The One Big Betrayal Bill, as some called it, is back in the house after Senate passage Tuesday, July 1. On Thursday, July 3, the Vatican will release a new Mass for “The Care of Creation” which will be added to the Roman Missal under Masses “for various needs.” Perhaps that declaration of “various needs” is providential. Also: Some personal profiles this week. One item this week involves “porn shoulders.” Another is the troublesome effect of “white Jesus.”
The budget bill
In rare move, Catholic leaders issue dueling letters criticizing GOP budget bill, according to a report from Religion News Service. In an unusual display of public disagreement among U.S. Catholic hierarchy, bishops signed on to two competing letters to lawmakers on Thursday (June 26) regarding the Republican-led federal budget proposal containing a massive funding expansion for immigration enforcement, with each letter exhibiting different levels of criticism of the bill.
‘Climate Justice and an ecological conversion’
The regional bishops’ conferences and councils from Asia, Africa, and Central and South America, in coordination with the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, have joined forces to appeal for climate justice and an ecological conversion across the world. From Vatican News.
ICE raids: ‘not of the Gospel of Jesus Christ’
After the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents entered Church properties in California, Bishop Alberto Rojas has issued a message calling for an end to tactics that cause “a tremendous amount of fear, confusion, and anxiety.” His letter responds to recent reports of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents entering Catholic churches..
Pastor films arrest of Iranian Christian asylum-seekers
The arrests sparked angst in the community and have concerned advocates of Iranian Christians who’ve fled persecution from the Islamic regime. From Religion News Service.
Evangelicals and the bombing of Iran
MAGA coalesces around evangelical support for Israel in bombing Iran, according to a report from Baptist News Global.
Trump administration continues attack on Harvard
The administration “finds Harvard failed to protect Jewish students” and threatens to cut all funding. From the Associated Press.
The pope’s early view of the death penalty
In 2011, when then-Gov. Pat Quinn signed a law ending the death penalty in Illinois, the future pope thanked him for the move. That recently uncovered news has “delighted” and “energized” Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy. The report from Nationsl Catholic Reporter.
Honor withdrawn for slain gay rights activist
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Friday that the USNS Harvey Milk will be renamed after a World War II sailor who received the Medal of Honor, stripping the ship of the name of a slain gay rights activist who served during the Korean War. In a video posted to social media, Hegseth said he was “taking the politics out of ship naming.” From Associated Press.
1886 polygamy revelation
In 1886, while the federal government sought to stop all Mormons who practiced polygamy, President John Taylor allegedly wrote a revelation proclaiming the controversial practice was an everlasting covenant that could never be revoked. Such a command quickly became complicated when the church renounced the practice in 1890. LDS authorities then publicly and vociferously denied his document’s existence for over a century.
That is until Saturday morning (June 14), when the revelation quietly appeared in the church history library’s catalog.
Jewish Voice for Peace
Some strikers said they will continue to fast until their demands are met or their bodies give out. Across the country, various chapters of Jewish Voice for Peace, an anti-Zionist group, have been partaking in 12- and 24-hour fasts to bring attention to starving Gazans. In Chicago specifically, several JVP members have been attempting an indefinite fast in which they only consume water and electrolytes. From Religion News Service.
Sleeveless tops for Mormon women
The phrase “porn shoulders” became shorthand for this way of potentially thinking about women in a pornographic light just by the way they dressed. Mormon women are finally allowed to wear sleeveless tops. Here’s why some are grieving, from Religion News Service.
OPINION ‘White Jesus’ poses threat to men and boys
Worship of “white Jesus” helps explain why American boys and men are simultaneously struggling and dangerous, author and pastor Angela Denker stressed during a Baptist Women in Ministry luncheon. The June 26 event in St. Louis was held during the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship General Assembly.
OPINION The ‘great white Christian freakout’
The U.S. was just beginning to come to terms with the effects of racial injustice when the “great white Christian freakout” ushered in the era of Donald Trump and empowered religious nationalism, said Robert P. Jones, president of Public Religion Research Institute.
Consultant: How to talk about polarizing topics at church
Churches can talk about polarizing topics — even politics — if they enter those conversations seeking transformation rather than conformity, church consultant Matt Cook told participants at the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship General Assembly in St. Louis June 26. From Baptist News Global.
Supreme Court okays pullout from LGBTQ books
The Supreme Court says Maryland parents can pull their kids from public school lessons using LGBTQ books. The justices reversed lower-court rulings in favor of the Montgomery County school system in suburban Washington. From the Associated Press.
Personal profile of gay millennial Episcopal priest
Meet the gay millennial priest on a mission to pull the Episcopal Church out of “free fall.” The Rev. Charles Graves IV is part of a younger, more diverse generation of Episcopal priests who believes the denomination can thrive — as long as it continues to evolve. From Religion News Service.
Defining a minister’s role: Moses? Or a medic?
The Pro-immigrant protest is redefining the role of the minister in civil rights, according to a writer for Religion News Service. Today’s protesting ministers are likely to play not the part of Moses, but of medic.
Personal Profile of a Christian nation-ist
OMB’s Russell Vought, the Christian ‘nation-ist’ is driving Project 2025 and DOGE. The director of the US budget has declared that Christians should be “stewards of a blessing that has been God-given: to live in this land, this particular land.” From Religion News Service.
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