Catholic Nutshell News: Saturday 3/7/26
Topics include: Catholicism declining in Latin America; New Apostolic Nuncio to U.S.; American exceptionalism panel speaks out; & Israel’s morale heading upward
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Zenit
Catholicism has aggressively declined in Latin America
By Enrique Villegas, March 5, 2026
For centuries, Latin America has been considered the global stronghold of Catholicism. From Mexico to the southern tip of the continent, Catholic culture shaped national identities, social life, and political debates. Even today, nearly half of the world’s Catholics live in the Americas. Statistics from the Vatican’s annual Annuarium Statisticum Ecclesiae indicate that 47.8% of the world’s Catholics reside in the Americas, with Latin America alone accounting for about 40%of the global Catholic population. Based only on baptismal records, a closer look at religious self-identification reveals a markedly different reality. A recent Pew study examined religious affiliation in six major Latin American countries—Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru —between 2013 and 2024. In Colombia, where Catholic devotion has long been woven into the country’s cultural fabric, Catholics dropped from 79% in 2013 to 60% in 2024. Chile recorded a similar 18% decline.
Aleteia
New Apostolic Nuncio to U.S., Archbishop Gabriele Caccia
By Christine Rousselle - Daniel Esparza, March 7, 2026
The Vatican announced March 7 that Italian Archbishop Gabriele Giordano Caccia is the new Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, replacing Cardinal Christophe Pierre as the Holy See’s representation in the country. Born in Milan on February 24, 1958, Gabriele Giordano Caccia was ordained a priest on June 11, 1983. After studying at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in Rome – the school for nuncios – he entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1991. During the early years of his career, he worked in Tanzania, then in the General Affairs section of the State Secretariat (within the office of the Deputy Prosecutor). He then became Assessor for General Affairs in 2002, essentially the Deputy Prosecutor’s right-hand man. Fluent in Italian, English, French, and German, Archbishop Caccia has already worked extensively in the American context through a diplomatic role at the UN. His new assignment places him at the center of relations between the Vatican, the U.S. government, and the country’s more than 70 million Catholics.
The Pillar
USCCB clarifies its birthright citizenship brief controversy
By Michelle La Rosa, March 6, 2026
The U.S. bishops’ conference told its members this week that a legal brief on birthright citizenship did not claim that “that every democratic polity must adopt” a birthright citizenship policy “to satisfy moral standards.” The clarification came in a March 2 memo issued to bishops, after controversy over a February amicus brief filed by the USCCB in a lawsuit challenging a 2025 Trump executive order that would change the country’s birthright citizenship policies. Critics argued that the brief had asked the Supreme Court to apply religious teaching in its decision, and had presented Catholic teaching in an incoherent manner. William Quinn, general counsel for the USCCB, said that the brief instead relies on natural law and rejected the religious claims in his March 2 memo to the bishops. The brief does note the practical consequences of the executive order in question; he acknowledged, in particular, damage to family unity and threats to stateless individuals.
EWTN News
American exceptionalism through a Catholic lens
By Amira Abuzeid, March 7, 2026
The University of Dallas hosted three Catholic academics and an apologist to reflect on what makes America exceptional in a celebration marking the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. Liam Ritter, a junior and the founder of the university’s Young Americans for Freedom chapter, monitored the discussion. In response to Ritter’s question, “Why [is it] that our political regime has been so stable for so long,” Susan Hanssen, associate professor of history at the University of Dallas, recalled America’s first immigrants. “I think the first thing that makes America exceptional, and its political regime exceptional, is the fact that America was first populated by people who fled the rise of the modern nation state and totalitarianism … and so we have a population of people who know what is at stake in political liberty.” Dallas University President Jonathan Sanford called the family the “foundational institution” of America. “Recover the family,” he said.
Jerusalem Post
Israel’s public morale shifts dramatically upward amid Iran war
By Jerusalem Post Staff, March 7, 2026
Public morale among the Israeli populace has shifted dramatically since the beginning of Operation Roaring Lion, according to a study that concluded on Tuesday. Prior to the operation, approximately 22% of Israelis expressed great concern for their personal safety. However, following the outbreak of the war, this number surged to nearly 45%, highlighting a significant shift in public perception regarding their well-being during wartime. Concern for the state’s security also rose notably. Nearly 50% of Israelis reported high levels of concern for national security after the war broke out, compared to about one-third before the conflict. Before the war, approximately 37% of Israelis expressed optimism about the country’s future. Following the outbreak, this number rose significantly to about 50%. Despite the war, many Israelis have displayed a renewed sense of optimism, showing resilience in the face of adversity.
