Catholic Nutshell News: Saturday 7/11/26
Catholics should know: 'lift restrictions' on Traditional Latin Mass; Housing bill becomes law; Young adults bucking secular trend; & Accelerated ‘old age’ in Russia
“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
‘Time is ripe’ to lift restrictions on Traditional Latin Mass
By Edward Pentin, July 8, 2026
Pope Benedict XVI’s longtime personal secretary has said now may be the opportune moment for Pope Leo XIV to lift restrictions on the traditional Roman rite. Former head of the papal household, Archbishop Georg Gänswein, told Nico Spuntoni of the Italian daily Il Giornale on July 7 that he had “read with interest” the appeal of Il Giornale’s director to abolish restrictions on the pre-reformed rite that Pope Francis instituted in 2021 with his papal decree Traditionis Custodes, adding that he hoped for a “decision in this direction.” Now serving as apostolic nuncio to the Baltic States, Archbishop Gänswein recalled witnessing Benedict XVI’s “pain in his heart” upon reading the text of his successor’s decree. “I believe this is the kairos [opportune moment],” he said, “to lift those restrictions and move beyond the setback represented by that text.” The interview coincided with the 19th anniversary of Benedict’s 2007 motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, which liberalized the use of the pre-1970 Roman rite.
Related: Philippine diocese eyes more Latin Masses after SSPX excommunication, By Paterno R. Esmaquel II, CRUX, July 11, 2026
EWTN News
Housing bill to become law amid drop in homelessness
By Madalaine Elhabbal, July 10, 2026
A long‑negotiated housing bill became law without President Donald Trump’s signature, ending months of debate. Congress sent the measure to the president’s desk on June 29, and he refused to sign it to leverage lawmakers to address restrictions on voter identification and mail-in ballots. Without a veto, the measure becomes law 10 days later, excluding Sundays. The legislative push comes as federal data shows homelessness has begun to fall nationwide. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) reports 745,652 people were homeless in the U.S. in 2025, including 266,320 people living on the street on a single night in January 2025. The number of homeless people in the U.S. has increased by 27% since 2013, and decreased by 3% from 2024 to 2025. The Catholic Church recognizes housing is a basic human right that must be available to all persons so that they may lead a life that reflects their God-given dignity, U.S. bishops said.
Aleteia
Bible verses for when your child doesn’t return your calls, texts
By Cerith Gardiner, July 11, 2026
For parents with teens and adult children, save this article for those all-too-common times when you're lying in bed stressed!
Psalm 121:3-4 “He will not allow your foot to slip; or your guardian to sleep. Behold, the guardian of Israel never slumbers nor sleeps.”
Philippians 4:6-7 “Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God.
Isaiah 41:10 “Do not fear: I am with you; do not be anxious: I am your God.”
1 Peter 5:7 “Cast all your worries upon him because he cares for you.”
Proverbs 3:5-6 - “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, on your own intelligence do not rely; in all your ways be mindful of him, and he will make straight your paths.”
The Pillar
Catalonia poll: Young adults are bucking secular trend
By Luke Coppen, July 10, 2026
Young people aged 18 to 24 in the Spanish region of Catalonia are more likely to identify as Catholics than those aged 25 to 34, according to new research by a government public opinion research agency. The Center for Opinion Studies, which conducts polls on behalf of the Government of Catalonia, found that 40.9% of surveyed residents aged 18 to 24 identified as Catholic, compared to only 34.6% of those aged 25 to 34. Catalonia, which has a population of 8 million people and is roughly the size of the U.S. state of Maryland, is one of Spain’s 17 autonomous communities. It is located in the northeastern part of the country, next to Spain’s border with France. One reason it is considered a more secular region is that Catalonia strongly opposed General Francisco Franco, who ruled Spain from 1939 until his death in 1975 and was closely identified with the Catholic Church.
OSV News
Jesuits to consolidate 5 novitiates into 2 - Detroit & Culver City
By Daniel Meloy, July 10, 2026
The Society of Jesus — commonly known as the Jesuits — in the United States and Canada will bring together its five current novitiates, spread across the continent, into two new novitiates starting in 2028, with one of the new novitiates to be located in Detroit. The Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States, which includes five Jesuit provinces in North America, announced the change in a letter sent July 9 to members of the religious community. According to the letter, which was signed by the leaders of the five North American provinces, the Detroit-based novitiate will be located at Lansing-Reilly Hall, the Jesuit residence on the campus of the University of Detroit Mercy. The other novitiate will be based in Culver City, California, at the current location of the Jesuits’ West province novitiate — the Novitiate of the Three Companions.
