Welcome to Wisdom Wednesday. We would begin with Pope Leo’s week of putting refugees and migration in the spotlight, but there is no getting away from yesterday’s anniversary of the Hamas massacre, October 7, 2023. Some food for thought today, from a panel on the impact of the death penalty: “I didn’t get the closure people think comes with an execution. After [her mother’s killer] was executed, nothing in my life changed.” A report from Jordan finds a change in Christian thinking, from pro-Israel to justice for all. And we have a review of the book, “Why Christians should be Leftists.”
October 7
The Hamas attack on Israel two years ago “was inhuman and indefensible,” the Vatican secretary of state said. . . . But “it is unacceptable and unjustifiable to reduce human beings to mere ‘collateral damage’” in Israel’s stated goal of destroying Hamas, said Cardinal Pietro Parolin. From NCR Online.
The 2023 Hamas massacre and ensuing war have changed the way many young Jewish Israelis feel about their religious and spiritual lives, according to a new study by researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. From Religion News Service.
In the heart of Muslim-majority Jordan, Religion News Service finds a remarkable shift is taking place in global Christianity. For decades, evangelical Christians in Jordan maintained a staunchly pro-Israel and, recently, pro-war outlook. Recent developments, however, show the rest of the evangelical world moving away from a politically centered theology toward one rooted in Christ’s teachings of justice, mercy and the need to spare all lives made in God’s image.
Migrant issues
Migrants and advocates increasingly find a champion in Pope Leo amid the polarization of opinion, according to the National Catholic Reporter. With a Mass for the Jubilee of Migrants, the pope rounded out a week that put migration in the spotlight. Refugees must not be met with “the coldness of indifference or the stigma of discrimination” upon reaching new lands in pursuit of a better life.
At the Vatican’s Jubilees of the Missions and of Migrants, Latino Catholics ask for dignity, visibility and hope. The report, from Religion News Service.
The Trump administration now faces litigation to block its new $100,000 fee on employer-sponsored nonimmigrant visas. Baptist News Global reports Democracy Forward announced the lawsuit was filed Oct. 3 by a coalition of health care providers, labor unions, religious organizations and schools against President Donald Trump’s charge on all new H-1B visa applications.
The Trump administration deported more than a hundred Iranians held in ICE custody on a flight that touched down in Tehran on Sept. 29, according to Religion News Service. Among them, Christian converts and other religious minorities fear harsh penalties for their religious beliefs upon return to the Islamic Republic, advocates warned.
At least 300 students at Northwestern University were barred from registering for classes this month after refusing to watch a video about antisemitism that protesters say ignores Palestinian perspectives and “ostracizes anti-Zionist Jews.” From the Christian Century.
Pope Leo’s first apostolic exhortation
Pope Leo XIV on Oct. 4 signed the first apostolic exhortation of his pontificate, “Dilexi Te” (“I Have Loved You”), in the library of the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican Oct. 4, the feast of St. Francis of Assisi. The exhortation will be released Oct. 9
Pope Leo on Laudato Si’
Pope Leo’s comments on the tenth anniversary of Laudato Si’ are available at a Facebook reel, provided by the AUSCP Care for Creation working group.
Solidarity
It is not a feeling of vague compassion or shallow distress at the misfortunes of so many people, both near and far, writes Barbara Molinari Quinby, quoting the document On Social Concern. “It is a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good; that is to say, to the good of all and of each individual, because we are all really responsible for all.” See this week’s Justice Bulletin Board.
Sarah Mullally first female Archbishop of Canterbury
National Catholic Reporter says Mullally, 63, a former chief nursing officer for England, will face serious challenges including divisions over the treatment of women and LGBTQ people. She will also have to confront concerns that church leaders haven’t done enough to stamp out the sexual abuse scandals that have dogged the church for more than a decade.
At the U.S. Supreme Court
Baptist News Global reports on three cases to watch: The Colorado ban on gay conversion therapy, advertising by a crisis pregnancy clinic in New Jersey, and a Rastafarian prisoner’s hair. Damon Landor is a practicing Rastafarian who had grown his hair for nearly 20 years. Nearing the end of a five-month prison sentence, a warden had him restrained and his hair shaved off.
