic Church followed. Praising and thanking God in Steubenville on this fortieth anniversary, some three dozen of Dr. Hahn’s family, friends, colleagues, and collaborators are gathering in retreat to celebrate the occasion. It’s also the twenty-fifth anniversary of the reception into the Catholic Church of John Bergsma, one of Hahn’s principal colleagues at the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, which is also marking its twenty-fifth anniversary. Three converts were key: the sermons of Newman and Msgr. Ronald Knox (still my favorite) and Frank Sheed’s To Know Christ Jesus. (Sheed was a quasi-convert, baptized Catholic but raised Protestant.) Hahn and his happy band of former Protestants were teaching Catholics how to read and understand the Bible. The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible volumes are perfect for parish Bible studies.
Image of Coconut by Celio Nicoli from Pixabay
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