US bishops gather in Orlando; a special Mass there is to consecrate our country to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, with a saint’s relics present. Mormons get dissed by the “secretary of war.” A documentary about Teilhard de Chardin gets Vatican attention. (It’s the film shown at the AUSCP Assembly in Lexington.) We begin with Pope Leo in Spain, where more than a million people celebrated the “joy of being human, seeking truth, embracing wounds.”
Pope Leo XIV
During his first visit to Spain, Pope Leo XIV urged people to seek truth together, care for the vulnerable, confront wounds honestly and rediscover the joy and dignity at the heart of being human. From the USCCB.
Pope Leo XIV brought bustling Madrid to a halt Sunday, drawing 1.2 million people — the largest crowd he has encountered yet in his 13-month pontificate — for his first public Mass in Spain and a Eucharistic procession through the Spanish capital. From National Catholic Reporter.
In Madrid, National Catholic Reporter says Pope Leo prods Catholics to go beyond a “comfortable, private faith.”
Pope Leo arrived in Spain on June 6 pushing back on polarization amid rising far-right politics.
Pope Leo XIV met with victims of clergy sex abuse Monday in Madrid, engaging with the abuse crisis that has loomed large over the papal visit. But the issue of clergy abuse remains far from settled in Spain. From National Catholic Reporter.
The U.S. bishops
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) gathers today for the 2026 Spring Plenary Assembly in Orlando, Florida. The public sessions on June 10 and 11 will be livestreamed on the USCCB website.
The relics of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, the French Visitation sister who experienced visions of Jesus revealing his Sacred Heart, will be present with the U.S. bishops when they consecrate the United States to Jesus’ Sacred Heart June 11. From National Catholic Reporter.
Michael Sean Winters, for National Catholic Reporter, says the bishops’ agenda has some interesting items on it, such as a revision of the “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.” But a major point of interest for church observers will be three speeches at the meeting.
Here is the Pope’s agenda June 2026.
U.S. bishops release prayer service. “A Path Toward Justice: A National Prayer Service Honoring the Many Journeys that Shaped America” was recently posted to the resource page of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website. From OSV News.
“The new prayer service from the U.S. Catholic bishops doesn’t honor the enslaved. It erases them.” So said Nate Tinner-Williams at Black Catholic Messenger. He says the new text is a cheapened catch-all intended for immigrants—with African Americans as a throwaway half-mention.
Leo’s slavery apology welcomed
Descendants of slaves once owned and sold by the Jesuits are among those welcoming Pope Leo XIV’s formal apology for the Catholic Church’s historical involvement in slavery. The move has been largely praised by Black Catholic leaders as it renews debate over how fully the church has reckoned with its past. From National Catholic Reporter.
Education for Justice
Wisdom Wednesday begins calling attention (more next week) to the group Education for Justice, a project of the Ignatian Solidarity Network, bringing Catholic social tradition into classrooms, parishes, and congregations worldwide. A Pentecost prayer, Come Holy Spirit and Show us What is True, invites reflection on truth, justice, discernment, and faithful living in a world shaped by wealth, information, and division.
Justice Bulletin Board
The Vatican II document on the laity makes it clear that Christian social action is the laity’s pre-eminent work and goes so far to say that “the demands of justice must first of all be satisfied; what is already due in justice is not to be offered as a gift in charity.”
USA 250
While flashy events are planned in the U.S. capital for the Independence Day weekend, a prayerful commemoration of the United States’ 250th anniversary unfolded June 5-6 as the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage came to Washington to renew and deepen faith in Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. From OSV News.
A Christian nation? At 250, America is still fighting over what that means. Scholars say American history is more Christian than secular advocates claim — and less religious than Christian nationalists would assert. From Religion News Service.
On June 14, a spectacle of violence will take place on the White House South Lawn. UFC Freedom 250, a mixed-martial arts event will take over the South Lawn as part of a series of events celebrating the semiquincentennial of the United States.
OPINION: Boycotting the UFC event. “A nation’s birthday should reveal what it values most. . . . That reflection has led me to a personal decision: I will not be purchasing or supporting the UFC Freedom 250 pay-per-view event associated with the White House celebration.” From Baptist News Global.
