Catholic Nutshell News: Wednesday 2/11/26
Topics include: Bishop opposes professor’s ND appointment; Leo ships 80 generators to Ukraine; Worry over Gaza’s Board of Peace; & We need the Bible and the Church
“Here was an almond tree in bloom before me”
Today's sources are the CRUX, National Catholic Register, Vatican News, The Pillar, Aleteia, and EWTN News. (Catholic Nutshell is a subscription service for faithful, hopeful, & curious Catholics willing to exercise the Catholic News Muscle)
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EWTN News
Bishop Rhoades opposes professor’s appointment at Notre Dame
By Daniel Payne, February 11, 2026
Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana, Bishop Kevin Rhoades, on Feb. 11, expressed “dismay” and “strong opposition” to the University of Notre Dame’s appointment of a pro-abortion professor to a leadership position at the school, with the bishop urging the university to “make things right” and rescind the appointment. Notre Dame has been at the center of controversy since early January when it named global affairs Professor Susan Ostermann as director of the school’s Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies. Ostermann is an outspoken pro-abortion advocate who has regularly criticized the pro-life movement, up to and including linking it to white supremacy and misogyny. In his Feb. 11 statement, Rhoades — whose diocesan territory includes the university — said that since the controversy began, he has read many of Ostermann’s pro-abortion op-eds and was moved to “express my dismay and my strong opposition to this appointment,” which he said is “causing scandal to the faithful of our diocese and beyond.”
National Catholic Register
Leo sends 80 generators, medicine, and food to Ukraine
By Almudena Martínez-Bordiú/EWTN News/ACI Prensa, February 10, 2026
Pope Leo XIV has strengthened his support for Ukraine amid the ongoing war by sending new humanitarian aid to areas hardest hit by winter bombings, including 80 electricity generators, as well as food and medicine. According to the official Vatican News outlet, the assistance was sent at the Pope’s request through the Dicastery for the Service of Charity. Three trucks carrying the generators departed Rome to help communities facing severe cold after repeated attacks on energy infrastructure. Nighttime temperatures in Ukraine have fallen as low as minus 15 degrees Celsius, forcing many families to leave their homes in search of warmth in shelters, often the only places where they can receive a hot meal. The generators are intended to ensure electricity and heating in these shelters during the harsh winter months. Along with the generators, the Pope also sent food and large quantities of medicine, including antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, supplements, and melatonin.
CatholicVote/Zeale
Cardinal Pizzaballa worried about Gaza’s Board of Peace
By Felix Miller, February 10, 2026
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Jan. 6, expressed reservations about President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace, saying that “concrete actions” will be needed to bring about a lasting peace in the Holy Land. “Peace and reconciliation are beautiful concepts, but they risk remaining mere slogans if they are not accompanied today by concrete actions, gestures, and testimonies that physically demonstrate the possibility of rebuilding trust,” Cardinal Pizzaballa said at the Church of San Francesco a Ripa in Rome. Peacemakers must cultivate “opportunities for encounter” that “little by little help people to think differently,” he said. “Words are not enough.” The cardinal lamented that many people no longer believe that positive change is possible. He admitted that he and other faith leaders did not immediately realize the enormity of the Oct. 7, 2024, attack, and he did not anticipate the subsequent response from Israel.
Related: Netanyahu officially joins Gaza Board of Peace ahead of Trump meeting on Iran nuclear talks - By Jerusalem Post staff, February 11, 2026
Related: Poland, Italy, decline Board of Peace invitation, cite doubts, constitutional barrier - By Reuters, February 11, 2026
Jerusalem Post
What does AI mean for human creativity?
By Laurent Belsie, February 11, 2026
For the first time, musicians heard a composition co-created by a student and AI. The realization? It would have taken days to bring musicians together to create a song similar to this, let alone record one with such polish. “It was a lot better than I expected,” said Tarra Ajwani, a senior in the class at Berklee College of Music said. “It did make choices that align with my choices. [But] I would want to change stuff, knowing what I know.” Can large language models with names like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini out-create humans? One irony of this new movement of AI-aided creativity is that the creatives who have worked the most with the machines are the most vocal about their limitations. “It’s really not very intelligent,” says Oded Ben-Tal, a British-Israeli composer who has used AI technology since 2016.
The Pillar
Why did the Vatican dismiss an AfD politician’s appeal?
By Luke Coppen, February 6, 2026
The Vatican has weighed in on a closely watched case in Germany, in which a politician was dismissed from a parish post because of his membership in the Alternative for Germany party. In a decree from the Dicastery for Clergy obtained by The Pillar, the Vatican dismissed the former parish employee’s appeal against his dismissal based on his political affiliation as “legally and factually unfounded.” The case is seen as a litmus test for the German Church’s position that support for “extremist” political stances is incompatible with voluntary professional or voluntary service in the Church. The AfD was founded in 2013 by disillusioned members of the center-right Christian Democratic Union of Germany. The bishops’ 2024 declaration argued that the AfD had undergone “several waves of radicalization” and was now “dominated by a racial-nationalist attitude.”
