Wisdom Wednesday | May 7th

Welcome to Wisdom Wednesday on the first day of the Conclave. We have a banquet table full of columns, articles, hopes and suggestions for the next pope, but we will begin with a side dish from the neighborhood greasy spoon: The “pro-life” Trump administration supports a view no different than the Biden administration. Dig in for that story, the conclave collection and other items from the intersection of faith, politics and society.

Abortion medication

The Associated Press reports that the Trump administration has asked a judge to toss the suit restricting access to abortion medication: “Justice Department attorneys on Monday stayed the legal course charted by the Biden administration . . . .”

The Conclave

Conclave politics begin with the question: Continue Pope Francis’ radical legacy or change course? From the Associated Press.

Vatican workers have installed the Sistine Chapel stove where ballots are burned during conclave, From the Associated Press.

With “Adopt a Cardinal,” lay Catholics can feel more connected to the conclave. Religion News Service reports on the popular website, where people are randomly assigned a cardinal to pray for, has been revived for the 2025 conclave.

Cardinal Angelo Becciu was once an influential Vatican chief of staff who was a leading papal contender but he fell from grace in 2020 because of allegations of financial misconduct. From the Associated Press.

Pope Francis’ powerful sway over the forthcoming conclave is revealed in a National Catholic Reporter analysis of the biographies, background, articles, speeches, homilies and media interviews of members of the College of Cardinals.

It is typically absurd to think of an American as pope. But in this conclave, Christopher White reports in National Catholic Reporter, a Chicago-born Augustinian friar is worthy of serious consideration. He is Cardinal Robert Prevost.

If the cardinals want to advance Francis’ vision of synodality — a church where everyone participates in decisions and the mission — then they are expected to consider whether Cardinal Mario Grech of Malta should become the next pope. From National Catholic Reporter.

Cardinal Ambongo could be first African pope in over 1,500 years. From National Catholic Reporter.

FutureChurch Calls for Pope Who Will Promote a More Just Church and World.

In the days leading up to the conclave to elect Pope Francis’ successor, wealthy American business leaders, philanthropists and conservative activists have descended on Rome and Vatican City to meet, fete and dine with churchmen. By Brian Fraga in National Catholic Reporter.

Who are the papal front-runners? Many lists of papabile are available. Here is one from National Catholic Reporter.

As different as a papal election is from every other kind of election in the modern world, each conclave nonetheless has an internal dynamic that is revealed in the voting, writes columnist Michael Sean Winters.

The most obvious frontrunner may not be the one who will secure the two-thirds vote. So says an article from UCAN — the Union of Catholic Asian News.

A conference organized by We Are Church International featured nine speakers from various reform organizations. A report from Michael Centore in Today’s American Catholic.

What are the papal hopes of Middle Eastern Christians? Catholic News Agency reports what they want from the next pope.

The Church must move toward a more mature Christianity, according to an opinion published in La Croix International. Catch up on this series of reports and viewpoints about the key challenges facing the next pontificate. Sign in and read all about it.

What is the Holy Spirit’s Role in the papal election? The National Catholic Register offers and explainer article.

What Name Will the Next Pope Choose? The National Catholic Register says the new pope’s choice of name will speak volumes before he says a word.

Cardinal Wilton Gregory said Mass at his Rome titular church ahead of 2025 papal conclave. A report from Black Catholic Messenger.

One last papal item. At the end of his life, Pope Francis made one last symbolic gesture: He emptied his personal bank account to donate 200,000 euros to the prisoners he had long championed. National Catholic Reporter says it was a final act of love toward those he had called his “brothers and sisters behind bars.”

US political process

Five faith leaders were arrested while praying in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda on Monday (May 5), the second time in as many weeks clergy and others have been handcuffed as they speak out against the Republican-led budget bill. From Religion News Service.

A New York Times letter to the editor from AUSCP friend Bob Stewart was recently included in a series of reader comments regarding due process and deportation. “Are we so numbed by spectacle and partisanship that we cannot see the peril right in front of us?”

How Evangelicals in seven countries view Trump’s First 100 Days – compiled by Christianity Today. “Christian leaders who were initially hopeful about the US president are now feeling conflicted.”

The Trump administration terminated the legal status of students at eight evangelical schools, then reversed itself, then warned it may eliminate more. The roller coaster ride, from Christianity Today.

In 2022, Pope Francis was asked about the U.S. bishops’ conference and identified one man, El Paso, Texas, Bishop Mark Seitz, as an example of a “good pastor.” Seitz has become the face of Catholic resistance to the president’s anti-immigrant policies. From Baptist News Global.

The House Judiciary Committee is contemplating steps to end legal assistance and trafficking protections for unaccompanied immigrant children and charge families $8,500 for the release of a youth from U.S. custody. From Baptist News General.

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul has opened an advocacy office in Washington. Black Catholic Messenger reports the new hub on Capitol Hill will serve the Catholic poverty relief organization’s lobbying work to the nation’s federal legislators.

Jewish faculty decry Republican panel members ahead of an antisemitism hearing. The Guardian reports that lawmakers on a key committee have quoted Hitler and are associated with calls for Jews to convert to Christianity.

Care for Creation

A recent panel discussion on Laudato Si’ and Teilhard de Chardin points to a new type of planetized life. Editor Michael Centore, in Today’s American Catholic, reports the discussion of a key notion in the Synod’s final document: “Creation itself speaks of unity and sharing, of diversity and of variously interconnected forms of life.’

In her Justice Bulletin Board for this week, Barbara Molinari Quinby sees a call to follow Wisdom literature as well as the salvation history in the Law and the Prophets. She quotes Father Walter Vogel: “In the creation theology of the Wisdom literature, God has put humanity in charge.”

A Vanderbilt professor claims some pro-lifers use the Bible to distract from climate change while consolidating “white political power.” From the Christian Post.

Denominational News

The Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) saw widespread growth in 2024, with notable increases in membership, giving and professions of faith, according to the denomination’s latest five-year statistical summary published by the Administrative Committee. From the Christian Post.

A New Jersey town is trying to seize the property of an Episcopal parish that runs a homeless shelter. The Christian Post reports the town wants the land for a park.

Surveys and Research

Six-in-ten U.S. Catholics say the church should be more inclusive, even if that means changing some of its teachings, while 37 percent say the church should stick to its traditional teachings, even if that means the church gets smaller. From Pew Research.

Two-thirds of Latino voters believe the country is heading in wrong direction with Trump. Even though more Hispanic voters swung for Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election than in either of his previous runs for office, his immigration policies remain largely unfavorable among U.S. Hispanics. From Baptist News Global.

Most awkward quote of the week

“To the best of my knowledge, popes aren’t big on getting married, are they?” So said President Donald Trump, reported by the Catholic News Agency, on why and why not he would like to be pope. 

Quoted criticism of the Trump-pope AI image, reported by the Associated Press. “This is an image that offends believers, insults institutions and shows that the leader of the right-wing world enjoys clowning around . . . .”