Catholic Nutshell News: Thursday 2/19/26
Topics include: Virginia Legislature halts assisted suicide bill; Abortion Pill Rescue Network saves 8,000 babies; Exhumation of tribal Christians’ bodies; & Illegality of illegal immigration
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Today's sources include Aleteia, EWTN News, 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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OSV News
Bishops praise Virginia Legislature for halting assisted suicide bill
By Gina Christian, February 18, 2026
Two Virginia bishops are hailing the halt of legislation that would have legalized assisted suicide in that state. “Human life is sacred, and no one should ever be abandoned or discarded,” said Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Arlington and Bishop Barry C. Knestout of Richmond in a joint Feb. 18 statement. SB359, which would have permitted doctors to prescribe lethal, self-administered drugs to terminally ill patients deemed to have less than six months to live, failed to advance in a full state senate committee hearing on Feb. 5. Two days prior, the bill had cleared a senate health subcommittee hearing at which both opponents and supporters gave testimony. The proposed bill, sponsored by Democratic Sen. Jennifer Boysko, would have required patients to make both oral and written requests for assisted suicide, with the opportunity to rescind the petition at any time. The bill also specified protection for participating health care providers from criminal, civil, and disciplinary action, while allowing objecting medical professionals to refuse to participate.
CatholicVote
Abortion Pill Rescue Network saves 8,000 unborn babies
By Grace Porto, February 18, 2026
Heartbeat International announced in a press release this week that more than 8,000 babies have been saved through its Abortion Pill Rescue Network (APRN) since its founding in 2008. The announcement comes amid a continued national rise in medication abortions, as abortion drugs are increasingly distributed through telehealth services and mail-order prescriptions. The APRN connects women to licensed medical professionals who can prescribe progesterone after a woman has taken mifepristone, the first drug in a chemical abortion regimen. When administered quickly, progesterone may counteract the effects of mifepristone and help sustain the pregnancy. “Each life saved reflects a woman who had a change of heart and was met with immediate, compassionate medical care,” Godsey said in the release. “The Abortion Pill Rescue Network is here so that no woman who regrets starting a chemical abortion feels alone or without options.”
Crux
Camden, NJ diocese reaches $180 million abuse settlement
By Crux Staff, February 18, 2026
The Diocese of Camden in the U.S. state of New Jersey has announced an agreement to pay a $180 million settlement to more than 300 survivors of clerical sexual abuse, funded by the diocese, diocesan parishes, and insurers. The planned fund is more than twice the $87.5 million settlement the diocese reached in 2022 to resolve abuse claims and is the result of an accord reached between the diocese and claimants’ attorneys on one side and hold-out insurance carriers on the other, after a years-long dispute arising from the abuse claims. The Camden diocese filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2020, and the agreement announced Tuesday must be approved by the bankruptcy court. Bishop Joseph A. Williams said the settlement agreement “represents a milestone in their journey toward restored justice and the healing and recognition they have long sought and deserve.”
Related: A look at the largest clergy abuse settlements reached by Catholic organizations in the US, by Associated Press, Feb 19, 2026
UCA News
India’s top court bars exhumation of tribal Christians’ bodies
By Michael Gonsalves, February 18, 2026
India’s Supreme Court has temporarily restrained authorities in Chhattisgarh state from exhuming the bodies of tribal Christians and reburying them elsewhere in this central Indian state, where Christians continue to face hostility from hardliner Hindus. Bishop Paul Toppo of Raigarh welcomed the court’s intervention, saying incidents of digging up Christian graves and relocating the remains have increased in recent months, traumatizing what he described as a peace-loving community. Bishop Paul Toppo of Raigarh welcomed the court’s intervention, saying incidents of digging up Christian graves and relocating the remains have increased in recent months, traumatizing what he described as a peace-loving community. The forum said it had recorded 23 incidents nationwide in 2025 in which Christian burials were opposed, with the majority reported in Chhattisgarh.
Aleteia
Georgia Martyrs to be beatified on October 31 in USA
By Philip Kosloski, February 19, 2025
Originally reported by OSV News, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints’ website lists October 31, 2026, as the day when the "Georgia Martyrs" will be beatified at a ceremony in the United States. The Dicastery of the Causes of Saints' website explains: "The Venerable Servants of God, Pedro de Corpa, Blas Rodríguez de Cuacos, Miguel de Añón, Antonio de Badajoz and Francisco de Veráscola, Spaniards of the Order of Friars Minor, in the 16th century were killed for upholding the dignity of marriage in what would later become the United States of America. They agreed to be sent on a mission to North American territories … love for Christ and service to the Church." They were sent on a “Mission to the Guales, an Indigenous tribe stationed on the coast of today’s territory of the American state of Georgia.” Initially, they were well received and were able to preach the Gospel to the Indigenous people. Everything changed when the sacrament of marriage was introduced.