Aleteia
We need the Bible and the Church, said the Pope
By Kathleen N. Hattrup, February 11, 2026
Continuing his reflections on the Vatican II document on Scripture and Revelation, Dei Verbum, at the general audience on February 11, Pope Leo examined the "vital link" between the Word of God and the Church. He noted how “the Bible arose from the people of God, and is destined for the people of God.” Sacred Scripture is “entrusted to the Church” and “preserved and explained” by the Church, he said. Since the start of 2026, the Holy Father has been reflecting on Dei Verbum and its teaching. He said that, “Vatican Council II reminds us that ‘the Church has always venerated the divine Scriptures just as she venerates the body of the Lord.’ Furthermore, ‘she has always maintained them, and continues to do so, together with sacred tradition, as the supreme rule of faith,’ as written in Dei Verbum.” He added that scripture finds the sphere in which to carry out its particular task and achieve its purpose: to make Christ known and to open dialogue with God.
Vatican News
Young trapped between their culture and human traffickers
By Jean-Paul Kamba, SJ, February 10, 2026
Sociologist, Roger Dayamba, is a member of the Pan-African Network of Catholic Theology and Pastoral Care (PACTPAN). “Traditional paths for international migration have been disrupted and are largely closed. As a result, people have developed new, longer, and alternative routes in a bid to escape surveillance. Unfortunately, these lead them to fall prey to traffickers lying in wait. It’s an opportunity for the ruthless.” The security crisis in Burkina Faso has profoundly changed displacement dynamics. It has also meant that traditional migratory routes can no longer be used. By blocking these traditional routes, the populations are forced to take detours, far from institutional protections, said Dayamba. In Burkina Faso, the issue of migration is not just about geographic mobility. It is a matter of survival and, in many aspects, also a mirror of social aspirations.
Crux
Emerging music artists push Christian genre boundaries
By Charlotte Kramon, AP, February 4, 2026
Anti-conversion laws in twelve states in India are being challenged by the National Council of Churches of India, which has filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court seeking to strike down such legislation as unconstitutional. Hindu nationalists often accuse Christians of using force and surreptitious tactics in pursuing conversions, often storming into villages and leading “reconversion” ceremonies in which Christians are compelled to perform Hindu rituals. These pressures on Christians, which also affect Muslims and other religious minorities, are part of what observers describe as a broad program for the “saffronization” of India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, meaning an attempt to impose Hindu values and identity while squeezing out rival faiths. Hindus make up nearly 80% of the country, and Christians — the majority of them Catholics — only make up 2.3% of the nation.
From Loop & EWTN to Pillar Post for 2/11/26
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Rubio says New START expiration ends outdated arms treaty - By Elise Winland - Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Feb. 5 expiration of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) marked the end of an outdated U.S.-Russia arms control framework and called for a new approach that accounts for the growing nuclear capabilities of both Russia and China. New START, signed in 2010 by the U.S. and Russia, capped deployed nuclear warheads to 1,550 and required on-site inspections. The treaty was extended for five years in 2021.
Parental rights group supports federal bill to close Department of Education - By Hannah Hiester - United States Parents Involved in Education (USPIE), a national parental rights organization, is supporting a bill that Rep. Barry Moore, R-Ala., introduced in the House of Representatives last year to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education and return funding to individual states. HR 2691 would close the Department of Education and repeal all programs administered by the department, except for certain grants.
VP VANCE COMPLETES TRIP TO ARMENIA - Vice President JD Vance concluded a two-day visit to Armenia yesterday, marking the first time a sitting U.S. president or vice president has traveled to the country. The trip advanced U.S.-brokered peace efforts between Armenia and Azerbaijan, finalized a civil nuclear agreement, and included a solemn visit to the Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevan. READ
EWTN News
EWTN’s top headlines — February 11, 2026
EWTN News provides reliable, free, up-to-the-minute news affecting the Universal Church, emphasizing the words of the Holy Father and the activities of the Holy See, and is available to anyone with internet access.
India’s bishops elect first Dalit president, demand end to conversion laws - By Santosh Digal - the bishops called for the repeal of anti-conversion legislation that several Indian states have enacted to criminalize religious conversions allegedly accomplished through force, fraud, or inducement. The bishops assert that such laws violate India’s constitution and lead to false arrests of Christians.
Diocese of Pittsburgh: 7 churches to close next month - By Amira Abuzeid The Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh announced the permanent closure of seven churches, effective March 12. St. Joseph the Worker Parish was established on July 1, 2020, merging all seven parishes. Due to persistent declining Mass attendance and ongoing financial constraints, the parish has gradually reduced the number of active worship sites.
