Catholic Nutshell News: Wednesday 4/23/25
Topics include: ‘Sede vacante’ and ‘interregnum’, Way of the Cross prayed at abortion clinics, Apostolic succession, & Francis’ top five papal controversies
“Here was an almond tree in bloom before me”
Today's sources are the National Catholic Register, CNA, Aleteia, CatholicVote, The Pillar, OSV, The Imaginative Conservative, and CNA. (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
‘Sede vacante’ and ‘interregnum’ — what do they mean?
By Jonah McKeown, April 23, 2025
“Sede vacante” is Latin for “the see being vacant,” indicating the period when a pope has died or resigned and a successor has not yet been chosen. If a bishop who is the ordinary of a diocese dies or is removed from his post by the pope, the episcopal see is “sede vacante” until a successor is appointed. “Interregnum” is a Latin word meaning “between the reigns” and can refer to the period between the reigns of any two rulers. In the case of the papacy, it refers to the period between the day of the death or resignation of one pope (which is counted as the first day of interregnum) and the election of his successor—the “vacancy of the Apostolic See.”
Nine Days of Mourning (Novendiales) - The pope’s body is currently lying in state in St. Peter’s Basilica
Preparation for the conclave - Normally, the conclave begins on the 15th day after the death of a pope
The conclave - Cardinals meet at the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel under strict oath of secrecy with a penalty of automatic excommunication if they break the oath.
CatholicVote
Way of the Cross prayed outside dozens of abortion clinics
By Rachel Quackenbush, April 22, 2025
On Good Friday, thousands of pro-life Christians across the U.S. marked the Passion of Christ by praying the Way of the Cross outside abortion facilities. According to a press release from the Pro-Life Action League, which organized the events, nearly 80 prayer vigils took place across 28 states on April 18. In Denver, a small group stood in the snow across the street from Planned Parenthood of the Rockies to participate in the solemn prayers. Local organizer Thomas Uebbing reported that 15 people were gathered, guided by Deacon Greg Frank of St. Mary’s Parish in Littleton. The Pro-Life Action League described the nationwide effort as a way to mourn the victims of abortion while also confronting the emotional toll that abortion takes on women.
Aleteia
The Catholic belief and pattern of apostolic succession
By Philip Kosloski, April 22, 2025
Apostolic succession refers to the belief that today's bishops in the Catholic Church, particularly the pope, are direct successors of the apostles. “Thanks to this transmission the Church remains in communion of faith and life with her origin, while through the centuries she carries on her apostolate for the spread of the Kingdom of Christ on earth” (CCC176). Succession is displayed primarily through the unbroken line of popes, beginning with St. Peter the Apostle and continuing to the present day—a complete list on the Vatican website. By extension, this ministry of the apostles is also given to bishops with a similar "lineage," based on their ordination to the episcopate and connection to the Holy Father. This can be more difficult to track down, but a website traces the "spiritual lineage" of each bishop.
CRUX
Francis’ legacy: Five papal controversies
By Elise Ann Allen, April 23, 2025
Twelve years at the helm of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis was a globally beloved and respected figure, but he generated more than his fair share of controversy.
Political Advocacy - Francis’ decisions to get involved in what are conventionally seen as political debates, from economics to migration policy.
Amoris Laetitia - The unexpected blowback from this 2016 post-synodal exhortation, the “Joy of Love.”
Amazon Synod/“Pachamama” - The 2019 Synod of Bishops on the Amazon raised debate over Indigenous spirituality perceived as embracing pagan worship.
Traditional Latin Mass - Francis’ 2021 restrictions to the Traditional Latin Mass.
Fiducia Supplicans - Most controversial decision: a publication outlining methods for giving blessings to couples in same-sex unions.
The Pillar
Convicted Cardinal Becciu claims conclave voting rights
By The Pillar, April 22, 2025
Convicted Cardinal Angelo Becciu told Sardinian reporters Tuesday that he is permitted to attend the conclave that will elect Pope Francis’ successor, and that a Vatican list designating him a “non-elector” has no legal value. But the Vatican has said otherwise. Becciu, once the second-ranking official in the Vatican’s Secretariat of State and the pope’s de facto chief of staff, was in December 2023 convicted of financial crimes in a Vatican City courtroom, and given a sentence of five years and six months, a fine of 8,000 euros (around $8,700), and perpetual disqualification from holding public office. In September 2020, he was forced to resign the rights and privileges of a cardinal, but not formal membership of the college. Becciu has insisted upon his innocence and appealed his conviction.
