Catholic Nutshell News: Wednesday 7/22/26
Catholics should know: Bishops support gender ideology restrictions; Same-sex folks who want to be chaste; DOJ investigation of ‘DC Five’ babies; & U.S. Catholics are not going to Confession
“Here was an almond tree in bloom before me”
Your 5-minute Catholic briefing for busy faithful. Today's sources are the Zeale News, National Catholic Register, EWTN News, The Pillar, Zenit, and OSV 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
Bishops embrace proposed grant rules to restrict gender ideology
By Tyler Arnold, July 20, 2026
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops submitted a public comment on proposed changes to federal grants, expressing support for restrictions on gender ideology and abortion but opposing restrictions for groups that work with migrants who are in the country unlawfully. The bishops submitted the public comment to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on July 8. The proposed rule change regulates the activities of organizations that receive certain forms of federal assistance, which includes Catholic charities, schools, and healthcare providers. The bishops support a provision that bans federal funds from being used on efforts that deny “the sex binary in humans” or express the notion “sex is a chosen or mutable characteristic.” The bishops also support a proposal to ban federal agencies from discriminating against or disfavoring faith-based organizations in award applications but urged OMB to strengthen this language too by expressly applying the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).
OSV News
Nothing on same-sex attracted folks ‘who want to live chastely’
By Gina Christian, July 21, 2026
Father McTavish — a former surgeon who has published work on same-sex attraction, chastity, gender ideology, prostitution and HIV — chastised the synod study group’s report’s inclusion of just two testimonies from same-sex attracted men. He said their experiences of faith “are not representative,” since “the two persons are both male, and they’re both living in same-sex relations which they call marriage.” “I think my overall summary of the synodal report, particularly in relation to persons with same-sex attraction, is that it’s not very synodal,” agreed Father James McTavish. Cardinal Carlos Castillo Mattasoglio of Lima, Peru, and coordinator of Study Group 9. The Vatican has not yet responded to two requests from OSV News for comment on the report.
National Catholic Register
Public-school teachers don’t have free speech
By Andrea M. Picciotti-Bayer, July 21, 2026
Sarah Morse, an American working as a history teacher at a high school in Arbroath, Scotland, responded to students, telling them she is Catholic and opposes abortion, when her teenage pupils asked her directly what she believed as they were studying Nazism. She told them they were free to have their own opinions. The Angus Council fired her a few hours later. Morse is now going before an employment tribunal seeking relief. Morse’s case unfolded under British employment law, but the question it raises is not a foreign one. American teachers face the same scenario, and the answer for them turns on a body of U.S. case law most people have never had reason to learn. An American teacher who said the same thing would be wrong to assume the free-speech and free-exercise guarantees found in the First Amendment offer her absolute protection. Under Garcetti v. Ceballos, speech delivered as part of a government employee’s official duties, including an answer a public-school teacher gives mid-lesson, belongs to the school, not the employee.
Zeale News
GOP lawmakers demand DOJ investigation of ‘DC Five’ babies
By Zeale News, July 21, 2026
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., and more than 50 other Republican lawmakers are demanding that the Department of Justice (DOJ) complete an investigation into the deaths of five late-term aborted babies whose remains have been held by the D.C. medical examiner since 2022. In a July 20 letter to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro, the lawmakers requested autopsies, preservation of all evidence, and a determination of whether the children were killed through an illegal partial-birth abortion or by infanticide after being born. The lawmakers also asked that the children receive “a proper and respectful burial” once the investigation is complete and any responsible parties have been brought to justice.
The PIllar
Rupnik rumors challenge what might come next
By JD Flynn, July 21, 2026
Rumors began circulating in Rome Monday that the canonical trial of former Jesuit Fr. Marko Rupnik had come to a conclusion, without a conviction on the unspecified canonical crimes now being litigated through the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. And whatever comes of the rumored resolution in the Rupnik case, the case will inevitably close. When it does, the Apostolic See will have to be prepared for the unique double helix of a case like Rupnik’s — with institutional attention focused on both ensuring a just legal outcome, and managing the wave of expectations attached to a high-profile case with a turbulent history. Allegations of sexual abuse against him may not be able to confirm evidence that could provide a definitive resolution in the case. The Rupnik case centers on reports and posts published July 20 on an Italian traditionalist-adjacent blog and a relatively unknown English-language website that seems to cover the Vatican. Allegations of sexual abuse against him may not be able to confirm evidence nor provide a definitive resolution in the case.
