Wisdom Wednesday | March 19

Welcome to Wisdom Wednesday, in a week full of tumult and also a little hope: Pope Francis seems to be recovering. We begin this week with a handful of reports and commentaries on Pope Francis and the Vatican, then travel to world hotspots, and wind up with a double handful of features, analyses and commentaries. Writers have expressed opinions and conclusion that reflect their own viewpoints. Our search for wisdom is not simple or quick.

Pope Francis

Pope Francis sent his first audio message since hospitalization, offering gratitude for prayers. National Catholic Reporter headlines a story, “Pope remaining stable, continues to recover in positive direction.”

Religion News Service reports, “Pope Francis’ openness about his health may be as tactical as it is truthful.” The report examines veteran Vatican reporters who say “we are witnessing a ‘transparency arc’ when it comes to the pope’s health.”

PERSONAL OPINION Juan Carlos Cruz Chellew was appointed in 2021 by Pope Francis as a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors and Vulnerable People. In an opinion piece published by National Catholic Reporter, Chellew says we should “Ignore Cardinal Dolan’s disrespect. We need Pope Francis.”

PERSONAL REFLECTION Joan Chittister reflects on the passing of popes. She writes, “When popes come to the days before they step over the threshold of this life into the arms of Creation, there’s a kind of hush that takes over. . . . There is so much to say and at the same time, there is nothing to say at all, except perhaps the last of the prayers that will seal this entire life.”

We call him Pope Francis, but she calls him ‘cousin Giorgio.’ For National Catholic Reporter, Camillo Barone writes that “the pope’s health struggles have left Carla Rabezzana uneasy, the lack of direct contact has also heightened her anxiety for her beloved cousin, who can ‘cheer you up with just a few words.’”

Three scenarios for pope’s return to the Vatican, from La Croix International. No date has been given for Pope Francis’ discharge from hospital, but the prospect of his return has replaced talk of a conclave in Roman conversations.

Pope Francis wants to oversee implementation of synodality. A report from La Croix International. On March 15, the Vatican made public a letter approved by the hospitalized pope. It reminds bishops around the world that the implementation of “synodality” is not optional.

The Vatican announced Tuesday that Pope Francis has approved a special Ecclesial Assembly for October 2028 to evaluate how Catholic communities worldwide have implemented the recently concluded Synod on Synodality recommendations. From National Catholic Register.

Gaza

A report from early Tuesday, from The Guardian: The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) are continuing to strike terror targets belonging to the Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist organizations across Gaza. More than 400 people have been killed in the attacks with hundreds more injured in hospitals, according to officials. Keepin touch with the developments, from The Guardian.

Why has Israel resumed large-scale airstrikes on Gaza? Officials claim attacks will bring release of more hostages, but some suggest political factors are at play for Netanyahu.

Aid efforts in Gaza slow as millions of promised USAID dollars do not arrive, agency officials say. The cutbacks threaten to halt the small gains aid workers have made combatting Gaza’s humanitarian crisis during the Israel-Hamas ceasefire. From Religion News Service.

Ukraine

As the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was marked with prayerful declarations and dizzying new East-West initiatives, the voice of Russia’s small but significant Catholic Church was conspicuously absent. A report from National Catholic Reporter.

The Dallas Charter

First Things offers an analysis of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, approved under the leadership of now-retired Cardinal Wilton Gregory. Whether you agree or disagree with the author’s conclusion, the article is food for thought.

Ramadan for school students

Every Ramadan, more US schools are embracing the needs of fasting Muslim students, according to Religion News Service. Public schools are learning to empower their Muslim students so they can be their authentic selves in a place they spend much of their lives.

Commentaries and long reads

Is Trump’s administration the “most Christian’ ever?” Tim Busch, the California lawyer and businessman who champions conservative Catholic causes, has written an essay proclaiming the Trump administration to be the “most Christian he’s ever seen.” Fact-checking Tim Busch

NCR digital editor John Grosso reviewed Busch’s article line by line to fact-check, analyze and comment.

John Grosso also examined the text of a presentation by Bishop Barron comparing Trump’s address to Congress to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Grosso says Barron has been strikingly silent and we are unable to find anything on his powerful digital media apparatus — with more than 1.8 million followers on his YouTube channel — to defend Catholic social teaching in any way despite administration actions causing irreparable harm to Catholic Relief Services, the treatment of immigrants and refugees and the environment.

Former president and CEO of Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Carolyn Woo is speaking out in defense of the aid organization amid Trump administration funding cuts to its services internationally. “International aid was started at first for the benefit of the U.S. even though the aid goes overseas,” Woo said during an appearance on “EWTN News In Depth” Friday evening, arguing that international aid to organizations like CRS is important “for two major reasons”: security and prosperity. From Catholic News Agency.

The Trump administration fired most of the board of the US Institute of Peace (USIP) and sent its new leader into the Washington DC headquarters of the independent organization on Monday, in its latest effort targeting agencies tied to foreign assistance work. The remaining three members of the group’s board – the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, secretary of state, Marco Rubio, and National Defense University president, Peter Garvin – fired the president and CEO, George Moose, on Friday, according to a document obtained by the Associated Press.

