Welcome to the calm after the election storm, a time to examine hopes and fears in the making, when events are predictable but before they happen. It is a time reminiscent of the Bahá’í observance of Intercalary Days – days inserted to make our calendar work – like our days between election and inauguration. These days are full of urgency and anxiety for social activists, and especially for migrants and immigrants.
Hopes and prayers
Migrants are hoping and praying to enter the United States before the presidential inauguration, according to a report from Catholic News Service / Our Sunday Visitor.
‘Red Wednesday’
Today is “Red Wednesday” – a time to put Christian persecution in the spotlight. It is an annual commemoration held by Aid to the Church in Need to highlight the fact that today one in seven Christians faces extreme hostility, violence and repression because of their faith in Christ. Here are many items in a review of latest news.
War in Ukraine
The top Vatican diplomat Says Russia must act first to end Ukraine war.
Politics and Faith Traditions
Among the Catholics Trump has chosen for his Cabinet are Kennedy, who was nominated to be the secretary of Health and Human Services; Rubio as secretary of state; Stefanik as ambassador to the United Nations; and John Ratcliffe, nominated as director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
Black and Catholic “I am a Black Catholic man worried about (another) America under Donald Trump.” Daryl Grigsby digs into the moral and ethical betrayal of Catholic social teaching and a Church laity (and hierarchy) that seems to be nodding right along.
Southern Baptist Matt Gaetz, who abruptly resigned his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives last week just days before a House Ethics Committee was to release its investigation of multiple alleged improprieties — including sexual relations with a 17-year-old girl — is Trump’s nominee to become attorney general. He has been described as someone who would carry out Trump’s desire to exact vengeance on his political enemies.
A Hindu cult? Among Donald Trump’s surprising nominees for his next administration is Tulsi Gabbard, his pick for director of national intelligence. Her lifelong links with a politically active Hindu “cult” raise new questions about a nominee already under fire from both Republicans (John Bolton called her nomination one of the nation’s worst) and Democrats (leaders have called her a “Russian asset” and “national security threat”).
Post-election reflections
Did Trump voters know what they were getting? A Pew surveys say yes. With every announcement of a cabinet-level nomination that seems more shocking than the last, Americans who are not on the Trump train are struggling to understand how many of the president-elect’s actions will be agreeable to his base and whether any of them will face opposition.
Deportation Trump plans the ‘largest deportation’ ever. Here’s how it might start.
Is this on your BINGO card? Sometimes things are so scary you have to make fun of them to make a serious point, says Baptist News Global. The news service has developed a downloadable set of Project 2025 Bingo cards. There are three cards, one each on the general themes of education; families; and religion/censorship/propaganda. “We hope you’ll keep score at home and not be lulled into complacency.”
Mike Pence says ‘No’: Former Vice President Mike Pence Nov. 15 urged the Senate to reject Kennedy’s nomination as HHS secretary due to his views on abortion.
Catholic social thought
Georgetown University’s Initiative on Catholic Social Thought in Public Life hosted a panel discussion looking at the election results. Some key insights come especially from Ryan Burge.
The Death Penalty
A man sentenced to death spent the next five decades in a state of debilitating fear. Prisoners in Japan are not told when they will be executed; they listen every morning for the footsteps that could precede a key turning in their cell door and then a short walk to the hanging chamber. No warning is given to their lawyers or family members.
Activists sentenced
Dozens of prominent activists were sentenced to up to 10 years in prison on Tuesday in Hong Kong’s biggest national security case under a sweeping law imposed by Beijing that crushed a once-thriving pro-democracy movement. The defendants were prosecuted in 2021 for their roles in an unofficial primary election under the 2020 national security law.
Life sentence
Catholic with neo-Nazi ties is sentenced to life in prison for murder of gay Jewish teen. The attorney for Samuel Woodward, who stabbed a former high school classmate at an Orange County, Calif., park in 2018, has said he will appeal.
Virgin of Paris at home
Miraculously missed by burning beams falling from the roof on April 15, 2019, and waiting for five years to make it back to Notre Dame Cathedral, the 14th-century statue of the Virgin of Paris made it back home Nov. 15, accompanied by thousands of Parisians praying, singing and lighting candles as they walked their Virgin to Paris’ most iconic church, restored after the fire.
What is a homily?
A homily, Cardinal Arinze added, “is not an exposition of the local political climate nor a social disquisition on the economic hardships of the people. It should be the sharing of the prayer life of the priest for the past week in the presence of the Lord Jesus in the holy Eucharist.”
The USCCB: What is a synodal church?
Would that the nation’s Catholic prelates took a stand on social clarity (and charity) in 2024. Alas, it was not so, writes Nate Tinner-Williams, editor of Black Catholic Messenger. He quotes the Nuncio, Cardinal Christoph Pierre, who quotes Pope Francis: “The synodal Church is a gathering of people who have come into relationship with the heart of Christ and who are journeying together in order to share that relationship with others. This Synod on Synodality was never about completing a to-do list. As Pope Francis has always said, synodality is not about predicting certain outcomes.”
Abuse secrecy
Archdiocese of New York closes Office of Black Ministry amid mounting abuse payouts. The secretive announcement followed an archdiocesan lawsuit against its insurer concerning civil claims filed under the New York Child Victims Act.
Movie Review
‘Conclave’ brings fictional Church politics down to earth. Samantha Smith says the new film is a Catholic-themed thriller with an air of humanity amidst lofty themes of division and decision.
In praise of silence
To give ourselves to silence in worship is to wait for the Spirit of God who gives us rest. “Be still, and know that I am God,” says the psalmist (Ps. 46:10). Says a writer at Christian Century, “While my church is not dedicated to the intentional silence of Friends, my experiences as a visitor to their meetings have instilled in me an awareness of the Spirit who meets us in between the movements and words of our services.”
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We hope you have enjoyed this roundup of recent news about faith, politics, and culture. We will return next week with another edition of Wisdom Wednesday.
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