Catholic Nutshell News: Tuesday 5/27/25
Topics include: Former satanist promotes Rosary, Catholic Charities suit: director stole ‘millions,’ Nicaea and Ecumenism, & 3 in 10 Americans consult astrology
“I’ll pray for thee from my pistachio tree”
Today's sources are the National Catholic Register, CNA, Aleteia, The CatholicVote, The Pillar, OSV, Big Pulpit, and Matt Fradd. (Catholic Nutshell is a subscription service for faithful, hopeful, & curious Catholics willing to exercise the Catholic News Muscle)
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Aleteia
Former satanist became an apostle of the Rosary
By Philip Kosloski, May 27, 2025
While many saints stayed faithful to God throughout their entire lives, soon-to-be canonized Bartolo Longo went in the exact opposite direction. He went as far away from God as a person can get by being "ordained" a Satanic priest. This involved leading séances, experimenting with drugs, and even getting involved in orgies. Then one night, he heard the voice of his dead father crying out to him, “Return to God!” Pope Francis recently approved his cause for canonization. Meg Hunter-Kilmer explains in an article for Aleteia how, "cleansed and consecrated, Bartolo visited one last séance. He walked in, held up a rosary and called out, 'I renounce spiritualism because it is nothing but a maze of error and falsehood.'"
The Pillar
Catholic Charities suit after finance director stole ‘millions’
By The Pillar, May 26, 2025
Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee alleged this month that its former finance director, Brandi Ellis, who worked at the organization for 10 years, stole millions of dollars via false accounting schemes and misuse of company credit cards. In her roles as accounting manager and later finance manager, the charity says Ellis was responsible for paying and booking the plaintiff’s financial transactions. In those roles, she used a variety of schemes to defraud her employer, each for hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to the lawsuit. Ellis is accused of using the charity’s money for various personal expenses, including “Amazon Prime video rentals, Uber rides, Ticketmaster purchases, and casino purchases from MGM Grand.”
Vatican News Service
Nicaea and the Evolution of Ecumenism: Setting next stage
By Fr. Elias D. Mallon, May 26, 2025
As the Church celebrates the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, Fr. Elias D. Mallon, Ph.D. reflects on the ongoing evolution of ecumenism, which the first ecumenical council of the Church set in motion. Held in the Roman city of Nicaea, now in present-day northwestern Türkiye, between May and July 325, this gathering of bishops and leaders of the Church was the first to be identified as “ecumenical,” a term whose definition has evolved over the last 1,700 years. A great deal, good and regrettable, has occurred in the life of the Church in those 17 centuries. Almost every council, including Vatican II (1962-1965), has produced dissidents, some of whom became schismatic and excluded—oftentimes by self-exclusion—from communion with the Church of Rome.
CatholicVote
3 in 10 Americans consult astrology, horoscopes, & tarot cards
By Hannah Hiester, May 26, 2025
Three in 10 Americans say they consult astrology, horoscopes, tarot cards, or fortune tellers at least once a year. According to a recently released Pew Research Center survey, conducted in the fall of 2024, most Americans who consult or participate in New Age practices, such as astrology, do so for entertainment, but some say they use the results of these practices to make major life decisions. 27% of U.S. adults said they believe in astrology — the belief that the position of stars and planets can affect people’s lives — but young adults, and especially young women, are more likely to express the belief. 43% of young women aged 18 to 49 years old believe in astrology, compared with 20% of young men in the same age group. Women and men aged 50 or older were less likely to consult astrology (27% and 16%, respectively).
