Catholic Nutshell News: Tuesday 9/16/25
Topics include: Nigeria full of fear & funerals; No military solution in Mozambique; $246M settled in New York diocese; & Gender can’t be changed, says bishop
“I’ll pray for thee from my pistachio tree”
Today's sources are the National Catholic Register, CNA, The CatholicVote, CRUX, The Pillar, OSV, Big Pulpit, and MOM. (Catholic Nutshell is a subscription service for faithful, hopeful, & curious Catholics willing to exercise the Catholic News Muscle)
Click here to view this email on the Catholic Nutshell News website. Today’s Catholic Nutshell News audio podcast is available on the Substack App.
ACI Africa
Nigeria is full of ‘fear, flight and funerals’
By Agnes Aineah, September 15, 2025
Nigeria is “sinking in many fronts”, the President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) has said, lamenting that apart from economic hardships that Nigerians are grappling with, many communities in the West African nation have been thrown into perpetual mourning owing to unending insecurity. In his address at the session between CBCN and the ‘Prominent Lay Faithful’ of Calabar Ecclesiastical Province, Archbishop Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji lamented that many Nigerians have been killed, and those who fled are languishing in camps where they are exposed to extreme weather conditions, often without food and water. Acknowledging “notable progress here and there” in the country where persecution against Christians is said to be highest globally, still, “Insecurity continues to haunt us,” he said at the nine-day event that started on Sept.11. “Many towns and villages across the nation have become communities of fear, flight and funerals.”
The Pillar
No military solution for Islamist insurgency in Mozambique
By Filipe d’Avillez, September 15, 2025
The ongoing Islamist insurgency in Mozambique cannot be solved militarily, according to Archbishop Inácio Saure of Nampula, a city in the northern region of the country. Attempts are not working to stem ongoing attacks on local Christians, which have claimed thousands of lives in the East African nation. Saure warned against “simplistic” narratives or religious radicalism. Jihadist groups claiming allegiance to the Islamic State have spread terror across the northernmost province of Cabo Delgado since 2017. Early attacks targeted mostly military forces, government structures, and foreign companies. The terrorists have since taken to targeting Christian sites, destroying Churches and missions, beheading Christians, and in 2022, executing an Italian Comboni missionary sister. “If we want to find a definitive solution for this problem then we need to help all those involved, including the ones doing the fighting, and we need to find the root causes.”
Times of Israel
IDF begins major Gaza City ground offensive targeting Hamas
By Emanuel Fabian, Nurit Yohanan, September 16, 2025
The Israel Defense Forces confirmed Tuesday that it had launched a controversial and long-expected major ground offensive in Gaza City, as local medics said dozens were killed and injured in strikes. The desperate Israeli families of hostages held in Gaza said they were “terrified” for their loved ones. The IDF said that it had “begun destroying Hamas infrastructure in Gaza City,” confirming the start of a major military push in the area after heavy bombing overnight. According to the IDF statement, more than 40 percent of the city’s estimated one million residents have “left the city for their safety and the safety of their loved ones.” Standing firm against evacuation, however, was the enclave’s Holy Family Church, with a source telling The Times of Israel that it had no plans to evacuate, despite the increased risk of the major military offensive.
CatholicVote
$246M settled between New York diocese & abuse survivors
By Hannah Hiester, September 15, 2025
A bankruptcy judge in New York last week approved a $246 million settlement between the Diocese of Rochester and clergy sex abuse survivors, bringing the diocese’s years-long legal proceedings with the claimants and its insurers a step closer to final resolution. According to a letter to the faithful of Rochester from Bishop Salvatore Matano, Judge Paul Warren approved the settlement plan Sept. 5. The diocese and its affiliated entities will contribute $55 million of the funds, while the rest will be paid for by Continental Insurance Co. 460 survivors unanimously accepted the diocese’s settlement in July after six years of complications. The diocese had initially filed for bankruptcy in 2019 after being hit with hundreds of lawsuits alleging clergy sex abuse. Previous proposals for a settlement were struck down by the bankruptcy court and the diocese’s insurer. Bishop Matano said the diocese had not expected the settlement to take so long and added that he hopes the final steps to implement the plan will be completed in the coming weeks.
National Catholic Register
Gender can’t be changed, but hearts can, says bishop
By Matthew McDonald, September 16, 2025
Attempting to change gender is “medically assisted self-harm” and should be rejected, said Toledo Bishop Daniel Thomas. But people experiencing pain over gender identity should know that God loves them and wants to bring them to Himself through their sufferings. At 7,700 words, The Body Reveals the Person: A Catholic Response to the Challenges of Gender Ideology, published by Bishop Thomas in August, is the longest statement on gender identity yet from a U.S. bishop, drawing on Scripture, theology, philosophy and social sciences to present Church teaching in a form the bishop said he hopes is “readable, digestible, accessible, and charitable.” He acknowledged in the document that opposing gender transitioning is a message that many don’t want to hear, especially those who see social, chemical, and surgical changes as a way to end their distress.
