Catholic Nutshell News: Saturday 8/16/25
Topics include: Cash aid to single mothers fails; Catholic law grads outpace secular peers; Deacons’ wives on being married to clergy; & Mary’s assumption scientifically credible
“We see through new tender verdant pecan leaves”
Today's news sources are Aleteia, CRUX, Catholic News Agency, National Catholic Register, 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
Cash aid to single mothers fails to improve child outcomes
By Gia Chacón, August 14, 2025
Artificial intelligence is giving governments and hostile actors the ability to identify, monitor, and silence Christians in ways that are quieter, faster, and harder to expose. What once required vast manpower can now be done instantly, at scale and with precision that human surveillance could never match. In China, authorities have installed cameras at the entrances of churches and, in some cases, inside sanctuaries. These cameras are tied to facial recognition systems that can identify worshippers and feed that information into state databases. Iran’s methods look different but rest on the same principle: total visibility. Drones, fixed cameras, and facial recognition software scan public spaces, with images tied to government records. Between June 2023 and May 2024, governments in at least 41 countries blocked websites that hosted political, social, or religious content. When algorithms automatically remove sermons, throttle livestreams, or hide faith-based content, the result is the same as locking church doors.
Catholic News Agency
Catholic law grads outpace secular peers
By Tessa Gervasini, August 15, 2025
A new study commissioned by the St. Mary’s University School of Law and conducted by YouGov found that 2025 graduates of Catholic law schools are not only more focused on ethics, service, and community, but they are also more likely to be practicing law than graduates of secular institutions. The report revealed that graduates of Catholic institutions highly prioritize their career outcomes and professional commitments. It found that 14% more Catholic law school students who graduated this year are currently practicing law than graduates of secular institutions. Also, 13% more Catholic law graduates said their career aligns with their values. Surveyed Catholic law school graduates were four times more likely to have held an elected community role and twice as likely to have tutored youth or community members, coached youth sports, or served on bar committees.
Agenzia Fides
Indigenous Pastoral Week 2025, 100 years after ‘Dule Revolution’
By Laura Gómez Ruiz, August 12, 2025
From August 3 to 10, 2025, the Archdiocese of Panama celebrated Indigenous Pastoral Week under the motto "Rights must be defended." This edition commemorated the centenary of the 1925 Dule Revolution, a historic event that marked the Guna people's resistance to cultural and political imposition, and which today has become a symbol of the struggles of all the country's Indigenous peoples. Father Jorge Sarsaneda, head of Indigenous Pastoral Care, points out in the statement issued by the Archdiocese that one of the main obstacles to supporting these peoples is the lack of accurate data on the number of Indigenous people living in the Archdiocese's territory and their locations. "It is estimated that between 80,000 and 100,000 Indigenous people reside between the provinces of Panama and Panama Oeste.”
Aleteia
Deacons’ wives tell us what it’s like to be married to clergy
By Caitlin Bootsma, July 14, 2015
Not all permanent deacons are married, but when they are, their wives are often deeply impacted by their husbands’ vocation. In May, CARA released “A Portrait of the Permanent Diaconate in 2024,” and its pages gave an insight into the involvement of deacons’ wives. A married man who answers the call to become a permanent deacon now has a dual vocation - to serve his family and to serve the Church. His wife, of course, is not ordained, but is sacramentally connected to her husband. When asked if her husband’s vocation was somehow hers as well, Joni Seith gave an enthusiastic, “Yes, absolutely!” “As a married couple is 'one,'" she explained, “so too is their service to the Body of Christ.” Seventy-six percent of dioceses offer formation opportunities to the wives of men in formation for the permanent diaconate, according to the recent CARA report. Many say that studying alongside their husbands has made a difference.
Our Sunday Visitor
Mary’s assumption makes scientific sense
By Elizabeth Scalia, August 15, 2025
In my anatomy and physiology classes, I learned about how “wonderfully and fearfully” we are made — what with blood cells forming and fading, and bones and tissue becoming oxygenated and cleansed via blood and breath. Nothing presented in the class coaxed an audible reaction from me until we studied the process of microchimerism. It so profoundly explains and justifies our dogma that it should be included in our Mariological catechesis, where people can both appreciate a demonstration of how science and religion can complement and complete each other, and marvel in awestruck wonder that our church had reasoned out this reality long ago, and without the aid of microscopes. Microchimerism is the process by which a smattering of cells lives within a host body but is entirely distinct from it. In human fetomaternal microchimerism (or “fetal cell microchimerism”), every child leaves within his mother a microscopic bit of himself — every pregnancy, whether it is carried to term or not, leaves a small amount of its cells within the body of the mother — and those cells remain within her forever.
