Hallelujah! Welcome to Wisdom Wednesday, reporting that Hallelujah is a new flavor of gelato in Rome celebrating the discharge of Pope Francis from Gemelli hospital. Francis has long been a fan of gelato. In the United States, Cardinal McElroy and Bishop Mark Seitz preach on immigration issues. Two midwestern dioceses resolve concerns, one in court and one at a laboratory, about a consecrated host – and the Blessed Sacrament is exposed for adoration at Mar-a-Lago. Our week of searching for wisdom finds some unexpected items.
Pope Francis returns
“Pope Francis began with a thumbs up and concluded with the sign of the cross to mark his first public appearance after a 38-day hospitalization where he twice nearly died, before returning home to the Vatican to continue his recovery from double pneumonia.” Christopher White and Camillo Barone have the story in National Catholic Reporter.
Vatican News reports Pope Francis is continuing with treatment, physical therapy, and concelebrating Mass at his residence of Casa Santa Marta. The Holy See Press also said the Pope continues some work activities, but is not currently receiving visitors, and that no decisions have been made regarding his schedule for the weeks to come.
The same day Pope Francis was discharged from Rome’s Gemelli hospital, a group of Vatican doctors took their Lenten alms initiative a step further and helped provide medical care to a group of migrants.
“Hallelujah!” That’s what countless Catholics exclaimed as Pope Francis left the hospital Sunday after more than a month fighting pneumonia. It’s also the name of a new gelato flavor.
Vatican News
The Vatican has elaborated its position on gender-affirming care, with a dicastery head stating last month that individual situations warrant special consideration for exceptions to the current blanket ban. At New Ways Ministry, Francis DeBernardo writes, “Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández . . . presented a paper in mid-February to offer ‘some clarifications’ about the document he penned on human dignity, Dignitas Infinita.
Last week more than 30 bishops and cardinals joined with theologians, journalists and other Catholic leaders at Fordham University for an ecclesial gathering, “Fratelli tutti: Cultivating the Politics of Communion and Compassion.” From National Catholic Reporter.
U.S. Immigration Policy
Bishop Mark Seitz of the Diocese of El Paso (Texas) gave an impassioned keynote on the issue of migration in the United States. The bishop’s remarks were part of that international conference on Pope Francis’s 2020 encyclical Fratelli Tutti.
Mass deportations and asylum bans — part of the Trump administration’s rapid changes to U.S. immigration policy — destroy communities and human dignity, while constituting a “war on the poor,” said Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso, Texas. Our Sunday Visitor News reports that Seitz, who chairs the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration, shared his thoughts during a March 24 prayer vigil at Sacred Heart Church in El Paso.
Cardinal Robert McElroy focused on immigration in his first public appearance since his installation in Washington, D.C. The National Catholic Register reports that McElroy sharply criticized the administration’s foreign aid suspension as “unconscionable through any prism of Catholic thought.”
Catholic Charities agencies have halted refugee programs in the wake of U.S. aid freeze. Brian Fraga reports in National Catholic Reporter that at least a dozen local Catholic Charities agencies since late January have laid off hundreds of employees, and some have begun to wind down their refugee resettlement programs.
The nation is at a political and moral crossroads with the fate of its most vulnerable communities hanging in the balance, according to Vashti McKenzie, president and general secretary of the National Council of Churches. McKenzie participated in a recent vigil with other faith leaders urging Congress to enact policies that protect and nurture at-risk families and immigrants.
FutureChurch offers an opportunity to pray with and for immigrants and refugees. The online service is part of a series, Lent 2025: What is Mine to do? It is tonight at 7 p.m. EDT.
Justice Bulletin Board. Relections for the Fourth Sunday of Lent, by Barbara Molinari Quinby.
Civil Rights violation
The Trump administration’s disappearance of Mahmoud Khalil is chilling, say the editors of Christian Century. “Democracies don’t deport people for thought crimes, not even when they say them out loud.”
President, VP, not invited to UND commencement
The University of Notre Dame has faced accusations of timidity and partisanship since the news broke last week that neither President Donald Trump nor Vice President JD Vance will be delivering this May’s commencement address, apparently bringing to an end a decades-long tradition of inviting the incoming president (or at least his vice) to graduation. A report from the National Catholic Register.
Care for Creation
Salesian Missions joined other humanitarian groups on March 22 in marking World Water Day, a United Nations-led commemoration to bring attention to the need for safe, clean water. From Global Sisters Report, a project of National Catholic Reporter.
A joint celebration was held on 21 March at United Nations Headquarters in New York to mark the inaugural World Day for Glaciers and World Water Day 2025. The theme was selected to draw global attention to the rapid melting of glaciers and its devastating impact on people and the planet.
