Welcome to Wisdom Wednesday, July 16, with a chilling question about our nation’s intentions: Is cruelty the point? We are “hunted like animals,” say farm workers about the ICE raids, as fear rips through their community and ICE raids keep crops unharvested. Some strong opinions here, along with the facts. Please remember that the opinions expressed are those of the writers. We begin with facts and opinions intertwined over current immigration policies and enforcement.
ICE Raids
US farm workers on Ice raids in the fields say they are “hunted like animals.” In the latest installment of a series on undocumented workers, farm workers explain how fear has ripped through their communities after raids. NEWS REPORT from The Guardian.
California bishop excuses weekly Mass obligation amid immigration raids. Alberto Rojas of San Bernardino made the call as fear grips community after detentions on two properties in the diocese. NEWS REPORT from The Guardian.
Ice raids leave crops unharvested at California farms. Trump’s immigration crackdown has made many immigrant farm workers scared to go to work. NEWS REPORT from The Guardian.
An organization named “Truthout” headlines an OP-ED: “Trump’s Immigration Crackdown Is the Same Old Cruel Policy of Family Separation.” The article says, “Families with mixed immigration status are being torn apart as Trump advances his mass deportation agenda.”
OPINION “Now I believe: The cruelty really is the point.” Greg Carey writes at Baptist News Global, “it is clear to me now. It is not just that Trump and his administration did and do cruel things. The greater problem is that Trump’s most devoted followers celebrate his atrocities.”
Pope Leo XIII and the Knights of Labor
ESSAY At Today’s American Catholic, William Droel says our new Pope Leo XIV chose his papal name to pair his interest in our high-tech economy with Pope Leo XIII’s (1810–1903) interest in the Industrial Revolution. Droel is editor at National Center for the Laity (P. O. Box 291102, Chicago, IL 60629), which distributes a new edition of Leo XIII’s On the Condition of Labor; $7.
Pope Leo XIV and social justice
ANALYSIS Pope Leo XIV is still keeping his cards close to his cassock, but people who have observed him over the years are beginning to help fill in the picture of what characteristics are likely to shape his pontificate. So says Michael Sean Winters at National Catholic Reporter.
Implementing synodality
The Vatican released a new document July 7, “Pathways for the Implementation Phase of the Synod,” which aims to guide the church in the next few years as it digests the works of the twin synods on synodality. From National Catholic Reporter.
Gaza’s Catholics face death, food shortages amid war
A parish priest in the war-torn territory says only thing keeping community together is prayer. From the Union of Catholic Asian News.
Pastor attacked, churches vandalized in India
Hindu mobs threatened the closure of three Pentecostal churches in presence of police, allege Christians in India’s Chhattisgarh state. From Union of Catholic Asian News.
A Christian nationalist church is launched in Washington
Christ Kirk DC is the latest example of pastor Doug Wilson’s growing sphere of influence among a cadre of conservatives sometimes described as the ‘New Right.’ The report from Religion News Service said Pete Hegseth was among the people in the pews.
Surveys and statistics
US adults want government to focus on child care costs, not birth rates, AP-NORC poll finds. From National Catholic Reporter.
In a 2022 survey, most Americans opposed churches endorsing political candidates. The latest, from Pew Research.
U.S. adults in their 20s and 30s plan to have fewer children than in the past, according to Pew Research, which also adds context with an article entitled, “5 facts about how the world’s population is expected to change by 2100.”
Seeking environmental justice
Chicago Catholics started an environmental justice group in response to flooding, pollution in July 2023. The report, for Earthbeat, a project from National Catholic Reporter.
Columns and commentaries
Jesuit Thomas Reese, for Religion News Service and National Catholic Reporter: “The Catholic Church believes in science. That good Christians must be anti-science is a myth.”
Remembering Scopes: How 100-year-old ‘Monkey Trial’ helped shape evangelical Christianity. By Sophie Hills, Staff writer, Christian Science Monitor
“As Catholics, we can’t afford to not know our faith.” By Dr. Ronald Smith on “the blessings of Church teachings and the tragedy that we too often aren’t interested in them. From Black Catholic Messenger.
Acolyte: An essential but forgotten ministry. Michael Chambon reflects on the ministry for the Union of Catholic Asian News. “Since I became an acolyte in May 2008, I have never encountered a Catholic community that takes this ministry seriously or welcomes it. And I have never met an instituted acolyte who was explicitly active in the life of the Church.”
War is not the answer, at home or abroad. By Bridget Moix at Religion News Service. Moix says, War “is not a justification for the erosion of our civil liberties and democracy.”
Why Francis opened doors between religions. Jordan Denari Duffner reflects: “For Francis, interreligious dialogue was ultimately about genuine, open-hearted relationships.” From US Catholic.
When President Trump canceled US aid, some evangelicals rejoiced. Rodney Kennedy offers ANALYSIS for Baptist News Global. “The explosion of responses on X [to news of aid cancellation] demonstrates a MAGA evangelical detachment from the Bible, the New Testament and the teachings of Jesus, the history of the church, and reality. In what Christian world do Christians celebrate the closing of agencies designed to help immigrants and the poor? Apparently, that would be the evangelical world of MAGA.”
Our Lady of Guadalupe: Surprising Facts That Defy Explanation. Bradley Shumaker, writing in the National Catholic Register, takes a non-critical look at beliefs about the Marian apparitions. “You may know the story, but these lesser-known miracles and mysteries surrounding Our Lady of Guadalupe are sure to renew your wonder.”
World Day for Grandparents
Pope Leo XIV urges hope and care for the elderly: Hope is a constant source of joy, whatever our age,” the Holy Father says in new message. A feature article on “5 Saints Who Were Grandparents” from National Catholic Register follows the Register’s report on the Vatican announcement.
Noted in passing
The Texas attorney general who has fought to get the Ten Commandments posted in every public school classroom has a problem with No. 6, according to his wife, who has filed for divorce “on biblical grounds.” From Baptist News Global.
Film
The horror movie, “Sinners,” is set in Clarksdale, Mississippi, the mythic home of the blues. The story is a fusion of historical drama with a vampire movie. US Catholic judges it to be “a gospel of Black liberation” and “a powerful vision of the sacramentality of Black music.”
New documentary covers Servant of God Julia Greeley, a formerly enslaved person in Colorado now a saint-to-be. The Capuchin Franciscan-produced short film on Denver’s “Angel of Charity” was released online and is available for streaming free of charge. From Black Catholic Messenger.
Justice Ministry
Looking for ideas for your parish justice ministry? Barbara Molinari Quinby offers a weekly column for her parish in North Carolina.
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