Catholic Nutshell News: Saturday 6/20/26
Catholics should know: IA gets powerful and people turn to God; Detroit Archdiocese shrinks weekend Masses; Canada's 10 years of assisted dying; & The Iran failure we needed
“We see through new tender verdant pecan leaves”
Your 5-minute Catholic briefing for busy faithful. Today's sources: National Catholic Register, EWTN News, The Pillar, Crux, First Things, OSV 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
As AI becomes powerful, people will turn to God
By Solène Tadié, June 19, 2026
As Pope Leo XIV’s new AI encyclical begins to reverberate across the technology world, a Washington-based Catholic tech investor and entrepreneur with ties to Silicon Valley says many of the people building artificial intelligence are more willing than ever to engage with the Church’s moral vision. Artur Kluz has seen evidence of that shift firsthand. Last year, he launched through the Register the ambitious idea of creating a new order of Christian “knights” drawn from the worlds of technology, finance, and entrepreneurship, ready to help the Church navigate the civilizational challenges and opportunities posed by transformative technologies, including artificial intelligence and space exploration. “The deeper question is not simply who knows more about AI; it is about whom we trust to guide humanity through this technological age,” he told the Register.
EWTN News
Detroit Archdiocese to suspend weekend Masses at 90 parishes
By Madalaine Elhabbal, June 19, 2026
Weekend Masses could be suspended at 90 parishes across southeast Michigan, according to plans revealed by the Archdiocese of Detroit. Previously released models identified 58 parishes as potential sites for the stoppage of weekend Masses. An additional 32 parishes could see weekend Masses suspended. The models released June 18 cover several planning areas across parts of metro Detroit and nearby counties, including Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb. The latest update follows the completion of 400 listening sessions at parishes across the archdiocese amid its two-year restructuring process. While the listening sessions are complete, parishioners are invited to share feedback through an online form available until July 31.
Aleteia
Grim milestone: Canada hits 10 years of assisted dying
By Theresa Civantos Barber, June 19, 2026
Ten years ago this week, Canada legalized assisted suicide. Since then, more than 76,000 Canadians have died this way — now more than 5% of deaths per year — making it one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing assisted-dying programs. Canada’s bishops and other advocates for life in Canada continue to speak out against possible expansions of the law under consideration, voicing concern and calling for prayers while grieving the many lives lost in the past 10 years. Alarming stories continue to circulate about abuses of the existing law, such as one last month about a Catholic priest recovering from a hip fracture who was offered death not just once, but twice. In a statement marking the sobering anniversary of “Medical Aid in Dying” (MAiD), the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops urged Catholics and all people of goodwill “to remain steadfast in opposing euthanasia and assisted suicide.”
The Pillar
Italian bishop accused of antisemitism, no stranger to controversy
By Edgar Beltrán, June 18, 2026
An Italian bishop is facing criticism, including from his colleagues, after signing a June 12 petition, launched by the regional secretary of the Communist Refoundation Party, urging organizers of a literary festival in his diocese to withdraw an invitation to Israeli novelist Eshkol Nevo. Archbishop Franco Moscone of Manfredonia-Vieste-San Giovanni Rotondo has been accused of antisemitism after joining an appeal calling for Nevo’s exclusion from the Libro Possibile festival. Moscone has previously drawn criticism for comparing the situation in Gaza to the Holocaust. The archbishop said he signed the petition not because Nevo is Israeli, but because he believes the novelist has not sufficiently opposed what Moscone describes as a genocide in Gaza. In an uncommon move among Italian bishops, Archbishop Michele Pennisi, emeritus archbishop of Monreale, publicly criticized Moscone, saying that “the Israeli government’s policy must be condemned, but that doesn’t make it plausible to exclude a writer from the festival simply because he is Israeli.”
OSV News
Diocese fights to save holy site from ‘desecration’ for border wall
By Gina Christian, June 19, 2026
The Diocese of Las Cruces, New Mexico, cites religious freedom violations as it continues to counter the Trump administration’s advancing efforts to seize land from the Mount Cristo Rey pilgrimage site for building a sector of the U.S.-Mexico border wall. “This affront to religious liberty cannot stand,” said the diocese in a June 19 opposition response filed in U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico. The 4,675-foot peak, capped by a 29-foot limestone statue of Jesus Christ, has served as a shrine for Catholic faithful coming to pray for close to a century. Bishops Mark J. Seitz of El Paso, Texas, and Michael Buerkel Hunn of the Episcopal Diocese of Rio Grande filed June 19 declarations in support of the Las Cruces Diocese’s challenge. The federal government lawsuit claims eminent domain — or government power to seize private property for public use, with “just compensation” as required by the Fifth Amendment — over 14 acres that include Mount Cristo Rey in Sunland Park, New Mexico.
