Catholic Nutshell News: Thursday 11/13/25
Topics include: Catholic survey finds ‘cause for hope’; Myanmar military destorying churches; Diocesan bankruptcies pain lingers on; & ‘Newer New American Bible’ now the ‘Catholic American Bible’
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Today's sources include Aleteia, CNA, National Catholic Register, The Pillar, CatholicVote, John Eldredge, and ChurchPOP. (Catholic Nutshell is a subscription service for faithful, hopeful, & curious Catholics willing to exercise the Catholic News Muscle)
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Catholic News Agency
Recent Catholic survey finds ‘cause for hope’
By Amira Abuzeid, November 13, 2025
Although the Catholic Church in the U.S. has shrunk from 65 million to 50 million people in the more than two decades since the sexual abuse crisis and engagement is “at an all-time low,” the survey’s findings are cause for hope, the authors say. The Leadership Roundtable commissioned a polling firm to conduct a national survey of Catholics in the U.S. to inform Church leaders of both problems and strengths within the Catholic Church since the sexual abuse crisis came to national attention in 2002. The Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People was composed to address it. Nearly 80% of respondents reported trusting parish staff and volunteers to protect children, and 77% expressed trust in their pastor and other clergy. The Leadership Roundtable, founded in 2003 in the aftermath of the clergy sexual abuse crisis, is a nonprofit organization composed of clergy, laity, and religious
UCA News
Myanmar military is destroying hundreds of religious sites
By UCA News reporter, November 13, 2025
Myanmar’s military junta has damaged or destroyed hundreds of religious sites, including temples, churches, mosques, and monasteries, as well as social, educational, and health institutions over the past five years, according to a report. More than 200 religious institutions have been destroyed or looted since the start of the civil war in 2021, according to Vatican news agency Fides on Nov. 11, citing sources within Myanmar. “The main perpetrators of the destruction are the forces of the military junta,” an unnamed source told Fides, adding that the attacks have been most intense in the Sagaing and Magwe regions and in Chin and Kayah states, where “indiscriminate airstrikes, artillery, and drone attacks” have caused widespread devastation. Myanmar has been embroiled in civil war since the military ousted the elected government in early 2021.
National Catholic Reporter
New Orleans Archdiocese bankruptcy still a prolonged ordeal
By Jason Berry, November 11, 2025
Since May 1, 2020, when the New Orleans Archdiocese claimed Chapter 11 protection under federal bankruptcy law, the church has faced withering media coverage over lawsuits, many of which involve decades-old abuse by priests, brothers, lay workers, and several nuns. The archdiocese lists 79 clerics who were accused of or admitted to sexual abuse of a minor; few were prosecuted. Ramon Vargas of The Guardian, who has broken major stories about this issue, calculates 310 clergy predators and an untold number of nuns and lay workers — a vast discrepancy with the archdiocese’s list. Based on legal documents reviewed by NCR, the archdiocese paid an estimated $11.7 million in private settlements to victims over a roughly 10-year period before bankruptcy. Several victims later stated they signed nondisclosure agreements, contravening the 2002 U.S. bishops’ youth protection charter calling for transparency and “zero tolerance” of pedophiles.
CatholicVote
US bishops issue message urging immigration reform
By McKenna Snow, November 12, 2025
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) issued a Special Pastoral Message on Nov. 12, decrying the current rhetoric around the topic of immigration and expressing concern for immigrants across the nation. A Nov. 12 press release from the USCCB noted that the message, which the bishops approved in a 216-5 vote with three abstentions, is the first time in 12 years the USCCB has utilized “this particularly urgent way of speaking as a body of bishops,” with the last one being issued in light of the government’s contraceptive mandate in 2013. They expressed concern regarding detention centers’ poor conditions and lack of access to pastoral care and lamented that some immigrants “have arbitrarily lost their legal status.” They added, “We are troubled by threats against the sanctity of houses of worship and the special nature of hospitals and schools.”
Crux
Bishops officially ban gender-transition care at Catholic hospitals
By Tiffany Stanley, AP, November 13, 2025
U.S. Catholic bishops voted Wednesday to make official a ban on gender-transition care for transgender patients at Catholic hospitals. The step formalizes a yearslong process for the U.S. church to address transgender health care. Overwhelmingly, they approved revisions to their ethical and religious directives that guide the nation’s thousands of Catholic health care institutions and providers. More than one in seven patients in the U.S. are treated each day at Catholic hospitals, according to the Catholic Health Association. Catholic hospitals are the only medical centers in some communities. Major medical groups and health organizations support gender-transition care for transgender patients. The new directives will formalize a mandate. Bishops will have autonomy in making the directives into law for their dioceses.