Catholic News Agency
Mass attendance up at colleges in wake of Kirk assassination
By Amira Abuzeid, September 15, 2025
In what some are calling “the Charlie Kirk effect,” people across the nation, including many college students who are not ordinarily churchgoers, have decided to go to church since the assassination last week of the conservative Christian political activist Charlie Kirk. Matt Zerrusen, co-founder of Newman Ministry, a Catholic nonprofit that operates on about 250 campuses nationwide, told CNA he has spoken with Catholic college ministry leaders throughout the country over the last few days, and “every one of them told me they’ve seen bigger crowds” at Masses and lots of people “they’ve never seen before.” He told CNA that many more college students are also asking for spiritual direction. “So many people are asking, ‘What do I do?’ What is evil? How does God allow this?” Zerrusen said. “They are asking so many basic questions.”
CRUX
Greek island with 1,000 private chapels maintained by families
By Giovanna Dell'Orto/AP, September 16, 2025
More than a thousand chapels dot the Greek island of Tinos. In a rare centuries-old tradition, the mostly simple, room-sized stone structures are painstakingly maintained by the ordinary families that own them. These private whitewashed chapels with miniature bell towers belong to octogenarians and Generation Z, goat farmers and hotel owners, Orthodox Christians and Catholics who worship daily, and de facto atheists. They throw a liturgical and community celebration called panigiri around the feast day of the Virgin Mary or the saint they honor. “This tradition and custom that connects us between members of the family is part of our identity. I’m fully committed to maintaining and passing them down to my children,” said Ioanna Krikelli during the September festival at her family’s church, Agios Sostis, established in the 17th century.
Our Sunday Visitor
Report: link between religious freedom violations & mass atrocities
By Kate Scanlon, September 13, 2025
Religious freedom violations are an early warning sign of where mass atrocities could occur around the globe, said a new report from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. The Sept. 9 report drew a link between the promotion of international religious freedom and efforts to prevent atrocities. “Mass atrocities are preceded by a range of early warning signs, such as religious freedom violations. When religious freedom is systematically denied or religious identities targeted, the risk of atrocity crimes may increase.” Stephen Schneck, USCIRF commissioner, said USCIRF cross-referenced its reports “on the situation for religious freedom in countries around the world with the Holocaust Museum’s Early Warning Project, which looks for places where genocide might occur.” Comparing the Early Warning Project’s list of 21 ongoing state and nonstate-led killings revealed significant overlap with countries in which USCIRF identified concern.
From Pulpit & Agency to Authors for 9/16/25
BIG PULPIT
Tito Edwards Catholic blogger site: September 16, 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 USCCB’s Woke Moment Exposed Over Charlie Kirk Moment – Lepanto Institute on X
Pope Leo XIV Becomes His Own Man – Kevin Tierney
First Leo Interview, We Have A Pope In Continuity, Not In Rupture – Fr. Allan J. McDonald
Support for Traditionis Custodes is Collapsing Fast Now – Damian Thompson on X
Catholic News Agency
CNA’s top headlines — September 16, 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.
Hundreds of Italian priests condemn what they say is ‘genocide’ happening in Gaza - Sep 15, 2025 - By Elias Turk - More than 550 priests from 21 countries have united to “support Christian communities in the Holy Land and denounce every war crime and every form of genocide
CUA appoints Microsoft AI director to lead new institute on emerging technologies - Sep 15, 2025 - By Tessa Gervasini - Taylor Black, director of artificial intelligence (AI) at Microsoft, will lead a new institute on emerging technologies and AI at The Catholic University of America (CUA).
Pope Leo XIV said ‘Where pain is deep, hope in Jesus must be stronger’ - Sep 15, 2025 - By Eduardo Berdejo - “Redemption is mercy and can make our future better, while we still await the Lord’s return. Only he will wipe away every tear and open the book of history, allowing us to read the pages that today we cannot justify or understand.”
Aciafrica
Catholic thought & culture from African Catholics
ACI Africa was founded in 2019 as a free, up-to-the-minute news source covering the Catholic Church in Africa. It began with its sister agency, ACI Prensa, founded in Lima, Peru, in 1980 by Fr. Adalbert Marie Mohm (†1986).
In a Tragic Road Accident, Four Catholic Sisters Returning from Profession Event in Mwanza, Tanzania, Died Alongside Driver - Sep 16, 2025 - By Nicholas Waigwa - Four members of the Missionary Sisters of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus (MCST) in Tanzania are among the five people who lost their lives in a tragic road accident.