CRUX
Trial against Catholic media tycoon in Hong Kong delayed again
By Christopher R. Altieri, August 16, 2025
The trial of a democracy activist in Hong Kong on charges of collusion with foreigners and seditious activity was delayed – again – on Friday, due to concerns over the defendant’s health. The defendant is 77-year-old Jimmy Lai, a Cantonese native who reached Hong Kong as a stowaway and began working in a garment factory before rising through the ranks, becoming a manager, and then buying his own factory before pivoting to newspaper and magazine publishing. Lai’s rags-to-riches story and principled stand for press freedom are not the only things that make him a compelling figure. He is also a practicing Catholic who holds a British passport, and is the only one of seven senior officers at Lai’s now defunct Apple Daily newspaper holding out on charges they conspired with foreign forces to threaten Chinese national security.
The PILLAR
Why is a Hindu group targeting Indian Catholics?
By Jack Figge, August 8, 2025
Two recent incidents that sparked fear and outrage among India’s Catholics have something in common, despite surface differences. In the first, two nuns were arrested on July 25 on highly questionable charges of human trafficking and religious conversion after a hostile mob at a railway station in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh surrounded them. In the second, two priests, two nuns, and a catechist were attacked Aug. 6 by a mob in the eastern state of Odisha amid spurious claims that they were seeking converts. The common element? The mob in both cases reportedly comprised members of a Hindu group known as the Bajrang Dal. Around 80% of India’s roughly 1.4 billion population are adherents of Hinduism, which is regarded as the world’s oldest major religion. An Indian activist called Vinayak Damodar Savarkar wrote a book in 1923, “Essentials of Hindutva,” where he suggested that Muslims and Christians — respectively India’s largest and second-largest religious minorities — could not be integrated into the Hindu nation unless they embraced India as their holy land, ahead of Mecca and Jerusalem.
CatholicVote
Texas dad sues out-of-state doctor for abortions of his 2 children
By Hannah Hiester, August 15, 2025
Jerry Rodriguez from Texas is suing Dr. Remy Coeytaux, a California doctor, claiming that the doctor mailed abortion pills to his girlfriend, violated state and federal law, and caused the wrongful death of his two unborn children. The complaint alleges that Rodriguez’s girlfriend became pregnant with his child in July 2024 and planned to keep the baby. Her estranged husband, from whom she had legally separated but not yet divorced, wanted her to abort the baby and ordered abortion drugs from Coeytaux in September. She was more than 10 weeks pregnant at the time. The Food and Drug Administration has approved the abortion drugs mifepristone and misoprostol for use within the first 10 weeks of a pregnancy. she proceeded with a medication abortion a second time at her husband’s house in January, even though she was nearly three months pregnant. The woman is now pregnant for the third time, but the complaint states that Rodriguez fears she will be pressured to have an abortion once more.
From CNA & Loopt & ChurchPop for 8/16/25
Catholic News Agency
CNA’s top headlines — August 16, 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’s first 100 days broke new ground - Aug 16, 2025 - By Courtney Mares - Leo XIV offered 16 large public Masses in just 14 weeks — an average of more than one per week — including seven Masses in June alone. The pace marks a significant shift.
Costco won’t sell abortion pill at pharmacy locations - Aug 15, 2025 - By Kate Quiñones - Costco won’t dispense the abortion pill mifepristone in its pharmacies following pressure from investors to refuse selling the drug in its stores. With more than 500 pharmacy locations, the retailer says the company hasn’t seen consumer demand for the pill.
San Diego Diocese offers prayerful accompaniment at immigration hearings - Aug 15, 2025 - By Tyler Arnold - A new initiative launched by the Catholic Diocese of San Diego and interfaith partners offers prayerful accompaniment for migrants,
CatholicVote: Daily LOOP
Read daily news and political impact stories at the “LOOP”
Elections and politics matter. The LOOP gives you daily gems on the news that seek “to renew our country and culture.” CatholicVote’s advertised mission is “To inspire every Catholic in America to live out the truths of our faith in public life.”
DC SUES TRUMP OVER FEDERAL TAKEOVER OF POLICE - Washington, DC's attorney general sued the Trump administration yesterday, arguing that Trump's federal takeover of the city's police force and deployment of national guard troops there illegally exceeds the president's authority.
HOW TO KEEP KIDS CATHOLIC - A new article from two university professors presents data-based advice about what parents can do to help their kids stay Catholic after they reach adulthood. “Both children and parents need to avoid getting enmeshed in secular culture,” the authors wrote. “Today that especially means handling smartphones and social media well."
