Catholic Nutshell News: Saturday 7/5/25
Topics include: Protect Catholics from online scams; World’s highest IQ says 'Jesus Christ is God’; If Jesus could not sin, was he human?; & Race to exploit Africa's resources
“We see through new tender verdant pecan leaves”
Today's news sources are Aleteia, CRUX, Catholic News Agency, National Catholic Register, Aleteia, First Things, and The Catholic Thing. (Catholic Nutshell is a subscription service for faithful, hopeful, & curious Catholics willing to exercise their Catholic News Muscle)
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National Catholic Register
DC Social Collective is a growing young-adult community
By Andrew Likoudis, July 5, 2025
DC Social Collective (DSC) burst onto Washington, DC’s social calendar in 2021 as founder Christopher Byrne’s COVID-era bid “to restore and rebuild the young-adult community that was lost to the pandemic,” according to its website. Event planner and coordination affiliate Margaret Saint Clair frames the mission in theological terms: “DSC’s foundation is the Thomistic concept that leisure, when rightly ordered, is necessary and even virtuous. When young adults attend a DSC event, they experience a unique theme with live music, dance lessons and other activities that welcome fresh faces and regular attendees alike.” Although DSC is unaffiliated, formally and intentionally, with any parish or the Church. Its Catholic roots are evident through its emphasis on friendship and community, as well as nods to classical Christian culture.
Catholic News Agency
Campaign launched to protect Catholics from online scams
By Francesca Pollio Fenton, July 5, 2025
As more Catholic parishes and notable Catholic figures become the targets of scammers, a new initiative has been launched to help Catholics spot a scam and avoid becoming victims. Theresa Payton, CEO of Fortalice Solutions and former White House Chief Information Officer, is spearheading the initiative, called “Protecting the Faithful.” The campaign is being actively rolled out in parishes across the country through bulletin announcements and the distribution of infographics, videos, and guides highlighting the red flags of a scam. Many of these scams come in the form of emails sent to parishioners that appear to be from their pastor, requesting donations to parish charities or ministries. Scammers are also targeting the fans of notable Catholic figures.
Agenzia Fides
100th anniversary of the 1925 Korean martyrs’ beatification
By Agenzia Fides, July 1, 2025
79 Catholics were killed "in odium fidei" for their faith during the persecutions of Gihae (1839) and Byeong-o (1846). Until 1895, when religious freedom was granted to Catholics in Korea, the Korean Church estimates that approximately 16,000 Catholics were killed. To commemorate this event, the Committee for Honoring the Martyrs of the Archdiocese of Seoul organized a series of events, beginning with a Eucharistic celebration on July 5. 41 of the 79 martyrs beatified in the Vatican on July 5, 1925. Mass is held at the Shrine of the Martyrs of Seosomun, the church built on the site where executions were carried out during the Joseon Dynasty, which is considered "the greatest place of martyrdom in the Korean Church."
Aleteia
Man with world’s highest IQ: ‘Jesus Christ is God’
By Kathleen N. Hattrup/I.Media, July 5, 2025
When the man reputed to have the highest IQ in the world speaks, people listen. Dr. Young-Hoon Kim, officially recognized for having a record-breaking IQ of 276, took to social media to proclaim his Christian faith. In the early hours of June 18, the 36-year-old South Korean scientist posted a simple yet profound message to his X (Twitter) profile: “As the world’s highest IQ record holder, I believe that Jesus Christ is God, the way and the truth and the life.” The post instantly went viral, racking up over 22 million views within days and drawing hundreds of thousands of reactions. In a follow-up post, the genius-turned-evangelist wrote that he “will use this opportunity to lead many souls to God” as shared by Church Times. He then punctuated that intent with a short exclamation of trust: “Amen. Christ is my logic.”
Related: IQ record-holder: Only Christianity has the answers, Christian Times, by Rebecca Paveley, 27 June 2025
Our Sunday Visitor
Could Jesus sin? If not, was he truly human and free?
By Jenna Marie Cooper, June 21, 2025
We believe that Jesus is truly and fully God, the second Person of the Trinity, the “Word” who was “in the beginning with God” (Jn 1:1-2). We also believe that Jesus is, at the same time, truly and fully human; he is the Word which “became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (Jn 1:14). We know from the Gospels that Jesus was subject to temptation. The most notable example of this is the story of Jesus’ temptation in the desert, where he fasted for 40 days before beginning his public ministry. Mt 4:1-11 and Lk 4:1-13 give us a narrative where the devil appears. The Gospels do not tell us what exactly was going on in Jesus’ mind and heart at the time of this trial. Still, the Catholic Church reminds us: “Everything that Christ is and does in this [human] nature derives from one of the Trinity…In his soul as in his body, Christ thus expresses humanly the divine ways of the Trinity” (CCC, No. 470).
