Catholic Nutshell News: Tuesday 5/3/25
Topics include: U.S.’s first Nicaraguan-born bishop; flooding adds to Myanmar's emergencies; No pro-assisted suicide bill vote; & Misunderstandings on altar rail debate
“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
Newark gets U.S.’s first Nicaraguan-born bishop
By Christine Rousselle, June 3, 2025
Bishop-elect Pedro Bismarck Chau, 57, was named an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Newark on Friday, May 30. This is Pope Leo XIV's second episcopal appointment in the United States. He is the first Nicaraguan-born bishop in the United States. Chau was born on June 28, 1967, in Managua, Nicaragua. He graduated from Seton Hall University in New Jersey in 2004 with a Bachelor's degree in psychology and received a Master's degree in Professional Counseling in 2021. He was ordained a priest on May 24, 2008. Cardinal Tobin leads the Archdiocese of Newark. Chau will join fellow Auxiliary Bishops Manuel A. Cruz, Michael A. Saporito, and Elias R. Lorenzo, O.S.B.
Related: Pope Leo XIV makes first U.S. bishop appointment, fills San Diego vacancy, AP News, May 21, 2025
The Pillar
Charlotte bishop: Future of priest accused of sexual abuse
By Michelle La Rosa, June 2, 2025
Bishop Michael Martin of Charlotte has indicated that he will assess whether to return to ministry Fr. Patrick Hoare, who has been accused of both boundary violations and sexual abuse of a minor. Martin said the priest’s future ministry in the diocese will depend, in part, on his completion of an “assessment and training” program. In a May 29 letter to parishioners of St. Matthew’s Parish, where Fr. Hoare had previously been pastor, Martin announced that the Apostolic Signatura — the Church’s supreme tribunal — has sided with the diocese in its decision to remove Hoare from his role as pastor. Hoare had appealed his removal to the tribunal. Hoare has been on administrative leave in Charlotte since December 2019, when allegations of sexual abuse of a minor were made against him in Pennsylvania. Hoare denied the allegations.
Vatican News Service
Disastrous flooding adds to Myanmar's humanitarian emergency
By Deborah Castellano Lubov, June 3, 2025
The ongoing humanitarian emergency in Myanmar is being compounded by devastating floods in the north of the country, according to the Vatican's Fides news agency, which the Pontifical Mission Societies operate. The flooding came as a result of roughly a week of intense rains that especially affected Myanmar's Sagaing region and Kachin State, leading to further suffering for the nation's civilian population, which has already been extremely tried by the ongoing civil conflict. The Sagaing region had already been under severe strain following the March 28 earthquake, which killed more than 3,700 people, displaced thousands of others, and caused immense damage to homes and infrastructure. Myanmar's ruling military junta announced that it has extended a temporary ceasefire until June to support reconstruction and relief efforts following the earthquake.
CatholicVote
Illinois Senate adjourns without voting on pro-assisted suicide bill
By McKenna Snow, June 2, 2025
The Illinois Senate adjourned May 31 without calling for a vote on a bill to legalize assisted suicide in the state, bringing the legislation’s momentum to a firm halt shortly after the state House of Representatives passed it. On June 1, Illinois Family Institute Executive Director David Smith issued a statement hailing the efforts of Illinois citizens who prayed and contacted their state legislators to express opposition to the radical bill, SB 1950. He said those efforts made a difference in the outcome. However, the spectre of the proposal remains — proponents will try to advance the measure again in the future, Smith continued. “So, we’ll remain vigilant,” he said. “We must double down on our efforts to win hearts and minds to the sanctity of human life — from the womb to the tomb. But today, we thank God for the opportunity to fight another day!”
National Catholic Register
Misunderstandings on both sides of the altar rail debate
By Father Dwight Longenecker, June 2, 2025
Trouble has been brewing in various parts of the Catholic Church in the United States over the increasing desire among traditionally minded Catholics to have altar rails in churches. Altar rails originated as a kind of fence to keep animals out of the sanctuary. As churches grew larger, a marker developed separating the priestly action at the altar from the congregation. A partition with painted icons and a rood screen, a wooden screen surmounted by a crucifix, served the same purpose as the iconostasis in the East, all demarcations of three distinct worship spaces — the nave, the sanctuary, and the altar. At the Protestant Revolution, rood screens were demolished, and altar rails became the boundary markers between the nave and the sanctuary. Catholic practice followed. Most people are unaware of the history, and younger generations are unaware of the reasons why altar rails were abolished 50 or 60 years ago.
