Catholic Nutshell News: Friday 4/18/25
Topics include: pro-assisted suicide legislation defeated, School choice programs, Pope visits prison on Holy Thursday, & Grim picture of Sudan’s war
Fridays, "Living that coconut kinda life."
Today's sources: National Catholic Register, Omnes Magazine, Catholic News Agency, Crux, Church Life Journal, CatholicVote, Our Sunday Visitor, & Catholic MOM. (Catholic Nutshell is a FREE subscription service for faithful, hopeful, & curious Catholics willing to exercise their Catholic News Muscle)
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CatholicVote
Maryland pro-assisted suicide legislation defeated for 8th time
By McKenna Snow, April 17, 2025
Grassroots efforts have again bested Maryland Democrats’ efforts to legalize assisted suicide, protecting vulnerable groups, such as military veterans, National Right to Life announced this month. This was the eighth time such legislation has been introduced in Maryland, and the eighth time it has been overcome. National Right to Life declared the legislation, called the “End of Life Options Act,” officially “dead” after the Maryland General Assembly’s session for the year concluded April 7. The legislation was denied a hearing in the Senate, and it stalled in the House. House Delegate Terri Hill, a Democrat, had introduced HB1328, alongside 48 other Democrats, and Sen. Will Smith, another Democrat, introduced companion bill SB926. National Right to Life stated that advocates with its local chapter in Maryland sent 8,424 letters to legislators urging them to reject the bills.
Catholic News Agency
Catholic schools report: School choice programs on the rise
By Kate Quiñones, April 17, 2025
The National Catholic Education Association (NCEA) this week released the annual report for Catholic school data, which among other things indicated that school choice is on the rise. In the 2024-2025 school year, there were 1.6 million Catholic school students and more than 150,000 professional staff members, with a student-to-teacher ratio of about 11 to 1. Nearly 40% of Catholic schools had a waiting list. This school year, 63 Catholic schools closed while 24 new Catholic schools opened. This is a slight increase in both closures and openings from last year but marks a continued break from the early 2000s trend, which averaged 130 Catholic school closures per year. Of the 5,852 Catholic schools in the United States, 31% use parental school choice programs.
Omnes Magazine
Pope visits prison on Holy Thursday
By Cindy Wooden, April 17, 2025
Although he did not celebrate Mass or wash the feet of inmates, Pope Francis made his customary Holy Thursday visit to a detention center, arriving at Rome's Regina Coeli prison around 3 p.m. on April 17. The Pope was received by Claudia Clementi, director of the prison, and met with about 70 inmates in the building's rotunda, where several prison wings intersect. The Vatican press office reported that the inmates who accompanied the Pope regularly participate in the prison's religious education program. Pope Francis told inmates, "Every year I like to do what Jesus did on Holy Thursday, washing feet, in a prison," the Vatican stated. "This year, I cannot do it, but I can and I want to be close to you. I pray for you and your families."
National Catholic Register
Notre Dame University reclaiming ‘a full Catholic vision’
By Jonathan Liedl, April 17, 2025
For the fourth time in six years, the University of Notre Dame’s theology program has been ranked number one in the world, a track record of elite performance that has coincided with the department’s recent reemphasis on rootedness in the Catholic faith. According to supporters of the department, the theology program’s ability to beat out peers at institutions like the University of Oxford and Harvard University offers important lessons for Notre Dame as a whole, as the university seeks to integrate its pursuit of worldly prestige with fidelity to its Catholic mission. “The reputational excellence of the theology department indicates that one need not choose between serious academics and a faithful Catholic identity,” said Charles Camosy, a bioethicist at Creighton University Medical School who earned a doctorate in theology from Notre Dame in 2008
CRUX
Church organizations paint grim picture of Sudan’s war
By Ngala Killian Chimtom, April 18, 2025
As the war in Sudan enters its third year, faith organizations are painting a grim picture of conflict — the deaths of a staggering 150,000 people, according to Global Conflict Tracker. “The situation in Sudan is dire,” said a consortium of Church organizations — namely the ACT Alliance, Caritas Internationalis, World Council of Churches, All Africa Conference of Churches, Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa, and Caritas Africa. “Reports indicate that civilians are tragically caught in the crossfire and subjected to targeted killings, as government forces and the Rapid Support Forces accuse them of supporting opposing factions,” explained Father John Gbemboyo, Pastoral and Social Communication Coordinator in the Sudan Catholic Bishops’ Conference, in comments to Crux.