Vatican News
140 people missing after migrant boat drifts off Mauritania
By Francesca Merlo, July 22, 2026
At least 143 refugees and migrants are dead or missing after a boat attempting to reach Europe became stranded off the coast of Mauritania, according to the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR. The vessel departed from Bafuloto in The Gambia and was rescued on 18 July after drifting at sea for 25 days. It reached the Mauritanian port of Nouadhibou carrying 38 survivors and the bodies of some of those who had died during the crossing. Among the survivors were two children who lost all their family members during the journey and are now recovering in hospital, UNHCR spokesperson Matt Saltmarsh told reporters in Geneva. Mauritania’s coastguard said the vessel had left The Gambia with 160 people on board before running out of fuel. It put the number of people missing at 122. The victims come from countries across sub-Saharan Africa, according to UNHCR. No further details have been released regarding the circumstances of their deaths.
Graphs about Religion
What American Catholics believe but seldom practice
By Ryan Burge, July 13, 2026
The Catholic Church is one of the most doctrinally specific institutions in the world. The Magisterium — the Pope, Cardinals, and Bishops — has issued detailed guidance on everything from the mechanics of salvation to the appropriate use of birth control to how often a faithful Catholic should receive the sacrament of Reconciliation. Just how Catholic, in the doctrinal sense of the word, is the average American Catholic? In fact, just 4% of Catholics say that they go to confession once a month or more. For comparison, the percentage of Americans who attend religious services multiple times per week is in the 6-8% range. A clear majority (56%) describe their confession attendance as “seldom” or “never.” Another 16% indicate that they are going into the booth less than once a year. That means almost three-quarters of Catholics haven’t gone to confession for a very long time. It’s just not part of normal religious practice for most American Catholics.
The Jerusalem Post
Hitler’s birthplace begins new life as a police station
By REUTERS, July 22, 2026
The building Adolf Hitler was born in near the Austrian border with Germany officially begins a new life as a police station on Wednesday, a conversion Austria's government hopes will prevent it serving as a place of pilgrimage for neo-Nazis. After years of debate about the large, traditional terraced house in the town of Braunau am Inn, which was privately owned and had housed a charity for people with disabilities, Austria made a compulsory purchase in 2017 and announced in 2019 that it would be remodeled and turned into a police station. Even before the conversion, the only sign of its historical significance was a rock on the pavement from the Mauthausen concentration camp with the inscription “Never again fascism“ that does not mention Hitler. The rock remains in place. The only sign added to the white facade reads “Police.”
Keep informed - 7/22/26 news for Catholics
Snippets from Loop, Fides, & The Pillar
Zeale’s 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.”
New Jersey reveals 6,600 noncitizens were registered to vote through software error - July 21, 2026 - Between June 2023 and June 2024, while applying for driver’s licenses or state identification cards, residents who answered “no” when asked electronically whether they were U.S. citizens were registered anyway, according to the New Jersey Globe.
Hasan Piker’s Mao praise resurfaces after he campaigned for Michigan Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed - July 21, 2026 - The socialist streamer called Mao “one of the great leaders of this world,” drawing new scrutiny to El-Sayed’s decision to feature him at campaign rallies as Michigan’s closely watched Democratic primary approaches.
Catholic nonprofit is fighting for students’ faith before they even reach campus - Elise Winland - July 20, 2026 - When young Catholics leave home for college, they often carry their faith into an unfamiliar and challenging environment. A Virginia-based organization is ensuring students begin that journey with mentors beside them, spiritual roots beneath them, and a Catholic community welcoming them.
Fides News Agency
Fides headlines — July 22, 2026
Fides was created on 5 June, 1927, by order 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, serving to inform and promote missionary activity.
AFRICA/MADAGASCAR - Alarm in Madagascar over wave of unresolved child and adolescent disappearances and killings - Antananarivo (Fides News Agency) – Alarm is growing in Madagascar over a wave of unresolved disappearances and killings that, since the beginning of the year, has particularly affected children and adolescents.
AMERICA/VENEZUELA - Camillians and Missionary Daughters of the Holy Family of Nazareth join forces to provide Venezuelan children a vital refuge of safety, routine, and hope - Caracas (Fides News Agency) – One month after the devastating earthquake that struck Venezuela, the humanitarian response remains in full swing as relief organizations continue to support affected communities.
ASIA/KAZAKHSTAN - The Church is speaking more and more Kazakh. Father Jocher: "The Future of the Church lies with Kazakhs seeking Christ" - by Paolo Affatato Astana (Fides News Agency) – The Catholic Church in Kazakhstan is experiencing a phase of profound transformation: it is no longer simply the Church of former Polish, German or Ukrainian deportees.