Catholic News Agency
Vermont backs off of law targeting pro-life centers after lawsuit
By Kate Quiñones, June 2, 2025
Under pressure from a lawsuit challenging a 2023 law restricting life-affirming pregnancy centers, Vermont Gov. Phil Scott signed a bill repealing those restrictions, allowing the centers to continue providing medical services, including abortion pill reversal. Vermont — one of the most pro-abortion states in the country — has no laws restricting abortion. But the 2023 law created a category of “limited-services pregnancy centers,” defined as such because they do not provide or refer clients for abortions. The state threatened the centers with fines of up to $10,000 for advertising in a “misleading” manner, although the law did not specify what the state meant by the term “misleading.”
CRUX
Pope Leo extends olive branch to Jews
By Elise Ann Allen, June 3, 2025
As with any new papacy, there is a risk in these early days of over-interpreting every word or action from Leo XIV, and while that is real, when it comes to current Vatican-Jewish relations, there isn’t much that he can say or do on the issue right now that does not carry at least some subtext. The pope praised Blessed Iuliu Hossu’s commitment to saving Jewish lives during the Holocaust, but also issued a clear condemnation of violence against the defenseless that was likely a subtle reference to the ongoing war in Gaza. Hossu was a Greek-Catholic cardinal who oversaw the diocese of Cluj-Gherla and who was eventually martyred during the Romanian communist persecution. On Monday, it is likely he was trying in earnest to mend fences with Israel and the Jewish community, given the strain in relations over the past 18 months due to some remarks from Pope Francis and his top aides; however, he wasn’t completely letting them off the hook either.
Catholic Culture
Pope warns against Pelagianism: Jesus’ ‘example’ over presence
By Catholic World News, June 3, 2025
Quoting St. Augustine, the Augustinian Pontiff warned against Pelagianism, without mentioning the ancient heresy by name: “Faith is primarily a response to God’s love, and the greatest mistake we can make as Christians is, in the words of Saint Augustine, ‘to claim that Christ’s grace consists in his example and not in the gift of his person’ (Contra Iulianum opus imperfectum, II, 146). How often, even in the not too distant past, have we forgotten this truth and presented Christian life mostly as a set of rules to be kept, replacing the marvelous experience of encountering Jesus—God who gives himself to us—with a moralistic, burdensome and unappealing religion that, in some ways, is impossible to live in concrete daily life.” Pope Leo concluded with, “May the Holy Spirit guide you in discerning criteria and methods that support and promote the Church’s efforts to minister to families,” Pope Leo concluded.
From Pulpit & Agency to Satire for 6/3/25
BIG PULPIT
Tito Edwards Catholic blogger site: June 3, 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.
St. Philip Neri, the Oratorio, & Christian Culture – Michael De Sapio at The Imaginative Conservative
Divorce, Family Arrangements, & Children’s Adult Outcomes – Andrew C. Johnston, National Bureau of Economic Research
The Trials of Translating Dante – Jason M. Baxter at The Catholic Thing
Vote Of Faith: Politics & The Rise of Priest-Politicians In Brazil – Religion Unplugged
Catholic News Agency
CNA’s top headlines — June 3, 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.
Denver archbishop calls for prayers after anti-Jewish terror attack - Jun 2, 2025 - By Kate Quiñones - Denver Archbishop Samuel Aquila called for an end to anti-Jewish violence and urged the faithful to join together in prayer.
Toronto Cardinal Leo tells Catholics to avoid using ‘symbols that do not represent us’ - Jun 2, 2025 - By Tessa Gervasini - Cardinal Francis Leo called on the faithful to honor the most Sacred Heart of Jesus rather than “using symbols that are contrary to God’s divine revelation.”
Sacred Heart billboard campaign kicks off in Nebraska - Jun 2, 2025 - By Tessa Gervasini - Listeners of Spirit Catholic Radio sparked an initiative to place billboards featuring the Sacred Heart of Jesus along Interstate 80.
