Catholic Nutshell News: Wednesday 10/15/25
Topics include: LGBT index of churches; Bible’s definition of marriage; Beware of Virginia’s ‘Reproductive Freedom’; & Young clergy theologically orthodox
“Here was an almond tree in bloom before me”
Today's sources are the CRUX, Catholic Culture, National Catholic Register, CatholicVote, The Pillar, Aleteia, and CNA. (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.
Daily Compass
LGBT index of churches takes aim at Catholic tradition & scripture
By Ermes Dovico, October 14, 2025
[The very first “Rainbow Index of Churches in Europe 2025” has been updated], ranking 46 churches in 32 countries according to their degree of “LGBT inclusiveness.” In Catholicism, the country with the most gay-friendly church is Germany, while Italy ranks fifth (17th overall). The initiative was spearheaded by the “European Forum of LGBT Christian Groups,” which has the explicit support of George Soros’ Open Society. It aims to subject the Catholic Church and other Christian denominations to the wishes of gay ideology. Forcing countries to capitulate is not enough. On the contrary, for any capitulation to be total, Churches must also surrender to the secular spirit of the times. First and foremost at risk is the Catholic Church. The study’s stated objective is to encourage Churches to adapt to the wishes of the LGBT agenda, formulated in the belief that references to “homophobia” are primarily directed at the Sacred Scripture and Church Tradition.
Editor’s Note: A reprint of an earlier report on the first index in 2021 by Dovico which tracks with the first report four years ago.
Catholic News Agency
Bible’s definition of marriage high in churchgoers, but not family
By Tessa Gervasini, October 14, 2025
A recent study found that among adults who attend Christian worship at least monthly, 68% agreed marriage is between one man and one woman, but only 46% defined “family” in corresponding terms of a husband and wife, their children, and relatives. Family Research Council in partnership with the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University released findings this week from a new national survey of 1,003 churchgoing adults. The survey, “Social Issues and Worldview,” was conducted in July to build off a similar 2023 study. The research identified beliefs of the faithful in regard to social topics and family life. Of the 9 in 10 respondents identifying as Christian, 39% were Catholic, 20% mainline Protestant, 18% evangelical, 9% independent or nondenominational Christian, and 4% Pentecostal.
Catholic Culture
Beware of Virginia’s ‘Reproductive Freedom’ amendment
By Robert G. Marshall, October 13, 2025
The State of Virginia’s 2025 General Assembly passed the Reproductive Freedom Constitutional Amendment (RFCA) to Virginia’s Constitution (S.J.Res 247), which will be on Virginia’s November, 2026 ballot if passed a second time by Virginia’s 2026 legislature. Other states have faced or will face similar challenges, so the Virginia experience should put all American citizens on their guard. The RFCA reads, “Every individual has the fundamental right to reproductive freedom.” The term, “individual, ” applies to females, males, adults, and minors. The absence of a minimum age for reproductive rights is critical. Unlike Article 2 Section 1 of Virginia’s Constitution, which sets a voting age minimum of 18, the RFCA does not specify an age threshold for exercising reproductive rights. The words of this Virginia amendment would allow minors to legally access birth control, abortion, sterilization, or transgender “sex change” medical procedures or drugs without parental consent or knowledge.
CRUX
Group defining crime of spiritual abuse making good progress
By Elise Ann Allen, October 15, 2025
A group working to define and classify the crime of spiritual abuse in Canon Law is making progress and forging ahead, with its leader confirmed despite being transferred to another department. Pope Francis, in November 2024, authorized the creation of a working group to classify the crime of spiritual abuse in canon law. In a communique published Tuesday, Argentine Cardinal Victor Fernandez, prefect of the DDF, said that the group has been “working fruitfully.” There is currently no clearly defined crime in Canon Law that would address this form of abuse, which has become more common in recent decades. Various experts have long complained that this legal lacuna has allowed alleged abusers such as Rupnik to avoid punishment. Slovene Father Marko Rupnik, accused of sexually assaulting dozens of adult women, could be the first formally charged with the crime of spiritual abuse.
The Pillar
Young clergy describe themselves as theologically orthodox
By Luke Coppen, October 14, 2025
The 2025 National Study of Catholic Priests, the results of which were released Oct. 14, found that younger clergy were more likely to describe themselves as theologically orthodox and politically moderate, to think access to the Traditional Latin Mass should be a priority, to feel lonely, and to believe they are expected to do too many things beyond their priestly calling. Younger priests were also less likely to think that synodality should be prioritized and less concerned about the question of women’s influence in the Church than their older peers, according to the study. The 2025 report follows the groundbreaking 2022 National Study of Catholic Priests, the largest study of U.S. priests for more than 50 years, which concluded that clergy were largely flourishing, despite a deep mistrust of bishops and fears of being falsely accused of abuse.