Zenit
Puerto Rico’s governor redefines ‘human being’ in criminal law
By ZENIT Staff, February 17, 2026
Puerto Rico has taken a consequential step in the legal treatment of unborn life, amending its Penal Code to explicitly recognize a child “conceived at any stage of gestation” as a human being for criminal law purposes. The measure, signed on 12 February 2026 by Governor Jenniffer González-Colón, does not alter the territory’s abortion regulations. Yet its language has immediately reshaped the legal and political landscape by embedding the concept of fetal personhood within the island’s homicide statutes. The new statute, Senate Bill 923 (SB923), modifies Article 92 of the Penal Code to clarify that the term “human being” includes a child in the womb at any point during pregnancy. The reform is directly tied to the earlier “Keishla Rodríguez Law,” named after a pregnant woman murdered in April 2021 by her former partner, boxer Félix Verdejo.
National Catholic Register
Is it wrong to sell on platforms that fund abortion?
By E. Christian Brugger, February 18, 2026
Is it morally permissible for me to sell items directly on online platforms that support abortion, or would that be sinful moral cooperation? “Moral cooperation” in the wrongdoing of others occurs when one’s own action contributes in some way to the wrongful actions of another. If you have a reasonable, morally unobjectionable alternative for disposing of your possessions — donating to acceptable charities, using platforms with fewer or less serious moral problems — you ordinarily would be obliged to choose that option. It is essential first to distinguish between formal and material cooperation in another’s wrongdoing. Formal cooperation occurs when one shares in the wrongful intention of the evildoer. Formal cooperation is always morally wrong, since one’s own intention aligns with and endorses the evil intention of another. Nearly everyone contributes, in limited and unintended ways, to wrongdoing through ordinary activities — such as paying our federal income tax — that cannot reasonably be avoided without neglecting legitimate responsibilities.
EWTN News
Centuries-old tradition Pope Leo XIV led for the first time
By Victoria Cardiel, February 17, 2026
Each Ash Wednesday, dozens of people crowd the doors of the Church of Sant’Anselmo, perched on the Aventine — one of Rome’s seven hills — to witness the penitential procession that moves solemnly along the roughly 200 meters (656 feet) separating it from Santa Sabina. This year, the tradition of the Station Churches, rooted in the first centuries of Christianity, took on special significance: It was the first time Pope Leo XIV presided over it. It lasts less than five minutes, but it is not a mere ceremonial transfer. The short route liturgically marks the beginning of Lent and underscores the Aventine’s strong monastic presence: the Benedictines at Sant’Anselmo and the Dominicans at Santa Sabina. “Lent is marked by themes of baptism and conversion: reorienting our lives toward Christ, making his life fruitful in ours, and striving to imitate him,” Father Stefan Geiger, president of the Pontifical Liturgical Institute, told EWTN News.
Angelus News, EWTN & ChurchPOP for 2/19/26
Angelus News
Angelus joins in the great work of evangelization - February 19, 2026
The mission of Angelus is to provide our readers with the best in Catholic news, first-rate analysis of events and trends shaping the Church and the world
A blunt reality: Are we ready for the coming marijuana boom? - February 17 - Patrick T. Brown - In 2011, no state in the union legally allowed cannabis for personal, non-medical use (not that that ever stopped Seth Rogen, Snoop Dogg, or Willie Nelson). A decade-and-a-half later, almost half the states allow recreational marijuana, and a new change in Washington will soon make cannabis easier to sell and market.
From foreheads to crowns: How Ash Wednesday looks different worldwide - February 17 - Josephine Peterson, Catholic News Service - While Catholics in the United States typically receive a visible cross of ashes traced on their foreheads, that is not the universal practice across the Catholic Church. In many parts of the world — like Italy — ashes are sprinkled lightly on the head.
For Lent, we actually feast by fasting - February 17 - Scott Hahn, Letter and Spirit - Fasting is a prayer of the bodily senses. We willingly give up one thing or another to focus on Jesus Christ. The practice is integral to biblical religion. It’s always been there. In the Old Testament, Moses and Elijah fasted. In the New Testament, Jesus did, as did the apostles after him.
EWTN News
EWTN’s top headlines — February 19, 2026
Formerly known as Catholic News Agency, EWTN provides reliable, free, up-to-the-minute news affecting the Universal Church, emphasizing the words of the Holy Father and the activities of the Holy See, and is available to anyone with internet access.
Pope Leo encourages young priests in crisis to share their fatigue -
by Almudena Martínez-Bordiú - “Above all, I urge you never to close yourselves off: don’t be afraid to talk to others, even about your fatigue and your crises, especially with brother priests whom you believe can help you.”
Arkansas Catholic school adopts AI gun-detection security system: ‘It’s time. We need it’ - by Daniel Payne - A Catholic school in Arkansas has adopted next-gen AI technology to help spot potential shooters and alert law enforcement before a shooting takes place. The security company ZeroEyes said Trinity Catholic School in Fort Smith is the first private school in the state to utilize its gun detection platform
Ukrainian women tell Pope Leo of abandoned prisoners of war - By Victoria Cardiel - A delegation supporting families of missing and captured Ukrainian soldiers shared their concerns and presented the pontiff with symbolic gifts. Traveling with the group was Kateryna Muzlova, director of the charitable foundation Heart in Action, along with 11 other Ukrainian women representing nongovernmental organizations and associations that support the families of prisoners of war and the missing.