A federal judge on Monday questioned whether the Trump administration ignored his orders to turn around planes carrying deportees to El Salvador, a possible violation of the decision he’d issued minutes before. District Judge James E. Boasberg was incredulous over the administration’s contentions that his verbal directions did not count, that only his written order needed to be followed, that it couldn’t apply to flights that had left the U.S. and that the administration could not answer his questions about the deportations due to national security issues. From the Associated Press.

Book Review

In Mennonite pastor Isaac Villegas’ new book, God is a migrant, too. ‘Migrant God,’ offers a theological vision for the ways Christian faith transcends national borders and is rooted in solidarity with migrants. From Religion News Service.

Stations of the Cross: Overcoming Racism

The Anti-Racism Group notes that the USCCB has published Stations of the Cross entitled “Overcoming Racism”, that you and your congregations may find very inspiring during this Lenten season. These meditations are especially powerful in light of the actions of the current administration to destroy DEI programs and erase accomplishments of people of color and women from military websites. Please, consider distributing this meditation and using it for your own spiritual enlightenment.

“People in our day suffer unjustly simply because of the color of their skin or their national origin. Let us acknowledge the sin of racism and work to combat it in our social structures, our institutions, and our hearts.”

FACING THE CONSEQUENCES

Defunded evangelical aid groups are reaping what the religious right sowed. Trump wooed them with his promises of the cultural domination they had been seeking since the late 1970s, but the honeymoon may be over. Opinion from Religion News Service.

LGBTQ-affirming ministers lose credentials, more face investigation. An LGBTQ-inclusive congregation is also exiting the Anderson, Indiana-based Church of God movement. Report from Religion News service.

Several Protestant denominations are losing members, particularly the Episcopal, Presbyterian, Methodist and other historic mainline groups that have not only been aging and shrinking but have suffered schisms as they moved in more progressive directions. From Religion News Service.

Art exhibit: The Face of Christ

Catholic convert’s mission to capture the face of Christ in art finds a home. Steen Heidemann’s collection will be installed as a semi-permanent exhibition in the Toledo Cathedral in Spain. Heidemann searched for portraits of Jesus by living artists, eventually collecting 240 paintings by 40 artists. From Religion News Service.

FEATURE: The certainty summit

In 1978, a who’s who of conservative evangelical leaders met in Chicago to draft a statement on biblical inerrancy. It would change the course of church and state, according to a feature study in the Christian Century.

Transcript: Cardinal Gregory’s homily at dedication of Sister Thea Bowman

Speaking at the Catholic Student Center chapel at Howard University, the nation’s African-American cardinal blessed the new HBCU edifice in Washington during the final week of Black History Month. Black Catholic Messenger provides a transcript of Gregory’s homily.

ANALYSIS from Baptist News Global

The Trump administration is busy institutionalizing January 6 falsehoods. Donald Trump continues to falsely claim he won the 2020 election and his supporters who attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021, are “patriots.” Now he’s institutionalizing these falsehoods. Trump is busily rewriting history and using the power of the Oval Office to turn lies into law.

PBS Documentary: White Christianity vs. Black Christianity

New PBS documentary explores The newest of these is a new PBS documentary that recently premiered at the National Press Club March 7. Religion, Racism & Reconciliation is making the rounds as a “ground-breaking” exploration of America’s complicated relationship between religious identity and racism, which it describes as America’s “original sin.” It is currently available for free online. From Baptist News Global.

OPINION: MAGA in school

The presence of MAGA in public and private educational spaces — especially religious schools — poses significant psychological risks for children and families from historically marginalized backgrounds. The politicization of this slogan has led to emotional distress, re-traumatization and a sense of alienation among Jewish, Hispanic, immigrant and other vulnerable communities. From Baptist News Global.

From Pax Christi

The January 27, 2024 Pax Christi Massachusetts virtual forum, Building a World without Nuclear Weapons, featured Marie Dennis, Dr. Ira Helfand, and Archbishop John Wester, on behalf of the Pax Christi New England Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (PCAN). You are invited to complete and submit this survey by April 17.

Care for Creation 2025: Glacier Preservation

The Care for Creation Working Group reminds AUSCP members that March 22 is World Water Day. Glaciers are melting faster than ever. For billions of people, meltwater flows are changing, causing floods, droughts, landslides and sea level rise. Countless communities and ecosystems are at risk of devastation. As we work together to mitigate and adapt to climate change, glacier preservation is a top priority. Saving our glaciers is a survival strategy for people and the planet.

Earth Day 2025, April 22 OUR POWER, OUR PLANET

Activities and resources are available: Here is a link to doable actions.

How would you answer?

National Catholic Register takes a challenge:

Q . . . . Years ago, after struggling with infertility, we turned to IVF and conceived our now 10-year-old son, who is the joy of our lives. We have repented, understanding the Church’s teachings on this . . . . Are we morally obligated to tell our son that he was conceived through IVF, or would doing so cause unnecessary distress?

What have you given up for Lent?

How’s that working for you? Barbara Molinari Quinby poses these questions “because I sometimes wonder if we should think about a new way of fasting.”