Catholic Nutshell News: Thursday 6/26/25
Topics include: Bishop Conley condemns ‘drag Mass’; Christian camp exempted; Pope Leo confirms celibacy; & Abortion not permissible when a woman’s life is in danger
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Today's sources include Aleteia, OSV, CNA, National Catholic Register, The Pillar, CatholicVote, John Eldredge, and The Babylon Bee. (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
Bishop Conley condemns ‘drag Mass’ at university as offensive
By Daniel Payne, June 25, 2025
Bishop James Conley of Lincoln, Nebraska, this week slammed a so-called “drag Mass” performance put on by a University of Nebraska student, calling it an “offensive” display marked by “lies, evil, and ugliness.” The College Fix the performance on May 30. The LGBT-centric demonstration was hosted by a local Lutheran church; its creator, music doctoral student Joseph Willette, said the event was meant to “bridge the gap between queerness and spirituality.” Explicitly describing the performance as an “appropriation of the traditional Mass,” Willette said the display “blurs the lines between the sacred and the profane.” The College Fix said the incident “imitated various parts of the Mass, including the Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei.” It reportedly featured a chamber orchestra and singing along with drag performances.
CatholicVote
Christian camp exempted from Colorado’s ‘gender identity’ mandate
By Rachel Quackenbush, June 25, 2025
A Christian summer camp in Colorado will remain free to operate according to its beliefs after a settlement exempted it from state rules on “gender identity,” Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) reported. Camp IdRaHaJe, named after the hymn “I’d Rather Have Jesus,” has operated in Bailey, Colorado, since 1948. Each year, the camp hosts several thousand children ages 6-17 and offers a range of outdoor activities. According to ADF, the Christian camp is open to children from all backgrounds, and parents are required to agree to its stated policies during registration. The June 24 resolution comes one month after ADF filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of the camp, objecting to a recent mandate from the Colorado Department of Early Childhood, ADF reported. The department had updated licensing requirements to demand that resident camps allow campers to use private spaces — such as restrooms and sleeping areas — based on “gender identity” rather than biological sex.
Crux
Pope Leo tells seminarians that celibacy is to be ‘conserved’
By Charles Collins, June 26, 2025
Meeting with eminarians from the dioceses in the Italian region Triveneto, Pope Leo XIV said celibacy is a charism “to be acknowledged, conserved and educated.” He quoted a passage in Saint Augustine’s Confessions. “On the one hand, he was eager to decide for Christ; on the other, he was held back by scruples and temptations. Profoundly troubled, one day he retreated to reflect in the garden at home; and the personification of the virtue of Continence appeared to him, saying: ‘Why do you stand in your own strength, and so standest not? Cast yourself upon Him; fear not, He will not withdraw that you should fall; cast yourself upon Him without fear, He will receive you, and heal you’.” The Word of God and the Sacraments are perennial sources from which you will always be able to draw new lymph for the spiritual life, and also for pastoral commitment,” the pontiff added. Leo urged the seminarians to not think of themselves as “alone” or “by yourselves.”
National Catholic Reporter
Pope Leo: No tolerance for abuse of any kind in Catholic Church
By Franklin Briceño, June 21, 2025
Pope Leo XIV has said there should be no tolerance in the Catholic Church for any type of abuse — sexual, spiritual, or abuse of authority—and called for "transparent processes" to create a culture of prevention across the church. Leo made his first public comments about the clergy sex abuse scandal in a written message to a Peruvian journalist who documented a particularly egregious case of abuse and financial corruption in a Peruvian-based Catholic movement, the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae. The message was read out loud on Friday (June 21) night in Lima during a performance of a play based on the Sodalitium scandal and the work of the journalist Paola Ugaz. "It is urgent to root in the whole church a culture of prevention that does not tolerate any form of abuse — neither of power or authority, nor abuse of conscience, spiritual or sexual abuse."
National Catholic Register
50 Years: St. Josemaría Escrivá, founder of Opus Dei
By Msgr. Roger Landry, June 26, 2025
June 26 is the 50th anniversary of the death and birth into eternal life of St. Josemaría Escrivá (1902-75), the founder of Opus Dei. Pope St. John Paul II called him “the saint of ordinary life,” but we could also aptly label him the apostle of the laity and the herald of the universal call to holiness. St. Josemaría brought a revolution to the Church that we can never take for granted. Sixty years after the completion of the Second Vatican Council, its most important teaching on the “universal call to holiness” is now so widely known and preached that many presume that this has been clear to Christians from the beginning. Many grew to think that to be holy, one needed to live in a “state of perfection” as a cloistered nun, monk, hermit, priest, or religious. Opus Dei (English translation is Work of God) is geared toward helping people convert their daily duties into a “work of God.”