Our Sunday Visitor
Irish priest forgives radicalized teenager who stabbed him
By Sarah Mac Donald, April 15, 2025
In a powerful courtroom moment just before Holy Week, Irish Army chaplain Father Paul Murphy forgave the radicalized teenager who tried to kill him in a 2024 knife attack. “I am in the business of forgiveness,” Father Murphy told the Central Criminal Court in Dublin April 10, a week ahead of Holy Thursday, as he spoke before the teenager who attempted to kill him in a shocking knife attack outside Renmore Barracks in Irish Galway. The 17-year-old youth pleaded guilty to attempted murder on Aug. 15, 2024, when he repeatedly stabbed the priest with a serrated hunting knife. He had been radicalised online and expressed allegiance to the Islamic State group. “My only desire is that you would learn to see the error of your ways and, when the time comes, return to society to make a positive contribution to the world as a wholesome, happy, and loving person.”
The Pillar
Armenian leaders pan Vatican-Azeri funding ‘friendship’
By Edgar Beltrán, April 17, 2025
Orthodox Archbishop Vicken Aykazian, ecumenical director of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America, said that a shift in the Vatican’s approach to the ongoing conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan is influenced by Azerbaijan’s funding of Vatican projects, which are seemingly part of the country’s “caviar diplomacy” strategy. The bishop’s remarks came amid public pushback over a conference on Christianity in Azerbaijan held at the Gregorian University this month, which Armenian activists and church officials say is part of an Azeri effort to erase Armenian history. “There’s a lot of people and a lot of media articles asking why the Vatican is forgetting their friends in Armenia, and it is because there are cardinals and Vatican officials in touch with Azerbaijan, and getting money from them,” Aykazian told The Pillar this week.
UCA News
Malaysian police investigate 'Ku Klux Klan' incident at university
By UCA News reporter, April 18, 2025
Malaysian police are investigating an incident involving some students at the Universiti Teknologi carrying a cross while dressed in robes similar to those worn by the Ku Klux Klan. This Protestant-led Christian extremist group originated in the United States in the 19th century. The Selangor state police started an investigation after a viral video showed students wearing white hoods and robes symbolic of the white supremacist KKK movement on the university campus. The university defended the students, stating that their actions were part of an assignment for a course on Contemporary Global and Legal Issues. Sepang police chief, Norhizam Bahaman, said the presentation was meant to enhance students' understanding of racial discrimination, and urged the public not to speculate on it or share “false news that may create unease” in society.
Pillar, CNA & Satire for Friday, April 18, 2025
The Pillar
Pillar Posts by Ed Condon for 4/18/25
The Pillar is an American news and investigative journalism website focusing on the Catholic Church. Founded D Flynn, former editor-in-chief of Catholic News Agency and former chancellor of the Archdiocese of Denver; and Ed Condon, former Washington, D.C., bureau editor of Catholic News Agency
In The Pillar’s columns section, theologian Larry Chapp breaks down what happens after an ecumenical council — and what that should tell us about Vatican Council II.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan is among a number of American metropolitan archbishops over 75 years old, and waiting for Pope Francis to accept his letter of resignation. But with a gigantic set of lawsuits pending in the Archdiocese of New York, it could be a while before Dolan’s resignation is accepted.
Catholic News Agency
CNA’s top headlines — April 18, 2025
Catholic News Agency provides reliable and free up-to-the-minute news affecting the Universal Church, with updates on the words of the Holy Father and the Holy See.
What are the Good Friday Reproaches? - Apr 18, 2025 - By Matthew Santucci - The Good Friday Reproaches are a series of antiphons, known also as the “Improperia” or “Popule Meus” (“My People”), coming from the opening lines of the Latin text of the recitation.
PHOTOS: Archaeologists uncover early use of site beneath Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem - Apr 18, 2025 - By Marinella Bandini - A stone quarry outside the walls of Jerusalem, later abandoned and converted into a cemetery with rock-cut tombs and cultivated areas — that’s what the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher looked like at the time of Jesus.