Pilgrims couldn’t visit Lourdes, so a drone photographer took Lourdes to them - By Hannah Brockhaus - On March 17, 2020, the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes was forced to close its doors for the first time in over a century, due to COVID-19. Célian de La Rochefoucauld created 3D photos and videos of heritage sites for a group of disabled people on pilgrimage. The 31-year-old Catholic’s virtual pilgrimage to Lourdes was viewed 53,000 times from 162 countries in its first year alone.
The Pillar
Pillar Stories for Tuesday, 2/11/26
The Pillar offers a news summary and a capsule take on Catholic News. Here are news stories from the past week in the Pillar Post:
Emma Johnson, a Missouri college student, took it upon herself to get the ball rolling for an upcoming Catholic conference of young adults across Missouri. She marshalled fellow volunteers, and the support of a diocesan staffer, to turn a good idea into a reality. The conference will be free, it will include several hundred young people, and the organizers have been taught a valuable lesson about the Christian life:
Pope Leo reversed last week a Pope Francis-era policy which had proven deeply unpopular within the Roman Curia, which ended free or subsidized housing for senior Vatican officials and cardinals. Sources in the Vatican told The Pillar that the policy was inconsistently applied before Leo’s Feb. 1 decision to rescind it — and in fact, may have been applied retroactively in only one case, that of Cardinal Raymond Burke.
Cardinal Anthony Poola is the country’s first Dalit cardinal — in India’s traditional caste hierarchy, the Dalits occupy the lowest rung; they are the group customarily known as “untouchables.” The Indian caste system is complex, and I don’t pretend to understand it entirely. But it is clear that almost two-thirds of India’s Catholics are Dalits.
Nutshell reflections for 2/11/26:
USCCB Daily Reflection Audio - February 11, 2026
Wednesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
CBCPNEWS
God’s healing extends beyond physical illness at Lourdes
By Earl Jerald Alpay, February 11, 2026
Bishop Elias Ayuban Jr. of Cubao, speaking at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes, said many people carry burdens that remain invisible yet deeply affect their lives. He said the Lourdes apparition serves as a reminder that God is close not only to the sick in body but also to those struggling internally. Reflecting on the Gospel account of the wedding at Cana, Ayuban highlighted Mary’s attentiveness to human need, even before others voiced concern. He said Mary’s response offers a model of faith amid difficulty, pointing to her instruction to the servants to do whatever Jesus commanded. The bishop encouraged the faithful to bring their own hardships to God, whether struggles within families, poverty, or a weakened faith.
Aleteia
Why only 70 approved miracles at Lourdes?
By Philip Kosloski, February 9, 2026
It became evident at Lourdes in the very beginning that many people were claiming miraculous healings, but were in fact not healings at all. This led to the formation of the Lourdes Medical Bureau. Dr Georges-Fernand Dunot de Saint-Maclou established the Bureau des Constatations Médicales in 1883, so that no one who thought he had been “cured” would leave Lourdes without having submitted the story of his cure to a rigorous and collegiate medical assessment. In this way, he turned his summer consultation, which he had been conducting occasionally since 1879, into a permanent activity. Medical scientists have evaluated thousands of reported cures at Lourdes and have verified only 70 as miraculous. Not all miracles are reported to the authorities at Lourdes, so it is possible that more miracles remain undocumented. There are many ways pilgrims find spiritual healing and comfort at Lourdes, even when no physical cure is deemed miraculous.
Catholic Exchange
Using excuses in the moral life
By M.C. Holbrook, February 11, 2026
Jesus would agree: our envy, resentment, and anger don’t just spring up from nowhere. But Jesus also tells us precisely where these miserable sentiments come from, and it is not just from the people or circumstances that trigger them. Rather, these sentiments come from deep within our own human heart: From within the man, from his heart, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly (Mk. 7:21-22). Of course, the Lord of mercy understands; He understands them better than we understand them ourselves. However, in the words of my old spiritual director, Fr. Jim, such circumstances offer “an explanation, but not an excuse.” Just because the circumstances we have endured may have been exceedingly difficult does not give us license to respond to them without love in our hearts.
Crisis Magazine
Things have changed: Liberals despise what we were
By Anthony Esolen, February 11, 2026
The current fury over immigration in the United States reminds me of my experience, over 25 years, teaching in the Development of Western Civilization program at Providence College. When I arrived in 1990 as a young professor in the English department, I was politically liberal, with certain Catholic modifications. I believed that abortion was homicide. I believed that suicide was criminal. I believed that marriage was for keeps. I believed that the social, cultural, and intellectual benefits conferred upon the world by the Christian Faith were incalculable, while the Faith itself transcended all such matters. Yet I had also accepted the liberal position on gay marriage and the adoption of children by gay couples. At Providence, my colleagues and I wanted to have the best program, though we disagreed sometimes over what that would entail. The professor who sought to shut down the Western Civilization program hated me and wanted me gone.
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