Catholic Nutshell News: Wednesday 8/20/25
Topics include: Nature is not to be worshipped; Wildfires force closure of Camino de Santiago; Pope Leo XIV enjoying the papacy; & Not all Protestants are the same
“Here was an almond tree in bloom before me”
Today's sources are the CRUX, Catholic Culture, National Catholic Register, CatholicVote, The Pillar, OSV, George Weigel, and CNA. (Catholic Nutshell is a subscription service for faithful, hopeful, & curious Catholics willing to exercise the Catholic News Muscle)
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CatholicVote
Nature is not to be worshipped but exists to praise God, says Pope
By Hannah Hiester, August 19, 2025
The members of the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon (CEAMA) are holding their first assembly in Colombia, and Pope Leo has sent them a telegram to encourage them to preach the Gospel and caution against worshiping nature. CEAMA was established in 2019 after the Synod of the Amazon, which was held in Rome the same year. the Synod of the Amazon began with an indigenous ceremony in the Vatican gardens, where a tree was planted and two statues of pregnant women, one of which reportedly represented the Virgin Mary, were venerated. The event drew backlash. After the statues were thrown into the Tiber River, Pope Francis issued an apology and called one of the statues “Pachamama,” a pagan goddess representing Mother Earth. Pope Leo’s Aug. 18 telegram addressed the error of making nature into a god. The Pontiff, through Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, cautioned CEAMA against subjecting “oneself to them [natural goods] as a slave or worshiper of nature.”
Catholic News Agency
Sweden’s beloved Kiruna Church, 600 tons, moved 3 miles away
By AC Wimmer, August 29, 2025
Sweden’s beloved Kiruna Church is concluding a carefully choreographed crawl across the Arctic mining town on Wednesday, completing a two-day, 3-mile journey that successfully saved the 113-year-old Lutheran landmark from destruction. The mammoth move has seen the wooden structure, weighing over 600 tons, transported on specialized trailers traveling at about 1,600 feet per hour. Located 90 miles north of the Arctic Circle in Sweden’s far northern Lapland region, Kiruna is not only the northernmost city in Sweden but also sits atop one of the planet’s richest iron ore deposits, which has been mined continuously since the 1890s. The red wooden church — voted Sweden’s most beautiful building constructed before 1950 in a 2001 national poll — was designed by architect Gustaf Wickman between 1909 and 1912 as a gift from LKAB, the state-owned mining company, to the local congregation.
Aleteia
Wildfires force closure of Camino de Santiago stretch
By Daniel Esparza, August 20, 2024
Spain’s worst wildfires in two decades have forced authorities to close part of the Camino de Santiago, the ancient pilgrimage route that draws tens of thousands of walkers each year. As read in the article published by Reuters, flames spread to the southern slopes of the Picos de Europa mountains this week, leading officials to suspend access to a 50-kilometer stretch of the trail in the regions of Galicia and Castilla y León. Defence Minister Margarita Robles described the crisis as unprecedented. “This is a fire situation we haven’t experienced in 20 years,” she told Cadena SER radio, citing the extreme heat wave and its links to climate change. The Spanish army has deployed 3,000 troops and 50 aircraft to assist firefighters, while neighboring European nations have pledged support through the EU Civil Protection mechanism.
CRUX
Pope Leo XIV ‘seems to be enjoying’ the papacy
By Crux Staff, August 20, 2025
As Pope Leo XIV passed the 100-day mark in his pontificate, one native Chicagoan – Leo’s own older brother, John Prevost — said the new pontiff is having a good time of it in the job so far. “He seems to be perfectly at ease,” the 71-year-old John Prevost told Chicago local NBC affiliate 5Chicago television in an exclusive interview that aired this week. “He seems to be enjoying it,” the middle brother of the three boys – Louis Jr., John, and Robert – born to Louis and Mildred Prevost said, “this is a natural.” Prevost said it was news to him when the family tree compiled by the eminent Harvard historian and genealogist, Henry Louis Gates Jr. Henry, American Ancestors, and the Cuban Genealogy Club of Miami, discovered his family’s Creole roots. “When we talk about, that this is a pope of the people, boy, is he a pope of the people! … Oh, I definitely think the Church is in good hands,” he said. “I think, what people don’t know is, he’s taking this very seriously.”
The Pillar
Ports in a storm: America’s seafarer chaplains
By Jack Figge, August 18, 2025
Willard, 63, was ordained in 1999 for the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and served at a parish for years. He moved to Houston in 2016. Four years ago, the archdiocese was looking for a full-time chaplain at the Seafarer Center at the Port of Galveston. The deacon eagerly accepted. Since then, no two days have been the same. “I may start out playing a game of pool with some guy from Zimbabwe and the next thing you know, the next week he comes in, we start talking on a deeper level,” Willard said. “You build that relationship and then you can start talking to them more about their spiritual needs. It's the long haul.” Willard is one of dozens of port chaplains serving in the United States. Many are part-time, but others serve full-time, like Willard, dedicating their days to ministering to the spiritual needs of the laborers passing through American ports.
