Catholic Nutshell News: Tuesday 7/8/25
Topics include: India liturgy dispute is settled; German Church tightens belt; Dire humanitarian situation in Sudan; & UK Catholicism may top Anglican Church
“I’ll pray for thee from my pistachio tree”
Today's sources are the National Catholic Register, CNA, Aleteia, The CatholicVote, CRUX, The Pillar, OSV, Big Pulpit, and George Weigel. (Catholic Nutshell is a subscription service for faithful, hopeful, & curious Catholics willing to exercise the Catholic News Muscle)
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UCA News
Vatican ends Pontifical mission: India liturgy dispute is settled
By UCA News reporter, July 8, 2021
The Vatican has ended its direct ‘pontifical’ oversight of an Indian archdiocese, the Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly, after settling the long-standing liturgy dispute that risked dividing the Eastern rite Syro-Malabar Church. The dispute has been simmering for over fifty years, but worsened in 2021 when most priests and laypeople in the archdiocese refused to accept the rubrics of the Mass approved by the Church’s synod, the top decision-making body. The dispute was resolved on June 19, when the priests reached an agreement with the Church’s leader, Major Archbishop Raphael Thattil, and his Vicar, Archbishop Joseph Pamplany, administrator of the archdiocese. They will celebrate one Mass on Sundays and feast days following the rubrics approved by the Synod. Most parishes will reportedly hold the synod-approved Mass on Sunday evenings.
The Pillar
German Church tightens belt, despite church tax boost
By Luke Coppen, July 7, 2025
The Catholic Church in Germany announced austerity measures Monday, despite reporting an increase in annual church tax revenue days earlier. Beate Gilles, general secretary of the German bishops’ conference, said July 7 that Church officials needed to make “hard cuts” to expenditure from a common fund known as the Association of the Dioceses of Germany, citing a declining number of Catholics and an anticipated fall in church tax income. “Given falling membership figures and an expected decline in church tax revenue, ambitious cost-cutting measures are necessary for the Church in Germany. This also affects the German bishops’ conference,” she said. The Association of the Dioceses of Germany (VDD) is primarily funded by the 27 dioceses, which utilize money raised through the church tax, a tax that all registered Catholics in Germany are required to pay, at the risk of losing access to the sacraments.
Vatican News Service
United Nations warns of dire humanitarian situation in Sudan
By Vatican News, July 8, 2025
Nearly 40% of children under 5 years old are suffering from acute malnutrition in the city of El Fasher, the capital of Sudan’s North Darfur province. Of those, 11% have been diagnosed with severe acute malnutrition. UN spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, told reporters on Monday that people remaining in the conflict-stricken city are facing “extreme shortages” of food and clean water. Mr. Dujarric said the city’s water infrastructure has been destroyed or rendered inoperable due to deferred maintenance and fuel shortages. El Fasher has witnessed some of the worst episodes of conflict between rival militias since April 2023. Around 780,000 people have fled the city and the nearby Zamzam displacement camps, half a million of whom left in April and May of this year.
CatholicVote
UK Catholicism may be more prevalent than Anglican Church
By Hannah Hiester, July 7, 2025
Media in the UK cover the Catholic Church more than any other Christian denomination, referenced one in four stories about Christianity. According to a Christianity in the News Media 2025 Report, commissioned by English communications agency Jersey Road, the Catholic Church is mentioned in 24% of all stories on Christianity published by the UK’s most frequented online news sources. The Catholic Church is the second-largest Christian denomination in the UK, following only the Anglican Church. OSV News reported earlier this year that Catholics comprise 10% of the UK’s population. The number of Catholics is steadily rising in the UK, as CatholicVote previously reported, leading some to say that if the trend continues, Catholicism could become more prevalent than the Anglican Church for the first time since King Henry VIII established it in the 16th century.
National Catholic Register
Russia’s ‘sacrilegious war’ shatters Orthodox unity
By Father Raymond J. de Souza, July 7, 2025
Despite what desires remain in Rome for full communion, it is a complete impossibility when the two most important Orthodox patriarchates are not in communion with each other. On June 28, Pope Leo XIV welcomed the Orthodox delegation’s Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople — primus sine paribus (first without equals) among Orthodox Christians — in the Apostolic Palace, assuring them of his “desire to persevere in the effort to restore full visible communion between our Churches.” A few hours later, in St. Peter’s Basilica, Leo was presented with documentation that the gravitational center of Orthodox Christianity — the Russian Orthodox Church, which accounts for some 100 million of approximately 225 million Orthodox worldwide — was complicit in a “sacrilegious war” in Ukraine.