Zeale
Hochul accused of anti-Catholic bigotry in nuns case
By Elise Winland, July 10, 2026
Republican New York gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman accused Gov. Kathy Hochul of anti-Catholic bigotry for supporting a state law that Dominican nuns say would force them to violate their religious beliefs or risk penalties threatening their ministry to terminally ill cancer patients. “Forcing these sisters to destroy the privacy of dying women by putting biological men in their rooms is sick, un-American, and a total war on common sense.” The Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne operate Rosary Hill Home, a 42-bed residential hospice and nursing facility in Hawthorne, New York, that provides free care to poor patients with incurable cancer. The order filed a federal lawsuit on April 6 seeking an exemption from New York’s LGBTQ Long-Term Care Facility Residents’ Bill of Rights, which requires long-term care facilities to use patients’ preferred pronouns and assign rooms and allow restroom access based on residents’ “gender identities.”
PME AsiaNews
Accelerated ‘old age’ in Russia due to stress of war
By Stefano Caprio, July 11, 2026
Psychologist Kira Merkun states on Radio Svoboda that war is accelerating old age. Despite the quest for eternal youth proclaimed in the 2000s, Russian citizens have been considerably worn down during the “special military operation,” abandoning their youthful protest. Another scholar cited by Merkun, the Soviet professor Vladimir Frolkis — a world-renowned gerontologist and member of the New York Academy of Sciences, who spent his entire life in Kyiv — believed that aging was a slow death caused by stress. Aging and stress have similar mechanisms and consequences, a phenomenon known as the “stress-aging syndrome.” The imposed expectation of the end of the world and the certainty of going to heaven, instigated on several occasions by Vladimir Putin, is transforming the lives of Russian workers on the home front into a state of accelerated aging, with psychological symptoms including pessimism, depression, anxiety, and social phobia, as well as hair loss, tooth loss, and a decline in intelligence and memory.
CRUX
‘Convert, pay a tax, or die’: Nigerian Christians forced into Islam
By Ngala Killian Chimtom, July 9, 2026
The statistics are chilling. In just 180 days this year, one report says at least 2,550 Christians were killed in Nigeria. The 2026 mid-year report by the International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law, Intersociety, published July 2, also documents 2,800 cases of abductions, the destruction of 300 churches, and the forced conversion of 800 Christians to Islam. The Director of Intersociety and Nigeria’s top tracker of Christian persecution, Emeka Umeagbalasi, agrees with an earlier study by the Observatory for Religious Freedom in Africa, which finds that while the international community’s gaze remains fixed on Boko Haram, the primary engine of religious violence in Nigeria is actually a highly coordinated network of Fulani militias. Speaking to Crux Now, Umeagbalasi argues that the killing of Christians is not a mere failure of security, but a state-sponsored enterprise of mala in se crimes—acts universally recognized as inherently evil.
Related: Forcing Religious Conversion by Pain of Death or Torture - By Major Dan - History and Headlines - July 29, 2025
Keep informed - 7/11/26 matters for Catholics:
Snippets: EWTN News, aciafrica, & Word on Fire
EWTN News
EWTN’s top headlines — July 11, 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.
Catholic Church in Colombia calls for respecting presidential election results - By Eduardo Berdejo - With Abelardo de la Espriellaʼs very narrow victory and outgoing President Gustavo Petros' refusal to accept that result, alleging fraud, the Colombian bishops urged citizens to respect the outcome.
Irish bishops condemn burning of mosque replica at holiday festivities - By Madalaine Elhabbal - “The placement of a replica mosque atop a bonfire is grossly offensive and raises tensions so soon after the unrest that destroyed property and severely impacted the lives of individuals and families,” the archbishops said.
Czech court to weigh clearing cardinal jailed by communists - By Bohumil Petrík - A district court will weigh whether Cardinal Štěpán Trochta, imprisoned by the Nazis and later by the communists, was unlawfully interned in the 1950s.
aciafrica
aciafrica’s top headlines — July 11, 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.
Lay Faithful in Tanzania Cautioned against Placing “heavy burdens” on Priests - By Nicholas Waigwa - The Bishop of Tanzania’s Catholic Diocese of Geita has appealed to the lay faithful not to burden Priests with responsibilities that fall outside their pastoral ministry, urging them to allow the Clergy to focus on the mission for which they have been ordained.
Vatican Commission Seeks to Address Legal Loophole Facing Women Religious Suffering Abuse - By Victoria Cardiel - Consecrated women and women religious who have suffered abuse face a significant legal loophole: Canon law and specialized commissions focus primarily on minors and adults with disabilities, leaving these women outside their scope of protection.