A UN Principle: Access to water and sanitation is a human right. Water and sanitation flow through every aspect of sustainable development. Access to these essential services are human rights. A well-managed water cycle is critical to human society and the integrity of the natural environment
Catholic Climate Covenant and the Integral Faith team provide resources for homilists and other materials that will help you integrate the rich insights of Laudato Si’ and Christian care for creation into Sunday Mass. These include highlights from the scriptures, readings of the day, relevant quotations, brief commentary, illustrations and anecdotes. Integral Faith was established as a working group of the AUSCP.
Synod Deadline approaching
Synod working groups—including on women’s ordination, episcopal authority—are open for public submissions until April. The 10 study groups were formed in March 2024 to continue (and, in some cases, sideline) discussions swirling at the Synod on Synodality. A report from Black Catholic Messenger.
Schismatic Gala at Mar-a-Lago
Michael Sean Winters writes in National Catholic Reporter about the group, Catholics for Catholics. “These alt-right folks may shout ‘Viva Christo Rey!’ but they act like they have found their king and Mar-a-Lago is his kingdom. That is the problem, opines Michael Sean Winters.
Consecrated hosts
A Satanic group planning a “black mass” at the Kansas Statehouse March 28 has sworn in court it is not in possession of a consecrated host and wine the group said it aimed to desecrate at the event. On March 20, a judge dismissed a case brought by Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas, against the Satanic Grotto for the return of a consecrated host and consecrated wine the group claimed to have secured. The report from UCA News.
Discolored host was “Not Miraculous“. A host with what seemed to show drops of blood was submitted to a laboratory. According to the National Catholic Register, scientific analysis indicated that the cause was natural.
A lonely Ramadan Experience
For Muslim children in non-Muslim foster care homes, Ramadan can be a lonely experience. Nargis Rahman writes for Religion News Service and National Public Radio.
A new ‘Tree of Life’ Synagogue
A recent museum exhibit offered a peek inside what the new Tree of Life synagogue may look like. “The exhibit is our first opportunity to really show what we’re building in response to the deadliest antisemitic attack (in American history),” said Michael Bernstein, board chair of The Tree of Life. From Religion News Service.
Surveys and Research
U.S. Christian population is “stable.” The 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study (RLS) and other Pew Research Center polling find that the Christian share of the population, after years of decline, has been relatively stable since 2019. And the religiously unaffiliated population, after rising rapidly for decades, has leveled off – at least temporarily.
Christians in Congress. The share of Christians in Congress has decreased slightly in recent years, but it is still much higher than the 62% of all U.S. adults who describe themselves as Christian. The new Congress also includes 32 members who identify as Jewish, four Muslims, four Hindus, three Buddhists, three Unitarian Universalists and one humanist. Three members are religiously unaffiliated – representing a much lower share than the 29% of Americans who identify this way.
The world
In India, residents of Goa oppose a tourism project near a 16th century basilica. Goan protesters say the planned tourism mall threatens the sanctity of the 16-century Bom Jesus Basilica.
Myanmar matters. “There is much we must do to help democratic forces defeat the forces of repression and death,” says Benedict Rogers in a report from the Union of Catholic Asian News.
Jubilee in French Polynesia. In the remote oceanic land, the Archdiocese of Papeete, led by Archbishop Jean-Pierre Cottanceau, has designated twelve Jubilee parishes, seven of which are on the island of Tahiti. Missionary Father Sandro Lafranconi says the archdiocese covers an immense area. “It spans a distance comparable to that between Tunisia and Scandinavia [about 2,700 miles]. It is the largest archdiocese in the entire Catholic Church.”
Reflections and Commentary
National Catholic Register observes “Flannery O’Connor Turns 100: A Century of Grace and Grit.” Her birthday was March 25. “The Catholic writer’s faith shone through such suffering when she said, ‘I can with one eye squinted take it all as a blessing . . . .”
A one-size-fits-all Mass doesn’t serve Black Catholics. Efran Menny comments on the need for a culturally aware liturgical experience that doesn’t alienate the few in favor of the many, in Black Catholic Messenger.
The mysticism of Thea Bowman. “As I studied Christian mystics, I kept wondering where the Black women were. Then I discovered Sister Thea,” days Angela R. Hooks in Christian Century. “I learned a key fact about mysticism: from Christianity’s triumph in the fourth century up to the 18th century, mysticism was associated with women.”
Remembering a road trip to Selma 60 years ago. “My classmates and I were eager to join the voting rights march to Montgomery. But how would we get to Alabama?” by Gary G. Yerkey reflects in Chriarian Century.
Easter Bonnet Parade cancelled
A primary school in the United Kingdom has canceled its annual Easter Bonnet Parade and Easter Service, citing “respect for diversity” as the reason behind the decision. The move, announced in a letter to parents, has sparked significant backlash online, with critics labeling it “disgraceful” and accusing the school of eroding traditional celebrations. From the Christian Post.
Believe it or Don’t
President Donald Trump’s chief faith adviser is selling seven “supernatural blessings” for Easter season gifts of $1,000 or more. On her website and social media, televangelist Paula White has a special offer for what she calls the “Passover season.” From Baptist News Global.
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