Threats against free speech
A new statement from the National Association of Black Catholic Administrators is calling for introspection and truth-telling amid the national fallout after the shooting death of Republican activist Charlie Kirk. Black Catholic Messenger reports that the NABCA president says the tragic shooting has led to threats against free speech—especially that of African Americans.
From Today’s American Catholic
“Our conversation turned to the differences in tenor between Francis’s pontificate and Leo’s,” writes editor Michael Centore. “Francis, we observed, was about creating a culture of synodality, where all are welcome to voice their concerns in a spirit of parrhesia, or openness. Leo’s approach, so far, seems to be one of consolidating this culture—and with it, the reforms of Vatican II that are still contested in some corners of the church.”
Book Review ‘Why Christians Should Be Leftists’
“It’s easy to find dozens, if not hundreds, of books arguing for conservative or right-wing understandings of Christianity. It is much rarer to see a writer attempt to argue for Christianity from the other side.” FROM NCR Online.
Book Review ‘Cowboy Apocalypse’
A writer at the Christian Century examines “Religion and the Myth of the Vigilante Messiah: The self-appointed cowboy messiah.” Rachel Wagner traces the way frontier fantasies and apocalyptic faith fuel today’s gun-obsessed culture.
OPINION ‘Time to leave rapture theology behind’
“The rapture . . . is no laughing matter — not because it’s likely to ever come through for its prognosticators, but because even in its unreality it has serious real-world consequences. Rapture theology is racist theology. It upholds some of the worst injustices of human history. It’s time we left it behind.” From Religion News Service.
OPINION From Michael Sean Winters
When Trump spoke to the generals, their silence spoke volumes. From National Catholic Reporter. “It was difficult to watch the spectacle in Quantico, but I came away heartened by the stone-faced reaction of the generals and admirals.”
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs sentenced
“I don’t want to let God down,” said Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, as reported by Black Catholic Messenger. “I have no one to blame but myself. I know I will never put my hands on another person again. I’m willing to comply with any conditions. Me sharing my story, it’s not a scheme to get less time. This story is tragic.”
Panelists: No relief after killer’s execution
One panelist, who was 7 when her mother was killed, said she now understands the true source of her anguish was a criminal justice system willing to spend millions on executions while ignoring the needs of crime victims. From Baptist News Global.
Affordable housing
Churches in Wisconsin are now eligible for property redevelopment grants from a program organizers hope will spread to other states. The Good Next Step Grant Program provides congregations with awards of up to $40,000 to create affordable housing or a mix of housing and community gathering spaces on existing parcels. The report from Baptist News Global.
A ‘rainwater repository’
Another item from the AUSCP Care for Creation working group. New Orleans developers wanted the sisters’ land. Instead, the sisters are turning it into a rainwater repository. “They’re very excited to see something good and worthwhile with our property, just like when they lived there.” A Global Sisters Report.
Last Latin Mass at parish
North Carolina Catholic parishioners are hoping and praying for return of their cherished liturgy. National Catholic Register offers a sympathetic account.
World record for Sagrada Familia
The National Catholic Reporter says Spain’s Tower of Jesus Christ will make Sagrada Familia the world’s tallest Catholic church.
Taxing churches in Jerusalem
The property tax known as the “Arnona” tax has become one of the most contentious issues between the city and the churches. Under Israeli law, a municipal levy is imposed on all properties within city and local council boundaries, regardless of type, and its calculations are based on square meters and the use of the property. From Catholic News Agency.
From Pew Research
Americans increasingly see legal sports betting as a bad thing for society and sports. Today, 43% of U.S. adults say the fact that sports betting is now legal in much of the country is a bad thing for society, up from 34% in 2022. And 40% of adults say it’s a bad thing for sports, up from 33%.
By a wide margin, Americans say football – not baseball – is ‘America’s sport.’
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