Catholic Nutshell News: Thursday 4/17/25
Topics include: Technological upgrades at St. Peter’s, ‘Islamic agenda to homogenize’ Nigerians, New exorcism movie, & 72nd miracle announced at Lourdes
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Today's sources are Aleteia, OSV, CNA, National Catholic Register, What We Need Now, The Pillar, John Eldredge, & Babylon Bee. (Catholic Nutshell is a subscription service for faithful, hopeful, & curious Catholics willing to exercise the Catholic News Muscle)
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Catholic News Agency
Security, technological enhancements at St. Peter’s Basilica
By Almudena Martínez-Bordiú, April 17, 2025
To improve the experience of pilgrims traveling to Rome to participate in the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope, the Fabric of St. Peter (the office overseeing St. Peter’s conservation and maintenance) has led various restoration and innovation projects. Conservation work has been done on the monuments that house the tombs of Pope Paul III and Pope Urban VIII. Rehabilitation work has also been carried out to illuminate the necropolis, the archaeological rooms, and the Vatican grottoes. A new evacuation plan has also been established. St. Peter’s receives 12 million visitors each year. Therefore, according to Gambetti, it needs to “guarantee safety and make everyone feel protected.”
Catholic World Report
Bishop Anagbe warns of ‘Islamic agenda to homogenize’ Nigerians
By Ngala Killian Chimtom, April 15, 2025
Concerns over the safety of Mgr. Wilfred Anagbe, the Bishop of Makurdi in Nigeria, and Fr. Remigius Ihyula are growing after the two men testified about the persecution of Christians in Africa’s most populous nation. On March 12, 2025, the Nigerian prelate testified before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, detailing what he called the “egregious” violation of human rights in a country that has become “one of the most dangerous and insecure places for Christians.“ He fingered militant, Islamic Fulani herdsmen whom he described as terrorists “destroying society.” “They steal and vandalize, they kill and boast about it, they kidnap and rape, and they enjoy total impunity from the elected authorities.”
Our Sunday Visitor
New exorcism movie says it’s based on true events
By Katie Yoder, April 16, 2025
A new movie promises to tell the story of an exorcism performed by Catholic priests in the United States. Based on true events, the film is about helping vulnerable people, according to the writer and director. “It’s a story of a group of people who come together and put themselves at really great personal risk and have to summon up a lot of bravery and courage in order to help a woman who is really suffering,” David Midell, writer and director of “The Ritual,” said. Midell spoke with Our Sunday Visitor about his latest film, which hits theaters nationwide June 6. The movie follows the well-documented exorcism of Emma Schmidt, also known as “Anna Ecklund,” that took place at a convent in Earling, Iowa, in 1928.
Aleteia
72nd miracle announced at Lourdes this week
By Cerith Gardiner, April 17, 2025
In some truly joyful news for Holy Week, the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes officially declared its 72nd miracle: an Italian woman’s astonishing cure from a rare neuromuscular disease over 15 years ago. The announcement came Wednesday, April 16, 2025, at the grotto, when Fr. Michel Daubanes, rector of the shrine, revealed the decision immediately following the final prayers of the rosary. The recipient, Antonietta Raco of the Diocese of Tursi‑Lagonegro, “suffered from primary lateral sclerosis” — a type of motor neuron disease that causes weakness in the muscles. She made the pilgrimage hoping for relief. After bathing in the spring waters, she “began to move independently” and, in what doctors could not explain, “the effects of the infamous illness immediately and definitively disappeared.”
Catholic Weekly
Scotland’s abortion buffer zone laws emulated by Australia
By Monica Doumit, April 17, 2025
Rose Docherty is a 74-year-old grandmother living in Glasgow. Last month, she stood outside a hospital where abortions were being performed with a sign that read: “Coercion is a crime. Here to talk. Only if you want.” She was arrested under Scotland’s buffer zone laws and is awaiting a decision on whether she will be fined up to £10,000 for her troubles. Scotland’s abortion buffer zone laws, like those in New South Wales, were introduced and passed based on accusations that women seeking abortions would frequently need to run the gauntlet of screaming protestors to reach the clinics where they were performed. These protestors, it was alleged, would harass, threaten, and intimidate these vulnerable women and so needed special protections. Not true. “We would neither look at nor address the women going in, but just simply pray quietly for an end to abortion,” said Doumit.
