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Zeale News
Americans favor free enterprise over socialism
By Elise Winland, August 19, 2026
Americans hold far more positive views of free enterprise than of either capitalism or socialism, with many associating socialism with economic inefficiency, government overreach, and weaker incentives to work, according to a recent Gallup analysis. Both capitalism and free enterprise were commonly associated with opportunity, growth, and innovation, but capitalism drew stronger criticism for promoting unequal wealth distribution. Socialism was valued mainly for providing economic security and reducing inequality, though a large share of Americans identified no positive aspects. When asked to identify something good about socialism, 30% answered “nothing,” and another 15% could not name a positive attribute, according to the analysis. Overall, 26% of respondents pointed to socialism’s promise of a stronger social safety net, including affordable access to health care, education, housing, and other basic services, as benefits of the system.
Our Sunday Visitor
Some Catholic schools are going low-tech in the age of AI
By Zoey Maraist, August 19, 2026
During the coronavirus pandemic, laptops allowed Holy Family School in Dale City, Virginia, to continue educating children even when distance or illness got in the way. But over the years, educators began to see the drawbacks of the 1:1 device program. “Kids would gravitate toward using the Chromebook more as a tool for entertainment and distraction than for work,” said Jay Jesse, assistant principal. Last year, the parochial school stopped providing digital devices to students and instead offered occasional computer time through shared computer carts. “We’ve found kids have actually learned more; they are retaining more,” he said. “I think we learn better from human beings than we do from machines.” Apart from classical or Montessori schools, technology use, including 1:1 device programs, is commonplace in U.S. Catholic schools. But as more studies show the harms of heavy tech use in the classroom and beyond, some schools are starting to pull back.
Crux
Military schools’ new emphasis on Western civilization & Christianity
By Annie Ma, Konstantin Toropin AP, August 16, 2026
The Department of Defense is introducing a course centered on Western civilization and Christianity this fall in the schools it operates for military families, part of an effort by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to redirect the education system toward patriotic values and classical learning. The Department of Defense Education Activity operates about 160 schools across 11 countries and educates roughly 70,000 students who are children of active-duty military or civilian service members. Conservatives have eyed the schools — which, unlike most public schools, are run by the federal government — as a testing ground for reshaping education. The Western civilization course planned for this fall will use a textbook published by Encounter Books, a conservative publishing house. Titled “The Golden Thread: A History of the Western Tradition, Volume I: The Ancient World and Christendom,” it includes suggested lesson plans created in partnership with Hillsdale College, a conservative Christian school in Michigan.
National Catholic Reporter
Grammy-winning rap music producer converts to Catholicism
By Nate Tinner-Williams, August 15, 2026
Cameron "Cam" Obi has worked with some of the biggest names in hip-hop and R&B, including Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, Chance the Rapper and SZA. What many fans don't know is that the young husband and father has also been on a unique spiritual journey over the past several years, culminating in his conversion to Catholicism this year at the Easter Vigil. For more than a decade, the young musician lived without any relationship with Christianity, stemming from his family's disconnection from the faith when he was in his early teens. Obi’s conversion story is perhaps like many others. His wife, who is of Greek and Italian heritage, was raised Catholic but had stopped practicing long before they met. She suggested they begin reading the Bible together, which led to an unusual conversation with a local acupuncturist. The practitioner, as it turns out, was formerly a Catholic monk and had since married. After visiting a local parish and receiving a warm welcome, they became regular attendees.
Aleteia
Is there a ‘best’ way to pray for Catholics?
By Philip Kosloski, August 19, 2025
Christian prayer is a fascinating subject, one that has captured the attention of both academic theologians and saints alike. It is also a basic part of being Christian and is found in the lives of every believer, from the poor man on the street to the heights of the Church hierarchy. Yet, prayer can also be confusing, and some may wonder if there is a "best" or more "preferred" way to pray. The Catholic Church has always divided prayer into three main categories: vocal prayer, meditation, and contemplative prayer. Is one of these categories of prayer better than the other? The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains, "The Lord leads all persons by paths and in ways pleasing to him, and each believer responds according to his heart's resolve and the personal expressions of his prayer" (CCC 2699). Each person's prayer life is individual, and God will move that person according to their capacity in the present moment.
National Catholic Register
Is 30 minutes too long for Confession?