Catholic News Agency
Midwest Catholic universities merge: Set on Catholic identity
By Kate Quiñones, July 8, 2025
Two Midwest Catholic universities — St. Ambrose University in Davenport and Mount Mercy University in Cedar Rapids — are merging in the hopes of making Catholic education more accessible, a “proactive” step amid decreasing enrollment numbers across the nation. In what St. Ambrose University President Amy Novak called a “defining moment,” St. Ambrose has become the parent organization of Mount Mercy. The plan is a “proactive” one, not a reaction to financial challenges. Mount Mercy media representative Taryn DeBoard said the universities have “strong endowments, minimal debt, and wonderful community connections.” The change takes place amid a national trend of decreasing enrollment, affecting colleges of all sizes — though some Catholic colleges have continued to grow despite the trend.
Catholic Observer
No satisfying answers, and ‘healing to our wounds is far away’
By Gary Gately, July 8, 2025
“There are no satisfying answers now, and healing to our wounds is far away,” San Antonio Archbishop García-Siller said at Notre Dame Catholic Church in Kerrville, along the Guadalupe River in Texas Hill Country. He spoke at Mass Sunday after one of the deadliest U.S. floods in a century claimed more than 100 lives in Central Texas. “Lord, your people are mourning this morning. This Eucharist, our Sunday Mass, takes place in the context of the national disaster that has caused so much uncertainty, pain, and suffering to so many families with the floods along our river, our beloved river.” He said, “Many people ask at a time like this, in a time of tragedy: ‘Where was God? Where is God?’ You can see their sorrow, their pain in their faces, in their eyes. You’re stunned. You don’t know what to do. You feel that vulnerability, that we really don’t have much control over life. We think we do, but we don’t.”
Catholic Culture
Pope Leo has much to ponder on vacation in Castel Gandolfo
By Charles Collins, July 6, 2025
As Pope Leo XIV arrives in Castel Gandolfo for his summer break, it is unlikely to be a real vacation for the new pontiff. This is the slowdown time in Rome, since the Vatican almost shuts down after the June 29 celebration of the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul. First of all, he must examine what his predecessor was doing and whether he wants to emphasize everything Francis did. This is not unusual for a new pope. After all, the Theology of the Body was no longer stressed after Pope St. John Paul II died, and the “Courtyard of the Gentiles” was somewhat stillborn under Pope Benedict XVI. As always, the abuse crisis continues to haunt the Church, and there are debates surrounding the use of the Latin Mass in the Church. Castel Gandolfo may be cooler in the summer than in Rome, but for Leo, heat is not likely to subside.
From Pulpit & Agency to Satire for 7/8/25
BIG PULPIT
Tito Edwards Catholic blogger site: July 8, 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.
Report Details Killings, Discrimination Against Religious Minorities in Post-Assad Syria – CNA
Into the Reign of Pope Leo XIV, with Edward Pentin – Gavin Ashenden at Merely Catholic
Pope Leo XIV: Natural Law Finally Returns – Stefano Fontana at New Daily Compass
The Divine Blood Type: Revealed by ‘Coincidence’ of Eucharistic Miracles? – ChurchPOP
Catholic News Agency
CNA’s top headlines — July 8, 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.
How a teenage boy became a ‘ninja fighting hunger’ - Jul 8, 2025 - By Tessa Gervasini - Austin Baron, a Notre Dame student and the founder of Knot Perfect, is using his participation on NBC’s “American Ninja.”
Pope Leo XIV given 2 electric, eco-friendly ‘popemobiles’ for travel - Jul 7, 2025 - By Victoria Cardiel - Pope Leo XIV has been given two electric vehicles that can be transported by air and will accompany him on his international travels.
EWTN launches new series on Catholic homesteading - Jul 7, 2025 - By Michelle Laque Johnson - “On Good Soil” offers a fresh perspective on connecting with others and the land God created.