Providence Magazine
Uganda has moved from Republic to a dynasty
By Ngala Killian Chimtom, April 17, 2025
A leading Catholic priest in Uganda challenged Uganda’s political transition, explaining that the country seems to have shifted from a republic where leaders are voted for to a kingdom where transition is hereditary. Father Robert Ochola-Lukwiya, the parish priest of Angal Parish and Chancellor of Nebbi Catholic Diocese in Uganda, told Crux that the prevailing political discourse in the East African country today is about father-to–son succession. “In Uganda, power rests firmly in the hands of the ‘big man’,” the Comboni missionary said. President Yoweri Museveni has been in power for nearly four decades and has faced speculation about his son, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, potentially succeeding him. Ochola-Lukwiya said justified protests against such a transition are often met with brutal violence and bloodshed, leaving many Ugandans resigned to submission.
The Pillar
Milwaukee priest had clerical support in theft case
By The Pillar, April 16, 2025
In an apparent deal with prosecutors, Fr. Mauricio Fernandez-Boscan pleaded guilty to stealing more than $33,000 from Milwaukee’s St. Adelbert’s Parish. While the current parish pastor claims that Fernandez-Boscan embezzled more than $160,000 from the parish’s accounts, Fernandez-Boscan got support from other priests in the Milwaukee archdiocese. Eight fellow priests sent letters to the judge who sentenced Fernandez-Boscan — an unusually high number of interventions for a priest convicted of stealing from his parish. Despite Martin’s victims’ impact statement, seven priests of the archdiocese and one member of the Salvatorian religious order submitted letters to the court praising Fernandez-Boscan’s character, identifying him as a man of “high virtues,” who was “honest,” and of “exemplary character.”
CatholicVote
Catholic employers protected from accommodating abortion, IVF
By CV News Feed, April 17, 2025
Federal judge Daniel M. Traynor ruled this week that the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) may not force Catholic employers to accommodate abortion and IVF or to abide by Biden-era LGBT “anti-discrimination” rules. The Diocese of Bismarck, North Dakota, and the Catholic Benefits Association (CBA) sued over the regulations last year, arguing their enforcement under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act violated the religious freedom rights of Catholic groups. CBA hailed the decision as “a huge win” in a press release Wednesday evening, stating that the court “granted permanent protection from the EEOC’s efforts to force Catholic employers and others to accommodate abortion, IVF, or surrogacy, and to eliminate single-sex spaces and adopt preferred pronouns.”
CatholicVote, CNA & Satire for 4/17/2025
CatholicVote - The 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.” Today’s topics from the LOOP include:
IRAQI CHRISTIANS AWAIT URGENT ACTION FROM TRUMP - Religious freedom experts warn a warlord is threatening to finish what ISIS started in Iraq: “Unless the United States intervenes immediately, the historic Christian city of Qaraqosh in the Nineveh Plains of Iraq will fall tomorrow, Thursday, April 17, to the U.S.-sanctioned, Iran-backed militia leader Rayan Kildani.”
TEXAS HOUSE ADVANCES LANDMARK SCHOOL CHOICE PROGRAM - The Texas House voted 85-63 just after 2 a.m. this morning to pass a landmark $1 billion school choice bill, paving the way for the largest program of its kind in the nation. The measure creates education savings accounts that make public education funds directly available to families, who may use the money for private school tuition, homeschooling, and other approved education expenses.
UK SUPREME COURT: MEN ARE NOT WOMEN - The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom ruled April 16 that in the 2010 Equality Act, the terms “woman” and “sex” refer to biological reality, not to a self-proclaimed "gender identity." Conservatives and feminists hailed the unanimous ruling as a massive cultural victory over "transgender" ideology.
Catholic News Agency
CNA’s top headlines — April 17, 2025
Catholic News Agency provides reliable, free, up-to-the-minute news affecting the Universal Church, emphasizing the words of the Holy Father and happenings of the Holy See to anyone with access to the internet.
CNA explains: Why Eastern and Western Easter dates differ — and why 2025 is different - Apr 17, 2025 - By Kate Quiñones - The Council of Nicaea's 1,700th anniversary marks a rare unified Easter in 2025, sparking hope for Christian unity.
Holy Week pilgrims in Rome take up ancient Seven Churches walks - Apr 17, 2025 - By Kristina Millare - The practice of church pilgrimages dates back centuries in the Catholic Church.
