Welcome to Wisdom Wednesday for October 9, with reports on the grim anniversary two days ago – and an invitation to a Zoom celebration of a “Mass of Lamentation” today for all the victims of the violence in Gaza and Israel. We also have Synod information, U.S. political news and views, and survey news of Catholic views of women priests.
Mass of Lamentation
Invitation: Join Pax Christi USA and the AUSCP for an online Mass of Lamentation for all the victims of the violence in Gaza and Israel since October 7, 2023. Join the online celebration of the Mass on Wednesday, October 9, at 8 p.m. ET, 5 p.m. PT.
REGISTER on Zoom, or at the Pax Christi USA website.
October 7 anniversary
Nearly every synagogue, school and Jewish Community Center across the United States held memorial and commemoration gatherings, as reported by Religion News Service. Israelis observed a moment of silence amid the ongoing war, and Pope Francis said “those who cause war ‘will be subject to the inflexible judgment of God.’”
Israel-Hamas
OPINION: There are three steps faith leaders must take. We need faith leaders to find their moral voice and the courage of ancient prophets: Stop acting like lawyers, Denounce the horrors perpetrated upon women, recognize that the taking of hostages is a grievous sin.
SURVEY: Pew Research finds a slight uptick in Americans wanting U.S. to help diplomatically resolve Israel-Hamas war. A year into the Israel-Hamas war, 61% of Americans say the U.S. should help diplomatically resolve the conflict, though more want the country to play a minor role than a major one. Republicans remain more likely than Democrats to say the U.S. should not play any role in negotiations, but views have shifted in both parties since last year.
Synod on Synodality
ROLE OF WOMEN: Crux reports some synod members lament the focus on “niche issues” like women’s role, while a coalition of progressive reform groups consider the handling of questions about the role of women at the Synod is”catastrophic.” They plan to protest.
AUSCP AT THE SYNOD Leadership chair Rev. Michael Hicken and leadership team member Svea Fraser went to Rome as pilgrims with Discerning Deacons. Their reports are on the AUSCP Website.
DISCERNING DEACONS Women aspire to diaconate. A day after the Vatican’s doctrinal leader said the church must continue studying whether it can allow women to serve as deacons, the group carried on with its public prayer calling for expanded ministry roles for women in the church.
CARDINAL OUELLET “The church is experiencing a moment of listening to the Holy Spirit,” Cardinal Marc Ouellet said referring to the Synod on Synodality. Considered to be among the most influential prelates during the last three pontificates, Cardinal Ouellet has taken a step back from the limelight after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 80. In his new book, he challenges the church to worry less about creating something new, and more about treasuring what is already there.
SYNOD HARMONY Michael Centore, editor of Today’s American Catholic (and who has reported extensively on assemblies of the AUSCP), offers daily reports from Rome. Here’s a sample from October 8, on the Harmony of the Whole.
Pope announces 21 new cardinals
Pope Francis on Oct. 6 announced that he will create 21 new cardinals, giving the 87-year old pontiff another opportunity to further cement his legacy by now naming 80% of the men who will one day elect his successor. Christopher White writes for the National Catholic Reporter about what the picks mean for the next pope, and a column from the National Catholic Register offers an analysis with “six angles for understanding the who and the why of the selections.”
Survey finds favor for women priests
COLUMN by Jesuit Thomas Reese. “The recent Pew Research Center survey of Latin American Catholics, however, was a great surprise in that it showed there is more support in Latin America for women priests than for married priests.” The survey also found Catholics wanting birth control to be allowed.
Immigration survey and data
AT THE BORDER
Migrant encounters at U.S.-Mexico border have fallen sharply in 2024, according to Pew Research. After reaching a record high at the end of 2023, the monthly number of U.S. Border Patrol encounters with migrants crossing into the United States from Mexico has plummeted so far in 2024. The share of immigrants varies widely among states, from 2% in West Virginia to 27% in California. In 2022, Mexican immigrants were the largest group in 29 states, while Indian immigrants were the largest group in six states.
IN THE USA: IMMIGRATION PATTERNS
Analysis of Pew Research demonstrates how the origins of America’s immigrants have changed since 1850.
Election Section
The National Catholic Reporter identifies Catholic-led groups that are supporting Donald Trump in the 2024 election, in the first of a two-apart series. Part 2 will explore groups supporting Vice President Kamala Harris.
Black Pentecostal and charismatic Christians are boosting their visibility in politics − a shift from the past, according to “The Conversation” from Religion News Service. Historically, Black Pentecostal-charismatic churches have not put an emphasis on political issues. That may be changing, a scholar of Black Christianity explains.
Kamala Harris faces 60 Minutes grilling over economic plans and whether Netanyahu is an ‘ally.’ In a wide-ranging interview with CBS’s 60 Minutes, the vice-president was questioned on where her political positions had shifted
A slew of falsehoods about Hurricane Helene, including claims of funds diverted from storm survivors to migrants and even that Democrats somehow directed the hurricane itself, have hampered the response to one of the deadliest hurricanes to ever hit the US. The nation’s top emergency official says ‘dangerous’ Trump falsehoods are hampering Helene response and shrouded recovery efforts.
OPINION Why has Melania Trump come out as pro-choice? Writer Zoe Williams in the guardian says it seems obvious to her.
ANALYSIS The Christian Science Monitor looks into the big legal development in the Jan. 6 case against Trump. Why now?
OPINION Playing to the crowds. J. D. Vance’s lies about Haitian immigrants reveal his willingness to trade his dignity for attention. Writer Peter W. Marty in the Christian Century says “nothing seems to boil the blood of Jesus quite like the behavior of hypocrites.”
Vatican news
Four trans Catholic women call their meeting with Pope Francis a step toward healing and inclusion.
Married Vatican employees in job jeopardy? Since the “Romeo and Juliet” case come to light, it’s generated backlash and protest among people who believe the Catholic Church ought to be doing everything it can to support marriage, not to discourage it. Among those objecting is the Association of Lay Employees, the closest thing in the Vatican to a labor union.
Pope to Jesuits: Roles for women in the Vatican are changing. La Civiltà Cattolica publishes the full text of Pope Francis’ encounter with 150 Jesuit confreres from Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands at the Collège Saint-Michel in Brussels. During the meeting, the Pope addressed the role of women in the Church, encouraged Jesuits “not to be afraid of anything,” and reiterated the call to welcome and integrate migrants.
Essays and Publications
Is Pope Francis a ‘liberal’? That depends on whether we’re speaking Catholic, says John Allen in Crux.
New Woodward book reveals candid behind-the-scenes conversations of Biden, Trump, Harris and Putin. Caution: Readers may find blunt language vulgar, offensive.
On the deaths of children. Wendell Berry offers this grim analysis: “We have become a society of people who cannot prevent our own children from being killed in their classrooms—and who do not much mind the killing of other people’s children by weapons of war.”
Blessing of pets
Many people celebrated the Feast of St. Francis with their pets. At St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Concord, New Hampshire, the Rev. Jean Beniste, a Haitian immigrant and Episcopal priest turned internet curses into blessings – unlike any such day in the past. “Bring your pets to church,” he said. “I am not going to eat them … I will bless them.”
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