Catholic Nutshell News: Tuesday 9/23/25
Topics include: The digital world has its own path; Cardinal Cupich doubles down; North Carolina diocese leads nation in conversions; & Deacon in San Diego will self-deport
“I’ll pray for thee from my pistachio tree”
Today's sources are the National Catholic Register, CNA, The Imaginative Conservative, 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)
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ACI Africa
The digital world will follow its own path
By Victoria Cardiel, September 22, 2025
Pope Leo XIV revealed in his first interview since being elected pontiff that it’s going to be “very difficult to discover the presence of God” in artificial intelligence (AI), noting that he recently refused a proposal to create an avatar of himself. He pointed to the loss of humanity in the digital realm and warned that “extremely wealthy” people are investing in AI, “totally ignoring the value of human beings and humanity.” “The danger is that the digital world will follow its own path and we will become pawns, or be brushed aside,” he warned. “I think the Church needs to speak out in this regard,” he stated. The Holy Father warned of the “great challenge” of fake news because “the temptation is for people to believe it, and they believe it because there seems to be a need in some people to receive it. Something is going on there. People want to believe in conspiracies, people want to seek out all these false things, and that is very destructive,” he added.
The Pillar
Cardinal Cupich doubles down, defends award for Durbin
By Michelle La Rosa, September 22, 2025
After criticism from a fellow Illinois bishop, Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich on Monday doubled down on the archdiocese’s decision to honor U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, a longtime supporter of legal protection for abortion. The cardinal said his decision to confer an award on Durbin is in line with Vatican guidance on the need for dialogue with politicians who oppose Church teaching on abortion. “Senator Durbin informed me some years ago that he has taken up residence in Chicago, registered in a parish of the archdiocese and considers me to be his bishop,” Cupich said. “Accordingly, I have remained faithful to the May 2021 instructions of the then-Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, advising bishops to ‘reach out to and engage in dialogue with Catholic politicians within their jurisdictions...as a means of understanding the nature of their positions and their comprehension of Catholic teaching’.”
Times of Israel
France, Saudi Arabia warn Israel: ‘Annexation is a red line’
By ToI Staff and Jacob Magid, September 23, 2025
Saudi Arabia and France warned Israel on Monday against “any form of annexation” as potential retaliation for Western countries’ recognition of Palestinian statehood, saying it would be a “red line.” The two nations also called for an end to all settlement activities and settler violence. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected the recognitions as well as the notion of Palestinian statehood, and vowed to respond upon his return from the UN. Some government ministers are pushing Israel to annex part of the West Bank in response to the wave of recognitions. Both the US and Israel have argued that recognition of a Palestinian state at this time amounts to a reward for Hamas following the October 7 attack, which won’t advance efforts to release the 48 remaining hostages and end the war in Gaza, and which could well harm those goals.
CatholicVote
North Carolina diocese leads nation in conversions to Catholic faith
By Rachel Quackenbush, September 22, 2025
Drawing from figures in the 2024 edition of The Official Catholic Directory, a recent analysis by Catholic World Report compared the ratio of adult and non-infant baptisms and full receptions into the Church, relative to each diocese's Catholic population. The numbers place Raleigh well ahead of the national average. For every 71 Catholics in the diocese, there was one adult baptism or reception into the Church — significantly higher than the national average of one per 413 Catholics. The contrast is even more stark when compared to the bottom-ranking Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey, where only one person entered the Church for every 2,448 Catholics. “It speaks to the good work that is being done in many parishes in bringing ‘culturally Catholic’ families back to the practice of their faith,” said Patrick Ginty, who directs faith formation for the Diocese of Raleigh.
Catholic News Agency
‘Real problem’ of Nicaragua’s dictatorships and cartels
By Walter Sánchez Silva, September 22, 2025
From his exile in the United States, Nicaraguan Bishop Silvio Báez denounced what he considered the “real problem” of Latin American dictatorships and cartels: the idolatry of money. Referring to the dictatorships of presidents Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua, Miguel Díaz-Canel in Cuba, and Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela, Maduro is accused by the U.S. government of leading the drug-trafficking Cartel de los Soles. Báez noted that one day, “all of us, without exception, will leave this world, and God will ask us to account for how we have used the wealth,” and the gifts he has given us. As an example of how these gifts are misused, the prelate pointed to “the dictatorships in some of our countries, dictators who act in the dark and without any moral scruples to enrich themselves at any cost.” He said, “Let’s not forget that the root of Latin America’s main problems are not of a political but of a moral nature.”
