Wisdom Wednesday | November 23rd

AUSCP NewsNovember 23Roundup

Happy Thanksgiving from Wisdom Wednesday!

A prayer:

Accept, O Lord, our thanks and praise for all that you’ve done for us. We thank you for the splendor of the whole creation, for the wonder of life, and for the mystery of love.

We begin with a series of articles referencing LGBTQ issues, then move on to topics including the GOP controlled House, the Synod, a question about German bishops and schism, the Supreme Court, the pope’s Christmas tree and Little Richard’s Bible. (Too much to read at one sitting, so perhaps some to save for a long weekend.

Colorado and LGBTQ+ Concerns

This Thanksgiving, following the mass shooting in Colorado Springs, brings a call “on every bishop to condemn such violence in all its forms. Such a message can deter future perpetrators, and it also expresses pastoral support to LGBTQ people in their communities.’

On a somewhat related note, former members of Amy Coney Barrett’s secretive faith group, the People of Praise, are calling on the US Supreme Court Justice to recuse herself from an upcoming case involving gay rights, saying Barrett’s continued affiliation with the Christian group means she has participated in discriminatory policies against LGBTQ+ people.

A parents’ group in France is pleading for the Church to welcome homosexuality. The group wants the Catholic Church to amend its catechism and stop describing “homosexual acts” as “intrinsically disordered”

Back to the USA

It is a short but busy week, so our digital Thanksgiving meal includes a multiple main courses to choose from, and quite a few side dishes

Looking ahead to the GOP-led House, with divisive issues among leadership, Michael Sean Winters provides some perspective.

The USCCB

At the Black Catholic Messenger, editor Nate Tinner-Williams writes a gloves-off opinion piece about new USCCB leadership. “There was always the possibility that a hardline conservative in Gómez’s vein would be the pick, but I had not anticipated that it could be someone worse.”

Schism?

The Catholic bishops of Germany insist they are not leading a schism, but during a weeklong visit to Rome they refused a Vatican-proposed moratorium on their Synodical Path.

Meanwhile, Methodist splintering continues. The Texas megachurch White’s Chapel departs UMC to anchor a new Methodist ‘college.’ ‘We want to work together, and we want to be a healing agent between all of Methodism,’ said the Rev. John McKellar, co-pastor of White’s Chapel.

Twitter

The social media platform Twitter is in turmoil, and now observers are finding health misinformation and anti-vaccine accounts. It’s not pretty, as described by the Guardian

Here’s a Christian minister who says he can’t stay on Twitter “As long as Musk is in charge without restraints or oversight.”

Catholic sex abuse

An investigation by Maryland’s attorney general identified 158 Roman Catholic priests in the Archdiocese of Baltimore who have been accused of sexually and physically abusing more than 600 victims over the past 80 years, according to court records filed last Thursday.

The Church in Italy says 600 sex abuse cases have been sent to the Vatican. Italy’s Catholic bishops provided their first accounting of clergy sexual abuse and revealed Thursday that more than 600 cases from Italy were on file at the Vatican since 2000.

Anti-semitism

Antisemitic graffiti in a DC suburb is seen as part of a trend. Violently antisemitic graffiti along a popular walking trail is part of a rising tide of anti-Jewish vandalism and activity dating back a decade, according to local Jewish leaders.

Beards and unshorn hair

Sikhs who serve in the Marine Corps can keep their beards and unshorn hair while on duty but are forbidden from doing so during combat deployment and in the course of boot camp. Muslim, Jewish, and interfaith groups, as well as U.S. veterans, are rallying behind three prospective Sikh recruits who earlier this year sued the US Marine Corps in their push to attend training while maintaining their turbans and beards.

Covering the World Cup? Or human rights?

Reporters and broadcasters are grappling with how to handle human rights concerns in Qatar while covering soccer.

Reporters and broadcasters are grappling with how to handle human rights concerns, political protests, and unusual restrictions—from filming to buying beer—while not missing the action on the pitch. “It feels,” says one journalist, “like a country that’s being unboxed for a World Cup.”

Who gets to decide what’s in a child’s best interest?

That’s the question at the heart of a case – Brackeen v. Haaland – that’s now before the Supreme Court. The case is rooted in the federal government’s efforts in the late 1800s to place hundreds of Native children into private facilities with the partial goal of assimilating them into white culture.

Teen viewpoint

In a Decoder Dialogue webinar, News Decoder gathered five teens from four continents to share their thoughts and experiences around mental health.

Sisters of Mercy

In 2015, the six remaining Sisters of Mercy congregations were well on their way to merging into one, and it was becoming obvious that the structure of the sisters’ 55 schools in six countries needed to change, as well. NCR reports on choices made and directions set.

And also . . .

Support Wisdom Wednesday

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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