Vatican News
‘Able to sleep through the night without … the sound of bombs’
By Andrea Tornielli and Beatrice Guarrera, October 15, 2025
The hopes of building lasting peace in the Holy Land, the difficulties in Gaza and the West Bank, and the sense of community expressed in public demonstrations that have brought people together in the name of human dignity were among the topics touched upon by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, who was a guest on Wednesday, October 15, in the studios of Vatican Radio. The Cardinal spoke of a fragile truce, but also of the shared hope among Israelis and Palestinians that this is not just a “pause,” but rather that “life may resume with a new perspective — one that is not war and violence.” Based in Rom, the cardinal said, “We are in daily contact with them. They keep writing that they still cannot believe they were able to sleep through the night without hearing the sound of bombs.”
UCA News
Profit and solidarity need not be enemies
By Lavoisier Fernandes, October 15, 2025
In 2013, Pope Francis — still new to the papacy — startled the world with what many branded a “critique of capitalism.” But his words were less about ideology and more about conscience. Francis’ supposed “anti-capitalism” isn’t hostility to business; it’s a plea for moral clarity. Pope Benedict XVI envisioned a “globalization of solidarity,” not merely of markets and capital. Growth that excludes the poor, he said, is ultimately self-defeating. Profit, as the Church teaches, is not evil. The social teachings of the Church note that profit can be a sign of good management — but warns that a company can be profitable while violating human dignity, exploiting labor, or destroying creation. As St. John Paul II wrote, “Profit cannot be the fundamental criterion of economic life, nor the final goal of a civilization.” The Church does not demand the end of capitalism — it calls for its conversion. Profit and solidarity need not be enemies.
National Catholic Register
The Church-State rift is testing Armenia’s future
By Solène Tadié, October 13, 2025
The Oct. 3 sentencing of Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan to two years in prison has revealed a stalemate in the conflict between Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s government and the Armenian Apostolic Church, one of the most sensitive issues in Armenia today. He was found guilty of inciting unrest after calling for a military coup — charges he denied. In recent months, this case has become emblematic of a broader struggle for power, identity, and influence in a country still scarred by the Nagorno-Karabakh war. Pashinyan regularly accuses the church hierarchy of turning the church into “a state within a state” and clinging to structures dating back to the Soviet era that are resistant to any reform. The Armenian Apostolic Church, which includes 90% of Armenians, is among the world’s oldest Christian communities and a cornerstone of national identity since Armenia adopted Christianity as a state religion in A.D. 301.
From Loop & Agency to Pillar Post for 10/15/25
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.”
POPE LEO LAMENTS DECLINING BIRTHRATES IN EUROPE - In a speech in Italy after his first official visit with the nation’s president yesterday, Pope Leo lamented falling birth rates and called for the promotion of family. “… we have witnessed in Europe as we have seen a notable decline in the birth rate. This calls for a concerted effort to promote choices at all levels in favor of the family, supporting its efforts, promoting its values, and protecting its needs and rights.”
MEL GIBSON CASTS NEW ACTOR TO PLAY CHRIST - A new actor has been cast to play Jesus in the 2027 two-part film The Resurrection of the Christ, Mel Gibson’s long-awaited sequel to the 2004 movie The Passion of the Christ, according to Variety. Finnish actor Jaakko Ohtonen, 36, will be stepping into the lead role, replacing Jim Caviezel. Ohtonen has starred in a number of TV series, including “Vikings: Valhalla.”
POPE LEO CALLS ITALIANS TO PRESERVE CULTURAL ROOTS - “There is a certain tendency, these days, to undervalue, at various levels, the models and values that have developed over the centuries and that shape our cultural identity,” Pope Leo warned during his address in Italy yesterday. “Let us not disdain what our ancestors experienced and what they passed on to us, even at the cost of great sacrifices.”
Catholic News Agency
CNA’s top headlines — October 15, 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.
Pope Leo XIV introduces significant reform to Holy See’s investments - Oct 15, 2025 - By Victoria Cardiel - Last week, Pope Leo XIV introduced a significant reform to the financial architecture of the Holy See.
Religious education experts: Bursary cut is ‘huge blow’ to Catholic schools in UK - Oct 15, 2025 - By Andy Drozdziak - Currently a person training to become a religious education teacher receives a bursary of 10,000 pounds (just over $13,000), but the U.K. government announced on Oct. 7 that the figure would be reduced to zero for the year 2026-2027.
St. Teresa of Ávila’s body remains incorrupt after almost 5 centuries - Oct 15, 2025 - By Walter Sánchez Silva - The Diocese of Ávila in Spain reported on Aug. 28, 2024, that the body of St. Teresa of Ávila, a doctor of the Church, was still incorrupt after her death on Oct. 4, 1582.