Catholic365
Not all Protestants are the same
By Adam Charles Hovey, August 19, 2025
Remember, not all Protestants have the same beliefs—even the same types of Protestants. My maternal grandmother, daughter of a Baptist Sunday school teacher, believed in the perpetual virginity of the Virgin Mary and the Immaculate Conception. My great-grandma was most certainly not a Catholic. She had a lot of Marian art at her house. (Then again, her name was Mary). And, I would imagine, that my great-grandma also believed these things. I think Catholics have a habit of treating Protestants like a monolithic group. My dad, for instance, was Lutheran. There's quite a big difference between a Zwinglian-influenced Baptist and a Lutheran. A Catholic could say, “Jesus says, unless you eat my body and drink my blood, you have no life in you” (John 6:53). Okay, well, a Lutheran could say, “yep, we believe that,” because, well, Luther isn't Zwingli. See Eucharistic Real Presence: Luther’s Magnificent Defense.
CatholicVote
US applauds Scotland for case against 75-year-old pro-lifer
By Grace Porto, August 19, 2025
The United States Department of State recently hailed Scotland’s decision to drop legal charges against Rose Docherty, a 75-year-old grandmother arrested for peacefully protesting near an abortion clinic. “We applaud Scotland’s sensible decision to refrain from further legal action against Rose Docherty,” a state department spokesperson told the Telegraph in an Aug. 16 report. “The United States stands with all those fighting for free speech and religious liberty.” As CatholicVote reported Aug. 15, Scottish prosecutors dropped the case against Docherty after the Alliance Defending Freedom International successfully challenged her case. Docherty’s case was one of many free speech cases in the United Kingdom (UK) resulting from the pervasive regional “buffer zone” laws, which prohibit protesting abortion within proximity to abortion clinics.
National Catholic Register
Pope Leo XIV makes another pilgrimage, his 4th, to a Marian shrine
By Edward Pentin, August 19, 2025
Pope Leo XIV made a private visit Tuesday morning to the Shrine of Our Lady of Mentorella, Mother of Graces, near Rome, underscoring his devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. A favorite pilgrimage site of Pope St. John Paul II near the picturesque mountain town of Capranica Prenestina, it is the fourth Marian shrine the Holy Father has visited since his election on May 8. Pope Sylvester I had the shrine consecrated around 335, and in the sixth century, the land was given to the Benedictine monks at nearby Subiaco. It was the first Marian shrine Pope St. John Paul II visited after his election in 1978. Pope Leo has so far visited three other Marian shrines, the first being the Augustinian-run Shrine of the Mother of Good Counsel in Genazzano, near Rome, on May 10. He prayed before the Salus Populi Romani icon in the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome. He celebrated Mass at the Shrine of Santa Maria della Rotonda in Albano near Castel Gandolfo.
From Loop & Agency to Comedy for 8/20/25
CatholicVote: Daily LOOP
Read daily news and political impact stories at the “LOOP”
Elections and politics matter. The LOOP gives you daily gems on the news that seek “to renew our country and culture.” CatholicVote’s advertised mission is “To inspire every Catholic in America to live out the truths of our faith in public life.”
TRUMP HOPES PEACE EFFORTS GET HIM INTO HEAVEN - President Donald Trump told an interviewer that his efforts to end the war in Ukraine could be one of his chances of reaching Heaven. “I want to try and get to heaven if possible,” he said. “I hear I’m not doing well. I hear I’m really at the bottom of the totem pole. But if I can get to Heaven, this will be one of the reasons.”
OHIO BECOMES FIRST STATE TO TACKLE AI IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS - Ohio has made history by becoming the first state to require every public school district to adopt formal AI policies. The move puts Ohio at the forefront of discussions about how to address AI in the classroom.
JIMMY LAI: PROFILE OF A CATHOLIC HERO - A priest and longtime friend of the Catholic media mogul and anti-communist hero, Jimmy Lai, recently shared details about the man. Lai's advocacy for freedom in Hong Kong led to years of solitary confinement ahead of a trial that could lead to worse. “Jimmy Lai reminds us what it looks like to live without fear. To speak without permission. To suffer for the truth," wrote the priest. "He reminds us, in other words, of what it means to be free.”
Catholic News Agency
CNA’s top headlines — August 20, 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.
‘Being a young Catholic is difficult’: The challenges facing young Cubans today - Aug 20, 2025 - By Diego López Colín - Young Cubans live their Catholic faith in a country fraught with challenges.
New Frassati Chapel aims to bring perpetual adoration to the nation’s capital - Aug 20, 2025 - By Madalaine Elhabbal - The Frassati Chapel will serve as a place for Catholics in Washington, D.C., to pray throughout the day.