National Catholic Register
Diocesan bankruptcies a messy business for the Church
By Tom McFeely, November 12, 2025
Diocesan Chapter 11 bankruptcies are a contemporary reality that has been forced on an ever-increasing number of U.S. dioceses, as a direct consequence of the huge cost of settling historical claims of clergy sexual abuse. But as a spate of recent news articles has highlighted, these bankruptcy procedures are never smooth processes — and they don’t guarantee an end to the legal problems generated by the Church’s earlier failures to address the scourge of sexual abuse adequately. According to the Catholic Project, which utilizes data compiled by University of Pennsylvania law professor Marie Reilly, a total of 39 dioceses have filed for bankruptcy since the Archdiocese of Portland initiated the first diocesan Chapter 11 proceeding in 2004. Of these, 18 dioceses currently remain in bankruptcy.
The Pillar
Unity of Catholic bishops is the best outward expression of faith
By Michelle La Rosa, November 11, 2025
In his final address as former president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop Timothy Broglio emphasized the importance of unity in helping teach the modern world that civil discourse is “the most authentically human way forward.” In his remarks, Broglio stressed that the task of the bishops is to proclaim the Gospel both in and out of season, and to affirm the dignity of the human person. “There is a comprehensible nostalgia for the Catholic ghetto in which many of us came of age, but to return there would be to deny our mission to evangelize by making the Gospel come alive.” Challenges should not lead to despair, Broglio said. “It should surprise no one when we defend the unborn, meet the basic needs of the immigrant, lobby for immigration reform, reach out to those in need outside our borders through CRS, and call upon others to do the same.”
Aleteia
‘Newer New American Bible’ now the ‘Catholic American Bible’
By Christine Rousselle, November 13, 2025
A new English translation of the Bible, titled the “Catholic American Bible,” will be available starting on Ash Wednesday 2027, Bishop Steven Lopes announced on Tuesday, November 11. The Catholic American Bible will “be the common text between the lectionary at Mass, the Scripture that is used in the Liturgy of the Hours, and a Bible text that you can have as a physical Bible for your own private prayer and devotion,” explained Bishop Lopes. Last year, the bishops overwhelmingly approved the use of a revised New American Bible for liturgical use. Lopes joked that the name “Catholic American Bible” was decided upon after others “tired of me calling it the ‘Newer New American Bible.’” The Catholic American Bible serves as the replacement text for the New American Bible—Revised Edition (NABRE). The NABRE was published in 2011, and was the first update to the New American Bible translation in two decades.
CatholicVote, CNA & ChurchPOP for 11/13/25
CatholicVote - The 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.”
GOVERNMENT REOPENS AFTER 43 DAYS, SNAP BENEFITS INCLUDE BACK PAY - The package also ensures full funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits through September 2026. SNAP recipients who saw reduced payments in November should also receive back pay on their full food-aid benefits, Politico reported.
EPSTEIN EMAILS SAY TRUMP KNEW OF HIS EXPLOITS - Three emails dated 2011 to 2019 show convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein telling associates that “of course” Trump knew about Epstein’s relationships with young girls. House Democrats released the emails yesterday.
ATTACKED LESBIAN PUTS ‘TRANS’ MOVEMENT UNDER SCRUTINY California lesbian singer Tish Hyman confronted state Sen. Scott Wiener, a Democratic congressional candidate, over his record on “transgender” policies and women’s safety after she said she was attacked in a Los Angeles gym locker room by a man who claims to be a woman.
Catholic News Agency
CNA’s top headlines — November 13, 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 activities of the Holy See, available to anyone with internet access.
Mother Frances Cabrini: The unsinkable saint who missed the Titanic - Nov 13, 2025 - By Joseph Pronechen - Divine Providence guided Mother Cabrini away from icebergs and other hazards throughout her life.
Catholic schools in Bangladesh close amid political unrest - Nov 12, 2025 - By Stephan Uttom Rozario - Catholic schools in Dhaka will close amid security concerns as Bangladesh’s International Crime Tribunal announces a verdict date for ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Sister Mary Michael, last of Mother Angelica’s founding nuns, dies at 94 - Nov 12, 2025 - By Daniel Payne - Sister Mary Michael was the last of the original five nuns who, along with EWTN foundress Mother Angelica, began the Our Lady of the Angels Monastery in Irondale, Alabama. (The monastery is now located in Hanceville; EWTN, the parent company of CNA, remains in Irondale.)