Zeale
The DOJ refers the MLB Bible verse case to EEOC
By Mary Rose, June 19, 2026
The same day CatholicVote formally asked for a federal probe into the matter, the Department of Justice warned Major League Baseball (MLB) that it may have violated federal civil rights law by threatening to discipline San Francisco Giants pitchers who wrote Bible verses on their Pride Night caps. Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon sent a letter to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred on June 18, referring the matter to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for investigation. “Swing and a miss!” Dhillon wrote on X. “Major League Baseball encouraged players to wear ‘Black Lives Matter’ on their uniforms but reportedly threatened Christians who write Bible verses on their hats. [The EEOC] will investigate whether this amounts to religious discrimination.”
PME AsiaNews
India’s Missionaries of Charity acquitted after a long legal battle
By Andrea Ferrario, June 11, 2026
In a historic ruling that puts an end to one of the most painful legal battles faced by the Church in recent years, the Ranchi Civil Court (Jharkhand) acquitted a member of the Missionaries of Charity and two other people tried in connection with a 2018 child trafficking case. The case centered on the allegations that a 14-day-old baby was sold for 50,000 rupees (us$ 530) from a home run by the Missionaries of Charity in Ranchi. The legal case, which resulted in one nun being sent to prison, ended with a verdict finding her and her co-defendants not guilty after a nearly eight-year legal battle. The religious order founded by Mother Teresa of Calcutta was caught up in the case, with huge media coverage, with the then superior, Sister Mary Prema, speaking out against the “many myths”, the “information distorted, and false news,” and “baseless innuendos” that surrounded the nuns.
CRUX
Residents cautious in return to war-ravaged southern Lebanon
By Kareem Chehayeb & Malak Harb June 18, 2026
With the announcement of an agreement between the United States and Iran to end the war in the Middle East, the deal also calls for an end to the war in Lebanon, where Israel has been fighting Hezbollah. It’s unclear what that means in practice. Pope Leo XIV has welcomed the agreement between the U.S. and Iran, and acknowledged the host of thorny issues outstanding. For residents in the south of crisis-battered Lebanon, hopes of better times are mixed with skepticism — there have been too many ceasefire announcements that have failed to halt the fighting. To the north, some 80 kilometers (50 miles) away, displaced families huddled along the waterfront in Beirut, Lebanon’s capital. Most of them have been sleeping in tents for months, living day to day in limbo. For others, it’s a bench or a mattress on the ground. In the border area close to Israel, many Lebanese villages have been almost completely demolished.
Keep informed - 6/20/26 matters for Catholics:
Snippets: EWTN News, aciafrica, & Word on Fire
EWTN News
EWTN’s top headlines — June 20, 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.
Powerful moments of faith at the 2026 FIFA World Cup - By Francesca Pollio Fenton - Despite only being a little over a week into the soccer tournament, the name of Jesus has already been made known many times by several of the athletes and teams as they compete on this global stage.
Funding cuts force Catholic charity to scale back Rohingya aid in Bangladesh - By Stephan Uttom Rozario - “We only received 60% of the funds we planned for this fiscal year; we didnʼt get the remaining 40%,” said Liton Luis Gomes, project director of Caritas in Bangladesh. “Thatʼs why we had to reduce the quantity while maintaining the quality of our services.”
‘I’m just a guy from Nebraska,’ said the new Archbishop for Denver - By Francesca Pollio Fenton - “I had been in [Colorado] Springs for four and a half years as a bishop, and I know many other bishops more qualified than I am, who have served longer than I have. So, I thought I was safe, if you will,” said Archbishop James Golka.
aciafrica
aciafrica’s top headlines — June 20, 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.
123,000 Sign Petition Urging FIFA to Remove “LGBT Pride Match” Designation from Egypt-Iran World Cup Fixture - Jun 20, 2026 - By ACI Africa Staff - Nearly 123,000 people have signed a petition urging FIFA and the Seattle FIFA World Cup 2026 Organizing Committee to remove the “LGBT Pride Match” designation from the upcoming World Cup
Christian Group Backs Quest for Release of Leah Sharibu Eight Years after Nigerian Teen’s Abduction - Jun 19, 2026 - By Silas Isenjia - Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), a UK-based human rights organization, has pledged solidarity with the parents of Leah Sharibu, the only student still in captivity following the 2018 Dapchi schoolgirls' abduction in Nigeria.
Investigations Launched into Misuse of Catholic Women’s National Uniform in Nigeria - Jun 19, 2026 - By Jude Atemanke - The President of the Catholic Women Organization of Nigeria (CWON) has condemned the use of the organization’s National Uniform at a private social event, describing the act as a desecration of a sacred symbol that represents the identity, dignity, and spiritual heritage of Catholic women across the country.