From Religion News Service: These houses of worship are older than America, outlasting wars, schisms and lawsuits. Only about 1% of houses of worship in the U.S. today existed in 1776. Here are four that predate the revolution — and still hold services.
Christianity and Democracy 250
A reflection from Baptist News Global. “Our first fall together, we decided to go on retreat, gathering at a working monastery and seminary called St. Meinrad’s just an hour from Louisville. That’s where we were — St. Meinrad’s campus pub — mere hours into the weekend, when the frustrations about the church began to flow.”
Defense Department trims list of military faiths
The new list includes 31 recognized faiths, most of them Christian denominations. Dropping off are atheists, pagans, and 175 others. From Religion News Service.
Mormons are outraged that military policy no longer counts LDS as Christian. From the Independent, United Kingdom.
Here is a YouTube video about some faith groups probably not on the military list.
Magnifica Humanitas panel
The Centre for Catholic Social Thought and Practice convened a panel to reflect on Magnifica Humanitas, and the treatment of Catholic social teaching in Pope Leo’s inaugural encyclical along with other themes. From Tomorrow’s American Catholic.
TPUSA: ‘Feminism threatens motherhood’
At TPUSA’s women’s summit, Christian influencers say feminism threatens motherhood, according to a report from Religion News Service. Thousands gathered for the Texas event as young women increasingly abandon religion.
Polyamory gains visibility, monogamy faces a vote
A proposal that would require ordained clergy to be monogamous is on the docket at the Presbyterian Church (USA)’s General Assembly this summer. A separate proposal calls for a broader theological framework on human relationships. From Religion News Service.
Interfaith group combats polarization
“It was uncomfortable at times, but nobody stormed out,” said Shariq Ghani, executive director of the Houston multifaith group Bridges. “They listened, they shook hands, they hugged, they cried.” From Religion News Service.
Pepper-sprayed yet undeterred
Faith leaders keep ministering at Delaney Hall in New Jersey. “We are called by our faith to put our bodies on the line” said the Rev. Robin Tanner, a Unitarian Universalist minister. Kathy O’Leary, coordinator of the Catholic group Pax Christi New Jersey, said she was helping to push the crowd back from the conflict at the immigrant detention facility.
Evangelical Trump loyalists claim he enjoys ‘broad support’
ANALYSIS published by Baptist News Global. President Donald Trump has earned historic negative ratings, with 61% of Americans disapproving of his performance as president, according to Fox News. But Family Research Council and other groups loyal to Trump claim his goals enjoy “broad support.”
What Pope Leo’s encyclical demands of Louisiana
OPINION The pope informs us that AI requires an increasing use of “energy and water, significantly influencing carbon dioxide emissions, and place(s) heavy demands on natural resources.” How we should respond, from Baptist News Global.
‘The Sacred Heart of Jesus bleeds for the Queer’
Tulio Huggins, writing in the Black Catholic Messenger, responds to a podcast episode from Catholic priests on Pride Month, saying that a myopic view of LGBTQ+ people has no place.
Looking out the window in wartime
“We still have power: We can choose whether to give violence the last word,” says Stephanie Saldaña in the June 2026 issue of the Christian Century.
A papal joke
Pope Leo jokes that AI still thinks Francis is pope – and draws a lesson out of it. From OSV News.
Archbishops’ friendly wager: Knicks and Spurs
The archbishops of San Antonio and New York have announced a ‘Friendly Wager’ as Spurs face Knicks in NBA Finals. If they win, it will be the Spurs’ first NBA championship title since 2014, while for the Knicks it would be their first in over 50 years. From the National Catholic Register.
Teilhard: New film highlights Jesuit scientist’s legacy
The recent screening of the film “Teilhard: Visionary Scientist” at the Vatican’s Filmoteca, then at the Jesuit Curia and Rome’s Pontifical Gregorian University, drew much applause and appreciation. (The documentary was shown at the AUSCP Assembly in Lexington.) The American filmmakers, Frank and Mary Frost, spoke to Vatican News about the film.
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