By Gigi Duncan, August 18, 2026
A woman on X said Catholics were spending too much time in the confessional. “Please stop taking over 30 minutes in the confession booth,” she wrote in the Aug. 12 post. “This isn’t a place for you to rant about your life; this is a confession booth.” Her solution was straightforward: Catholics should prepare and meditate on their sins beforehand “so it’s quick and efficient.” If they needed more time, she suggested, they should “book a spiritual consultation.” Beneath the resulting internet snark and viral arguments was a legitimate Catholic question: How long is a confession actually supposed to take? The answer, perhaps surprisingly, is that the Church provides no such guidelines. Neither the Catechism of the Catholic Church nor the Code of Canon Law specifies whether a confession should last five, 10, or 30 minutes. “It’s a thing you are tempted to think that it should be quicker,” said Father Luke Mary Fletcher, a Franciscan Friar of the Renewal. “But then again, because I’m a priest, I’m aware maybe something’s going on. It’s not normal. It’s extraordinary, and the priest needed to take that time.”
Zenit
Catholic baptisms in Ireland drop 30% in ten years
By Zenit Staff, August 19, 2026
A new briefing note from The Iona Institute, based on data from almost every Catholic diocese on the island of Ireland, found that over the past 10 years, baptisms have fallen by 30%. The research finds that the two big drivers of the decline are falling births amid rising secularism. Falling births account for about 60% of the decline, with the rest due to secularisation. In the same ten years during which baptisms have fallen by 30%, births on the island have fallen by 18.8pc. They have dropped by 17.9% in the Republic and 21.3% in the North. Census data from the CSO reveals the religion of mothers and children. In 2016, 78.3% of 0-4-year-olds were marked down in the Census as Catholic, and 9.2% were recorded as having no religion. By 2022, these figures had changed to 65.4% and 15.6%, respectively. Regional variation in the trend is considerable. Dublin archdiocese has seen a 40% fall in the last ten years, but Kerry diocese has fallen 22.3%.
EWTN News
Catholic bishops urge prayers against abortion by mail
By Kate Quiñones, August 19, 2026
With an increasing number of abortions done via sending pills through the U.S. mail, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is urging Catholics across the nation to pray to St. Joseph to “stop the spread” of abortion pills. The bishops are calling for sustained and dedicated prayer from Aug. 18 to Oct. 31, with the campaign launching ahead of Respect Life Month in October. USCCB President Archbishop Paul Coakley and Bishop Daniel Thomas, who heads the bishops’ committee on pro-life activities, urged Catholics to “join a focused effort of prayer and action to stop the spread of abortion pills.” Activists have criticized the mailing of abortion pills as a largely unregulated and dangerous practice. Pro-life advocates were dealt a blow in May when the U.S. Supreme Court temporarily allowed for the continued mailing of abortion pills throughout the U.S. amid a legal dispute over the practice.
Keep informed - 8/20/26 news for Catholics
Snippets from OSV, EWTN News, & ChurchPOP
OSV News
OSV’s seasoned reporters - August 20, 2026
OSV News — information service and evangelization partner that enables dioceses to connect and boost engagement with the faithful by sharing timely, trustworthy, and accurate content about what is happening in the Church and the world.
Sacred music must be ‘dignified,’ reflecting the mystery being celebrated, pope says - August 19, 2026 - Singing and playing music during the liturgy is an integral and necessary part of the celebration, which means it is much more than something “decorative,” Pope Leo XIV said. “In the liturgy, to sing and to play music means to pray.”
3 Notre Dame University leaders among 12 consultors named to Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development - August 18, 2026 - Pope Leo XIV appointed all three U.S.-based consultors with ties to the University of Notre Dame, in Indiana, to the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development — among a dozen newly named consultors.
Threatened harvest and daily harassment rattle West Bank’s last Christian village - August 18, 2026 - On Aug. 16, two masked settlers sprinted menacingly around the perimeter of the compound and threw rocks at the two tin structures where the families of the Nayef and Suleiman Kaabnah live, and at family members. “Every day they come,” Nayef Kaabnah, 55, reported to the Israeli police.
EWTN News
EWTN’s top headlines — August 20, 2026
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.
Mexico Archdiocese: Abandoned or aborted babies must be buried, treated with dignity - By Diego López Colín - The archdiocese said the bodies of deceased newborns and babies who die late in pregnancy are often “abandoned in public places, in hospitals, or even among the trash.”
OAS council approves call for foreign ministers’ meeting on Nicaragua crackdown - By Madalaine Elhabbal - The U.S. is calling for the meeting to take place before Sept. 1, when the Ortega regime is set to codify policy reforms, including suspending future elections.
Appeals court upholds block on immigration enforcement at some religious sites - By Tessa Gervasini - Dozens of religious groups brought similar lawsuits against the Department of Homeland Security following a 2025 policy shift easing immigration enforcement at religious sites.
ChurchPOP Trending
ChurchPOP provides fun, informative, and authentically Catholic news and culture - August 20, 2026
“We publish inspiring daily stories, fun and shareable faith-centered infographics, prayers, Church history, and more.”
