Catholic Nutshell News: Wednesday 6/10/26
Catholics should know: ‘All Ireland’ rosary rally; Housing crunch turns to crisis; Employers pressured into race-based hiring; & The ‘Wealth Tax’ is a covetous policy
“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, Aleteia, 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
13,000 gather at Knock in Ireland for ‘All Ireland’ rosary rally
By Patrick J. Passmore, June 10, 2026
In the largest gathering of Catholics in Ireland since Pope Francis’ visit in 2018, the annual All Ireland Rosary brought over 13,000 people to Knock Shrine on June 6 in a joint prayer for peace. Speaking to EWTN News after the rally, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland Eamon Martin said: “It was a very special joy for me to preside at the Eucharist in Knock at the rosary rally. I felt a tremendous sense of joy and hope among the people who were gathered there. And it was especially gratifying to see many young people, including the childrenʼs rosary group, who made a very important and beautiful contribution to the day.” Christine O’Hara, a secondary schoolteacher in Cork, Ireland, said: “The rosary rally was a very blessed and grace-filled day, and thereʼs a number of things that weʼre really hoping people will take away from the event. The first being that people will feel inspired to pray the rosary every day.”
OSV News
Housing crunch turns to crisis for families across the country
By Kimberley Heatherington, May 10, 2026
In recent years, the U.S. housing crunch has turned into a housing crisis, particularly among economically vulnerable Americans, with the U.S. Catholic bishops expressing significant concern about the consequences for families. According to a March 2026 report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition, “Only 35 affordable and available rental homes exist for every 100 extremely low-income renter households. Extremely low-income renters face a shortage in every state and major metropolitan area.” Those hoping to buy a house seemingly don’t fare much better, with the National Association of Home Builders sharing data from March 2025 indicating “76.4 million households — 57% out of a total of 134.3 million — are unable to afford a $300,000 home.” Congress nears possible bipartisan passage of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, which is predicted to be signed by President Donald Trump, and includes 56 provisions related to housing supply.
National Catholic Register
VP Vance says ‘soul-searching’ brought him to Catholic Church
By Daniel Payne/EWTN News, June 9, 2026
U.S. Vice President JD Vance said this week that he was drawn to the Catholic faith in part because of its centuries of tradition and because it “felt like home” to him amid his own faith journey. The vice president told Fox News host Jesse Watters on Jesse Watters Primetime on June 8 that he attended Christian churches while growing up but that he “wasnʼt properly formed in my faith” and that he eventually fell away from Christianity. “I had a lot of people who just did not, I think, properly support me in my own faith journey. And so I kind of just lost it,” he told Watters. “I was professionally very successful. I was making a lot of money. Iʼd gone to all the right schools. I realized that American elite culture was forming me to be kind of a bad person.” Watters noted that he himself is Protestant but that his wife is “kind of trying to get me to convert to Catholicism.” He joked with Vance: “Iʼm not there yet. Maybe Iʼll get there one day.” “Weʼll talk,” Vance replied with a laugh.
Zeale News
EEOC workplace rules pressure employers into race-based hiring
By Elise Winland, June 9, 2026
Federal workplace discrimination guidelines on “disparate impact” violate the Constitution by pushing employers to make race-based hiring decisions, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a June 9 opinion that officials said will allow businesses to rely more heavily on merit-based employment standards. The opinion, issued by the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel, targets the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) approach to “disparate impact” liability under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Disparate impact claims allow employees or job applicants to challenge hiring policies that appear neutral — such as skills tests, background checks, or education requirements — if they lead to unequal outcomes among racial or other protected groups, even without evidence that an employer meant to discriminate. According to the DOJ, the EEOC’s approach can pressure employers to consider race when making hiring or promotion decisions in order to avoid lawsuits.
The PIllar
‘The most beautiful diocese in the world’: Southern Russia
By Luke Coppen, June 9, 2026
For more than two decades, Bishop Clemens Pickel has led a diocese that is larger than Texas and California combined. His Diocese of St. Clement at Saratov covers much of Southern Russia, stretching all the way from the Caucasus to the Ural Mountains. Yet it serves only around 20,000 Catholics. The area in which Pickel served went from being called the Archdiocese of Mohilev in 1990 to the Apostolic Administration of European Russia in 1991 to the Apostolic Administration of Southern European Russia in 1998. Saratov is a major city on the Volga River. Since the 18th century, it has served as the center of the ethnic German community, who settled along the Volga at the invitation of the German-born Russian Empress Catherine the Great. Pickel also has national-level responsibilities within the Catholic Church in Russia. He was first elected president of Russia’s bishops’ conference in 2017.
