Catholic Nutshell News: Wednesday 9/10/25
Topics include: Bishop Martin removes altar rails; Arming teachers; Don’t repress your crying; & Catholic organizations insist upon climate change premise
“Here was an almond tree in bloom before me”
Today's sources are the CRUX, Catholic Culture, National Catholic Register, CatholicVote, The Pillar, OSV, 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
Bishop Martin extends rule changes, removing altar rails
By Rachel Quackenbush, September 9, 2025
Bishop Michael Martin of Charlotte, North Carolina, has implemented new liturgical guidelines at the three Catholic high schools he oversees that include the removal of altar rails and kneelers during Communion. The updated directives include several changes to how Mass is celebrated in these educational settings, according to The Catholic Herald. Students will now receive Holy Communion either kneeling without a rail or standing, and must serve as extraordinary ministers during the liturgy. Father Aaron Huber, chaplain at Christ the King Catholic High School in Huntersville, stated in a letter to parents that the changes aim “to enrich our students’ experience of the Mass and to provide them with opportunities to grow as intentional disciples of Jesus Christ.” The school-level directives follow a period of broader liturgical controversy within the diocese under Bishop Martin — all parish liturgies to be celebrated exclusively in English, banning the use of altar rails during Communion, and confining the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) to one chapel in Mooresville.
Catholic News Agency
Arming teachers: The Catholic Church's teaching on this?
By Daniel Payne, September 10, 2025
On the proposal to arm teachers in schools to counteract mass shooters, policymakers will likely debate the matter for some time. In some cases, it has already been decided: A handful of states, including Florida, Idaho, and Texas, allow for public school teachers to carry guns in some circumstances. Whether or not it will be adopted broadly in Catholic schools is another question. Although the debate is deeply, and at times bitterly, contentious, Catholic Church teaching would appear to allow it. The Catechism of the Catholic Church has never pronounced directly on the morality of carrying firearms, much less in a school environment. However, the text stipulates that “legitimate defense” can include the act of inflicting a “lethal blow,” provided it is done in defense of one’s life and not as an end in itself. This would seem to at least allow for the possibility of arming teachers to counteract mass shooters. But whether or not this is a good or defensible idea is another matter.
Aleteia
Pope: Don’t repress your crying out, Jesus didn’t
By Kathleen N. Hattrup, September 10, 2024
Continuing with his in-depth look at particular instances of the events leading to Jesus' death, Pope Leo XIV, this September 10, reflected on the last utterance from Our Lord: his "crying out with a loud voice." The Holy Father sees in this gesture a last testimony to hope and to the surrender with which Jesus accepted his death. “On the cross, Jesus does not die in silence. He does not fade away gradually, like a light that burns out, but rather he leaves life with a cry: “Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed his last” (Mk 15:37). That cry contains everything: pain, abandonment, faith, offering. It is not only the voice of a body giving way, but the final sign of a life being surrendered … It is not a crisis of faith, but the final stage of a love that is given up to the very end. Jesus’ cry is not desperation, but sincerity, truth taken to the limit, trust that endures even when all is silent.”
CRUX
Catholic pilgrim murdered in Pakistan
By Nirmala Carvalho, September 10, 2025
One Catholic was killed and a teenager was injured after gunmen attacked pilgrims in Pakistan. Afzal Masih, a 42-year-old father of four, was the man killed in the van carrying 18 Catholic pilgrims to Pakistan’s largest Marian shrine near Lahore on September 7, 2025. “We were about 12-13 people in the van, including women and young girls of our families, when we were on the Sheikhupura highway at around 1:30 a.m., three Muslim youths riding two motorcycles started teasing and catcalling our women passengers,” Aurangzeb Peter, a member of the traveling group, told Morning Star News. The attackers left, and the pilgrims resumed their journey, but when they stopped at a gas station, the three Muslims suddenly appeared with weapons. One of them, later identified as Muhammad Waqas of Farooqabad, opened fire with a Kalashnikov assault rifle, shooting Masih in the neck and teenager Harris Masih in his right arm, Peter told the newspaper.
The Pillar
Canada denies appeal to dismiss Rosica sexual assault suit
By Michelle La Rosa, September 9, 2025
The Congregation of St. Basil has appealed a Canadian judge’s August 7 decision to allow a lawsuit to proceed against the congregation and its prominent member, Fr. Thomas Rosica. The lawsuit, filed in Ontario in March 2024, alleges that Rosica sexually assaulted a young priest who was helping him with preparation for the 2002 World Youth Day celebrations. The lawsuit also charges that Rosica’s religious order, the Congregation of St. Basil, failed to supervise Rosica properly and ignored complaints about his inappropriate interactions with young men. Rosica, who denies the allegations, had asked the Canadian court to toss the lawsuit because the case should be addressed exclusively in a canonical court. Judge Evelyn M. ten Cate of the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario rejected the petition to dismiss the case. “In my view, the Plaintiff’s claim is not essentially doctrinal or ecclesiastical in nature – it is of interest to all Canadians and goes well beyond the internal matters of the Roman Catholic Church,” she said.