National Catholic Register
Europe in great need of rediscovering its identity and faith
By Kristina Millare/CNA, May 23, 2025
Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, archbishop emeritus of Genoa and former president of the Italian Episcopal Conference, said, “Peace comes from the risen Christ to the extent that we allow ourselves to be embraced by him.” “If we forget this centrality, we forget the foundation of all foundations, that is, Jesus.” Lamenting the rise of secularization eroding the faith of individuals and societies, the 82-year-old Italian cardinal said Europe is in great need of heeding Pope Leo’s message to rediscover its identity and faith in “the face of God who is Christ.” Cardinal Bagnasco said, “It seems that the European continent is forgetting its origins, and this fact is not positive for Europe because it means forgetting its own face. It is forgetting that the meeting between Jerusalem, Athens, and Rome took place here in Europe,”
Catholic News Agency
Philippines’ empty chapels spark call for Eucharistic renewal
By Valerie Joy Escalona, May 20, 2025
As the National Eucharistic Revival comes to an end in the United States this year, many believe there is a need for a global Eucharistic revival in other parts of the world — including the Philippines. Empty adoration chapels in the majority-Catholic country and lack of belief in the Real Presence are leading more parishes to implement a simple initiative called the “Holy Hour Pledge” and call for more catechesis. Filipino-American priest Father James Cervantes of the Marians of the Immaculate Conception (MIC) lamented the phenomenon of empty chapels where the Host of Jesus is exposed throughout different parishes across the Philippines, despite its renown as the largest Catholic nation in Asia and the third largest in the world. “All I could think was, ‘Oh Lord, no one is in here, I’m so sorry Lord.’”
CRUX
Pope meets cardinal sentenced for financial crimes
By Elise Ann Allen, May 27, 2025
One of his most notable meetings came Tuesday, May 27, when Pope Leo held a private meeting with the disgraced Italian Cardinal Angelo Becciu, 76, who in December 2023 was sentenced to five and a half years in jail at the culmination of the Vatican’s Trial of the Century for financial crimes related to a shady real estate deal in London, in which the Vatican took a bath of roughly $250 million. In addition to his jail time, Becciu was also fined roughly $8,700 and permanently barred from holding any public office in the Vatican City State. Becciu, the first cardinal to ever be convicted and sentenced in a Vatican civil court, has consistently denied the allegations against him and has filed an appeal. By meeting with Becciu, Pope Leo is not necessarily rehabilitating or reinstating him, or giving any stamp of approval, but is potentially trying to address one of the most urgent and glaring situations that emerged during pre-conclave meetings.
ARC
The Jesus-loving Rabbi of Litchfield County
By Gabby Deutch, May 26, 2025
The destruction of the Temple two thousand years ago marked the end of ritual sacrifice for the Jewish people. Instead, the ancient practices of the Hebrew priests are described in the Bible and recited weekly. Jews are the people of the book, not the people of the reenactment. None of that mattered to Rabbi Peter Oliveira on the morning of that past winter, when he held a baby goat and climbed the steps to a makeshift platform behind the pulpit of his Connecticut congregation. Rabbi Peter was not merely a renegade rabbi pulling a stunt to explain a biblical tale. As he tenderly held the goat, Rabbi Peter spoke to the members of the First Congregational Church of Litchfield not as a rabbi but as a pastor—or, rather, a pastor who is also a rabbi, and a Christian who is also a Messianic Jew. He carried the goat to that precarious spot to make a point not about Judaism but to preach about the most famous Jew of all: Jesus. In Rabbi Peter’s version of this story from the Hebrew Bible, the scapegoat was Jesus—Yeshua, as he called him, in Hebrew.
From Pulpit & Agency to Satire for 5/27/25
BIG PULPIT
Tito Edwards Catholic blogger site: May 27, 2025
The Big Pulpit website is an intelligent news aggregator offering quality insight & analysis on the Catholic Church worldwide. Here are Chief Editor Tito Edward’s top recommendations for today.
The Silent Jihadi Genocide Against Christians in Nigeria – Uzay Bulut at The European. . .
Will SCOUT’s Disparate Impact Theory Survive the Trend to Dismantle DEI? – Trad, Fam, & Prop
Leo’s Gentle Criticism of Contemporary Western Liturgy is a Vital Wake-up Call – Catholic Herald
Loose Words of Who’s in Heaven. . .Corruption of Personal Piety – Fr. Allan J. McDonald at SO
Catholic News Agency
CNA’s top headlines — May 27, 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.
LIVE UPDATES: Pope Leo XIV’s first days - May 26, 2025 - By CNA Staff - Follow our live coverage as Pope Leo XIV, the first U.S.-born pope in history, begins his pontificate.
Pope Leo XIV prays before the icon of Mary, ‘Health of the Roman People,’ in St. Mary Major - May 25, 2025 - By David Ramos - Pope Leo XIV prayed at the Basilica of St. Mary Major following the Mass where he took possession of the Basilica of St. John Lateran, the cathedral of the bishop of Rome.