Our Sunday Visitor
Today is also the feast of St. Adalbert, martyr and bishop
By Maryella Hierholzer, April 23, 2024
St. Adalbert, the first bishop of Prague, also evangelized beyond Czech borders and worked to improve the holiness of the Church’s people despite receiving little appreciation for his efforts in his lifetime. He opposed the participation of Christians in the slave trade, and he was openly critical of polygamy and idolatry, common among the people at that time. St. Adalbert never gave up trying to reform the Church and spreading the Faith. Although having some success, he was killed at the prompting of one of the pagan priests in 997. St. Adalbert was canonized in 999, and today is known as the Apostle of Prussia. St. Adalbert’s Feast day: April 23 “It is an easy thing to wear the mitre and a cross, but it is a most dreadful circumstance to have an account to give of a bishopric to the judge of the living and the dead.”
Related: St. George is the patron of soldiers and the patron of many nations, CNA - Feast day of St. George, April 23
UCA News
Muted response from Israel regarding the death of Pope Francis
By AFP, Jerusalem, April 23, 2025
In the holy city of Jerusalem, the official response to Pope Francis' death has been largely muted, with an Israeli government account on X reportedly posting and later deleting a message of condolence. Relations between Israel and Pope Francis had been strained since the war in Gaza broke out after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, with the pontiff often criticizing the conduct of the war while also denouncing what he called a "growing climate of anti-Semitism." Israeli media outlet Ynet reported on April 22 that the official State of Israel X account managed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had posted, "Rest in peace, Pope Francis. May his memory be a blessing." The message was then removed, and Israeli missions worldwide were instructed to delete any similar posts from social media. Ynet also said diplomats were told not to sign condolence books for Pope Francis located at Vatican embassies around the world.
CatholicVote
Statue of Jesus and a crucifix unscathed in a church fire
By Grace Porto, April 22, 2025
A fire destroyed much of the interior of St. Edmund Church in Queens, New York, on Holy Saturday. Nearly 13 years ago, the same church was devastated in a fire caused by Hurricane Sandy, a superstorm that ravaged the U.S. East Coast and the Caribbean. More than 100 first responders came to extinguish the fire, which began around 2 p.m., ABC7 Eyewitness News reported. Two firefighters sustained minor injuries. “The pews would have been filled with parishioners on Sunday for Easter Mass, but they are instead covered in soot,” the article stated. “Not much inside the church could be salvaged — the pastor’s chair was among the ruined items.” The firefighters saved a statue of Jesus and a crucifix, both of which were unscathed in the fire. The church has been boarded up.
From Loop & Agency to Satire for 4/23/25
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.” Today’s Wednesday topics from the LOOP include:
CAN MARYLAND PARENTS OPT KIDS OUT OF LGBT BOOKS? - Attorneys representing several Catholic, Orthodox, and Muslim parents of children in a Maryland school district argued before the US Supreme Court today, contending that parents have the right to opt their children out of LGBT instruction in the classroom.
JUDGE SHOOTS DOWN UTAH SCHOOL CHOICE PROGRAM - A district judge ruled April 18 that Utah’s school choice program is unconstitutional, leaving thousands of children whose families had been using the $8,000 annual school choice grants in limbo.
SAINT OF THE DAY - Today is the feast day of Saint George, usually depicted in Christian art as an armored knight on horseback slaying a dragon. The image powerfully conveys the victory of Christian faith over evil, with the dragon representing the devil or paganism.
Catholic News Agency
CNA’s top headlines — April 23, 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.
Los Angeles Archdiocese reports highest number of Easter converts in 10 years - Apr 23, 2025 - By María J. Moriarty - “We usually see a 10% increase from the year before,” Father Juan Ochoa said. “This year, it was about 45%”
Pope Francis moved to St. Peter’s Basilica for final goodbye - Apr 23, 2025 - By Hannah Brockhaus - The rite began in the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta, where Francis lived for the 12 years of his reign.
