Opinions and commentaries each week are the views of the writers and are not meant to represent the AUSCP. We include some strong views this week, including a semi serious view that Argentinian Evangelicals were to blame for Argentina’s soccer loss to Spain. (You pray like a gringo, you play like a gringo, said some fans.) We begin, however, with some strong views of synodality — and go on from there.
Synodality
From the first words of his pontificate, Pope Leo XIV called for a synodal church that listens to its members, says an article in the National Catholic Reporter. Its principles are “deeply embedded in his pastor’s DNA.” In an interview with Diane Montagna, published on the social media platform Substack, Cardinal Robert Sarah says synodality and paganism “are eroding the Church from within.”
At Walden Pond
Could Henry David Thoreau be a synodal conversation partner? A writer ponders life in the woods, at National Catholic Reporter.
Pope prays for peace at Monte Cassino
Pope Leo XIV paid a private visit July 20 to the Abbey of Monte Cassino and its monastic community. He paused to pray at the tomb of St Benedict, “entrusting to him his plea for peace in those regions of the world marked by bloodshed and conflict.” From Independent Catholic News.
Magnifica Humanitas
At Black Catholic Messenger, Daryl Grigsby writes on five central themes from Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas.” Grigsby connects them to the Black Catholic experience.
Caring for the Earth
A new award created by Villanova University, The Pope Leo XIV Sustainability Medal, will honor individuals across the globe who have displayed extraordinary leadership in the areas of ecological responsibility, ethics and integral human development. From National Catholic Reporter.
Catholics call on the EPA to protect creation. The Catholic Climate Covenant plans to deliver letters to the EPA on July 24, regarding the expansion of data centers and the increasing energy demands of artificial intelligence. The EPA has proposed easing some construction of large projects. The CCC urges learning and praying about this issue, and signing on to the letter.
AI will make war worse, Pope Leo warns. This is the fifth of a series of columns by Thomas Reese, at National Catholic Reporter, on “Magnifica Humanitas.” (Links to the previous four columns are also available.)
ICE and immigration
Amid ICE killings, more than 100 clergy from across the United States protested at Delaney Hall in New Jersey. “I am sick and tired of waking up every morning to see another loved one is dead,” said Charlene Walker, head of Faith in New Jersey.
Inside a Christian mother’s fight against ICE activity in Chicago, from Religion News Service. The second episode of ‘Faith on the Immigration Frontline’ follows Audrey Luhmann, mother of eight, as she patrols courthouses, responds to community alerts, gathers supplies for immigrants and cares for her family.
Catholics pray rosary, invoke power of prayer outside planned ICE facility in Eastern Colorado. From National Catholic Reporter.
Las Cruces Diocese demands jury trial, just compensation in feds’ effort to seize pilgrimage site. From National Catholic Reporter.
“The Church is responding where growth is happening [Latino communities], but the Church’s response to the longstanding needs of Black Catholic communities has not received that same urgency, investment, or sustained attention.” So says Fabian Adderley at Black Catholic Messenger.
Priests Against Genocide
The global network of more than 2,400 Catholic priests across 62 countries – including two cardinals and 26 bishops – has sent an open letter to Irish government leaders, urging Ireland to use its new Presidency of the European Union to press for an end to the conflict in Gaza. From Independent Catholic News.
Interfaith Pro-Palestinian demonstration
Just two days after hundreds of members of the white nationalist group Patriot Front descended on Washington, D.C., on the Fourth of July, a diverse group of about 200 protesters sporting keffiyehs and kippahs, pushing strollers and walkers, crossed those same streets with a very different message. From Religion News Service.
Latina women ‘reshaping the UMC’
Latina United Methodist Church leaders in Texas are emerging with fresh models for ministry following years of schism, decline and uncertainty within the denomination. From Religion News Service.
‘It’s not just Me and Thee’
It’s Me, Thee and the Other, says Barbara Molinari Quinby, in this week’s Justice Bulletin Board.
Proposed Muslim cemetery splits community
Supporters of the Crescent Gardens Cemetery, a dedicated Muslim burial site in Southern California, say they need the graves. But some residents cite concerns about groundwater contamination. From Religion News Service.
Hindu group sues Chicago suburb to build temple
From Religion News Service. Umiya Mataji Sanstha, a Hindu community in Chicago’s western suburbs, hopes to build a temple and homes for community members. But a 1960s-era consent decree stands in their way. Will a religious freedom law help their case?
The World Cup
Argentina’s World Cup title run became a moment of faith for fans, players and clergy, says a writer for Religion News Service. Some Catholic priests see a missionary opportunity amid the team’s success.
Some World Cup fans are blaming Brazil’s loss on evangelicals, according to Religion News Service. “If we pray like a gringo, then we play like a gringo,” fans claim in the debate over whether Catholic or Protestant faith favors football champions.
Yes, the World Cup tournament is just a series of games, but at the same time, to quote the popular television show “Ted Lasso”: “Football is life!” From National Catholic Reporter.
Politics and religion
On the first full day of their annual session, a busload of members of the Progressive National Baptist Convention, a historically Black denomination that the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. called home, headed to Capitol Hill to meet with members of Congress about their concerns about voting rights. From Religion News Service.
American Jews face a Democratic Party rethinking unconditional Israel support, according to Religion News Service. A growing number of Democrats, and a growing number of American Jews, no longer want the U.S. to issue Israel a blank check.
‘Tasteless’ response to Lindsey Graham’s death. Rabbi Jeffrey Salkin, in a column published by Religion News Service, says Sen. Lindsey Graham has died. “Why are people responding in such a tasteless way?”
Last Friday, The Public Religion Research Institute launched a new project, Data and the 2026 Midterms, connecting the treasure trove of demographic, political and public opinion data in the PRRI American Values Atlas to the key races that could determine which party controls one or both houses of Congress. A report from Baptist News Global.
Gay rights up to court
The Associated Press reports a nearly 10-year battle for gay rights in Trinidad and Tobago is in the hands of a final appeals court in England. Published by Religion News Service.
Strong opinions expressed
OPINION: Christian, socialist. Mark Driscoll says you can’t be a “Bible-believing Christian and a socialist.” He also declares, “I am a capitalist because I am a Christian.” He clearly doesn’t know church history and hasn’t absorbed the book of Acts.
Thiel vs. Pope Leo. In the last two weeks, the billionaire venture tech capitalist Peter Thiel has accused Pope Leo XIV of being a Chinese communist agent and insinuated in the pages of a prominent interreligious journal that Pope Francis was an Antichrist figure. From National Catholic Reporter.
OPINION ‘Bullying kindergartners.’ Like many Americans, I was appalled when I heard about President Donald Trump’s anti-Muslim social media post bullying kindergartners in Minnesota for wearing hijabs. When hate comes from the highest echelons of government, it trickles down and hurts everyday people — like me and my family. Published by Baptist News Global.
FEATURE: A monk and his turbine
How a Benedictine monk built Rhode Island’s first utility-scale wind turbine. From National Catholic Reporter.
At the movies
Odyssey is worth a look, though it would be an abuse to call it Homer. From “The Catholic Thing.”
Spain’s Hit Film ‘Sundays’ Takes Religious Vocation Mainstream. In the award-winning Spanish film, an unbeliever’s camera provokes audiences to take seriously the possibility that God still calls. From National Catholic Register.
RNS offers word games
Can you guess the religious word in six tries? That’s one of four games offered by Religious News Service daily. There’s also a daily crossword and a daily challenge to create as many words as you can in one minute. Every Friday there’s a news quiz to check your knowledge of religion news.
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