CRUX
Race to exploit Africa’s resources is the origin of armed conflict
By Ngala Killian Chimtom, July 5, 2025
As armed groups continue to wreak havoc across Africa, a leading African Catholic, Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo, the Bishop of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), blamed the scourge on the race to exploit Africa’s mineral resources. “… on behalf of the Churches on the African continent, a land rich in biodiversity, minerals and cultures, but impoverished by centuries of extractivism, slavery and exploitation,” the Congolese cardinal said. Ambongo’s home country exemplifies the nexus between mineral extraction and war. “Africa is not a poor continent, it is a plundered continent.” Countries established ‘REDD+’ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) to protect forests as part of the Paris Agreement. Nigerian Catholic climate activist Linda Uwaka dismissed REDD as a false solution, putting price tags on forests and denying traditional custodians access to resources.
The PILLAR
Bishop Umbers steps aside, while denying abuse claim
By The Pillar, July 4, 2025
The Archdiocese of Sydney said July 1 that it had received notice of a civil claim of historical abuse, with auxiliary Bishop Richard Umber identified as the claim’s subject. “Bishop Umbers emphatically denies the allegation,” the archdiocese said, adding it had notified the authorities about the complaint. Bishop Umbers has agreed to stand aside from public ministry while this allegation is investigated,” the archdiocese said. Umbers, a member of Opus Dei who was appointed as a Sydney auxiliary bishop in 2016, is known throughout the English-speaking world for his online presence, which has earned the 54-year-old the nickname “the meme bishop.”
VOX
Heart attacks aren’t as fatal as they used to be
By Bryan Walsh, July 5, 2013
A sudden cardiac death is the disease equivalent of homicide or a car crash death. It meant someone’s father or husband, wife, or mother was suddenly ripped away without warning. Today, that risk is much less. According to a recent study in the Journal of the American Heart Association, the proportion of all deaths attributable to heart attacks plummeted by nearly 90 percent between 1970 and 2022. Over the same period, heart disease as a cause of all adult deaths in the US fell from 41% to 24%. Today, if a man over 65 is hospitalized with a heart attack, he has a 90% chance of leaving the hospital alive. The reduction in smoking has helped lower the number of Americans at risk of a heart attack, as has the development and spread in the 1980s of statins. Still, around 700,000 Americans die of all forms of heart disease every year, equivalent to 1 in 5 deaths overall.
From CNA & Big Pulpit to Satire for 7/5/25
Catholic News Agency
CNA’s top headlines — July 5, 2025
The Catholic News Agency provides reliable, free, and up-to-the-minute news affecting the Universal Church, emphasizing the words of the Holy Father and the happenings of the Holy See to anyone with internet access.
Pope Leo XIV moves to the ‘second Vatican City,’ Castel Gandolfo - Jul 5, 2025 - By Hannah Brockhaus - The pontiff will stay on the hilltop Vatican property “for a period of rest” from the afternoon of July 6 to the afternoon of July 20. Pope Francis converted the papal palace of Castel Gandolfo into a museum.
Armed robbers attack religious sisters’ home for girls in Mozambique - Jul 5, 2025 - By Sabrine Amboka -A report from Aid to the Church in Need describes the experience of an attack on the Mercedarian Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament (HMSS) in early June.
Nigerian bishop: Displaced families in need of spiritual and material help - Jul 5, 2025 - By Kristina Millare - Since his 2022 appointment, Bishop Mark Maigida Nzukwein has seen the destruction of at least 325 Catholic places of worship.
The Big Pulpit
Tito Edwards Catholic blogger site: July 5, 2025
The Big Pulpit website is an intelligent news aggregator offering quality insight & analysis on the Catholic Church worldwide. Here are Chief Editor Tito Edward’s top recommendations for today.
ThPope Leo XIV & the Leaked Documents on TLM Crackdown Heating Up! – Joe McClane at ACT
Zanchetta & Rupnik: Signs of Change Under New Pontificate – Nico Spuntoni at New Daily. . .