‘Death is not the end of everything’: Vatican releases pope’s reflections on aging, dying - Apr 22, 2025 - By Madalaine Elhabbal - “We must not be afraid of old age; we must not fear embracing becoming old, because life is life, and sugarcoating reality means betraying the truth of things,” wrote Francis
Babylon Bee - Satire News
In Lieu Of Reading Book Of Revelation, Just Go Outside And Watch It Happen
By Christian Living Staff, April 21, 2025
In lieu of sitting down to read one of the more enigmatic and symbolic imagery-filled books of the Bible, thousands of people are opting to just go outside and watch it happen right before their eyes. That's right, you too can watch events from the book of Revelation unfold in front of you just by stepping out of your house. "It really brings the Apostle John's apocalyptic imagery to life," said one satisfied adherent to the method. "Famine, wars, pestilence, economic chaos — you can see it all for yourself playing out in real time! No more sitting and poring over difficult-to-comprehend text about horsemen and dragons and trumpets and bowls of wrath. You can watch it for yourself in living color!"
Nutshell reflections for 4/23/25:
USCCB Daily Reflection AUDIO & VIDEO - April 23, 2025
Wednesday in the Octave of Easter
The Imaginative Conservative
No sanitization of the torture and execution of Jesus Christ
By Dwight Longenecker, April 20, 2025
One of the good things about Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ is the gore. He has not sanitized the torture and execution of Jesus Christ. After doing the research, Mel Gibson said, If anything, he toned it down. The gritty death of Jesus Christ is important because the other side of the coin is the gritty glory of the resurrection. This was real. It was blood, sweat, and tears. It was gutsy and gruesome. He was stripped naked, beaten into mincemeat, and hanged to die. His friends wept in frustrated fury and fled in craven cowardice. Likewise, his resurrection was not a walk in the park on a Spring morning. This was not a happy ending with a nice lady weeping quietly and feeling sad about a friend who had died. This was a terrifying realization.
National Catholic Register
The Shroud of Turin puzzles the ‘Scientific Age’
By Matt Archbold, April 20, 2025
It is perhaps the most famous piece of cloth in the world. For centuries, the Shroud of Turin has captivated the devout and skeptical imaginations. In 1988, “The Science” spake from on high while standing next to microscopes and machines with blinking lights and declared the Shroud to be a medieval forgery. Scientists dismissed the Shroud as a hoax, but admitted that they did not understand how it could have been created. We found out the samples tested came from a portion of the cloth repaired after being damaged in a fire. And then, recently, Italian scientists with letters after their names using lasers, wide-angle X-ray machines, and more expensive gadgets with blinking lights indicated that the Shroud is about 2,000 years old. In true divine fashion, God knew that our “rational” and “scientific” age would eventually unlock the truth about the Shroud.
Catholic Gentlemen
The pains of the father
By Jason Craig, April 23, 2025
Although mothers come with their own forms of disorder, in Scripture it seems to belong to fathers to cause explicit pain and wounds. Sirach tells men to not go around their house “like lions” hurting people (Sir. 4:30). St. Paul tells husbands to not be harsh with wives and not to rouse children to anger (Col. 3:19, Eph. 6:4). Catholic fathers should be very interested in father wounds if for no other reason than problematic relationships with a father and a rejection of God seem to have a strong correlation. In many cultures, the mother even serves as a sort of go-between for child and father, communicating needs and wants in ways that she understands especially as one “closer” to both parties. The father’s gaze is outward to the world, but not in the sense of not seeing his children or lacking affection, but of peering into the future so that he may provide for and guide his family as well as watch for danger.
Missio Dei
Their eyes were opened
By Andrew McGovern, April 23, 2025
The third chapter of Genesis tells us that God came down and was “walking in the garden in the cool of the day.”1 It is implied that this was a normal occurrence as Adam and Eve “heard the sound of the Lord God walking” and as a result “hid themselves.” Before sin, God would come down and walk with Adam and Eve, and converse with them as friends. Later on in Genesis, this intimate relationship is again cited with a descendant of Adam named Enoch, who is said to have “walked with God.” This phrase is used in scripture to show a unique relationship that a creature has with his creator. On the road to Emmaus, these two disciples are once again able to walk with God. Thus, man is now able to walk with God as Adam and Eve did and as Enoch was allowed to do.
Image of Almonds by Monfocus from Pixabay
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