Concerns about AI lead Wisdom Wednesday. Other topics include religious liberty, the conclusion of Yom Kippur, JD Vance and the Antichrist, and the evolution of a Hindu god. Among our items is medical research that may challenge religious or ethical principles: human brain cells added to mice. And a podcast about laughter bringing us closer to our Almighty Father. But first AI, US, China, the Vatican and the USCCB. All opinions are of the writers, not endorsed by the AUSCP.
AI matters
As the US and China race on AI, the Vatican presses for global safeguards, Religion News Service reports. Pope Leo is quietly positioning the Vatican as a moral convener in the AI debate and a potential bridge between the rival superpowers.
(Is it possible that U.S. Catholic leaders are aligning with papal leadership?) Bishop Oscar Cantú, chair of the USCCB AI task force, urges Trump to look beyond ‘ego’ in AI race. Religion News Service reports Cantú says the Church and White House are ‘not in sync’ on artificial intelligence.
Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur for 2026 just concluded at nightfall Monday. Columnist Jeffery Slain wrote his thoughts prior to the day, as reported by Religion News Service. “This Yom Kippur, I’ll say a prayer for my teachers.”
For Jewish activists in Brooklyn, Yom Kippur, now completed, was a day to mourn Palestinians. Religion News Service reports. “As the highly anticipated US visit of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approaches this week, attendees denounced how the Israeli government has handled the war.”
Why is JD Vance talking about the Antichrist?
Analysis from the website Religion Unplugged reports that Vance said he might be bringing about the End Times, adding that he would not be shocked if the antiChrist was walking among us.
Religious liberty
MSW Fighting (in the courts) over religious liberty.
Cissie Graham Lynch, granddaughter of Billy Graham, is tapped for religious freedom ambassador. From Religion News Service.
Baptist News Global reports on the three others appointed to the religious freedom commission.
More on Bishop Barron, from the National Catholic Reporter.
President Trump claims to champion religious freedom. The National Catholic Reporter points out that 81 religious plaintiffs disagree.
Religion News Service reports eighty religious plaintiffs from 11 major faith traditions have joined lawsuits challenging the Trump administration’s immigration policies, according a tracker developed by RNS with the Law, Rights, and Religion Project.
Empathy in society
Empathy is getting a bad name. Bishop Barron of Word on Fire fuels debate on empathy’s role in society. From National Catholic Reporter.
Protesting ICE
About 200 Catholics took to the streets of Washington, D.C.,to protest the rising crackdown and deportation of undocumented immigrants by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. From National Catholic Reporter.
The Midterms: Turnout and the Catholic vote
Columnist Michael Sean Winters, writing for National Catholic Reporter says President Trump “believes that the only way the Republicans can win the midterms is if they nationalize the election and make it a referendum on his leadership.”
Other News
As Texas Republicans target Islam, a once-quiet Muslim community fights back. From Religion News Service. “We actually have to do something to stop this,” said Noor Wadi, a Dallas lawyer who is a key figure in the pushback.
Jewish mindfulness meditation, the practice of sitting in silence, paying attention to the breath and focusing on the present moment has become pervasive across all the Jewish religious movements. From Religion News Service.
The Hindu god Ganesh turns macho and martial in Indian festivities. From Religion News Service. The cute and chubby elephant-headed god has evolved in some festival depictions.
Women in Church leadership
The Catholic Church’s culture problem is closer to home than Pope Leo thinks, reports Religion News Service. Two women now head major Vatican offices, and a third will soon. But the altar rail tells another story about their progress in the church.
City zoning for prayer
An Ohio city was wrong in using zoning laws to bar a resident from hosting a Jewish prayer gathering in his home in 2021, says Amanda Tyler, executive director of Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty. The report from Baptist News Global.
Thoughts and reflections
What I learned from a man who detransitioned. From Baptist News Global.
What hath justice to do with righteousness? From Baptist News Global.
Writer Michael Fox sees Blessed Fulton Sheen as a martyr, in an essay published at a substack, Catholics for the Common Good. “Beatifying Fulton Sheen is easier than imitating him,” risking episcopal comfort and acting on Catholic social teaching even when donors object.
“Actions to bring God’s just kingdom to the world is both an attitude and a practical response based on the principle that everyone should look at another person as another self.” This week’s Justice Bulletin Board by Barbara Molinari Quinby.
Sister Act and the Gift of Blackness in the Church: The Black Catholic Messenger offers some thoughts on “What Deloris’ journey can teach Black Catholics about bringing their culture, gifts, and full selves into the life of the Church.”
Mice with human brain cells
The project offers a tool to study disease, as ethicists ask: What’s next? From National Public Radio. Should the fact that the mouse has human brain cells change how it’s treated and considered? With greater ethical care than we treat traditional mice? “I think probably so,” says one ethical advisor. “My instinct is to err on the side of caution with research like this rather than to be more permissive.”
God And Comedy
Matthew Peterson, in a podcast provided by Religion Unplugged reflects on “How Faith, Joy And A Good Laugh Can Bring Us Closer To The Almighty.” The text of the article gives you a preview. You have to watch the podcast for the full treatment.
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