The surprising Catholic origins of England’s hot cross bun - Apr 18, 2025 - By Kristina Millare - On Good Friday more than 660 years ago, the hot cross bun became part of English culture and Catholic history.
Babylon Bee’s Satire News
Catholic Scholars Confirm Purgatory Consists Of Helping Third Graders With Math For Hundreds Of Years
By Theology Staff, April 17, 2022
Distinguished canon law scholars in the Roman Catholic church have just confirmed that Purgatory consists of helping 3rd-graders with their math homework for hundreds of years. According to a statement signed, imprimatured and nihil-obstated by more than 45 Catholic canon law specialists, Christians who reach the end of their lives in a state of incomplete sanctification will help nine-year-olds with long division, fractions, and decimals until their souls are purified enough to stand in the presence of a holy God. In the case of extreme and hardened sinners, the souls will be forced to use Common Core math. Catholic theologians also postulated that Hell might involve teaching phonics to 1st-graders.
Nutshell reflections for 4/18/25:
USCCB Daily Reflection: AUDIO & VIDEO - April 18, 2025
Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion
Church Life Journal
Easter Vigil and the symbols of Easter
By Joseph Ratzinger, April 9, 2009
Saint Mark tells us in his Gospel that as the disciples came down from the Mount of the Transfiguration, they were discussing among themselves what “rising from the dead” could mean (see Mark 9:10). A little earlier, the Lord had foretold his passion and his resurrection after three days. Peter had protested against this prediction of death. But now, they were wondering what could be meant by the word “resurrection.” Could it be that we find ourselves in a similar situation? What is resurrection? It does not form part of our experience, so the message often remains, to some degree, beyond our understanding, a thing of the past. The Church tries to help us understand by expressing this mysterious event in the language of symbols, in which we can somehow contemplate this astonishing event. During the Easter Vigil, the Church points out the significance of this day principally through three symbols: light, water, and the new song—the Alleluia.
Catholic Exchange
Prayer of consecration to the holy cross of Jesus
By Catholic Exchange, April 18, 2023
Jesus, may Your Cross give me the strength to choose also to be nailed to it with You. May it detach me from created things so that I may be attached to Your will alone. May I stand upright and firm, keeping company always with Our Lady at the foot of the Cross. May the blood and water which flowed from Your side—pierced by the lance of my sins—wash me clean and unite me with You, the One I seek and the One I love. I see the power of the living One who died and rose for me. Doce me passionem Tuam—teach me Your suffering. Amen.
Related: Behold the wood of the cross, Our Sunday Visitor, by Father Patrick Briscoe, April 18, 2025
Catholic Weekly
From protestant roots to Catholic revelation
By Darren Ally, April 17, 2025
As a Protestant, whenever I met a Catholic, I wanted to pray for them, so they would know the truth and become Protestant. That changed at the end of 2021, when I was on a phone call with my parents. They told me they were learning about the Catholic Church. Terrified, I remember crying and praying to God and asking him to set my parents back straight, to make sure that they stayed on the right path and not veer off to the wrong path. When I prayed again, I asked God, if this is truly the truth, if this is where you want me to be as well, then please open my heart, soften it so I can learn. And so, I started doing some research online. I first learned that the Catholic Church is the original church. Second, I found that the Catholic Church doesn’t worship Mary or the saints, but it venerates them. But the real game changer was when I learned about the Eucharist.
Catholic Stand
Death is not final and complete
By Richard Auciello, April 11, 2025
Jesus is sentenced to death. Sentenced to end living in this life, the life that we are born into, and that we know and experience through the physical body and five senses. But it is not the only life that exists. Some, or perhaps even many, in our culture believe that death is final and complete, but those of us who live by the light of Christ know that there is more to come; namely, the four last things: death, judgment, heaven or hell. Perhaps it is appropriate to say that death is a beginning; the beginning of eternity. When Jesus is sentenced to death, He stands straight and tall with a fearless expression in his demeanor and soul. His life is always an example for us. Is He not asking us to face death in the same way?
Image of Coconut by Celio Nicoli from Pixabay
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