Zeale
Detroit archdiocese restructuring plan amid priest shortage
By Hannah Hiester, March 6, 2026
Of Detroit’s 209 parishes, 138 currently have fewer than 600 regular Massgoers. Attendance stands at 14.7% and has been falling by an average of 4% each year. A lack of priests also poses problems, and the number of priests is expected to decline by roughly 25–30% over the next decade. Once parishes become incredibly small, they cease to function as communities. The archdiocese’s restructuring process will redirect “our energies and our efforts so that we can really go back to that mission of the church as opposed to just kind of maintaining buildings,” said Detroit Archbishop Edward Weisenburger. Father Mario Amore, executive director of the archdiocesan Department of Parish Renewal, said that priests will be reassigned across the archdiocese to different communities … we are committed to that transparency, and we’re committed to a process that engages every person that wants to be involved.”
CRUX
Germany’s Cologne Cathedral will charge tourists for admission
By Associated Press, March 6, 2026
Cologne Cathedral, a famous German landmark and popular tourist draw, will start charging visitors, not Mass attendees, an admission fee as church officials struggle with rising maintenance costs, according to an announcement on Thursday. The Catholic cathedral’s chapter said it will start charging tourists in the second half of this year, but did not specify how high the admission fee would be. The twin-spired Catholic cathedral towers over Cologne’s main railway station, next to the Rhine River, and dominates the city skyline. Construction of the Gothic cathedral began in 1248 and was completed in 1880. It was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites in 1996. Inflation and rising personnel costs have led to a steady increase in the cost of maintaining the building, the cathedral chapter said. The cathedral plans to spend around 16 million euros ($18.6 million) this year. The cathedral’s dean, Guido Assmann, said tourists account for about 99% of visitors.
National Catholic Register
‘Monk Mindset’ app brings the Monastic tradition to the laity
By Moira Gleason, March 6 2026
“Monk Mindset,” a new app grounded in the Catholic monastic tradition, is helping laypeople find authentic detachment this Lent through the example of St. Francis of Assisi and St. John of the Cross. The theme of the app’s 40-day Lent challenge borrows a lesson from the latter: Seek nothing to find everything. “Detachment doesn’t exist by itself,” Monk Mindset founder John Cannon told the Register. “Detachment is an opportunity to grow in love and needs to be saturated in prayer to be successful.” Launched in January, the Monk Mindset app helps laypeople of all ages and faith backgrounds find peace and productivity by integrating seven principles from the Catholic monastic tradition into their daily lives. “The monastic spirituality and the monastic tradition really start first with what we have the most control over, and that’s ourselves and how we can allow ourselves to be transformed. And then it pushes outward from there.”
EWTN News, aciafrica, & CWR for 3/7/26
EWTN News
EWTN’s top headlines — March 7, 2026
EWTN News provides reliable, free, up-to-the-minute news affecting the Universal Church, with updates on the words of the Holy Father and the Holy See.
Luxembourg includes ‘freedom to abort’ in its constitution, following France’s lead - By Almudena Martínez-Bordiú - Although abortion has been legal in the country since 1978, by a large majority vote in the legislature, the small European nation has inserted the “freedom to abort” in the constitution. The effort was initiated by the left-wing party Déi Lénk, with a proposal presented in 2024 that was subsequently approved by the Council of State.
Sister of slain bishop reflects on traveling exhibit honoring the 19 Algerian martyrs - By Madalaine Elhabbal - An exhibit honoring the 19 Algerian martyrs is making stops at major cities around the globe. The postulator for the martyrs’ cause and the sister of one of them tells EWTN News what they stood for. Her brother was featured in an exhibit alongside his fellow 18 martyrs of the so-called “Black Decade” of Algeria from 1992–2002.
‘Baraniak, you can’t act like a swine’: The Salesian bishop who defied Stalinism - By Filip Mazurczak - Polish archbishop Antoni Baraniak was beaten, starved, and interrogated 145 times by the Stalinist regime — and never yielded. Amid a post-Stalin thaw, Baraniak was freed in 1956. The Holy See nominated him to be the new archbishop of Poznan.
aciafrica
aciafrica’s top headlines — March 7, 2026
ACI Africa was founded in 2019 to provide free, up-to-the-minute news affecting the Catholic Church in Africa, with particular emphasis on the words of the Holy Father and the activities of the Holy See.
Two Kenyan Catholic Bishops Urge Youths to Participate in Democratic Processes ahead of 2027 Polls - Mar 7, 2026 - By Nicholas Waigwa - Bishops of Kenya’s Catholic Dioceses of Kitale and Lodwar have challenged the young people in the country to step out and responsibly take an active role in the East African nation’s upcoming election.
Liberian Catholics Undertake Annual Pilgrimage to Historic Birthplace of Catholicism - Mar 6, 2026 - By ACI Africa Staff - Hundreds of Catholic faithful from Liberia’s Diocese of Cape Palmas gathered in Sasstown for the ninth annual pilgrimage to Sasstown and Betu, two historic sites widely regarded as the cradle of Catholicism in the West African nation.
The Consecrated in Southern Africa Challenged to Renew “Spiritual abundance” amid Scarcity - Mar 6, 2026 - By Sabrine Amboka - Men and women Religious within the Southern Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) have been challenged to seek abundance in serving God in a world full of materialistic temptations.