‘The Chosen’ hits milestone as creator reflects on powerful Last Supper portrayal - Apr 17, 2025 - By Francesca Pollio Fenton - Dallas Jenkins, creator of “The Chosen,” along with some of the actors from the show shared their experiences of filming.
Babylon Bee’s (Satire) News
Reasons Women Make Better Astronauts Than Men
By Science Staff, April 15, 2025
Though men were the first to reach for the stars, science has proven definitively that women are far better suited to the task. Consider the evidence.
Space is a vacuum, and women love vacuums: For cleaning.
If you time the mission right, they're all in good moods and super cooperative: But if your timing is off... God help you.
They have plenty of experience with high Gs from spin class at the gym: We're pretty sure this is how it works.
In space, no one can hear you passive-aggressively say, "It's fine": Just the sweet sound of the silent void.
Shuttle capsule will smell like lavender and stuff: Space travel has never been so relaxing.
Women are never wrong, so the mission is a guaranteed success: Why didn't someone think of this before?
Clarification: The posting of satire from Babylon Bee does not make me guilty by association. Please forward all comments directly to BB's Science Staff (obviously a bunch of unqualified, misogynistic, likely bearded, knee-slapping giggly men, except for Steve).
Nutshell reflections for 4/17/25:
USCCB Daily Reflection - AUDIO & VIDEO - April 17, 2025
Holy Thursday - Chrism Mass
What We Need Now
People wanted a front row seat to see Jesus ride that donkey
By Scott Powell, April 14, 2025
For Jesus to ride a donkey into the holy city of Jerusalem was a decidedly political and intensely provocative act. We know that in the time of Jesus, there were many false and would-be messiahs, claiming to be the long-promised king of Israel (whose throne was lost nearly 600 years ago at the time of the Babylonian captivity). Hothead revolutionaries and insurgent groups abounded in the region. Still, surely no one had been so bold as to ride a donkey into Jerusalem ahead of the most politically charged festival of the year! I believe that the crowds responded the way they did because they realized that, finally, someone was willing to put his money where his mouth was. Many in the crowd that day probably thought that Jesus might really be who he was claiming to be, or else Rome would kill him spectacularly. Either way, people wanted a front row seat.
Aleteia
Symbolism of feet washing on Holy Thursday
By Philip Kosloski, April 14, 2025
Not all the books written about Jesus or the life of the early Church made it into the New Testament. In fact, most of them did not. These other scriptures were rejected by the early Church and condemned as heretical. But there’s another way of thinking about these other scriptures. They shed light on how a variety of Christian communities understood Jesus, his mission, and those who accompanied him. They illustrate the great diversity of beliefs and practices in the earliest days of the Christian era. The core of our Christian belief system obviously comes from the canonical books of the New Testament. But the books rejected can also inform, enlighten, and inspire us on our journey of faith.
Catholic Answers
From the Catholic Encylopedia
In its primitive meaning the word chrism, like the Greek chrisma, was used to designate any and every substance that served the purpose of smearing or anointing, such as the various kinds of oils, unguents, and pigments. This was its ordinary signification in profane literature, and even in the early patristic writings. Gradually however, in the writings of the Fathers at all events, the term came to be restricted to that special kind of oil that was used in religious ceremonies and functions, especially in the administration of the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation. Thus Origen refers to the visible chrism in which we have all been baptized: St. Ambrose venerates in the chrism the oil of grace which makes kings and priests; and St. Cyril of Jerusalem celebrates the praises of the mystic chrism.
Wild at Heart
Don’t leave me alone, not now
By John Eldredge, April 17, 2025
Jesus enjoyed people. Not everyone does, you know. Many stories find him feasting with a rowdy crowd. He invited twelve men to spend day and night with him for three years. His longing for companionship intensifies to a crescendo in Gethsemane: “He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him. ...‘Stay here and keep watch with me’” (Matt. 26:37–38). Don’t leave me alone, not now. How urgently human. Yes, Jesus knew loneliness. He’s not pretending. The one who created the human heart — whose own heart was so kind and so vast — this man felt deeply. He who created love and friendship longed for it.
This is no superhero, steeled and impervious to the human condition. Far from it.
Image of peanuts by Nicole Köhler, from Pixabay
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