Catholic Nutshell News: Saturday 5/9/26
Topics include: Synod report undermines Church teaching; Surgeon General nominee is Catholic; Laity can live with some religious orders; & Rubio mends ties with the Vatican
“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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National Catholic Register
Critics say synod report undermines Church teaching
By Edward Pentin, May 8, 2026
A study group’s final report from the 2024 Synod on Synodality released Tuesday has been roundly criticized for attempting to change the Church’s teaching on homosexuality and for misrepresenting an apostolate, in good standing with the Church, that ministers to same-sex-attracted faithful. The final report of Study Group 9 — entitled “Theological Criteria and Synod Methodologies for Shared Discernment of Emerging Doctrinal, Pastoral, and Ethical Issues” — is part of a broader set of ten study groups established by Pope Francis in February 2024. He said he had set aside the issues from the Synod on Synodality assemblies because there was not enough time to study them before the 2024 assembly. Other topics included ecumenism and the role of bishops. Setting the stage for what Catholic LGBTQ-rights activists have described as a “surprisingly progressive” view of same-sex relations, the report goes on to say that “pastorality” is its interpretative horizon.
EWTN News
Surgeon General nominee kept her unplanned baby when a teen
By Kate Quiñones, May 9, 2026
President Donald Trumpʼs nominee for surgeon general, Dr. Nicole Saphier, kept her son, Nick, when she became pregnant unexpectedly at age 17. Saphier, a radiologist who specializes in treating breast cancer, earned her medical degree and completed a Mayo Clinic fellowship after giving birth to her son in high school. Saphier, a practicing Catholic, has shared that she had a deep connection to her Catholic faith while she was pregnant as a teen, even though she faced many challenges because she kept her son, even being asked to stop attending the teen Mass in her area. “I lost a lot of friends when I made the decision to have the baby,” she recalled in a CBN News interview about her pregnancy. Saphier's selection came after Trump announced he was withdrawing the nomination of Dr. Casey Means, whom many pro-life activists saw as not solid on pro-life issues.
Aleteia
Did you know you can live with some religious orders?
By Theresa Civantos Barber, May 9, 2026
Hospitality is a cherished tradition in many religious communities — the Benedictines, in particular, are known for their famous Rule’s instruction to “Let all guests who arrive be received as Christ.” Many orders offer some kind of guest housing, which you can book for travel and short-term visits at MonasteryStays.com. But some orders take it a step further and offer long-term housing options for young people, typically young women, who live alongside the sisters. Some communities have offered this hospitality for many years as part of their order’s distinct charism. St. Vicenta Maria López y Vicuña began the Religious of Mary Immaculate (RMI) order in Madrid in 1876. Her goal from the start was to offer safe housing. In New York City, generations of young professional women and students have found a safe home in St. Agnes Residence. St. Mary’s Residence in New York City has operated since 1913. The order also operates Leonora Hall, a women’s residence in Akron, Ohio, with the same mission.
The Pillar
Venezuelan bishops denounce the death of a political prisoner
By Edgar Beltrán, May 8, 2026
Several Venezuelan bishops decried on Friday the Venezuelan regime’s admission that a political prisoner died under law enforcement custody in July 2025. Víctor Hugo Quero Navas died in a military hospital on July 24, 2025, after being arrested in January 2025. While the government claimed Quero died of respiratory failure after suffering a gastrointestinal hemorrhage, human rights activists and several Venezuelan bishops have cast doubt on the official account, calling for an independent investigation into his death. Quero’s death is a “regrettable event, which once again highlights the serious deterioration of the Venezuelan justice system and calls on us, once again, to demand the full release of those detained because of their political views or for expressing their opinions on the Venezuelan situation,” said Archbishop Jesús González de Zárate of Valencia, president of the Venezuelan bishops’ conference.
OSV News
Can intelligent extraterrestrial life exist?
By Maria Wiering, May 8, 2026
If rational, extraterrestrial beings exist, what would be God’s relationship to them? A once purely speculative musing may take on new meaning with data disclosures from the U.S. Department of Defense on alleged encounters with “unidentified anomalous phenomena,” or UAPs. UAPs — once known as “unidentified flying objects,” or UFOs — and the intelligence behind their existence have long been a source of public fascination. Among the scholars exploring this topic, the general consensus appears to be that the existence of extraterrestrial intelligent beings does not upend the Church’s theology of creation. Christopher Baglow, director of Science & Religion Initiative at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, addressed this question in a 2021 lecture. “God would love them and want to share his life with them,” he said. St. John Paul II is said to have expressed a similar idea when a child asked whether aliens were real. “Always remember,” the late pontiff is reported to have said, “they are children of God as we are.”