Remembering St. Bernard of Clairvaux: Monastic reformer and adviser to popes - Aug 20, 2025 - By CNA Staff - St. Bernard is considered the last of the Church Fathers in the Western tradition.
Busted Halo
My fiancée is Protestant and I’m Catholic - 3 tips
By Stephen Kipp, June 17, 2025
1. Realize It’s Not Really an Interfaith Relationship When I was first getting serious about marrying my fiancée, I called an old professor of mine — a Jesuit priest. I asked for his advice on entering an interfaith marriage. He stopped me. “First things first, you’re both Christian. This is not an interfaith relationship.”
2. Learn to Admire the Other Person’s Faith - My best friend’s parents had advice on this topic. They had a similar situation to mine when they were dating: Mrs. grew up Catholic, Mr. grew up Protestant. They did something I didn’t expect. They each began describing what they loved about each other’s faith tradition.
3. Pray Together (No Matter Who Has Home Field Advantage) - My fiancée and I made a rule early on — we pray together. Yes, this means joining hands and speaking to God. But for us, it also means spending our Sunday mornings together. She comes to Mass with me, and I go to services with her. We don’t go separately.
Nutshell reflections for 8/20/25:
USCCB Daily Reflection Audio - August 20, 2025
Memorial of Saint Bernard, Abbot and Doctor of the Church
Catholic Culture
We are not American Catholics; Rather, Catholic Americans
By Fr. Jerry Pokorsky, August 18, 2025
Tribes represent clusters of families, and the bonds of blood sustain the human race throughout history. Jesus prepares the Church for her Catholic mission by choosing twelve apostles to replace the twelve tribes of Israel. Tribal bloodlines do not bind the apostles. Henceforth, their relationship to Jesus defines their brotherhood. The Ten Commandments are not tribal; they apply to all nations and every generation. We are accustomed to referring to American Catholics, European Catholics, Asian Catholics, Hispanic Catholics, or African Catholics. But the tribal adjectives modify the Catholic noun. We modify every tribe with the Catholic adjective: Catholic Americans, Catholic Europeans, Catholic Asians, Catholic Africans, and so on. We cannot help but notice the excesses of tribalism and nationalism. Until the end of time, we will have wars and rumors of war among tribes and nations. “… let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith….” (Heb. 12:1-2)
George Weigel
Catholics meet the world to convert the world
By George Weigel, August 13, 2025
In a June post at the website Where Peter Is, author Steven Millies, having ritually denounced the “senseless [Catholic] culture war quarrel” and taken another tiresome sideswipe at Bishop Robert Barron’s criticism of “beige Catholicism,” said we must recover Vatican II’s vision of “a Church determined to meet the modern world.” I demonstrated in two books (The Irony of Modern Catholic History and To Sanctify The World) that Vatican II did not call the Church to just “meet the modern world.” The Council called the Church to convert the modern world. By offering Jesus Christ as the icon of a genuine humanism and the sacramental Church as the icon of authentic human community. The Church meets the modern world with the proclamation made by Christ: “The Kingdom of God is in the midst of you” (Luke 17:21). That inevitably causes friction, which is sometimes severe. To live in that friction is not “senseless.” It’s inevitable. Recognizing that is what Lutheran pastor and martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer called the “cost of discipleship.”
Vatican News
Leo calls for day of prayer and fasting for peace
By Vatican News, August 20, 2025
Addressing the faithful gathered in the Paul VI Hall for his weekly General Audience, Pope Leo XIV turned his thoughts once more to the world’s many conflict zones. In recalling the upcoming liturgical commemoration of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which is celebrated on Friday, 22 August, the Pope invited the faithful to celebrate that day by praying and fasting for peace. “Mary is the Mother of the faithful here on earth and is remembered as the Queen of Peace,” the Pope said. As our world continues to be wounded by wars - in the Holy Land, in Ukraine, and in other parts of the world - the Pope invited all the faithful to take part in "a day of prayer and fasting" for all those who suffer because of war, "imploring the Lord to grant us peace and justice, and to wipe away the tears of those who suffer because of ongoing armed conflicts."
Missio Dei
Choose God over wealth and comfort
By Mandy Mazzawi, August 19, 2025
Today, we get to focus on the clarification Jesus provides His disciples and us. Jesus tells His disciples that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for the rich to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Can you imagine the dismay of all who heard this? Shocked, the disciples ask, “Who then can be saved?” Comfort — whether it be money, possessions, or even securities we build up for ourselves — has a way of convincing us that we are self-sufficient. That we don’t need God quite so much. Those who don’t strive after these things are foolish. A disciple’s question is met with one of the most reassuring lines in all of Scripture: “For men this is impossible, but for God all things are possible.” On our own, we cannot hope to pry loose our deep desire for control, for wealth, for comfort. But God can. His grace makes us free enough to choose Him over wealth and comfort — daily.
Image of Almonds by Monfocus from Pixabay
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