Soon-to-be-Blessed Fulton Sheen Designed This Colorful Rosary to Help Catholics Pray for the Whole World - The colorful World Mission Rosary was designed in February 1951 by Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, who will be declared Blessed on September 24. At the time, Archbishop Sheen served as national director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, now known in the United States as the Pontifical Mission Societies.
Are you going through a difficult time? These saints can help you! - Have you ever felt that you could relate to the life of a saint? Have you asked for their intercession to face a difficult moment?
Miss Universe’s Emotional Tribute to the Virgin Mary Alongside Young Girls Goes Viral - Fátima Bosch, Miss Universe 2025, shared a tender moment with a group of children when she joined them in singing to the Virgin Mary. The scene quickly drew attention on social media. The beauty queen visited La Merced Church, where she joined a group of children in singing “Mary, Look at Me.”
August 20, 2026 - USCCB Daily Mass Readings
You can listen HERE — or read HERE:
Memorial of Saint Bernard, Abbot and Doctor of the Church
Today’s Catholic commentary:
Exaudi News
Lay faithful fill mission of the Church in emerging countries
By Alejandro Fontana, August 19, 2026
The publication of Magnifica humanitas offers a particularly timely opportunity to return to a question that, in my view, remains decisive for the life of the Church in emerging countries: the proper place of the lay faithful in the ecclesial mission. This is not merely an organizational issue, nor simply a discussion about the distribution of tasks within the Christian community. It concerns something deeper: understanding where the Christian vocation of the layperson is ordinarily fulfilled, and how that vocation can help transform social realities marked by precarity, inequality, informality, institutional fragility, and weakened community ties. The participation of the lay faithful in the mission of the Church must develop from their professional activity; it is there that this participation finds its proper and distinctive mode of realization. This statement does not reduce Christian life to work, nor does it disregard the importance of prayer and the sacraments: the source of Christian action always comes from a personal relationship with the Lord.
The Catholic Gentlemen
The father’s role in the education of his children
By John Heinen, August 14, 2026
A father must take responsibility for and ownership of his children's formation. This begins with leading your family to the sacraments weekly and daily Mass when possible, explaining the catechism, showing them how to defend their Faith, praying with them regularly, and getting involved in their studies. This may be where I have failed the most. For many years I thought I was doing enough because I took my children to Sunday Mass, sent them to Catholic Schools, and gave a Jesus lesson here or there. This was not enough. We must engage our children in conversation, with specific questions and conversation about the issues in their lives which support and attack the Church’s teaching. And if this is too difficult because our children are not always ready or willing to talk about it, that isn’t reason to give up. They are very often distracted by their daily activities and pleasures. Consider the institutional environment you have chosen for them—are school activities and social media forming a stumbling block there? We are obligated to remove it.
The Pillar
Are pro-abortion politicians canonical ‘accomplices’?
By The Pillar, August 18, 2026
A Catholic advocacy group, CatholicVote, made headlines last week as it called for the excommunication of Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey. The governor signed legislation this month giving physicians legal latitude to perform late-term abortions in the state. The CatholicVote statement cited canon 1329, which provides for the possibility of a latae sententiae excommunication for the accomplices to several canonical crimes, including the procurement of a completed abortion, “if, without their assistance, the crime would not have been committed.” But the argument is not likely to pass muster among canon lawyers — even those sympathetic to the principles at stake. On the other hand, a growing number of canon lawyers have at least considered the possibility of whether a politician like Healey might be judged to have committed the canonical crime of heresy for the rejection of the Church’s teaching on the grave sinfulness of the taking of innocent human life.
Wild at Heart
He has come to rescue us
By John Eldredge, August 20, 2026
On the day Adam and Eve fell from grace, they ran off and hid in the bushes. And God came looking for them. He called to Adam, “Where are you?” (Gen. 3:9). Thus began the long and painful story of God’s pursuit of mankind. Though we betrayed him and fell into the hands of the Evil One, God did not abandon us. Even a quick read of the Old Testament would be enough to convince you that rescue is God’s plan. First with Noah, then with Abraham, and then with the nation Israel, you see God looking for a people who will turn to him from the heart, be his intimate allies once more. The dramatic archetype is the Exodus, where God goes to war against the Egyptian taskmasters to set his captive people free. Suddenly — blood. Hail. Locusts. Darkness. Death. Plague after plague descends on Egypt like the blows of some unrelenting ax. Standing in shock and joy on the opposite shore, the Hebrews proclaim, "The LORD is a warrior" (Ex. 15:3). God is a warrior. He has come to rescue us.
Image of peanuts by Nicole Köhler, from Pixabay
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