The Angelus
Deacon in San Diego says he will self-deport
By Daniel Payne | CNA, September 17, 2025
A deacon in San Diego told parishioners last week that he will voluntarily deport himself after his residency status was revoked by the U.S. government. The deacon spoke at St. Jude Shrine of the West during Masses on Sept. 14. Local media reported that the clergyman came to the U.S. when he was 13 and “served the St. Jude community for roughly four decades.” He will reportedly be returning to Tijuana, Mexico. Local reports did not identify the deacon. A “significant share of the immigrants who are a part of our body are vulnerable to deportation, whether because they have no legal status or their legal protections could be withdrawn,” religious leaders said, including the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the National Association of Evangelicals, back in the Spring.
CRUX
Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia is ready to raise its highest tower
By Joseph Wilson/AP, September 19, 2025
After well over a century under construction, Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia basilica is ready to raise its immense central tower and become the tallest Christian church in Europe. The basilica’s General Director, Xavier Martínez, said Thursday that “the tower will be finished at the end of this year or the beginning of 2026.” He added, “We are used to seeing skyscrapers like those in the United States (go up), but it is remarkable that in the 21st century we are building a cathedral.” Once the gigantic Tower of Jesus Christ is up, the masterpiece of architect Antoni Gaudí will rise to 564 feet. That will make it taller than the Ulmer Münster church in southern Germany, which tops out at 531.5 feet. Work on the facades and interior will continue for several years, the church’s head of construction Esteve Camps said, but the goal is to finish building work in approximately a decade from now.
Our Sunday Visitor
Can I pray with my Protestant friends?
By Father John LoCoco, September 21, 2025
The Catholic Church answers with a heartfelt yes, provided we approach such moments with prudent discernment. The Second Vatican Council’s Decree on Ecumenism (“Unitatis Redintegratio“) affirms that Catholics and Protestants share a common baptism and belief in Jesus Christ. This shared baptism creates a very real, albeit imperfect, communion. If we are to take Jesus’ prayer “that they may all be one” (Jn 17:21) seriously, opportunities for common prayer are beautiful avenues towards shared unity. Praying the Lord’s Prayer together, reciting psalms, or offering spontaneous petitions can truly embody this prayer of Christ and lead to an ever greater mutual understanding and Christian fellowship. In fact, the Catholic Church encourages participation in non-sacramental prayer with other Christians. Discernment is essential. Catholics must always avoid “communicatio in sacris,” that is, sharing in sacraments like the Eucharist, outside the Catholic Church.
From Pulpit & Agency to Authors for 9/23/25
BIG PULPIT
Tito Edwards Catholic blogger site: September 23, 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.
Outgoing Bishop Garcia of Monterey Suppresses 17-Year-Long TLM Community – Fr. Z’s Blog
I Stand With Paprocki Urging Cupich to Reconsider. . . – Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone
Former Seminarian Under Cardinal Cupich: He Creates Divisions – Carl E. Olson on X
Gates of Hell Won’t Prevail Against it: Jesus isn’t Referring to The Institutional Church – EAD
Catholic News Agency
CNA’s top headlines — September 23, 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.
Priest builds church with his own hands in Chiclayo, Peru, Pope Leo XIV’s former diocese - Sep 23, 2025 - By Walter Sánchez Silva - Father Javier Cajusol Villegas said, “that when the Spanish came to the Americas, they brought with them priests who were also architects and engineers and that they themselves were the ones who built the churches.”
Padre Pio: 13 facts about St. Pio of Pietrelcina to know and share - Sep 23, 2025 - By Alyssa Murphy - Padre Pio is known for his profound wisdom, his stigmata, and miraculous reports of his bilocation and physical attacks by the devil.
Cardinal Becciu’s Vatican appeal hearing begins - Sep 22, 2025 - By Edward Pentin - Cardinal Angelo Becciu, the former deputy Vatican secretary of state, maintains he acted with papal approval and says prosecutors ignored key exculpatory evidence.
Agenzia Fides
Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies - 9/23/25
Fides News Agency (Fides) was established in 1927, at the direction of the Council Superior General of the Pontifical Society for the Propagation of the Faith, as the first Missionary Agency of the Church and among the first agencies in the world.
