Wisdom Wednesday | April 2nd

Welcome to April, beginning another month of seeking wisdom in the world of faith, culture and politics. We lead with the pope’s health, then offer a break from the oppressive Washington grind with the help of the Union of Catholic Asian News (UCAN). There’s a whole world out there in the East, much of it we have often ignored.

Pope Francis

The Associated Press reports a doctor’s recent comments: Pope Francis has shown “a truly surprising improvement’’ since returning to the Vatican to convalesce after surviving a life-threatening bout with double-pneumonia. That is from the doctor who coordinated the pontiff’s five-week hospitalization said Saturday.

Pope Francis’ plans to reform the church are alive and well, says opinion writer Phyllis Zagano, for Religion News Service. “It was a close call, but Francis’ emergence from Gemelli Hospital ensures that implementation of the Synod on Synodality’s goals will outlast him.”

Myanmar earthquake

The Myanmar Church appeals for aid as the earthquake death toll rises. The Union of Catholic Asian News reports many people are suffering due to lack of food, shelter and medical support, says Catholic charity Caritas.

In an interview with Vatican News, Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, Archbishop of Yangon, discusses the 7.7-magnitude earthquake that claimed numerous lives across Myanmar and Thailand, and expresses his gratitude for the Pope’s message of support for those affected by the disaster.

Remnant of USAID projected to have 15 employees, according to Baptist News Global.

A saint from Papua New Guinea

Pope Francis has approved the decree for the canonization of Blessed Peter To Rot, a layman from Papua New Guinea martyred for the faith, paving way for him to become the first saint from the Christian-majority nation in Oceania. Francis approved Rot’s canonization on March 28. From UCAN.

A history lesson

Indonesia and the Vatican marked 75 years of diplomatic relations on March 13. The ties between the two countries have deep roots, dating back to the colonial era. Indonesia formalized diplomatic relations with the Vatican in 1950, making it one of the first countries in Asia to do so. More needs to be done, concludes the report by the Union of Catholic Asian News.

Mass deportation in the US reported in Asia

10 million Christians in US are at risk of mass deportation, according to a joint report by Church organizations. UCAN carried the story from Our Sunday Visitor News, of the effort to understand the impact on faith communities and Christians as a whole.

UCAN invitation

Seeing the world with non-Western eyes: The Union of Catholic Asian News reveals a world of faith and culture many Westerners have not discovered. Take an eye-opening tour of the latest news from UCA.

Seven religion-influenced cases pending before US Supreme Court

The Supreme Court soon will hear arguments about tax breaks for charities, school policies on LGBTQ material, Medicaid payments to Planned Parenthood, and Oklahoma’s proposed Catholic charter school. The high court also agreed to hear a case on gay conversion therapy, and rulings are expected soon on minors’ access to pornography and medical treatment for transgender people. From Baptist News Global.

The Separate States of America

Texas and the Ten Commandments: The State Senate has passed a bill that would require the Ten Commandments be posted in all public school classrooms. The Louisiana Legislature passed a similar law last year that currently is tied up in court challenges. Critics of such bills contend they violate the First Amendment’s ban on an “establishment” of religion. To date, Louisiana is the only state to have passed a Ten Commandments law, although Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana are debating similar legislation. From Baptist News Global.

Kentucky and conversion therapy: Kentucky’s Republican Legislature supports the discredited practice of conversion therapy so strongly that both houses overwhelmingly overrode Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto of a bill to allow the practice. House Bill 495 was proposed as an “emergency” measure to reinstate the legality of counselors and pastors claiming to turn gay and lesbian people into happy heterosexuals. From Baptist News Global.

Kentucky Confederate Memorial: A Kentucky history professor has launched a new podcast exploring how issues of race, religion and community are symbolized by a Confederate memorial in a rural town near Lexington. From Baptist News Global.

