Welcome to Wisdom Wednesday.
From the Vatican we have news about a Cardinal’s indictment for bribery. A movement is suppressed for using fake revelations. There is good news: Pope Francis is recovering from surgery.
News and opinion articles this week dig into many issues that are among the top concerns of the AUSCP: Gospel Non-Violence, the death penalty, Climate Crisis and respect for the LGBTQ community.
After more news about the fiasco at the USCCB and the lack of unity among Canadian bishops, we tie things up with two items full of hope for common ground and prayerful unity, and a final item with an interactive quiz about three popes and who said what.
From the Vatican
Pope Francis was recovering normally after surgery. Vatican News reports he had breakfast Tuesday morning, read the newspapers and took a walk.
The pope’s hospitalization has not slowed the Vatican. Activity. A cardinal and nine others have been charged with bribery and the Vatican has suppressed the Apostolic Movement, saying their claims of revelation are fake.
As Pope Francis recovers over the next week in Rome’s Gemelli Hospital from surgery on Sunday for colon diverticulitis, John Allen at CRUX examines the distinctive media fever known as the “Papal Health Scare.”
AUSCP Initiatives
We’ve included a roundup of news on several fronts related to the key issues of the Association of U.S. Catholic Priests.
GOSPEL NONVIOLENCE: Pope Francis continues his teaching on Gospel Nonviolence: No More War.
END THE DEATH PENALTY: U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland pauses federal executions a year after his predecessor resumed them.
CLIMATE CRISIS: The National Catholic Reporter appears to be in the vanguard of publishing companies making a public commitment to divest from fossil fuels. If you’re looking for something to do next week, here is your invitation to join in a webinar with others on Caring for Our Common Home.
LGBTQ COMMUNITY: LGBTQ youth of faith seek acceptance in a ‘Beloved Arise’ group. Meanwhile, Gay celibate Christians are not welcome for ordination in the Presbyterian Church in America.
News from the Supreme Court
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in favor of a Catholic foster care agency, in a narrow win for religious rights, a loss for same-sex couples.
Adam Liptak analyzes the Supreme Court for the New York Times.
Politics, Biden, and the Bishops
On the political front, who supports President Joe Biden? Religion News Service finds a few more Catholics, a few more non-evangelical Protestants, and the religiously unaffiliated.
When there is no unity in a national bishops’ conference, bad things happen. We have two examples. John Kenneth White, writing for The Hill, describes the making of a fiasco by the U.S. bishops. Dean Dettloff blames the Canadian bishops for the lack of a papal apology for Catholic treatment of Indigenous People. (Here we should point out that the U.S. bishops are offering assistance regarding the search for truth at Catholic institutions for Indigenous People.)
Can we get along?
We offer two thoughtful (and prayerful) items today about the hope for unity. Kathleen Bonnette, writing in US Catholic believes Catholics of all political stripes — even with opposing views on abortion — can come together around supporting women and children. And another writer, Graham Golden, finds that Taizé can bring us together in prayer and even in unity.
AUSCP Quick Picks
QUIZ – How well do you know the positions of the recent popes? The New York Times recently offered a quiz. It is a series of statements on seven critical issues, with a challenge to the reader to identify who said it: Pope Francis, Pope Benedict XVI or Pope John Paul II. (I bet you won’t get a perfect score.)
We hope you have enjoyed this roundup of recent news about faith, politics, and culture. We will return next week with another edition of Wisdom Wednesday.
Until next week, please follow us on social media with the buttons below to make sure you don’t miss the latest news from the AUSCP!