VIRGINIA SCHOOL DISTRICTS REFUSE TO CHANGE BATHROOM POLICIES - Officials at some school districts in Virginia won’t change bathroom policies, defying the US Department of Education. The districts may now lose federal funding for violating Title IX provisions.
ChurchPOP Trending
ChurchPOP provides fun, informative, and authentically Catholic news and culture - August 16, 2025
Miss Universe Costa Rica Presents Our Lady with a Crown, Thanks God for Victory at Catholic Basilica - After being crowned Miss Universe Costa Rica, Mahyla Roth visited Our Lady of the Angels to fulfill a promise she made earlier this year.
Did Pope Leo XIV Sign a Pokémon Card? Apparently, yes - One user said, “Pretty unique and cool.” Another person joked, “So does that make it a Popémon card?” “This will be the most expensive Pokémon card to exist,” someone else said.
Why Was Mary 'Assumed' While Jesus 'Ascended'? The Answer Matters - When He went to Heaven, body and soul, at the end of His earthly life, He did so on His own power. Jesus himself was the active agent. Mary was taken there.
Nutshell reflections for 8/16/25:
USCCB Daily Reflection - AUDIO - August 9, 2025
Saturday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time
What We Need Now
Newman’s extraordinary range and brilliant insights
By Christopher Blum, August 12, 2025
Benedict XVI himself allowed that it is Newman’s “intellectual legacy that has understandably received most attention.” It is only fitting that his writings should continue to attract so much admiration, both for their extraordinary range and for their many brilliant insights. In the period after the French Revolution, the Church has seen many bright lights cross its horizon: storytellers like Georges Bernanos and Sigrid Undset, philosophers like Edith Stein and Alasdair MacIntyre, theologians like Joseph Ratzinger and Charles Journet, and so many others. Few if any ecclesiastical writers, however, have gained such a loyal following as Newman. On the subject of his extraordinary literary gifts, we can let G. K. Chesterton speak for us all: “A magic that is like a sort of musical accompaniment changes and heightens the most prosaic fragments of personal biography or scholastic explanation.”
The Catholic Thing
The Assumption points toward the resurrection of the dead
By Rev. Peter M.J. Stravinskas, August 15, 2025
This has both a Christological and an ecclesiological dimension. Mary’s reward is in virtue of her divine maternity. It likewise points toward the resurrection of the dead, which is the hope of the whole Church. Mary’s privileges are promises. What God has done for her, He is willing to do for all members of His Son’s Church. Mary’s experience is unique only from the temporal point of view. The experience of salvation (her Immaculate Conception) and the experience of resurrection (her Assumption) are possible for all believers. The difference is that her possession of these gifts is present and real, while ours is in the future. In the Risen Christ and the Assumed Virgin, both bodily present in Heaven, we behold the fullness of redeemed humanity. Male and female, the New Adam and the New Eve, stand as signs of hope for us all.
Bishop Barron
A child is not looking at himself
By Bishop Robert Barron, August 16, 2025
Mind you, Jesus’ call for childlikeness has nothing to do with being unsophisticated, unaccomplished, or childish. Thomas Aquinas was one of the most accomplished men ever to live, the greatest intellectual in the history of the Church. Yet the terms that were used over and over to describe him were “childlike” and “innocent.” “Kids say the darndest things” because they don’t know how to hide the truth of their reactions. In this, they are like stars or flowers or animals, things that are what they are, unambiguously, uncomplicatedly. They are in accord with God’s deepest intentions for them. To say it another way, they haven’t yet learned how to look at themselves. Why can a child immerse himself so eagerly and thoroughly in what he is doing? Why can he find joy in the simplest things, like pushing a train around a track, watching a video over and over, or kicking a ball around? Because he can lose himself; because he is not looking at himself, not conscious of other people’s reactions, expectations, and approval.
First Things
There is no cure for stupid
By Carl R. Trueman, August 14, 2025
The Church in Wales provided yet more evidence of the self-inflicted nature of the irrelevance of mainline Christianity. It announced that their new archbishop would be Cherry Vann, the first woman, indeed the first woman in a same-sex relationship, to hold the position. No doubt her appointment will be seen as making the church more inclusive. The irony is that the more inclusive the church is in theory, the fewer people it includes in real life. Vann stated just a year ago that congregations of the Church in Wales “have few if any members under 60: the life of the Church doesn’t look sustainable beyond a decade or so.” The idea that churches can attract congregants by conforming their life and message to the political tastes of the day has failed. And yet church leaders press on with the dissolution of Christian distinctives in the apparent hope that capitulating to just one more aspect of cultural taste will reverse the decline. There is no cure for stupid, as the saying goes.
Image of Pecans by tseiu from Pixabay
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