Wisconsin Catholic Charities: As anticipated, the U.S. Supreme Court appeared sympathetic with Catholic Charities of Wisconsin March 31 in its case against the state of Wisconsin in a case that could have national repercussions for other faith-based nonprofits.

In oral hearings for Catholic Charities Bureau v. Wisconsin Labor and Industry Review Commission, justices from both left and right appeared to agree that the state had discriminated against the Catholic ministry by refusing to grant an exemption from the state’s unemployment tax. From Baptist News Global.

California Girls: Battle over trans athletes’ participation in girls’ sports comes to California’s Capitol. From the Associated Press.

Multi-state attack on same sex marriage

Abortion fight won, conservative Christians mimic Dobbs tactics to go after same-sex marriage. A multistate effort is spitting out legislation and lawsuits aimed at testing the Supreme Court justices’ commitment to Obergefell v. Hodges. From Reliigion News Service.

Life issues

VIEWPOINT: In-vitro fertilization. Blog by Katie Breckenridge, reported by the National Catholic Register, tackles IVF. “I recently had a conversation with a fellow Christian about President Trump’s Feb. 18 executive order reducing barriers to accessing in-vitro (IVF) procedure. . . . This conversation revealed to me that many Christians still hold the misguided belief that IVF is a ‘pro-life’ procedure.

License to kill: The False gods of war. Mac Loften, writing for the Christian Century, concludes: “In Trump’s Situation Room, as on the fields of Ilium, those who wage war seem unable to experience the violence they inflict as real violence.” Loften’s conclusion is based in part on the White House response to death with applause.

‘My husband and I are choosing vasectomy.’ OPINION: For a chronically ill Catholic woman in Trump’s America, this may be the most ethical option

Challenging Questions

Should Catholics Identify as ‘Feminists’? A Notre Dame Conference tackled the issue. The National Catholic Register reports that all panelists at Notre Dame agreed about the value of the Church’s ongoing focus on the unique mission of women and the need to promote justice for women in society.

Are Reparations owed to descendants of enslaved Americans? An event meant to honor the descendants of African Americans enslaved at Saint Louis University has been postponed, following alleged deviations from a full reckoning on the part of university officials. The erstwhile Wednesday gathering (March 26), “A Path Towards Reconciliation,” was abruptly canceled after what the Descendants of the St. Louis University Enslaved (DSLUE) called “dismissive” moves from top brass at the Jesuit school in Missouri. The report from Nate Tinner-Williams, editor of Black Catholic Messenger.

Earth Day April 22

Some facts: According to truth initiative, 776,561 metric tons of cigarette butts make their way into the environment every year. Eight million stuffed animals end up in landfill every year. Overwhelmed? Here are some ways to get involved, from Nature.org

The April 2025 calendar highlights Easter, Earth Day and Passover celebrations, as reported in a story from the El Paso Times, published on the web by Yahoo.

The theme for Earth Day 2025 is OUR POWER, OUR PLANET, inviting everyone around the globe to unite behind renewable energy, and to triple the global generation of clean electricity by 2030. How? By joining in Earth Action Day, encouraging all to take action—educate, advocate, and mobilize.

Faith and the environment: Of the more than 4,000 religions worldwide, several hundred are considered Indigenous religions, associated with distinct cultural beliefs and traditions. Many of these beliefs relate to the importance of nature and our responsibility as humans to be environmental stewards. Indigenous people protect a significant amount of the planet’s remaining biodiversity. Thanks to the working group, Care for Creation and Earthday.org.

Faith groups state opinions

The Smithsonian: President Donald Trump’s executive order titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History” targets the Smithsonian Institution — which has, he contends, “come under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology.” Thus, an attack on the Smithsonian is an attack on American history. That is, an attack on history as it really is, not as MAGA wants it to be. From Baptist News Global

Voice of America: As Trump silences Voice of America, Archbishop Borys Gudziak of the Ukrainian Archeparchy of Philadelphia, raises his voice. What the Soviet Union could not achieve, what the Russian, Iranian, Chinese, and other authoritarian regimes could only dream about has been accomplished by the American presidential administration: the silencing of America’s 83-[year]-old service of media support for democracy, international law and justice and the defense of human rights. From National Catholic Reporter.