The Pillar
Pillar Stories from the May calendar, 7/22/26
The Pillar offers a news summary and a capsule take on Catholic News. Here are news stories from the past few weeks in the Pillar Post:
If you’re worried about our growing national epidemic of gastric discomfort, have no fear — Michelle La Rosa has a good list for you of patron saints for digestive woes, along with the cautionary tale of the heretic Arius, a cautionary tale we love an excuse to tell, here at The Pillar.
A Scottish bishop has expanded the availability of Traditional Latin Masses in his diocese, ahead of an illicit episcopal consecration by a local traditionalist group. You’ve read already at The Pillar about the Transalpine Redemptorists, a traditionalist community beginning to espouse sedevacantism and planning to see its founder illicitly consecrated a bishop on Saturday.
Vatican peace envoy Cardinal Matteo Zuppi went to Ukraine last week for a four-day humanitarian mission. Why did the Italian cardinal make a quick and busy trip to Ukraine? What happened over the four days? And what does the trip say about the current state of the Vatican’s peace mission?
July 22, 2026 - USCCB Daily Mass Readings
You can listen HERE or read HERE:
Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene
Today’s Catholic commentary:
Crisis Magazine
Cardinal Sarah on gender ideology, Islamic fundamentalism
By Antonino Cambria at LifeSiteNews, July 15, 2026
Cardinal Robert Sarah, during a conference speech before the European Parliament on Wednesday, denounced gender ideology and Islamic fundamentalism as “apocalyptic beasts” that threaten to destroy the family and humanity itself. In Dialogue with Cardinal Robert Sarah,” included speeches delivered by European Parliament Vice-President Antonella Sburi and the apostolic nuncio to the European Union, Archbishop Bernardito Auza, Sarah, the Guinean prelate, slammed the evils of abortion, homosexual “marriage,” gender ideology, and Islamic fundamentalism and their impact on Africa, Europe, and all of society. “Could it be that these forces, though very different in origin and form, share the pretense of rewriting humanity to their own liking?” he said. “One in the name of so-called progress, the other in the name of a so-called return to an original purity, denying in either case that religious freedom and that human dignity.”
The Catholic Weekly
Queensland psychiatrist vindicated after gender care dispute
By Marilyn Rodrigues, July 22, 2026
Queensland Children’s Hospital has withdrawn disciplinary proceedings against child and adolescent psychiatrist Dr Jillian Spencer, bringing to an end a three-year legal dispute over her criticism of the hospital’s approach to treating children experiencing gender dysphoria. Dr Spencer was suspended in 2023 after publicly questioning the Queensland Children’s Gender Service’s use of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for minors and advocating for a more cautious, evidence-based approach to care. Under a confidential settlement, on 17 July Children’s Health Queensland acknowledged Dr Spencer’s concerns were grounded in her expertise as an experienced child and adolescent psychiatrist, and acknowledged issues relating to pediatric gender medicine are matters of “legitimate professional and public debate,” adding that clinicians play an important role in raising concerns about patient safety and clinical practice.
Zenit
A ‘practicing Catholic’ has become the prime minister of UK
By Elizabeth Owens, July 7, 2026
For centuries, the idea would have seemed almost impossible: a practicing Catholic leading the government of a country whose constitutional identity has been intertwined with the Church of England since the English Reformation. Unlike Tony Blair, who entered the Catholic Church only after leaving office, or Boris Johnson, who was baptized Catholic but later embraced Anglicanism, Burnham has consistently acknowledged that Catholicism shaped his upbringing and continues to influence his political outlook, even while admitting that he no longer considers himself particularly religious in terms of personal practice. Rather than emphasizing doctrinal debates, he frequently points to Catholic social teaching as the foundation of his public life. He has repeatedly spoken about the common good, decentralizing political power, combating homelessness and strengthening local communities.
Catholic 365
Why Catholics pray the rosary
By Aaron Schuck, July 22, 2025
Among Catholic devotions, few are more familiar than the Rosary. It hangs from rearview mirrors, rests in pockets, appears at hospital beds, accompanies wakes, and passes quietly through the hands of the faithful during moments of fear, gratitude, penance, and grief. To outsiders, the Rosary can appear repetitive or overly Marian, as though Catholics are reciting prayers to Mary while leaving Christ in the background. Even many Catholics who own a Rosary may struggle to explain why the Church has loved this prayer for so long. Catholics pray the Rosary in order to contemplate Jesus Christ with Mary. The prayer is Marian in its form, but Christ-centered in its substance. Its rhythm is built around the Hail Mary, but its meditation is built around the mysteries of the Gospel: the Incarnation, the public ministry of Christ, his Passion, his Resurrection, the descent of the Holy Spirit, and the glory promised to the redeemed. When prayed properly, the Rosary trains the soul to remain near Christ.
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