Wisdom Wednesday | June 2nd

AUSCP NewsJune 2Roundup

It’s a big month for the Supreme Court. The AUSCP assembles in Minneapolis. Derrick Chauvin is to be sentenced. The U.S. bishops, conflicted over Communion conflict, will hold a virtual meeting. And briefly, here are some words and phrases you will find in this Wisdom Wednesday: Tulsa Race Massacre, Juneteenth, Jacob and Esau Embrace, Judas and the Black Messiah, Pathway to Citizenship, and a world facing more funerals than first birthdays. Intrigued? Read on!

Obamacare, gay rights and other issues

At the New York Times, David Leonhardt filled a morning newsletter on the Supreme Court. It’s quite a document with numerous links to reports on four big cases: Obamacare, voting rights, religion vs. gay rights, and school speech.

Gay rights are also an issue at the Catholic University of America. Alyssa Lukpat reports on the LGBT club’s effort to win recognition.

Race Matters

Hundreds gathered at a Tulsa church’s prayer wall on the anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre, according to Religion News Service.

The National Catholic Reporter provides a series on “Justice Reimagined.” The latest story is on “The racist roots of mass incarceration in the US.”

“Judas and the Black Messiah,” a Warner Bros. picture depicts the life, death, and mission of Black Panther leader Fred Hampton. Kathleen Manning examines the movie in the U.S.Catholic.

“Juneteenth” will be observed June 16. The National Museum of African American History & Culture offers a report on its historical legacy.

Communion Conflict

Some U.S. Bishops are trying to rein in the Biden administration, but “the Vatican is all smiles.” Jack Jenkins reports that the pope has shown that he is willing to sidestep his American bishops to strengthen his relationship with Biden.

Faithful America reports on an effort to “thank the 77 bishops standing up to their partisan peers.”

Immigration

If you were with us at the 2019 AUSCP Assembly in St. Louis, you may have been among our participants who visited briefly with Alex Garcia at the church where he was living in sanctuary. If you are unfamiliar with the story, Alex who feared deportation spent 39 months in the church basement, separated from his wife and children, all U.S. citizens.

Under the Biden administration, Alex no longer fears deportation. You can read the whole story here and sign the petition to put Alex on a Pathway to Citizenship.

What’s at stake: the Boston Globe shares a New York Times report that President Biden aims to rebuild and expand legal immigration.

Demographic Time Bomb

South Korea has the lowest birth rate in the world, the U.S. is growing at its slowest rate since the Great Depression, and Germany takes down houses as there aren’t enough homes to fill its cities.

The Associated Press reports on China’s three-child policy, while the New York Times forecasts a bleak future:  All over the world, countries are confronting population stagnation and a fertility bust, a dizzying reversal unmatched in recorded history that will make first-birthday parties a rarer sight than funerals, and empty homes a common eyesore.

AUSCP Quick Picks

LEARN – “I am Joseph, your brother,” said John XXIII to a Jewish delegation in 1960. Now Drew Christiansen reports in La Civilta Cattolica on an Orthodox Rabbinic Declaration on Christianity: “Jacob and Esau Embrace.”

REFLECT – As pandemic restrictions ease, Jesse Bazan writes in U.S.Catholic that vocations were deeply affected. For many Catholics, the words vocation and calling conjure up images of priests in collars or women religious in full habits. However, a more expansive theology of vocation recognizes that God calls people in all walks of life in myriad ways.

JOIN US – On our tenth anniversary, AUSCP asks “Where do we go from here?” Check out the Assembly information on our website.

WATCH – This week’s recap presentation summarizing our 2020 Virtual Assembly

And as a reminder, you can watch keynote presentations from all of our past assemblies on our Past Assembly Videos page.

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. 

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