In Lebanon, Walk Thru a Christian Village, Then Walk Thru a Muslim One. . . – Dan Burmawi
1776 Condemned Catholic Culture – The Meaning of Catholic
Babylon Bee’s Satire News
Planned Parenthood Warns Funding Cut Will Result In Birth Of Thousands Of Babies
By U.S. Staff, July 4, 2024
Following the passing of President Donald Trump's historic "Big Beautiful Bill" to set the government's spending budget, Planned Parenthood warned that the massive funding cut would result in the birth of thousands of babies. The abortion provider issues a solemn public statement on Friday, letting Americans across the country know that the crippling reduction in government funding would likely cause a chain reaction that would lead to thousands upon thousand of healthy, adorable babies being born into the world. "It's important to let everyone know what's going to come from this," said Planned Parenthood spokesperson Jeannie Raye. "We were hoping to avoid this outcome, but we regret to inform the American people that this cut in funding, in all likelihood, will result in large numbers of babies being born instead of murdered. It's a horrifying realization for all of us here."
Nutshell reflections for 7/5/25:
USCCB Daily Reflection - AUDIO - July 5, 2025
Saturday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
What We Need Now
Pope Benedict’s time-bomb: The Spirit of the Liturgy
By Joseph Pearce, April 22, 2025
If there’s one thing worth celebrating this year, it’s the twenty-fifth anniversary of the publication of The Spirit of the Liturgy, Cardinal Ratzinger’s great gift to the Church. Published five years before he became pope, Ratzinger’s seminal work of liturgical scholarship might yet prove to be his greatest and most enduring legacy. Its publication heralded the beginning of the restoration of the splendor of the liturgy. It stemmed the tide of the liturgical vandalism of the post-conciliar period, which had seen the dumbing-down of the liturgy to the lowest common denominator of crass vulgarity. “It is strange,” Ratzinger observed, “that the post-conciliar pluralism has created uniformity in one respect at least: it will not tolerate a high standard of expression.” One is reminded of Chesterton’s prophecy more than fifty years earlier that the “coming peril” was “standardization by a low standard.”
The Catholic Thing
Jesus as shepherd and the office of Peter
By Dominic V. Cassella, July 5, 2025
John 21, that “Jesus is the Good Shepherd,” is arguably the central thematic statement of the Gospel. And, you get an epilogue where Jesus makes Peter his Vicar and Shepherd of His Church. The Church Fathers often saw something significant in Jesus' selection of Peter in the final chapter of the Gospel of John. From John Chrysostom, Augustine, and Jerome to Theophylact of Bulgaria and Thomas Aquinas, those who comment on this Gospel see in Christ’s command to Peter to “Feed my Sheep” and “Follow me” a reaffirmation (or even reinstitution) of primacy. In the election of Leo XIV, we would do well to remind ourselves and consider deeply the foundations and implications of the Chair of St. Peter, that the pope is to be the Shepherd of Christ who feeds His sheep.
Bishop Barron
The new wine will shred the old wineskin of the demon
By Bishop Robert Barron, July 5, 2025
Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus gives us the parable of new wine and old and new wineskins. The new wine is the Good News, the Incarnation, the reconciliation of the divine and the human. But this powerful elixir cannot be contained in the receptacles of the old consciousness. As long as the ego reigns in the soul, the new wine will prove too strange, too foreign, too threatening—and it will be accordingly rejected. We should examine the stories of Jesus’ confrontations with the demons from this perspective. The demon within us realizes that he is the old wineskin that the inpouring of the new wine will shred, and he consequently reacts in horror. It is a helpful spiritual exercise to isolate those passages from the New Testament, those sayings and actions of Jesus, that make us most uncomfortable, since they will most effectively indicate how our souls have to be transfigured.
First Things
Can progressives get behind parental rights for all?
By Robert P. George, July 3, 2025
Imagine local progressive parents suing the school district, arguing that the curriculum is unconstitutional because it represents “indoctrination into Christian morality.” Even if the curriculum is not unconstitutional, the district’s decision to prohibit opt-outs violates parental rights over their children. Anyone who affirms the natural right of parents to direct the upbringing and education of their children concludes that the parents’ fundamental rights over their children subsist even in situations in which we strongly disagree with the content of what a parent is teaching a child. In a similar vein, committed social conservatives (Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and any other faith or system of belief) had significant normatively derived objections to the overtly ideological pro-LGBTQ curriculum that the public school district of Montgomery County, Maryland, attempted to impose on students. Mercifully, the U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled in the parents’ favor.
Image of Pecans by tseiu from Pixabay
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