ChurchPOP Trending
ChurchPOP provides fun, informative, and authentically Catholic news and culture - November 13, 2025
“We publish inspiring daily stories, fun and shareable faith-centered infographics, prayers, Church history, and more.”
‘It Burned His Hand’: What Happened When a Priest Processed the Eucharist on an Indian Reservation - “He reaches up to grab it — and as he does, his hand is literally thrown off. And he screams...”
Surrender to Jesus: 6 Beautiful Prayers Written By Saint Frances Cabrini, the First American Saint - “Jesus, fortify me with the grace of your Holy Spirit and give your peace to my soul that I may be free of all needless anxiety, solicitude, and worry.
8 Powerful Prayers for the Poor Souls in Purgatory Every Catholic Should Know - Eternal rest, grant unto them, O Lord.
Nutshell reflections for 11/13/25:
USCCB Daily Reflection - AUDIO - November 13, 2025
Memorial of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, Virgin
Church Life Journal
Premise toward a Catholic theology of reparation
By Michael Baxter, November 13, 2023
Although there are many forms of racism to be considered, such as racism toward Irish, Italians, Asians, Hispanics, Eastern Europeans, Native Americans, and other racial or ethnic groups, a premise of this paper is that anti-Black racism in the Catholic Church is uniquely pernicious and warrants special attention. Catholics make up a sizable portion of the nation’s population (roughly twenty percent over the past century), and Catholics are obligated to try to understand and deal with their nation’s past and present. The Church, as the Body of Christ, can be wounded by sin but can also be healed through practices of reparation, as suggested in the Pauline idea that our sacrifices and sufferings complete the hardships still to be endured by Christ for the sake of the body, the Church (Col 1:24). For as once we were locked into the prison of disobedience, now, by the mercy of God, we have been brought along the way of eternity (See: Romans 11:32).
Imaginative Conservative
Chief priests caught off guard about Jesus as the cornerstone
By Br. Barnabas Wilson, November 11, 2025
Jesus asks, “When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” (Matt 21:40). The chief priests answer, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons” (Matt 21:41). The lesson is not yet fully learned. Jesus, ever the Good Teacher, asks them, “Have you never read in the scriptures: The very stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner?” (Matt 21:42). He calls to their mind the scriptures of old. This is Psalm 118—a psalm of peril and salvation. It is a psalm of thanksgiving, praise, and procession. It is a psalm well-known to the chief priests, the climax of their festal praise. It is also a psalm of prophecy, but perhaps they did not yet know it.
Crisis Magazine
Unfairly ‘cancelled priests’ not getting their due
By Fr. John Lovell, November 13, 2025
I applaud the efforts of Mr. Robinson and his company, The Shepherd Within, but I must rebut the article “Can Fallen Priests Be Restored to Ministry? Yes—Here’s How.” I have no reason to doubt his sincerity. There is a third group of ‘fallen’ priests that Mr. Robinson fails to mention, called “cancelled priests.” I have dedicated the better part of the last several years to helping this group. The word “cancelled” remains the best term to use when referring to faithful priests who their bishop has unjustly sidelined. The term properly describes how these priests have been treated. “Cancelled priests” are a species of the cancel culture. Robinson says that “according to The Catholic Project, 82% of priests regularly fear false accusation.” Having spoken to cancelled priests all over the country and the world, I would say this number is accurate, if not low. The vast majority of bishops view their priests as liabilities, lawsuits waiting to happen, and they treat them accordingly.
Wild at Heart
Tap into God’s actual presence within us
By John Eldredge, November 13, 2025
We are looking to find the presence of God in our inmost being, to experience him and commune with him there. By tapping into his actual presence within us, we are able to receive the strength that prevails. It begins with simply giving him your attention. As Theophan the Recluse instructed, “One must descend with the mind into the heart, and there stand before the face of the Lord, ever-present, all-seeing, within you.” (The Art of Prayer). This is one of those quotes that sounds all profound and spiritual ... but we don’t really know what he’s talking about. It seems beyond our experience, but I don’t think it needs to be. The key idea here is the descending part. We learn to drop down into the presence of God within us, tap into his strength there. I think by our “mind” he was referring to our conscious attention, and by “heart” he meant our inmost being, the Depths.
Image of peanuts by Nicole Köhler, from Pixabay
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