Catholic World Report
CWR’s Columns, Analysis, & Features - March 7, 2026
Catholic World Report is a free online magazine that examines the news from a faithful Catholic perspective.
“Go to Mass and confession frequently”: Bishop Francis Malone reflects on faith, vocations, family - Jim Graves - March 5, 2026 - Bishop Francis Malone, 75, has served as Bishop of Shreveport, Louisiana, since 2020. Shreveport is the northernmost of the seven dioceses of Louisiana and serves nearly 40,000 Catholics.
Instrumentality in Sin and Silicon - Christopher M. Reilly - March 4, 2026 - The use and proliferation of artificial intelligence technology (AI) can generate vice and, ultimately, sin. Not always, for AI is a fascinating product of human creativity that promises many practical benefits as well as harmful outcomes.
Silence of the Gods chronicles the obscure paganism of Eastern Europe - Casey Chalk - March 6, 2026 - Francis Young’s detailed study details the centuries-long Christianization of the Baltics and the Russian interior and offers an illuminating and cautionary tale about evangelization.
Nutshell reflections for 3/7/26:
USCCB Daily Reflection: AUDIO - March 7, 2026
Saturday of the Second Week of Lent
Catholic Stand
Crushing anxiety
By Patrick Coffin, March 6, 2026
“Anxiety is an emotion characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts, and physical changes like increased blood pressure.” That’s the American Psychological Association’s definition. It’s serviceable, I guess. For too many people, when they experience anxiety, it feels much more visceral, distracting, and overall much more acute than the official definition. Perhaps dread is the best synonym for it. In her excellent book Your Thoughts are Killing You: Take Control of Your Mind and Close the Door to Those Negative, Depressing, Fearful, Worrisome Thoughts Forever (how’s that for a title?), Marybeth Wuenschel drives the point home that our thoughts have only the hold on us that we give them. Too often, thoughts arrive in our mind and we let them run riot. For Catholics, there is an immediate cure: make an act of trustful surrender to divine Providence. God is in control, and God loves us more than we can ask or imagine. It’s hardly a shock to see that anxiety fits in with the traditional phrase “this vale of tears.”
National Catholic Register
Powerful pressures discourage honest questioning
By Deacon Dominic Cerrato, March 3, 2026
Catholic tradition understands the human person as a unity of body and soul, created in the image of God, endowed with reason and free will, and called to live in the truth. The Second Vatican Council teaches that the human person acts with genuine dignity when he acts “according to a knowing and free choice” (Gaudium et Spes, 17). Freedom is not simply the ability to choose anything at all; it is the capacity to choose what is true and good. Pope St. John Paul II insisted, “Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought” (Veritatis Splendor, 35). This is precisely what we see in much of contemporary discourse about gender. The Church affirms, in continuity with Scripture and natural law, that “God created man in his image … male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27). Dietrich Bonhoeffer described such a condition vividly: The stupid person “is under a spell,” no longer in possession of himself. When a cultural narrative becomes dominant, it exerts a powerful pressure that discourages honest questioning.
First Things
The historical context of Chinese Catholicism
By Anthony E. Clark, March 3, 2025
Paul Mariani’s new book, China’s Church Divided: Bishop Louis Jin and the Post-Mao Catholic Revival, is about Father Aloysius Jin Luxian (1916–2013), a protean Chinese priest, who has been described in turn both as the country’s most dishonorable traitor to his faith, and as the most effective savior of China’s—underline China’s—Catholic Church. I am not being hyperbolic when I describe Mariani’s book as the most evocative and accurate book to date on the contemporary Catholic Church in China. Mariani—a priest of the same order as Bishop Jin—is among the very few scholars who are both equipped to confront the languages required to research Jin’s ecclesial legacy in China and understand the Shanghai Church. He has also dedicated many years to mastering the vast scholarship that establishes the historical context of Chinese Catholicism. By 1988, once a stalwart defender of the papacy and obedient to the Holy See, Bishop Jin had become a defender of the Party’s governance over both China in general and the Chinese Catholic Church.
The Catholic Thing
Beware if politics has become your strange god
By Anthony Esolen, March 7, 2026
How do you preach the word of God to madmen? How do you preach it in Bedlam? For everyone in Bedlam will be afflicted with the twitch. If everyone around you is shouting, you will be led to shout too, if only to be heard at all, but eventually it may become a matter of course. I ask the question because Bedlam is where we are, a political, social, educational, and religious Bedlam of distraction in the most literal sense, as of someone condemned to death by horses pulling him apart limb from limb. We need to pull back from the madness. Bedlam, even for sinful and addle-pated mankind, is not a normal state of affairs. I appeal to this rule. If political division causes you to break charity with a fellow Christian, if you are pleased to learn that such a person has done or said something bad, if you are eager to magnify its badness rather than to interpret it in a less damning light … then you are committing a sin against the first commandment, and politics has become your strange god.