A Free Press: The recent actions and rhetoric of President Donald Trump constitute a deliberate and dangerous assault on the free press. These are not the stray provocations of a thin-skinned politician, but a sustained campaign to intimidate, manipulate and muzzle the institutions that hold power accountable. From National Catholic Reporter.

Religious persecution: Authoritarian rule is the “common denominator” in the worsening of religious persecution around the world, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom said in its 2025 annual report. Last year, totalitarian regimes widened the direct oppression of minority faiths in their countries, while others chose to look the other way, USCIRF said in the newly released study.

Since he was inaugurated in January, President Donald Trump has faced virtually constant pushback from faith groups, including in the courts. From Religion News Service.

Deadly attack on Red Cross Red Crescent

Palestinians in Gaza marked the normally festive Eid al-Fitr on Sunday with rapidly dwindling food supplies and mourning for several children killed in Israel’s latest airstrikes. There was anger as the bodies of 14 emergency responders were recovered in the southern city of Rafah — the “single most deadly attack on Red Cross Red Crescent workers anywhere in the world since 2017.” From the Associated Press.

Pope St. John Paul II – Death anniversary

Cardinal Pietro Parolin will preside today (April 2) at Mass for the 20-year-anniversary of JPII’s passing. Pope Francis has sent his encouragement to those partaking in the commemorations for the late Polish Pope, including a prayer vigil in the evening.

Losing my religion

New research shows a widespread trend of people either leaving the religion they were raised in or completely dropping religion, with Christianity taking a particularly big hit. From National Catholic Reporter

New saint in Assisi

Pilgrims have been pouring into this medieval hilltop town to venerate not only two of the Catholic Church’s most celebrated saints, Francis and Clare, but its newest — Carlo Acutis, the first millennial saint, who will be canonized on April 27. From the AP.

Book Review: A gay man and his mother

After more than a decade of tiptoeing around the topic of his queerness with his mother, Jenkins decides to bring it up on their road trip. Specifically, he wants to ask her if, when he eventually marries a man, she will come to the wedding. From Christian Century.

Book Review: Visiting Palestine

About Ta-Nehisi Coates: His new book, The Message, is based in part on his visit to Israel and the occupied West Bank, where he says he saw a system of segregation and oppression reminiscent of Jim Crow in the United States. “I don’t think the average American has a real sense of what we’re doing over there — and I emphasize ‘what we’re doing’ because it’s not possible without American support.” From Democracy Now.

Transgender issues: A cultural divide

It’s a contradiction of numbers that reveals a deep cultural divide. The Associated Press reports transgender people make up less than 1% of the U.S. population, but they have become a major piece on the political chess board — particularly Trump’s. Monday (March 31) was “Transgender Day of Visibility.”

Pew Research: Ten key facts about US Catholics

Catholics are one of the largest religious groups in the United States, outnumbering any single Protestant denomination. The U.S. has more Catholics than all but three other countries – Brazil, Mexico and the Philippines – according to the Vatican’s 2021 Statistical Yearbook of the Church.

Honor to leader of Catholic Charities USA

Kerry Alys Robinson will receive the University of Notre Dame’s 2025 Laetare Medal, the university announced on Sunday, with the school bestowing the prestigous award for her “boundless compassion” and “faith-filled service” at the helm of the national charity. From the National Catholic Register.

Sunday resources

Thanks to AUSCP friend Bob Stewart, here is a reminder that you can find “Sunday Resources” for Lent and every Sunday, prepared by the National Catholic Reporter.

Thanks to contributor Barbara Molinari Quinby, for this week’s Justice Bulletin Board, for the Fifth Sunday of Lent.