Jerusalem Post
Spain’s anti-Israel prime minister is on the wrong side of history
By Marion Fischel, May 8, 2026
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, whose face and anti-war messaging were plastered on Iranian regime missiles in March and who regularly receives direct thanks and praise from Hamas, is in the news again, posturing against Israel. This time, he is calling the detention of two Global Sumud Flotilla members “kidnapping” and demanding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu return a Spanish citizen “illegally detained.” The two he referred to, Palestinian-Spanish-Swedish national Saif Abu Keshek and Brazilian Thiago Ávila, have been detained by the Beersheba District Court until Sunday, suspected of aiding the enemy during wartime, of contact with a foreign agent and terrorist elements, and of additional terrorism-related offenses. Sánchez permanently withdrew his country’s ambassador from Israel in March, four decades after the 1986 establishment of diplomatic relations between the State of Israel and the Kingdom of Spain. He also attempted to isolate the Jewish state from Europe last month
Zeale
Christian Finnish politician convicted for pamphlet on marriage
By Hannah Hiester, May 8, 2026
Finnish parliamentarian Päivi Räsänen is planning to appeal her case to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) following a criminal conviction for hate speech when she published a pamphlet in 2004 that expressed her Christian views on marriage and sexuality. The Finnish Supreme Court convicted Räsänen in March for “hate speech” under Finland’s criminal code governing “war crimes and crimes against humanity” but acquitted her for a 2019 tweet in which she expressed her views on marriage, Zeale News previously reported. However, she had published the pamphlet, titled “As Man and Woman He Created Them,” well before the section of code that informed her conviction was passed. The court also convicted Lutheran Bishop Juhana Pohjola and the Luther Foundation Finland for publishing the pamphlet for the church, legal nonprofit Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) International stated in a press release.
CRUX
Rubio presses Europe and mends ties with Italy and the Vatican
By Giada Zampano, Nicole Winfield, May 9, 2026
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged European allies Friday to move beyond rhetoric and take concrete action against Iran, even as he sought to repair strained ties with Italy and the Vatican during a two-day visit following tensions over the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran. Speaking after meetings with Premier Giorgia Meloni and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, Rubio warned that Tehran was attempting to assert control over the strategic Strait of Hormuz, calling the move “unacceptable” and a threat to global security. Meloni described her meeting with Rubio as “constructive, frank, and productive,” focused on both bilateral relations and major international issues. After a lengthy meeting on Thursday with the pontiff and Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Rubio said Washington remained committed to a “productive and fruitful” relationship with the Catholic Church. “The president’s perspective is clear. He thinks that Iran is a threat, and it needs to be addressed. And that position remains unchanged,” Rubio said.
EWTN News, aciafrica, & CWR for 5/9/26
EWTN News
EWTN’s top headlines — May 9, 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.
Church in Colombia begins training digital missionaries to faithfully proclaim the Gospel - By Eduardo Berdejo - The Digital Missionaries School aims to give solid training to online missionaries and consolidate them into a network to reach the digital continent with the Gospel.
Bishop urges global intervention against execution of 200 Ethiopian youth in Saudi Arabia - By Madalaine Elhabbal - The planned execution of 200 Ethiopian nationals is reported in Saudi Arabia. “We cannot remain silent while the lives of so many hang in the balance,” said Bishop Tesfasellassie Medhin of the Catholic Eparchy of Adigrat in Ethiopia.
Vatican nuncio: ‘There are no unbelievers left’ in Ukraine’s war zones - By Bryan Lawrence Gonsalves - As Russiaʼs full-scale invasion enters its fifth year, Apostolic Nuncio Visvaldas Kulbokas tells a Lithuanian Catholic magazine that Ukraineʼs war zones are seeing extraordinary religious revival.
aciafrica
aciafrica’s top headlines — May 9, 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.
Catholic Bishop in Ghana Warns Against “worldly sexual ethics”, Links Moral Decline to Abortion, Corruption - May 9, 2026 - By Sabrine Amboka - Bishop John Opoku-Agyemang of the Catholic Diocese of Konongo-Mampong in Ghana has cautioned against what he termed “worldly sexual ethics,” warning that they are contributing to the erosion of Christian moral standards.
Today, May 9, We Celebrate St. Pachomius - May 9, 2026 - St. Pachomius can justifiably be called the founder of cenobitic monasticism, monks who live in community. Even though St. Antony the Great was the first to go into the desert to live a life of seclusion, a hermitic life, a primarily solitary life.
Catholic Bishops in Chad Condemn Violence, Arrests of Opposition Figures, Call for Dialogue and Peace - May 8, 2026 - By Jude Atemanke - Catholic Bishops in Chad have expressed concern about escalating violence and growing political tensions in the country, condemning recent killings
Catholic World Report
CWR’s Columns, Analysis, & Features
Catholic World Report is a free online magazine that examines the news from a faithful Catholic perspective.