Related: Migration and Canary Islands: From a port of shame to a port of hope - By Kielce Gussie, Vatican News, 10 June 2026
Vatican News
Brazilian missionaries will help Haitians watch the World Cup
By Eduardo Campos Lima, June 10, 2026
As Haiti prepares to play in the FIFA World Cup for the first time since 1974, Brazilian missionaries in the Caribbean nation are planning to help local residents watch the matches – something that can be difficult for most Haitians, given that many have no access to electricity. For both Brazilians and Haitians, soccer is not only a sport but also a major cultural force that fosters a sense of community and national identity. In Haiti, soccer is an omnipresent pastime for children, and many boys and girls dream of one day representing their national team – just as they do in Brazil. While many Haitians are excited about the upcoming tournament, which begins on June 11, the catastrophic wave of violence and the lack of basic infrastructure throughout the country will certainly undermine the festive atmosphere that a World Cup typically brings to nations across the Caribbean and Latin America.
Graphs about Religion
Religion helps folks believe that living standards will get better
By Ryan Burge and Praveen Vissa, June 8, 2026
Economic optimism remains fairly popular, but it has taken a noticeable dip over the last 15 years or so. In the 1990s, two-thirds of Americans agreed they had a good chance of improving their standard of living. Into the early 2000s, three-quarters of Americans believed their economic future would be better. In the last three waves of the General Social Survey (GSS from 2021-2024), that dropped below 50%. The generation closest to retirement is less likely to agree that their standard of living would rise. Gen X feels pretty good about their ability to improve their financial state, and Gen Z even more so (50%). Those with a graduate degree are incredibly optimistic about the future: almost two-thirds believe that they have a good chance of improving their standard of living. Religiosity is linked to higher levels of optimism and expectations that life will improve, with estimates just above 50%. The lowest score was among Catholics at 49%.
The Jerusalem Post
Knesset advances bill to enshrine Torah study into Basic Law
By Keshet Neev, June 10, 2026
Israel’s Knesset passed in its preliminary reading on Wednesday a bill that seeks to enshrine Torah study in Basic Law, as part of a proposal pushed by haredi (ultra-Orthodox) parties that seeks to encourage draft evasion and change the status of Yeshiva students who do not serve, enabling them to continue receiving state benefits. The far-right Religious Zionist Party, led by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, said on Tuesday that it would not support a bill that calls for equality of rights between IDF soldiers who serve and haredim who evade military service. Gafni’s bill seeks to enshrine the status of Torah study in the Basic Law as "a fundamental value in the heritage of the Jewish people." Moving forward with the legislation also comes as the High Court of Justice ordered in April that the state take concrete steps to revoke key financial benefits from draft evaders and to move toward criminal enforcement against haredi men who evade military service.
Keep informed - 6/10/26 news for Catholics
Snippets from Loop, Aleteia, & The Pillar
CatholicVote: 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.” CatholicVote’s advertised mission is “To inspire every Catholic in America to live out the truths of our faith in public life.”
HOUSE PASSES BORDER ENFORCEMENT FUNDING - House Republicans passed the Secure America Act by a 214-212 vote, approving $70 billion over three years for immigration enforcement and border security, including $38 billion for ICE and $26 billion for CBP, with the bill now heading to Trump's desk for his signature. READ
GALLUP FINDS GROWING DISAPPROVAL OF IMMORAL BEHAVIORS -Americans have become less likely over the past year to view several long-debated social behaviors as morally acceptable, with the sharpest declines on birth control, having a baby outside of marriage, gambling, sex between teenagers, and cloning animals, according to a new Gallup poll. READ
JURY DEADLOCKS IN CASE AGAINST PRO-LIFE SIDEWALK COUNSELOR - A California jury deadlocked in the case of Anastasia Rogers, a pro-life advocate charged with intimidation under the FACE Act after posting an Instagram video contrasting her sidewalk-counseling efforts with the realities of abortion, with Life Legal reporting that a substantial majority of jurors rejected the prosecution's case. READ
Aleteia News
Aleteia’s headlines — June 10, 2026
Aleteia (aleteia.org) is an online publication distributed in six languages (English, French, Spanish, Polish, Portuguese, and Slovenian). Aleteia reaches more than 10 million readers per month.
Prayer warriors assemble with a new platform - A new web app offers a single place to share prayers, encouragement, and donations. Think of the best features of crowdfunding sites like GoFundMe and CaringBridge, but leading with prayer first — and all with a distinctly Catholic approach.
Are little white lies okay? - The vast, vast majority of lies are completely unnecessary and can be completely avoided without much effort at all. Awkwardness can easily be tolerated; we simply don’t care for it. Self-aggrandizement is a bad habit that, with some conscious intentionality, can be eliminated entirely from our storytelling. If the job is done correctly and the homework finished, we’ll be far more eager to tell the truth about the success rather than lie (no one lies and tells their mother their homework isn’t done).
