Wisdom Wednesday | April 13th

April 13AUSCP NewsRoundup

Welcome to Wisdom Wednesday

Pope Francis opened Holy Week Sunday with a call for an Easter truce in Ukraine to make room for a negotiated peace, highlighting the need for leaders to “make some sacrifices for the good of the people.”

The World Council of Churches is under pressure to oust the Russian Orthodox Church from its ranks for backing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

This week we have a series of reports from AUSCP and AUSCP-related contributors regarding Synodality, Gospel Non-Violence, and the Climate Crisis.

Synodality

There is a prominent topic emerging from Synodality sessions: Catholics demand a reform of the clericalist priesthood. A Catholic scholar speaks openly and honestly about tensions between clergy and the laity in a report from La Croix International.

Gospel Non-Violence

John Heagle sends his hope to you for a Blessed Triduum and Easter Season – along with his report on efforts being made toward Gospel Non-Violence. “Thank you for what you have done and are doing to pursue Gospel Nonviolence. We are genuinely grateful for your commitment and collaborative spirit.”

Climate Crisis

Marilyn Antonik also has a mid-April report on the moral response to the climate crisis. She writes:

To All Who Preach – from the pulpit and/or by their life witness. We appreciate that some priests do preach about our Climate Crisis, but it’s difficult to find you. Please share your homilies and efforts at involving your people in this issue. “  

The AUSCP’s Bob Bonnot wants to “take Earth Day Seriously” and offers two webinars. Today (April 13) features  “Laudato Si’: Our Challenge and Responsibility as Children of Earth” with Sr. Diane Bergant, a keynoter at AUSCP’s 2014 Assembly regarding Revelation In Our Lives and Times, the Word of God. Our April 20 webinar will provide a smorgasbord of instruments readily available for our discussion and use, including Homily Helps from Catholic Climate Covenant.
Register for both webinars HERE.

Here is a roundup of notable events and ideas

A faith that does justice: We are passing along this week an invitation for a live, in-person event in New York City on April 27, Ignite: A Celebration of Justice. The event commemorates eighteen years of the Ignatian Solidarity Network promoting a faith that does justice. The program honors Fr. Bryan Massingale and others. Read the announcement.

About life and death

Catholic moral tradition is more nuanced than anti-abortion slogans or extreme bills lead you to believe. Here is a viewpoint published by NCR online.

Attorneys for a prisoner in Arizona argue that their client’s psychological problems keep him from rationally understanding why the state wants to end his life.

A Tennessee court on Monday declined to reopen the case regarding DNS for an inmate set to be executed later this month for the 1989 killings of his estranged wife and her two sons.

Black Lives Matter

The bishop of the Diocese of Worcester has ordered a Black Catholic school in Massachusetts to remove a Black Lives Matter sign from its facade or face penalties.

Where a Black life did not matter

A community task force is reviewing the death of a Black teenager who died after being restrained for more than 30 minutes at a Kansas juvenile detention center. They found that an officer changed his answers on a form when he found that he would have to take the teen to a hospital.

Two bishops named Fabre

Archbishop Shelton J. Fabre comes to Louisville from Louisiana where he has been the Bishop of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux.

Father Jacques Fabre, CS, will be the first Haitian American bishop. Black Catholic Messenger recently interviewed him about his new role, as well as his past work as a religious priest ministering to migrants and refugees.

End of an era

The nation’s oldest Jewish seminary will end rabbinic training at its flagship campus in Cincinnati by 2026, the governing board of the Reform movement’s Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion voted on Monday (April 11).

Some good news

Positive priest characters are certainly a rarity in contemporary films. So Catholics will welcome the uplifting fact-based biography “Father Stu” (Columbia). It’s about God’s ability to use seemingly unpromising people to do his will, in this case a once-boozy ex-boxer.

You may also be interested in…

Menu