The Pillar
Ukrainian Orthodox Church investigated for Russian ties
By Anatolii Babynskyi, June 25, 2025
A Ukrainian agency announced last month that it is investigating whether the Kyiv Metropolia of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church exhibits signs of affiliation with a foreign religious organization whose activities are banned in Ukraine. As the investigation gets underway, a Ukrainian Orthodox Church metropolitan is taking pains to distance the Church he leads from Moscow. The 2024 “Law on the Protection of the Constitutional Order in the Activities of Religious Organizations” prohibits the activities of the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine. Lawmakers who supported the measure described the Russian Orthodox Church as “an accomplice to war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the name of the Russian Federation and the ideology of the ‘Russky Mir.’”
Our Sunday Visitor
Is abortion permissible when a woman’s life is in danger?
By Katie Yoder, June 23, 2025
Abortion — the direct and intentional destruction of a baby in the womb — is never medically necessary, according to the pro-life chair of the U.S. Catholic bishops. Instead, doctors must strive to care for the two patients involved in every pregnancy: the woman and her unborn child. “When the lives of mother and child are in immediate danger, the goal is to fight to save both patients,” Bishop Daniel E. Thomas of Toledo, Ohio, chair of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Pro-Life Activities, said. “Effective treatments exist that seek to save the life of a mother and never intentionally or directly harm her unborn child.” His comments came after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently decided to revoke guidance that instructed hospitals to perform abortions in emergency situations regardless of state law under the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA).
The Times of Israel
IDF given 48 hours to stop terror group seizing Gaza supplies
By Nurit Yohanan, Lazar Berman & Agencies, June 26, 2025
Israel has halted aid deliveries into Gaza, Channel 12 news reported Wednesday, citing an unnamed Israeli official, amid concerns that Hamas is seizing the deliveries and threats by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to quit the government. The report came shortly after the Prime Minister’s Office announced that the military had been ordered to present a plan within the next two days on how to keep Hamas from stealing humanitarian assistance. The Israeli official quoted by Channel 12 said the statement from the PMO came after Smotrich threatened that he could no longer remain in the government if immediate action wasn’t taken to prevent aid from reaching Hamas. Earlier, Netanyahu, in a joint statement with Defense Minister Israel Katz, said that Hamas was taking control of humanitarian aid entering the northern Gaza Strip and stealing it from Gazan civilians.
CatholicVote, CNA & Satire for 6/26/2025
CatholicVote - The Loop
Read daily news and political impact stories at the “LOOP”
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MIGRANT CHILDREN DELIVERED TO TRAFFICKERS? - Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testified this week that he has reviewed true "horror stories" of the Biden administration directly delivering migrant children to traffickers. “One of the addresses" officials handed children over to "was a strip club," Kennedy said. "One of the addresses was a parking lot. One was an address with shipping containers.” In one instance, 42 children went to a single address.
JUDGE TRIES TO BLOCK SCHOOL CHOICE IN OHIO - An Ohio judge ruled June 25 that the state’s school choice program was unconstitutional, a significant setback for family advocates in the state. Despite the ruling, however, Ohio's EdChoice program will be able to continue during an appeals process.
CATHOLIC 101 - When G.K. Chesterton was asked, “What’s wrong with the world?” He replied, “I am.” St. Augustine would have fully agreed. These two men were keenly aware of their own faults and sins, refusing to place the blame on other people and things. Here are examples of Augustine’s confessions that could inspire self-awareness and honesty in ourselves.
Catholic News Agency
CNA’s top headlines — June 26, 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 urges law enforcement to target drug traffickers, not addicts - Jun 26, 2025 - By Courtney Mares - Speaking to anti-drug campaigners at the Apostolic Palace, the pope issued a sharp rebuke of drug policy that targets the victims.
Ohio bishops’ conference speaks out against anti-school-choice ruling - Jun 25, 2025 - By Madalaine Elhabbal - The Catholic Conference of Ohio expressed confidence that Ohio’s school voucher program would ultimately prevail after a judge ruled the program unconstitutional.