Brilliant way parish welcomes families with young children - Carefully curated “busy bags” at St. Leonard Church in Muskego, Wisconsin, contain an assortment of items to help young children participate in the Mass in their own hands-on way. They are arranged in a “library” that families can check out during Mass and return afterward for cleaning and restocking.
The Pillar
Pillar Stories from the May calendar, 6/10/26
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:
Edgar Beltran has put together a list of the pope’s top moments in the country so far, and the list is worth taking a look at — because everywhere Leo has gone, he’s been more well-received than was expected. The speech he gave on Monday to members of the Spanish legislature will go down in history as one of Leo’s intellectual tentpoles.
The stories of Major League Baseball chaplains — priests bringing the sacraments to the big leagues. “Most of these guys are in their 20s, early 30s, when a lot of people in the Church tend to step away from their faith,” one clubhouse chaplain told The Pillar.
A Catholic Charities employee in Charlotte has been charged with embezzlement and money laundering after prosecutors say she used a business credit card for more than $13,000 in personal expenses. It led to questions about hiring practices, after it emerged that the employee was hired to work with vulnerable populations despite having an extensive criminal history
June 10, 2026 - USCCB Daily Mass Readings
You can listen HERE or read HERE:
Wednesday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time
Today’s Catholic commentary:
Crisis Magazine
The ‘Wealth Tax’ is a covetous policy, not a reformation
By Auguste Meyra, June 10, 2026
This November, Californians will be voting on the “2026 Billionaire Tax Act,” a new wealth tax that would essentially seize 5% of the accumulated wealth of the state’s billionaires. Unlike a tax on income, sales, or property, this tax would target the non-liquid assets where the ultra-wealthy keep their fortunes. Sheer, unbridled envy is the main thrust of the essay, as the economists apply their calculations to other billionaires and stress just how much money the wealth tax could raise. As for the objection that this would drive away California’s richest residents, they respond that the wealth tax would bring in more revenue now than the current tax rate would over 25 years. Therefore, the short-term revenue boost easily offsets the long-term loss of these residents. However, no one ever bothers to demonstrate how or why such fortunes are immoral or what a “fairer” distribution of wealth would be. Most people seem to see free money for the taking rather than a covetous policy that will cripple their economy and prevent necessary reforms.
The Catholic Weekly
When love feels impossible, choose it anyway
By Francine & Byron Pirola, June 10, 2026
It’s easy to love our spouse when the affection is mutual – when our efforts to love are received, acknowledged, and returned. But what about when it isn’t reciprocated? Marriages generally begin when love and affection are at a peak. They rarely stay there. Sooner or later, the valley arrives fast and deep, leading us to question whether we made a mistake. It’s at this crossroad that we have a choice – protest the situation or lean into our vows and choose love. Knowing the intimacy for which we are created, our heavenly Father watches closely as we struggle in our marriage. Although painful and confusing, these times are an invitation to trust in God, to seek his grace, and to keep showing up in love with him. If we can love a stranger who wronged us, how much more should we love the one to whom we promised our life?
The Obscure, Forgotten, and Undiscovered
The ‘Collect’ at Mass can lead to contemplation
By James K. Hanna, June 9, 2026
I came to appreciate The Collect of the Mass when I began, in 2014, to facilitate online courses (twice weekly) for the University of Notre Dame’s Satellite Theology Education Program. Wanting to open each session with a prayer (and acknowledging my laziness in such matters), I decided to use The Collect from the Mass of the particular day. I soon discovered one way liturgy leads to contemplation. The Collect concludes the Introductory Rites of the Mass and precedes the Liturgy of the Word. It is a prayer spoken by the priest that we make our own by proclaiming “Amen.” It should be preceded by a brief period of silence during which we become aware of God’s presence and call to mind our intentions. By ancient tradition, The Collect is usually addressed to God the Father and concludes with a Trinitarian ending. You can find The Collect for each day at the Catholic Culture website here.
Catholic 365
Ways to spend birthdays with Jesus
By The Catholic Nurse, June 10, 2025
A birthday isn’t just a number or date — it’s a tender time to remember how God knit us in our mother’s womb. It’s a time to review our struggles and triumphs -- and see how God intervened in every scrape. When we imagine a birthday with Jesus, the day becomes less about candles and cake. It is a moment to breathe, to find the grace and growth in our lives, and remember how He has been there every step of the way. God’s fingerprints are everywhere, especially in the hardest places. If Jesus were sitting at our birthday dinner, He’d turn the celebration outward. Happiness grows when we share. Reading Scripture on our birthday is like opening a love letter, written to us before we were born. Verses of purpose, identity, and love take on new meaning when we remember that God made us for this era. Jesus loves gatherings, meals, and laughter. Celebrating with Him also means enjoying the life He gifted us.
Image of Almonds by Monfocus from Pixabay
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