Welcome to Wisdom Wednesday, where Pope Leo XIV refers to actions in Gaza as “barbarity” while we search for words that are not anti-Semitic. There’s barbarity too at the ICE confinement centers, according to observers. Quotation of the week was easy to pick; it’s from Bishop Daniel Flores, regarding migrants and refugees: “We don’t ask, ‘Are you Catholic?’” Flores said. “We ask, ‘Are you hungry?’” Opinions and conclusions reported are opinions and conclusions. Read with care.
Gaza war
Pope Leo XIV condemned the Gaza war’s ‘barbarity’ as 93 were reported killed by Israeli fire. Israeli forces opened fire on hungry Palestinians near Gaza City in one of bloodiest incidents involving aid seekers. Our report from the Guardian.
Pope Leo XIV received a call from Netanyahu after the Gaza Church Attack. The Catholic News Agency cites a statement from the Holy See Press Office, saying the Pope received the call at Castel Gandolfo, where he is on vacation.
President Donald Trump was “caught off guard” by the recent Israeli strikes in Syria and on a Catholic church in Gaza, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday. From the AP.
UK, Canada and 26 other countries say the war in Gaza ‘must end now.’ From the Associated Press.
OPINION Holding Israel accountable isn’t antisemitic — harming Jews is. When anger about Israeli government policy spills over into harassment or violence directed at Jews in the U.S. or any other country, that’s antisemitism. From Religion News Service.
That idea about US taking over Gaza isn’t gone yet. Baptist News Global reports U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to evict Palestinians from the Gaza Strip and have the U.S. take it over seemed laughable when he first proposed it in February. Now, he appears to have Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on his side.
Immigration, separation, deportation
“The systematic separation of immigrant parents and children at the border is simply cruel. A nation has a right to secure its sovereign border, but that does not mean that it may use any means available to deter immigrants who seek to ask for asylum.” The statement from Bishop Daniel E. Flores of Brownsville was provided by St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Oceanside, Calif.
‘Gospel before Government’ headlines a statement from Bishop Daniel E. Flores of Brownsville, regarding the right of the Church to serve migrants. “We don’t ask, ‘Are you Catholic?’” Flores said. “We ask, ‘Are you hungry?’” Provided by FRONTeras.
‘Amid Deportations, Catholic Clergy Rally for Immigrants,’ reports the National Catholic Register. “From Detroit to California to Florida, Catholic clergy are rallying to show support and solidarity for immigrants facing deportations.”
Migrants at Ice jail in Miami made to kneel to eat ‘like dogs’, report alleges. An incident in which migrants were shackled with hands tied is one of a succession of alleged abuses at jails in Florida. From the Guardian.
A House hearing to examine the Biden White House’s immigration policy and the actions of nonprofits that aid migrants devolved into partisan chaos, July 17, as Democrats accused Republicans of attacking religious organizations and Republicans fractured over whether to target Catholic Charities and other faith groups. From Religion News Service.
No room for ’empathy’ enforcing immigration. On Feb. 28, Elon said empathy is “the fundamental weakness of Western civilization.” Barely one month later, April 1, in a New Yorker interview, Al Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, said “Empathy is ‘destructive’ for immigration policy because ’empathy means never having to say no.’” From Baptist News Global.
In an emergency docket order, the U.S. Supreme Court paved the way for mass deportations (including to a notorious prison in El Salvador and other “third” countries like South Sudan and Eswatini). The Supreme Court may have entered a new phase, opines Christian Science Monitor. “Call it the emergency era.”
Eswatini. That’s right, a small country not known to most. Formerly Swaziland. Five immigrants deported by the United States to the small southern African nation under the Trump administration’s third-country program are being held in solitary confinement in various prisons for an undetermined time, a government spokesperson said. From PBS.
The Big Beautiful Bill is the ‘final burial of compassionate conservatism’
OPINION By John Fea, Religion News Service. “A lot has changed in the GOP over the last quarter century.”
Aging congregants, aging congregations
“Many of us recognize that our congregations are aging. Because we do not understand aging well, we may hesitate to really get to know older adults and minister to them,” says an article from Baptist News Global, written by an aging congregant.
Care for Creation
“Go, fish.” How removing old New England dams is opening rivers to new wildlife. From Christian Science Monitor.
‘She is the future of our church.’
Winnie Varghese has been named the first woman dean of St. John the Divine, America’s largest Episcopal church. Religion News Service says Varghese, a queer woman of Indian descent, represents a number of historic firsts.
Young Buddhist Initiative
For the young and Buddhist-curious, a moment of modern mindfulness, from Religion News Service. The Young Buddhist Initiative describes itself as bringing Buddhist traditions into the modern world in a way that it hopes will suit contemporary — particularly younger — lives.
Indigenous rights, or wrongs?
The Associated Press reports that President Donald Trump is threatening to hold up a new stadium deal for Washington’s NFL team if it does not restore its old name of the Redskins, which was considered offensive to Native Americans. Trump also said Sunday that he wants Cleveland’s baseball team to revert to its former name, the Indians, saying there was a “big clamoring for this” as well.
‘Sensory rooms’ remove barriers to worship
In temples and churches, sensory rooms remove barriers for neurodivergent worshipers, according to Religion News Service. Located in underutilized classrooms, storage spaces and former nurseries, these spaces are empowering families to return to faith communities. AUSCP member Father Jim Worth is featured in the article.
Seminaries in a ‘Golden Age’
Seminaries are at the healthiest point they have been in for decades in terms of culture and quality of priestly formation, according to an article published by the National Catholic Register. (The views expressed are those of the participants.)
Hello Houston, we have congratulations
Pope Leo XIV called U.S. Astronaut Buzz Aldrin, July 20, observing the 56th anniversary of the moon landing. Earlier in the day, Pope Leo visited the Vatican’s internationally-recognized observatory, called the Specola Vaticana, where he was able to look through the astronomical center’s historic telescopes. From National Catholic Register.
The Coldplay ‘kiss cam’
Christians on social media have weighed in during recent days regarding the married CEO of a tech company drawing widespread rebuke after going viral for cuddling with his HR chief at a Coldplay concert last week. Their reaction reminded some of Adam’s sense of shame. From the Christian Post.
Pentecostals win overturning of London street ban
Pentecostal church forces London authorities to overturn street preaching ban, according to a report in the Christian Post.
When Superman deconstructs
“Many have criticized the new film’s twist on its hero’s origin story. I found it powerfully resonant,” said Chris Thiessen, reviewing the film for Christian Century. “Some tired superhero tropes remain: Mass destruction, violence as conflict resolution, and universe-threatening plots take center stage. But I was delighted to also find space for reflection on identity, deconstruction, and the narratives handed to us amid the action-packed chaos.”
Justice Bulletin Board
Here is the weekly reflection from Barbara Molinari Quinby.
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