Babylon Bee - Satire News
Man’s Christian Love For Humanity Shattered By Trip To The Airport
By Life Staff, July 7, 2022
The world around a local man seemed to grow even colder and dimmer as he expressed feeling that his Christian love for humanity had been shattered after he took a trip to the airport. Traveler Ryan Kanter said he felt good about the world and mankind in general just prior to leaving the house for his trip to Florida. Upon arriving at O'Hare Airport, every shred of hope he had felt vanished within moments, leaving him despondent about the state of human society. "May God's wrath rain down upon every one of you," Kanter was heard muttering as he made his way through the terminal. "What a wretched world this is. Dear Lord, have mercy upon us. Oh, sweet Moses, here's the TSA checkpoint." Witnesses reported last seeing Kanter visibly seething with hatred toward all of mankind after finding his place in a middle seat between two morbidly obese passengers.
Nutshell reflections for 7/8/25:
USCCB Daily Reflection AUDIO - July 8, 2025
Tuesday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Our Sunday Visitor
NaProTechnology provides alternative to IVF for couples
By Katie Yoder, July 5, 2025
In an operating room with NaProTechnology surgeons, Dr. Naomi Whittaker found herself saying, “This is good medicine, this is what women need — this heals them, this heals their heart.” NaProTechnology is a treatment model or women’s health science that evaluates, diagnoses and treats the underlying causes of infertility and other gynecological and reproductive issues using a natural family planning, or NFP, method called the Creighton Model FertilityCare System, known as CrMS. For couples struggling with infertility, “Even if we don’t get a baby, they at least feel better that they have answers,” said Whittaker, who is located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Infertility is common, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One in 5 U.S. married women, ages 15 to 49 with no prior births, struggle with infertility or are unable to get pregnant after one year of trying.
The Obscure, Forgotten, and Undiscovered
Mexican American War chaplains, Fathers McElroy & Rey
By James K. Hanna, July 7, 2025
I thank Archbishop Broglio of Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA for his recent letter reminding me of the first two Catholic chaplains, Jesuits, who served during the Mexican American War (1846-1848): John McElroy, S.J., and Anthony Rey, S.J. The Enniskillen, Ireland-born McElroy (b. 1782) may be better known for the founding of Boston College,originally as a school to educate poor Irish emigrants. Father McElroy and Father Rey were selected as chaplains by New York Archbishop John Hughes and appointed by President James Polk in 1846. They joined General Zachary Taylor’s army at Matamoros, Mexico on the 5th of July. While in the chaplaincy, Father Rey “ministered to the wounded and dying at the siege of Monterrey; after the capture of the city, he remained with the army at Monterrey and learned Spanish in order to preach to the rancheros of the neighborhood … It is conjectured that he was killed by a band of robbers, as his body was discovered, pierced with lances …”
Catholic Mom
The grief of loss in personal finances
By Johanna Stamps, July 8, 2025
Personal finance might be the loneliest place on the planet. My finances have been an isolating source of stress and pain for most of my adult life. It felt as if no one could understand my unique circumstances. I looked at my peers, seemingly doing so well, and I couldn’t help but wonder, “Why, God?” After a few years of steady financial growth, I was married and had made the leap to a new country to begin a life with the man I loved. A few months later, I was pregnant, in a failing marriage, and picking up once again to get onto solid ground. I suddenly found myself thousands of miles away from the retirement fund I had been growing. In my late 30s, a first-time mother, I was starting over — from scratch. I experienced a very different side of Jesus’ teaching. It was less about money management and more about trust and control.
GeorgeWeigel.com
We just held Independence Day #249
By George Weigel, July 4, 2025
In the twelve months leading up to next year’s American semiquincentennial, the tale will frequently be told of Benjamin Franklin’s encounter with Philadelphia matron Elizabeth Willing Powel, who asked, as Franklin left the Constitutional Convention: “Well, Doctor, what have we got — a republic or a monarchy?” To which the 81-year-old sage replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.” That caveat remains as true today as when Franklin engraved it in the national memory on September 17, 1787. A year short of its 250th birthday, the United States remains a marvel: a continental-wide republic of 340 million people that, for all the defects, remains the world’s most egalitarian society, the world center of innovation, and the free world’s best hope for leadership in confronting tyrannies with aggression on their minds. Still, “We, the People” have a lot of work to do to get our act together.
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