Vatican News
Catholic organizations insist upon climate change premise
By Kielce Gussie, September 10, 2025
Members of Pax Christi International, Caritas Internationalis, and CIDSE (International Cooperation for Development and Solidarity) release a joint statement titled “Pilgrims of Hope for a Just and Peaceful World.” The representatives of Catholic organizations around the world dedicated to promoting peace, justice, and care for the environment have come together to reiterate “a simple yet urgent truth: there can be no true peace without climate justice, and no climate justice without peace.” These Catholic leaders stress that the ecological crisis, fragmenting global order, and ongoing extreme poverty are not individual problems, but linked in a web of a common global threat. Joining their voices with Pope Leo and other faith leaders, Pax Christi International, Caritas Internationalis, and CIDSE call for an end to the path to violence, a change of course, and a renewal of the passion for peace. They urge a revival of the belief that a peaceful, green, and better world is possible.
UCA News
Korean Catholics expand outreach to tackle record suicide rates
By UCA News reporter, September 10, 2025
The head of a Catholic church-run mental health group in South Korea says suicide prevention programs have saved many from taking their own lives, as the nation sees a rise in suicide-related deaths. “Many who were contemplating giving up on life find renewed strength through participating in suicide prevention programs,” said Father Kim Soo-gyu, director of Seoul Archdiocese’s One Mind One Body Movement. “The most crucial element in suicide prevention is not systems or statistics, but people. In the midst of despair, the presence of just one person who listens can become hope,” Kim emphasized. On each day of 2024, nearly 40 people (39.5) committed suicide, pushing the country’s suicide rate to a 13-year high, the Korea Foundation for Respect for Life and Hope and Statistics Korea said in a preliminary report in March. At least 14,439 people committed suicide in 2024, the highest since 2011, when 15,906 people took their own lives.
National Catholic Register
Seven Catholic bishops join record-breaking UK March for Life
By Edward Pentin, September 9, 2025
This year’s March for Life UK saw its largest ever number of participants on Saturday, drawing together families and individuals from a diverse mix of backgrounds and nationalities as well as Catholic priests, religious, seven Catholic bishops, and, for the first time, a message from the Holy Father. Held in a festive atmosphere and under warm, sunny September skies, organizers estimated 10,000 participants took part in the 10th annual multi-denominational Christian march, which began near Westminster Cathedral and ended close to the Houses of Parliament. “It’s been absolutely fantastic, by far the biggest march yet with amazing support in so many ways,” Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, director of March for Life UK, told the Register. “We’ve seen not just a rise in numbers, but more younger people, more religious leaders, more people from all spectrums, and people who have no religious beliefs.”
From Loop & Agency to Pillar Post for 9/10/25
CatholicVote: Daily LOOP
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POPE CALLS FOR PRAYER AFTER ISRAEL STRIKES QATAR - After Israel carried out its first-ever airstrike in Qatar and ordered residents of Gaza City, Palestine, to evacuate ahead of a separate major assault yesterday, Pope Leo XIV called upon Catholics to pray for peace. “We must pray a lot and keep working, searching, insisting on peace,” the Pope said. He said he tried calling Gaza’s Holy Family Catholic parish after Israel dropped evacuation leaflets but could not reach its priest.
ALABAMA MAN MAY FACE DEATH PENALTY IN PROFESSOR'S MURDER - A man accused of killing retired Auburn University professor and mother Dr. Julee Gard Schnuelle is facing capital murder charges in Alabama, where prosecutors say they intend to pursue the death penalty.
GALLUP: AMERICANS’ IDEAL FAMILY SIZE CONSISTENTLY ABOVE 2 CHILDREN - Americans’ ideal family size is an average of 2.7 children, Gallup recently discovered, though the US fertility rate — 1.6 children per woman — is the lowest it has ever been in nearly 90 years.
Catholic News Agency
CNA’s top headlines — September 10, 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.
Students detail faith-based discrimination at Religious Liberty Commission hearing - Sep 9, 2025 - By Tyler Arnold - The Sept. 8 hearing was the Religious Liberty Commission’s second meeting since President Donald Trump created it earlier this year.
Cardinal Pizzaballa says violence in Gaza is the result of hateful language - Sep 9, 2025 - By Eduardo Berdejo - The Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, said violence in the Gaza Strip is the result of years of dehumanizing rhetoric and called for the replacement of hateful language with speech that opens horizons and new paths.