ChurchPOP Trending
ChurchPOP provides fun, informative, and authentically Catholic news and culture - February 19, 2026
“We publish inspiring daily stories, fun and shareable faith-centered infographics, prayers, Church history, and more.”
Catholic Celebs Wear Ash Wednesday Ashes, Urge Prayer & Sacraments: ‘Go to Confession’ - Celebrities David Henrie, Mark Wahlberg, Jonathan Roumie, Patricia Heaton, Gwen Stefani, and Raymond Arroyo are encouraging their fellow Catholics to grow in holiness this Lent after publishing photos of themselves wearing Ash Wednesday ashes.
If You Begin a 54-Day Rosary Novena on Ash Wednesday, You’ll Finish on Divine Mercy Sunday - Grab your Rosary, set your intention, and let Our Lady guide you from Lent into mercy. The 54-Day Rosary Novena is known as a miraculous devotion that combines three novenas of petition and three novenas of thanksgiving
Did you know Chris Farley was deeply Catholic? - Saturday Night Live legend Chris Farley for his outrageous sketches and humor, but he was also deeply Catholic. Chris Farley’s story came up in the new EWTN podcast, “Catholics and Cappuccinos,” where host Siobhan Fallon Hogan (SNL, Forrest Gump, Men in Black, Holes, New in Town, Seinfeld) reflected on Farley’s faith journey.
Nutshell reflections for 2/19/26:
USCCB Daily Reflection - VIDEO - February 19, 2026
Thursday after Ash Wednesday
Church Life Journal
On the illegality of illegal immigration
By Terence Sweeney, January 30, 2026
Amidst the growing chorus of Catholics standing up to President Trump’s immigration enforcement, you will find the pope, the American bishops, priests, sisters, and laypeople. However, a lot of conservative Catholics are raising their voices against what the Church is telling us regarding immigration and in support of Trump’s campaign against immigrants.[1] A key argument they make is that they oppose illegal immigration and that the Bishops and others are insufficiently attentive to this. For instance, John Grondelski claims the Church gets immigration wrong because it “evades the question of legality” and the bishops are “dodging the question of illegal status, a posture more befitting a lobbyist pushing an agenda.” Further for Grondelski, Leo XIV risks “contempt for lawful authority” and laments that his Dilexi Te does not ask about “the legal status of a migrant.”
The Pillar
Freed Catholic politician in Venezuela now under house arrest
By Edgar Beltrán, February 18, 2026
The Venezuelan regime sent Catholic politician Juan Pablo Guanipa into house arrest just hours after he had been released from jail, where he had been for nine months. Guanipa, one of the best-known faces of the Venezuelan opposition, had been originally arrested on May 23, 2025, and accused of conspiracy and terrorism. He had previously spent nine months in hiding. Guanipa is well known in Venezuela for three things: His directness -– radically, to some — in confronting the Maduro regime, his sense of humor, and his Catholic faith. He is perhaps the best-known Catholic politician in a country in which nearly everyone is — at least juridically — Catholic. Guanipa built his popularity on his refusal to shy away from calling Venezuela’s government a dictatorship and condemning its human rights abuses, even when others hesitated. His release did not forbid him from making media appearances or leading political rallies, but he was then kidnapped and reported as under house arrest.
Catholic Gentlemen
The difference between demons and disciples of Christ
By Devin Schadt, February 16, 2026
You will only have so many Lents—perhaps seventy or eighty for those who are granted a longer life. “Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures; yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.” (Psalm 90:10) This man’s intention and the means to execute it are both animated by God’s Spirit. His intention is pure, and the consequence is God’s gift unto him. Your intentions matter. Penance is the renunciation of former immoral ways, the sacrificing of temporal idols, the offering up of and detachment from disordered attachments. It is necessary that vice be removed; yet that is merely the first step. Once vice is removed, it must be replaced with virtue, lest the demons of disordered attachment return to make that soul their haunt and home; “and the last state of that man is made worse than the first.” (Matthew 12:45)
Wild at Heart
We lived with God in a garden paradise
By John Eldredge, February 19, 2026
In the dawn of our childhood, we lived with God in a garden paradise. We walked with our Abba Father in the cool of the day, in conversational intimacy. We were ordinary mystics, drinking in the rich company of God and the fullness of his Kingdom. Eden was our home; we flourished in the shelter of a paradise where heaven and earth met. But we lost that home, and we have been seeking refuge ever since. There are many riches, wonders, and adventures to be had as an ordinary mystic, a friend of Jesus, living in partnership with him in this hour. But I think we need to begin by getting into a safe place. We are meant to live within the refuge of God.
Image of peanuts by Nicole Köhler, from Pixabay
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