Pope Leo XIV at the Regina Caeli: ‘I ask you to sustain me with your prayer and closeness’ - May 25, 2025 - By Victoria Cardiel - In his first Regina Caeli from the window of the Apostolic Palace, Pope Leo XIV thanked the faithful for the affection they have shown him while also asking them — as his predecessor Francis often did — to pray for him.
Babylon Bee - Satire News
Experts Confirm You Are The Only Person On Earth Who Can Safely Text And Drive
By Lifestyle Staff, May 25, 2025
A recent meta-analysis by researchers at the National Traffic Safety Institute revealed that no one in the world is capable of safely texting and driving except for you. "Congratulations. You are, in fact, the only one who can stare directly at your phone while flawlessly steering a two-ton vehicle hurtling seventy miles per hour," said Lead Researcher Randall Carson. "No one else can do it without being totally reckless, but our data show you are special. So, go for it." After countless hours of research, experts determined that you are not like all the other clowns on the road who are going to kill someone if they keep this up. Another study had found you are also the only person in the world who doesn't need to check their blindspot when merging, so come on over, bud.
Nutshell reflections for 5/27/25:
USCCB Daily Reflection AUDIO & VIDEO - May 27, 2025
Tuesday of Sixth Week of Easter
After Babel
Norwegian approach to support children’s risky play
By Ellen Beate Hansen Sandseter, May 16, 2025
Ellen is a professor at Queen Maud University College of Early Childhood Education in Trondheim, Norway, and a close collaborator of Mariana Brussoni—who wrote one of our most important essays on risky play for After Babel last year. Ellen’s work was recently highlighted in Nature for its insight into why kids need risky play, and how parents can help make it happen. The six types of risky play she identified: (1) play at great heights, (2) play at high speed, (3) play with dangerous tools, (4) play near dangerous elements, (5) rough-and-tumble play, and (6) play where children explore alone. Ellen offers a glimpse into how risky play thrives in Norway and outlines a path forward for those of us in the Anglosphere who are eager to restore a more vibrant real-world childhood.
Our Sunday Visitor
Rather than seizing the opportunity to escape, Paul stays
By Father Patrick Briscoe, OP, May 27, 2025
Today’s Mass gives us one of the most moving moments from the Acts of the Apostles. After a miraculous event shakes the prison where Paul and Silas are being held, we read: “Paul shouted out in a loud voice, ‘Do no harm to yourself; we are all here.’ He asked for a light and rushed in, and trembling with fear, he fell down before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and said, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ And they said, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus and you and your household will be saved'” (Acts 16:29-31). This is an astonishing scene. The jailer, convinced that his life is over, prepares to take his own life. But St. Paul, with deep compassion, intervenes. Rather than seizing the opportunity to escape, Paul stays — choosing the good of the man who had imprisoned him over his own freedom. Paul’s words stop the jailer in his tracks and open the door to his conversion. This is charity.
Matt Fradd's Terrifying Ruminations
When is the last time you repented the sin of hatred?
By Matt Fradd, May 27, 2025
“If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.” 1 John 4:20. What struck me about this passage this morning—what I found sobering—was how rarely I pause to consider whether I’m guilty of the sin of hatred myself. How easily it slips by, not because I’m consciously excusing it, but because I’ve not even acknowledging it. And what goes unacknowledged almost always goes unchallenged. Seriously, when is the last time you have repented of the sin of hatred? And is that because you just don’t commit that sin? Or is it possible that you and I have grown so used to living in a culture steeped in contempt, so immersed in an atmosphere that normalizes and even applauds hatred, that we’ve stopped recognizing it for the evil it is?
The Catholic Weekly
Vatican warns about fake pope quotes, videos
By Catholic News Service, May 23, 2025
All the speeches and messages Pope Leo XIV has given since becoming pope 8 May are available on the Vatican website, which should be checked before sharing supposed quotes and videos, Vatican News said. The Vatican News site published the warning in several languages 21 May after a 36-minute “deep fake”—AI-generated—video was posted on YouTube. The post, which used manipulated video of Pope Leo and an AI-generated voice with an accent that is not Pope Leo’s, praises Ibrahim Traoré, the military ruler of Burkina Faso. A ‘morphing’ technique was used—that is, transforming the image so that the movement of the lips matches the AI-generated words.” The video is only the latest example of social media fakes attributed to the new pope.
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