Word on Fire
Fresh insights from the Word on Fire Institute - June 20, 2026
Word on Fire reaches millions every year by effectively sharing the Gospel via podcasts, videos, books, articles, Scripture studies, and Gospel meditations.
‘Rerum Novarum’ Inspired Jules Rimet to Create the World Cup - Johanna Duncan - June 19, 2026 - The history of the World Cup starts in 1891, in Theuley in eastern France, so small it currently has a population of 105. At the ripe age of seventeen, Jules Rimet, the son of a grocer raised by devout Catholic grandparents, read Pope Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum when it was still warm off the press.
Down Syndrome woman starts ministry called Coffee by Cathryn - Fr. Daniel Hennessey was interested in creating a disability ministry at their church. Cathryn’s mother said, “After a lot of prayer, we built a cart and collaborated with a dear friend and her son JJ to provide the coffee.” She said, “They all loved the idea, but no amount of talking could effectively describe the reception we received. Joy, all God.”
Is There a Theology of America? - Dr. Larry P. Arnn - June 17, 2026 - At the heart of the American Revolution is a simple principle, stated in many places. The first is the Declaration of Independence, which defines our nation's final cause. The second is in the Federalist Papers, which explains the meaning and purpose of the Constitution of the United States.
June 20, 2026 - USCCB Daily Mass Readings
You can listen HERE — or read HERE:
Saturday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
Today’s Catholic commentary:
George Weigel
The SSPX leadership contradicts itself & the Church’s teachings
By George Weigel, June 17, 2026
The Holy See has declared that, if the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) proceeds with the ordination of bishops in July without a papal mandate, those involved in these illicit ordinations are automatically (latae sententiae) excommunicated — that is, excommunicated by their own acts. One may, indeed, one should hope that it does not come to that. But even if the SSPX hits the brakes at the last moment and doesn’t commit to formal schismatic acts, the grave problem posed by the SSPX will persist. Ironically, the SSPX Declaration affirms that “the denial of even a single truth of the Faith destroys faith itself and renders radically impossible all communion with the Catholic Church.” Yet that is precisely what the SSPX does in declaring God’s promises to the Jewish people “definitively null and void” and by giving the most extreme possible interpretation to extra ecclesiam nulla salus. The SSPX thus contradicts the teachings of giants such as St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas.
First Things
The Iran failure we needed
By R. R. Reno, June 19, 2025
Count me among those grateful that President Trump struck a deal with the Iranian regime. Recent months provided powerful evidence that, for military, economic, and political reasons, American and Israeli forces cannot dislodge the Iranian regime. Pragmatic reason dictates a reality that must be acknowledged. Moral reason urges leaders to find a way to end the conflict, for one of the central ambitions of just war doctrine is to prevent pointless war-making. I commend Trump for recognizing reality and pressing for a deal. The entire world now knows that American military power cannot (or will not) secure the free flow of oil in the Middle East. This will have a significant effect over time. The geopolitical importance of the Middle East will thus decline—a good outcome for everyone, it seems to me, especially Americans, who have been required to invest a great deal of blood and treasure in that region. The realignments will be complex, fluid, and unstable, but they foretell a future in which the U.S. is not tasked with providing security for the region.
The Catholic Thing
Jesus and life at the bottom
By Auguste Meyrat, June 20, 2026
Among the greatest challenges that Jesus poses to His disciples are His prescriptions on wealth. On the one hand, Jesus extolls poverty. He begins the Beatitudes with the declaration, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Elsewhere in the Gospels, He tells a rich man to give away all his possessions since “it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” Jesus also acknowledges the need for productivity, especially in the parable of the talents, where the third servant is punished for not generating a profit with the one talent with which the master had invested him. Unfortunately, instead of maintaining this balance, Catholic progressives (among others) now idolize the poor and condemn wealth. They, therefore, ignore the actual causes of poverty (social and political dysfunction, lack of education, indolence, addiction and vice, etc.) and focus their ire on the ultrawealthy and capitalism because this fits a false political “narrative.”
The Uncensored Catholic
We were told self-actualization mattered the most
By Judson Carroll, June 20, 2026
The promises of feminism and secularism have failed. Generations of women were told that if they went to college and focused on their careers, this would be the key to happiness and security. They were told that they did not need a husband and that children were merely a burden. Marriage and the family have been completely devalued. Institutions, such as the Church, that teach traditional moral values and uphold the importance of family life have been demonized. Women and men have both been taught to view monogamy as a prison. We were told that self-actualization was what mattered most – follow your dreams, if it feels good, do it, all morality is subjective. Homosexuality, divorce, promiscuity, and abortion have been celebrated in our culture for at least 60 years. The result, as I have mentioned before, is record levels of anxiety, depression, drug addiction, and suicide.
Image of Coconut by Celio Nicoli from Pixabay
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