300 religious sisters demonstrate on Capitol Hill as U.S. senators consider budget bill - Jun 25, 2025 - By Tessa Gervasini - The event called “Sisters Speak Out” was held June 24 in the nation’s capital, while approximately 40 “echo events” took place across the country.
Babylon Bee’s (Satire) News
Church Warns Of Impending Shortage Of Sweet White-Haired Ladies That Give You Peppermints
By Church Staff, June 25, 2024
An ecumenical gathering of pastors and laity recently warned that the church in America now faces an impending shortage of sweet, elderly white-haired ladies that give you peppermints. According to Rev. John Bielen, the pastor of St. Athanasius Lutheran, the church's numbers of little old ladies handing out peppermints have been steadily dwindling for the last five years. "We're reaching crisis levels," Bielen said, sadly shaking his head. "It's not just anecdotal evidence anymore," said James Haarbin, a researcher. "The numbers show steady declines in the numbers of these wonderful, Godly old ladies across the nation. Worse yet, peppermint factories are starting to shut down, too." Churches across America had also warned of a coming shortage of old men with suspenders who stick out their false teeth at you.
Nutshell reflections for 6/26/25:
USCCB Daily Reflection - AUDIO - June 26, 2025
Thursday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time
Aleteia
Catholic artists were choosing faith or career—until now
By Theresa Civantos Barber, June 19, 2025
In a New York City apartment in 2020, something beautiful began. Two young Catholic women, Erin K. McAtee and Claire Kretzschmar, watched artist friends struggle with isolation and disillusionment during lockdowns. So they opened their doors with hospitality and a desire to build community. What started as word-of-mouth salon gatherings in Apartment 2B has grown into Arthouse2B, a community of multidisciplinary artists cultivating a renewal of Catholic arts in New York City. Their mission is simple but revolutionary. McAtee told Aleteia, “Our vision is to restore the heart of artists in the Church. If we want to change the culture and want to have a renewed sense of human dignity and truth, we have to start with artists.”
Catholic Gentlemen
The Eucharist shapes our way of life
By Dr. Jared Staudt, June 25, 2025
We can fall into a routine reception of the Eucharist. Receiving our Lord’s Body can remain an isolated moment in our life, meaningful, but not central to our identity or how we live. God does not want the Eucharist to remain hidden at Mass or a secret in our lives. Rather, the Eucharist stands at the center of Christian culture, our communal and social way of life. John Senior asks the question: “What is Christian Culture?” and provides an answer: “It is essentially the Mass.” In the Restoration of Christian Culture, he describes how in the Middle Ages “all architecture, art, political and social forms, economics, the way people live and feel and think, music, literature—all these things when they are right, are ways of fostering and protecting the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.” The focus on the Mass even shows the purpose of work, “not profit but prayer . . . that we live for Him and not for ourselves.”
Related: John Senior: A Guide for Fathers and Educators, Those Catholic Men, by Dr. Jared Staudt
St. Anthony Messenger
Help me to be Simon
By Patricia Breen, July/August Issue, 2025
“Help me to be a good Simon today, Jesus,” I whispered as I put the car into park and went in to face whatever my dad needed for the day. I do not know what inspired me to start praying that short prayer, but it quickly became a tradition on the days I cared for Dad. Before my dad’s death in January 2021, my three siblings and I took turns during the week caring for my dad while my mom continued to work as a hospice nurse. Those six months I learned more about what it means to suffer and die a holy death than anything I ever learned in seminary graduate school or read in a book. I learned by doing, by being with, by showing up to what was difficult and what was being asked of me in the moment.
Wild at Heart
Women: Beware of an unholy alliance
By John & Stasi Eldredge, June 26, 2025
Over the years we’ve come to see that the only thing more tragic than the things that have happened to us is what we have done with them. Words were said, painful words. Things were done, awful things. And they shaped us. Something inside of us shifted. We embraced the messages of our wounds. We accepted a twisted view of ourselves. And from that we chose a way of relating to our world. We made a vow never to be in that place again. We adopted strategies to protect ourselves from being hurt again. A woman who is living out of a broken, wounded heart is a woman who is living a self-protective life. She may not be aware of it, but it is true. It’s our way of trying to “save ourselves.” The problem is our plan has nothing to do with God. The wounds we received and the messages they brought formed a sort of unholy alliance with our fallen nature as women.
Image of peanuts by Nicole Köhler, from Pixabay
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