Babylon Bee - Satire News
Republicans Unveil New Plan To Fix National Debt Sometime After The Return Of Christ
By Politics Staff, June 2, 2025
Republican lawmakers unveiled a bold new plan for the federal budget: to forgo paying down the national debt in favor of waiting for the second coming of Christ and the world to be ended in fire. "That would really take care of all our problems," House Speaker Mike Johnson said in an interview on Fox News. "Come, Lord Jesus!" The National Debt is reportedly in excess of $36 trillion and growing. Republicans, previously on the side of fiscal responsibility, claim the federal debt is so out of control that only the end of time could possibly wipe the slate clean. "I mean, there won't be anything left when the world is destroyed, but at least the debt will be gone too," said Senator Ted Cruz. "Let us eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow the debt is wiped clean!"
Nutshell reflections for 6/3/25:
USCCB Daily Reflection AUDIO - June 3, 2025
Memorial of Saint Charles Lwanga and Companions, Martyrs
Our Sunday Visitor
A flame is just beginning
By Deacon Greg Kandra, June 2, 2025
The apostles start the Church by playing with fire — those tongues of flame that come to rest above them — and the rest is history. It is a history that affects every believing Christian, and it is a history that continues to unfold. Pentecost, of course, marks the time we traditionally refer to as the “birthday of the church.” (Which reminds me: what birthday would be complete without candles burning and little tongues of flame?) It’s a moment of divine revelation, when the Holy Spirit arrives and the apostles set out to spread the Gospel to anyone who can hear it and anyone who can understand it, which, it turns out, is everyone. The account from Acts makes it plain: “Each one heard them speaking in his own language. They were astounded, and in amazement they asked, ‘Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans? Then how does each of us hear them in his native language?'”
Now Word
The Church of the Cross
By Mark Mallett, June 2, 2025
In that tiredness of the soul, I am tempted to skip prayer, to fill the void with noise, to hasten the passing of yet another day with distractions. But when I resist this temptation and give my small but crucial fiat to God once more, how often have I suddenly discovered that morsel of “daily bread” that Jesus told us to pray for, that hidden manna only found by those who ask, who seek, who knock (Matt 7:7). Jesus would never have included that petition in the Our Father to “give us this day our daily bread” unless the Father intends to give us our daily bread! As the Lord instructed the Israelites: I am going to rain down bread from heaven for you. Each day the people are to go out and gather their daily portion; thus will I test them, to see whether they follow My instructions or not (Ex 16:4).
Matt Fradd's Terrifying Ruminations
A man’s sexual appetite is meant to lead him out of himself
By Matt Fradd, June 3, 2025
100% of royalties from my book The Porn Myth go directly to Children of the Immaculate Heart—an apostolate that serves survivors of sex trafficking throughout San Diego County. The book is a non-religious response to pro-porn arguments. For many men, masturbation is as natural to their lives as urination. It is a biological need that fulfills an important function—and a pleasurable one, at that. The tide against masturbation has most decidedly turned in Western culture in the last one hundred years under the influence of men like Sigmund Freud, Alfred Kinsey, William Masters, and Virginia Johnson. It is viewed as a healthy response to sexual urges. We live in a society where it is so normal to escape into a world of sexual fantasy that we hardly believe there could be another way of living. But this isn’t a universal human experience. A man’s sexual appetite is meant to lead him out of himself, to be a self-gift that both completes and corrects his personality.
The Catholic Weekly
The sexual revolution is undermined by its own triumph
By Carl E. Olson, June 1, 2025
Few have delved into the destruction and suffering caused by that revolution, failing to provide a careful, direct, and caring Christian response to the pain and misery all around us. Nathanael Blake’s new book, Victims of the Revolution: How Sexual Liberation Hurts Us All (Ignatius Press, 2025), does precisely that, with a combination of scholarship, wisdom, and authentic Christ-centered compassion. “The sexual revolution has broken its promises, inflicting misery and suffering rather than the pleasure and freedom it promised. As its evil effects become ever more undeniable, Christians can show a hurting world why our understanding of human persons and sexuality is the basis of a better way to live,” he said.
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