“Do not be afraid”: Catholic Archbishop to Members of Commission for Pastoral Care of Migrants, Itinerants - Sep 16, 2025 - By João Vissesse - Archbishop Zeferino Zeca Martins of Angola’s Catholic Archdiocese of Huambo has encouraged members of the Episcopal Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants (CEPAMI).
UK-Based Christian Entity Denounces Targeting of Women and Children as Violence Rages On in Sudan - Sep 15, 2025 - By Silas Isenjia - Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), a UK-based human rights organization, specializes in religious freedom and works on behalf of those persecuted for their Christian beliefs, decried atrocities against women and children in Sudan as the country’s civil war in its third-year rages on.
Nutshell reflections for 9/16/25:
USCCB Daily Reflection AUDIO - September 16, 2025
Memorial of Saints Cornelius, Pope, and Cyprian, Bishop, Martyrs
Aleteia
Could a non-Catholic ever be considered a martyr?
By Philip Kosloski, September 16, 2025
The answer is yes and no, depending on your definition of martyr and whether or not the Catholic Church canonizes that martyr. Christians around the world have been killed for their faith, many of whom are officially recognized by the Catholic Church as martyrs. It all depends on the definition of a martyr. The word “martyr” originally derived from the Greek word “martus [signifying] a witness who testifies to a fact of which he has knowledge from personal observation.” In Christian usage, this was at first applied to the apostles, who witnessed firsthand the life of Jesus Christ and his resurrection. In the first centuries of the Church, the term was used exclusively to denote those holy men and women who gave witness to Christ by shedding their blood. In this broad category, we certainly could include non-Catholics (and even non-Christians) — the only qualification is that they are killed for their faith in Jesus Christ.
Imaginative Conservative
Forgotten heroes of faith in ‘True England’
By Joseph Pearce, September 14, 2025
In my book Faith of Our Fathers: A History of True England, I offer a panoramic overview of two thousand years of English history, from the first century to the 21st. Its premise is “true England” was the England which had remained true to Truth Himself, Jesus Christ, and to His Mystical Body, the Catholic Church, from the arrival of the first Christian missionaries around the year 63—only 30 years after the Crucifixion—to today. In 735, the year in which St. Bede died in northern England, another great English scholar was born, also in the north of England — Alcuin, who was destined to be the most influential scholar of the eighth century. In 1215, King John’s tyrannical rule led to a rebellion of his own barons. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Stephen Langton, acting as mediator between the king and his restless subjects, is described as the “father of English liberty.” Read further for information on other unknown heroes of faith in the UK.
Catholic Mom
An honest reflection of a caregiving journey
By Betty Vertin, September 16, 2025
Minding Mom: A Caregiver’s Devotional Story by Lisa Livezey is a heartfelt devotional filled with personal stories that share real feelings — stresses, joys, and humorous moments — Livezey experienced as her mother’s caregiver after the sudden death of her father, who had previously cared for his wife. Each of the devotions begins with a Bible verse, and then Livezey shares a story from a time when she was caring for her mother. The devotions often conclude with gratitude, thanking the Lord for specific lessons or relationships that have impacted her caregiving journey. Other times, she shares a prayer asking for His guidance as she navigates medical decisions that need to be made. This is an honest reflection of a caregiving journey. It didn’t shy away from the hard days, but also focused on the joys that come from caregiving, demonstrating that caring for loved ones can be a gift.
Catholic Stand
Connect with Mary’s grief
By Pamela Mandela, September 14, 2025
September is traditionally the month dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows. We remember the moments in Our Lady’s life when she lovingly and willingly united herself to her Son’s sacrifice on the Cross and shared in His self-giving for our redemption. Through this inspiring devotion and reflection, Mother Church guides us to pray and meditate on Mary’s deep sorrow experienced at the crucifixion of her Son. Luke’s gospel describes it as her soul being pierced by a sword (Luke 2:35) as she stood powerless at the foot of the cross and helplessly watched Him die. Mary endured the agony of witnessing Jesus’ brutal and painful death on the cross, after experiencing the public humiliation that preceded His death. Although present, she was unable to intervene. She was a powerless, helpless witness to every wound and taunt inflicted upon her Son. But this was Simeon’s prophecy becoming a reality for Mary as she experienced this profound sorrow (Luke 2:35).
Catholic Nutshell News is a subscription service hosted by SubStack. Get up to a dozen recent articles from Monday to Saturday to review newsworthy issues. An easy way to browse top Catholic news and information services on the net. Edited by John Pearring.
Listen to an audio podcast of today’s Catholic Nutshell News on the Substack App!
At the top of your phone, while in the Substack app to read our post, you can press the ▶️ play button and have Catholic Nutshell News read to you daily …