Homosexuality and Authentic Freedom - May 6, 2026 - Dr. Mark Lowery - The tragic impasse that exists in our culture on the issue of homosexuality stems from what many moderns have embraced as an autonomous view of reality: “I can do what I want as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone else.” According to such relativism, homosexual acts are perfectly legitimate so long as they are between two consenting adults.
Catholic Education Needs Civic Formation - Thomas P. Harmon, May 4, 2026 - There is a movement afoot in American education to restore the teaching of civics in a way that presents America as lovable and worthy of its citizens’ service. The most prominent places to see this new movement at work are in the creation of new civics institutes at public universities (ASU, UT Austin, UFL, OSU, UTK, UNC, and USU).
“As people of faith, we know a better world is possible”: Groups plea for end of Sudanese crisis - Ngala Killian Chimtom - May 3, 2026 - (CWR, Yaoundé) As the conflict in Sudan enters its fourth year, major faith-based organizations are uniting to demand immediate international action to protect civilians. In an April 15th statement, groups including ACT Alliance and Caritas Internationalis.
Nutshell reflections for 5/9/26:
USCCB Daily Reflection: AUDIO - May 9, 2026
Saturday of the Fifth Week of Easter
Catholic Stand
St. Augustine and the morality of modern war
By Dennis Dillon, May 7, 2026
Today, as the United States and Israel find themselves in conflict with Iran, the world once again watches the winds rise and the waters churn. Nations take positions, tighten alliances, and make decisions that will affect countless lives. In such moments, we tend to ask only strategic questions like who is winning and what comes next? But beneath those lies a deeper and more enduring question: Is this war just? Augustine did not glorify war. He saw war for what it is: a tragic necessity in a fallen world. Yet he also believed that even in war, we must not abandon morality. Augustine understood war as the result of human sin – pride, greed, and the lust for domination. In God’s design, there is no war, only peace. But in a broken world, conflict emerges like a storm at sea. A seasoned sea captain does not celebrate a storm. He respects it, fears it, and enters it only when he must. So too with war.
Catholic Digest
The blessing of a forgiving heart
By Fr. Eamon Tobin, May 8, 2026
Nothing is clearer in the Gospel than our call to forgive life’s hurts, and yet nothing can be more difficult than acting on this command of Jesus. Many Christians do not even try because the forgiveness of some hurts seems impossible. Yet all of us know of Jesus’ inspiring examples of forgiveness: forgiving his disciples who betrayed, denied, and abandoned him in his hour of greatest need; forgiving his executioners from the cross. More recently, who will ever forget the words of forgiveness spoken by the parishioners of Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, when a young man shot and killed their pastor and eight of their parishioners. If those ordinary Christians could forgive such a terrible crime, surely we can, with the grace of God, forgive lesser hurts done to us by family members, fellow parishioners, clergy, co-workers, employers, or strangers. The key to forgiving life’s hurts is always cooperation with the grace of God and a will to forgive.
First Things
Abortion pills head to the Supreme Court
By Jonathon Van Maren, May 7, 2025
Two judicial rulings over Mifepristone this month have set the stage for the most important legal battle over abortion since the overturn of Roe v. Wade in 2022—and the fight has exposed the growing divide between the pro-life movement and the Trump administration. Central to this legal battle is the Biden administration’s decision to use the pretext of the COVID pandemic to temporarily suspend the requirement that abortion pills be dispensed in person by a certified healthcare provider or clinic in 2021; the change was made permanent in 2023. This created a massive mail-order market that has sent abortion pills flowing into states with pro-life laws, triggering a series of lawsuits. Louisiana launched a lawsuit last year challenging the Food and Drug Administration’s 2023 decision and arguing that the changes both lacked sufficient safety data and enabled illegal abortions in its state, which has some of the most comprehensive pro-life protections in the country.
The Catholic Thing
Confessions of a Catholic writer
By Robert Royal, May 6, 2026
Someone asked recently what it’s like to be a Catholic writer these days. That brought me up short. Because the situation of a Catholic writer at present is pretty much like that of any Catholic, we’re all bewildered by the many things now that seem to have passed beyond human, rational thought and action. Except, it’s worse for the writer because he has to set down words to try to make some kind of sense about not only deep mysteries and moral controversies, but also how they relate to our current chaos. The best thing he can do as he faces a blank sheet of paper — or more often now an empty screen — is to implore the Divine Mercy to send down a few decent sentences that might spread a ray of hope amid the darkness and noise. Our time is marked by what the philosopher Paul Ricoeur called a “hermeneutic of suspicion” – about everything, in both the Church and the world. A Catholic writer has to tell what truth he can, soberly, and without fear or favor.
Image of Coconut by Celio Nicoli from Pixabay
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