ASIA/PHILIPPINES - Bishop Bagaforo: "Protests concern moral issues" - Manila (Agenzia Fides) – "The campaign, carried out by a movement against corruption, is not political. Rather, it concerns a moral issue, which is why Catholic representatives and institutions are at the forefront.
AFRICA/ZIMBABWE - Christian denominations call for the cancellation of the country's debt in order to reduce social inequalities - Harare (Agenzia Fides) Zimbabwe's main Christian denominations describe their country's situation as a situation of "negative peace" in the declaration "Act Now for a Pacific World."
When school becomes a place of terror: 41,000 attacks on educational institutions in 2024 - by Cosimo Graziani - The endless slaughter of children killed while at school worsens year after year. In Africa, in the heart of Europe, in the Middle East, which is marked by the tragedy in Gaza, and in the United States.
Nutshell reflections for 9/23/25:
USCCB Daily Reflection AUDIO - September 23, 2025
Memorial of Saint Pius of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio)
Aleteia
Did Padre Pio ever see the Virgin Mary during his life?
By Philip Kosloski, September 23, 2025
Many regard Padre Pio as one of the holiest saints in the history of the Catholic Church, recounting the numerous favors he received from God throughout his long life. In addition to the stigmata, Padre Pio was known to have encounters with the devil and to have a wide variety of mystical visions. Padre Pio was deeply devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and so an obvious question would be, "Did he ever see her during his life on earth?" According to those who knew him, Padre Pio would see the Virgin Mary on a daily basis: “Yes, during Holy Mass. Every morning she is at the altar with Jesus.” When a priest asked Padre Pio if the Virgin Mary ever came to him in his cell, he replied, “You should rather ask me if she ever leaves my cell.” For Padre Pio, these everyday occurrences lift back the veil of the spiritual reality that Mary is always with each one of us. We simply don't see her.
Imaginative Conservative
What ‘Sanctuary’ is supposed to mean
By Marc Barnes, September 21, 2025
I do believe, and hold quite firmly, that if one man murders another, steals something (however valuable), neglects payment to a creditor or landlord, drives without a license, sells cocaine (powder or crack), or in any manner gets it so punishment is coming to him; he should be able to flee to a Catholic church, confess, do penance, and be saved from capital and corporal punishment—that he should be interceded for by the deacon, priest, bishop, or relevant ecclesiastical person, who should (a) stave off the cops and (b) work to secure pardon and mercy for the criminal. That a law is received is part of what makes it a law; that a custom is accepted belongs to the definition of custom. Without the premise that a church is sacred—or that anything is sacred—how could we, the money-grubbing schmucks of modernity, conclude that those who flee to a church should be granted asylum? Christianity is a political movement. To confess always expresses a willingness to “take your licks,” though with good hope of a reduced sentence; as in the family, so in Christendom.
Catholic Mom
Keeping God our God
By Denise Jelinek, September 23, 2025
For years, as a Catholic woman, I knew in my head that my security and identity were supposed to be found in God alone. However, it was a slow process for that truth to sink into my heart, to truly let it bring me peace and freedom, to let God be my God truly. And if I’m being completely honest? I still get distracted. I get caught up in the day-to-day demands of life and find myself slipping into earthly gods: things like other people’s approval, other people’s happiness, or just the satisfaction of checking things off my to-do list. But the truth is, when I let those earthly gods take over, I end up feeling exhausted, empty, and resentful. The only way to keep God my God is to return to Him. Because when I do, the fruits are undeniable: I feel freedom. I feel peace. I feel filled, and He shines through me. I can actually pour out His love instead of running on fumes.
Catholic Stand
Thank God for the family
By Diana Ragsdale, September 23, 2025
As I embark on the spiritually enriching journey of reading "Story of a Soul" by Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, I love learning about her and her Little Way. However, what I find most fascinating is how relatable I find her to be. Not only is she sensitive in nature as I tend to be, but she has a closeness to her family that I can relate to as well. She even admits in her autobiography that her family life prepared her for a hidden life in the convent to save souls. Reading about her made me realize how much our family life prepares us for our individual vocations when we set sail to tackle the world’s obstacles and adventures. Having a docking point to return to when the seas of life become mighty, stormy, and even worrisome is a true blessing. Having a family that is always nearby to be your support is truly a treasure.
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