Archdiocese of New Orleans offers $230 million to settle abuse claims - Sep 9, 2025 - By Amira Abuzeid - The Archdiocese of New Orleans has increased its settlement offer to clergy sexual abuse claimants from $180 million to $230 on Sept. 8, attorneys of the victims urged their clients to accept the deal.
The Pillar
Pillar Post for Friday, 9/9/25
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:
The Feast of St. Peter Claver - Peter Claver was a Jesuit missionary who spent some 40 years in South America, where he reportedly baptized hundreds of thousands of people, almost all of whom were enslaved Africans, who had been captured, trafficked on slave ships, and forced to work in deplorable conditions in the Americas.
St. Carlo Acutis is widely regarded to be popular among the young - He was a young person, and his penchant for Pokémon, video games, and the internet feels familiar to young people. However, there is one group with which Carlo’s popularity seems to be off the charts: moms love Carlo Acutis. Worldwide, the kid is just the absolute king of the minivan set.
Fr. Andrew Showers of Madison, Wisconsin was arrested last month - The case is complicated, and much of the news coverage on this story is pretty convoluted. Showers had been talking with a police detective in a sting operation. But the case matters, because it raises clearly the importance of clear communication from all parties for justice to be done.
Nutshell reflections for 9/10/25:
USCCB Daily Reflection Audio - September 10, 2025
Wednesday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time
Catholic Culture
Jesus speaks metaphorically when He teaches to ‘hate’
By Fr. Jerry Pokorsky, September 8, 2025
The Church’s penny catechism teaches that the only person God allows us to hate is the Devil, because he desires our everlasting condemnation. Jesus teaches “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” (Mt. 5:43-44) Hence, we must conclude that Jesus speaks metaphorically when He teaches to “hate” father and mother, and literally when He teaches us to love our enemies and abide by God’s justice when dealing with them. We sometimes need a figurative gut punch to dislodge our complacency. Jesus knew when to hurl a disruptive phrase or two to bring us to our senses. Did Jesus intend us to understand the horror of fire in a literal or figurative sense when describing the pains of hell? We can’t be sure. But Church teaching assures us that hell is eternally unpleasant.
Busted Halo
New book teaches us about accompanying the dying
Excerpt from Fr. Dave’s Radio Show, September 2025
The Waiting Room, by Michael Carlon, tells the story of two families who meet in a hospital waiting room on Christmas Eve while holding vigil for their loved ones who are dying. As the families navigate their loved ones’ transitions from this world, they confront fears around death as they ultimately embark on a healing journey. Michael explains that while the book is fictional, the story draws from his own life experiences. “The concept of a waiting room was something that I was very familiar with, having lost both my brother and my mother in the span of a year of each other,” he says. “I spent a lot of time in waiting rooms, and like one of the lead characters in the story, I had to make some very difficult phone calls from a waiting room. That’s really where the genesis of this book came from.” Michael added, “Tom Petty said it: ‘The waiting is the hardest part.’ It is difficult, and [especially] when you’re waiting for something bad to happen…”
Our Sunday Visitor
Sorry, religion and morality are not matters of subjective opinion
By Sara Hulse Kirby, September 9, 2025
A particular Jesuit I once knew liked to write the following syllogism on the board on the first day of his introduction to Catholic theology course: “I want to have sex with my girlfriend. The Church says I can’t. Therefore, there is no God.” Besides grabbing the attention of his college students, forced as they were to take theology with an old celibate priest, the syllogism got to the heart of university students’ resistance to faith. God does not exist, they decided, because if he did, he would not allow them to do what they wanted. When I ask my own introduction to theology students — many of whom attended 13 years of Catholic school before coming to college — whether there is such a thing as religious or moral truth, they say no; truth, they insist, is knowable in the areas of math and science, but religion and morality are matters of subjective opinion. The existence of truth compromises one’s freedom and ease.
Missio Dei
Beatitudes: A framework for attaining eternal life
By Andrew McGovern, September 10, 2025
The beauty of the teachings in the Beatitudes lies in their ability to lay out a framework for attaining eternal life. The first three beatitudes correspond to the Purgative Way in the spiritual life. Here, we see the virtues of poverty of spirit, meekness, and tears of contrition. These virtues correspond to fleeing from sin, which can be seen as indicative of the purgative way. The next four Beatitudes correspond to the Illuminative way, with two being for the active life and two being for the contemplative life. In the active life of the Illuminative Way, we find those who hunger and thirst for justice and those who impart mercy on their neighbors. Finally, the last of the beatitudes, which is the greatest, corresponds to the Unitive Way, where the soul experiences union with God. This is shown forth and perfected in those who are persecuted for the sake of Our Lord. This is because through that persecution, they are conformed most perfectly to Christ, the Martyr.
Image of Almonds by Monfocus from Pixabay
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