The Pillar
Pillar Post for Tuesday, 10/14/25
The Pillar offers a daily news summary, their capsule take on the Catholic News. Here’s J.D. Flynn’s analysis of the news from yesterday’s Pillar Post:
We took a deep dive into a Colorado Catholic psychologist who describes herself as a “conservative” and faithful Catholic, filed a brief in favor of Colorado’s anti-conversion law, saying that she works with people struggling with orientation and gender identity, and that conversion therapy causes harm.
The U.K.’s Syro-Malabar bishop stressed last that he has jurisdiction over Knanaya Catholics who leave India to settle in Britain. While that might seem unobjectionable to you, it signifies a lot to Knanaya Catholics, who have a unique status in the Syro-Malabar Church.
You might have seen on social media this weekend video footage of a Eucharistic procession praying outside of an ICE detention center in suburban Chicago. You might have seen a priest with a monstrance attempt to enter that facility, and you might have seen the police deny him access.
Nutshell reflections for 10/15/25:
USCCB Daily Reflection Audio - October 15, 2025
Memorial of Saint Teresa of Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church
Aleteia
The unexpected humor of St. Teresa of Avila
By Philip Kosloski, October 15, 2025
It is delightfully refreshing to hear about the good humor of the 16th-century saint and Doctor of the Church, Teresa of Avila. A famous story perfectly sums up her spirited character. As St. Teresa ... made her way to her convent during a fierce rainstorm, she slipped down an embankment and fell squarely into the mud. The irrepressible nun looked up to heaven and admonished her Maker, “If this is how You treat Your friends, no wonder You have so few of them!” She also wrote, “A sad nun is a bad nun ... I am more afraid of one unhappy sister than a crowd of evil spirits … What would happen if we hid what little sense of humor we had? Let each of us humbly use this to cheer others.” At the beginning of her autobiography, she wrote, “Having virtuous and God-fearing parents would have been enough for me to be good if I were not so wicked.”
National Catholic Register
Russian reset required in Rome
By George Weigel, October 15, 2025
As Russian troops ravaged Ukraine, Patriarch Kirill called the invasion ‘a metaphysical battle against the forces of evil’ — a claim that now demands a Vatican reexamination of its ecumenical strategy. As patriarch, Kirill has allied himself with another old KGB hand, the mass murderer and child-kidnapper Vladimir Putin, in Russia’s war to destroy Ukraine. What that has meant for his Church is detailed in a report from the Free Russia Foundation, The Russian Orthodox Church and the War. The gist of the report is contained in the Introduction: “He framed this war as a struggle against sin, stating that it ‘has not only political significance’ but is directly connected to the salvation of humanity — thus giving it religious and sacred justification.” Whatever pragmatic sense that might once have made, “The road from Rome to Constantinople runs through Moscow” is now theologically absurd.
Catholic Exchange
Embryo adoption can’t be used to bypass infertility
By Matthew McKenna, October 15, 2025
Sadly, despite their best efforts to find moral guidance, there are serious issues with the reasoning and interpretation of Magisterial teachings, which have led couples astray. Citing that the Church has advised against embryo adoption, especially in the CDF’s document Dignitas Personae, section nineteen, embryo proponents reference Dr. Jeffrey Mirus’s interpretation of this paragraph to claim that this document “stops short of declaring embryo adoption sinful.” However, the CDF cites a talk given by St. John Paul II where he said the same thing as the CDF — that unjust acts are indeed sins. The CDF clearly implies that embryo adoption is sinful. The Church did not say that we know of no practical solution to the millions of frozen embryos, but that we know of no just solution. By saying there seems to be no just solution, the Church clearly considers embryo adoption to be unjust, which is to say, sinful.
Missio Dei
The divine chastisement, with emphasis on ‘divine’
By Andrew McGovern, October 15, 2025
The Lord said: “Woe to you Pharisees! (Luke 11:42-46). The text from Luke is the beginning of a set of seven woes or condemnations that Our Lord gives in Matthew. These seven woes indicated two very important realities. The first is that they run contrary to the covenant that was established between God and the people of Israel, and they imitate previous sets of seven woes that are found in the prophets. In each of these cases, the prophet is chastising the people on behalf of God for breaking the covenant. The most likely reason for the formulation as a set of seven woes is in reference to Leviticus 26, which speaks of God punishing the people for their sins sevenfold. This discourse goes far deeper and cuts to the very heart of who Jesus Christ is. The pronouncement of these seven woes is a divine action — the climax of the revelation of Jesus Christ that He is the Messiah and that He is God Incarnate.
Image of Almonds by Monfocus from Pixabay
Catholic Nutshell News is a subscription service hosted by SubStack. Get up to a dozen recent articles from Monday to Saturday to review regarding 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 …