Republic of the Congo President Engages DR Congo’s Cardinal Ambongo on Addressing Security Crisis - By Jude Atemanke - The Local Ordinary of Kinshasa Archdiocese, Fridolin Cardinal Ambongo, met President Sassou Nguesso amid heightened regional concern over the conflict in eastern DRC and growing political tensions surrounding proposals to amend the country's Constitution.
Word on Fire
Fresh insights from the Word on Fire Institute - July 11, 2026
Word on Fire reaches millions every year by effectively sharing the Gospel via podcasts, videos, books, articles, Scripture studies, and Gospel meditations.
We Crave Authentic Influencers - Nell O’Leary - If we can agree that online sharing remains both a staple in our digital diet and a pipeline for potential evangelization, then we can wield it in a deeper, more authentic way to influence the culture (or rather de-influence it, or influence it for the true, the good, and the beautiful).
The Unexpected Return of the American Nuns - Johanna Duncan - Like most extinct creatures, the number of nuns declined largely due to environmental factors, but the environment has changed. This post-pandemic world is seeking more of what religion and these sisters can provide, so now, suddenly and seemingly from nowhere, we are once again united around them.
Something Missing from High School Curricula - Jack Trent - There remains a subtle problem for public high school curricula that conservative states are missing. Sound philosophy is absent from public high school curricula without reason. As a result, a reductionistic pseudo-philosophy—usually history or psychology—takes philosophy’s place in the student’s mind.
July 11, 2026 - USCCB Daily Mass Readings
You can listen HERE — or read HERE:
Memorial of Saint Benedict, Abbot
Today’s Catholic commentary:
National Catholic Register
Sit quietly with Christ — Even on vacation
By Thomas Griffin July 11, 2026
Summer months are not merely for relaxation. They can serve as a perfect opportunity to grow closer to Christ and be more deeply united to Jesus. Taking time away from one’s routine schedule and from the chaotic nature of one’s career is healthy and necessary. However, we can be tempted to find rest through sleep and time on our phones rather than by clinging to God’s Presence. The truth of human nature is that we will not find rest until we rest in the heart of God. In order to achieve greater intimacy with the Lord, we must rely on making contact with him through Mass and the sacraments, as well as the sacred Scriptures, along with the words and witness of the saints.
First Things
Trump betrayed the pro-life movement
By Jonathon Van Maren, July 10, 2025
After the 2016 election, an extraordinary partnership between the Trump administration and the pro-life movement began, one that would culminate in the overturning of Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022. The administration acted on its priorities; in a first for a president, Trump even spoke in person at the 2020 March for Life. Pro-life leaders called Trump the “most pro-life president in American history,” a title he embraced with gusto. In 2024, Trump ordered the removal of a pivotal line from the GOP platform that had been there since 1984, effectively transitioning the GOP into a pro-choice party. He condemned pro-life protections in states like Florida as “too harsh” and “a terrible mistake,” and he made clear that he does not share the pro-life movement’s conviction that life begins at conception and that government has a responsibility to protect the unborn. Abortions have increased since Dobbs, as abortion pill distributors have effectively nullified pro-life laws in over a dozen states by shipping deadly drugs across state lines.
The European Conservative
Migrants win trafficking case in the UK
By TEC News, July 10, 2026
UK Labour Party’s “one in, one out” migration deal with France has been hit by a major setback after five migrants won a High Court challenge over their planned removals. The court heard claims that their deportations would be unlawful because they were victims of trafficking. The agreement allows people who arrive in the UK by small boat to be detained and sent back to France in exchange for an equal number of people who apply through legal routes. But the migrants’ lawyers argued that their rights could not be “sacrificed for the sake of expediency” and faster removals. A judge found that the government’s approach, after changes introduced by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, had a negative impact on some claimants and was unlawful in those cases. He said the fast-track process risked missing genuine trafficking victims because many arrivals were malnourished, sleep-deprived, and unable to present evidence properly.
The Catholic Thing
The ‘left brain’ is one of nature’s aspiring automatons
By David Warren, July 10, 2026
Author and neuroscientist Iain McGilchrist has established that the left brain provides a factitious, unimaginative, and naturally arrogant mental order, which was used by our swamp ancestors to identify “stuff”—specifically, food—by ruthlessly excluding all other objects in the environment. It is machine-like, especially in the sense of showing no curiosity and no remorse, except in the context of its limited function as a complement to right-brained thinking. But it is essential to humans and most other forms of life, and one can’t get rid of it without dying. But if one thinks nature and the human mind function like a machine, or in some other deterministic way, one already suffers from left-brained thought and is one of nature’s aspiring automatons. It remains the natural method of bureaucracy, of mechanical “progressive” advance, and of systems of censorship and blind power. Indeed, bureaucrats might be expressly defined as “persons we could do without,” just as they contrast with more intelligent forms of life.
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