Welcome to Wisdom Wednesday! Many columns and opinion pieces are included in this week’s offerings, but we begin with this one. “It is time to prioritize children over guns” from Thomas Reese. All opinions, commentaries and essays are written from the writer’s point of view and in no way are these views endorsed by the AUSCP. Some sober topics and also happy reading.
Gun violence
At Religion News Service, Jesuit Tom Reese writes, “It is time for religious leaders to call down the wrath of God on those who are willing to sacrifice children for guns and war.”
Trump Administration and Religious Concerns
“The president who famously said he’s never prayed to ask for God’s forgiveness claimed Sept. 8 he’s going to reinstitute prayer in public schools — a practice outlawed by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1962.” A history clip from C-span, and the complete news report from Baptist News Global.
OPINION Writing for Baptist News Global, Will McCorkle writes about some veterans who “believe it is their unique voice and responsibility to tell the National Guard troops to remember their oath and not fall to the whims of a tyrant. They let them know that they are not to follow unlawful orders.”
Opinion writer Grady L. Throneberry, in Baptist News Global, says words matter. “Renaming the Department of Defense to the Department of War signals a subtle, but definite, change in U.S. posture toward the rest of the world.” He concludes, Under Trump, the U.S. is no longer the peacemaker, the diplomatic voice of reason or the carrot; he wants us to be . . . .”
The Trump administration may resume using Florida’s secluded “Alligator Alcatraz” detention center while litigation against the facility proceeds, a federal appeals court ruled 2-1. Baptist News Global reports on the Sept. 4 decision.
The nation’s immigrant population has declined significantly since President Donald Trump took office in January, new research shows. Baptist News Global reports the trend is likely to continue since the Trump administration announced plans to expand its military presence and immigration raids.
News Topics
At NatCon, Religion News Service finds “an effort to make Christian nationalism a more inclusive movement. Speakers and organizers alike worked to craft a vision for a Christian America that steers clear of anti-Catholicism and, especially, antisemitism.
On Friday, Corey Mills, 45, will attend a hearing in Florida on charges that he has threatened his former girlfriend, Lindsey Langston, 25, the reigning Miss United States, with revenge porn. From Baptist News Global, which also lists groups that have endorsed or supported him.
New saints
The canonizations of Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati have drawn a wave of pilgrims to their hometowns, an hour apart by high-speed train in northern Italy. Milan and Turin offer fans a chance to follow in their footsteps, discovering the places where they studied, prayed and served the poor. From National Catholic Register.
Leading up to the canonization a Chicago parish’s ‘Carlo Fest’ began a celebration. From National Catholic Reporter.
Catholic Church in the United States
Michael Sean Winters, writing for National Catholic Reporter, says the “Badly divided US bishops’ conference needs unifying leadership.
Just like their flock, priests are deeply divided politically, based on their campaign contributions. The story from National Catholic Reporter.
Opinions and Essays
Greg Garrett, a senior columnist for Baptist News Global, says he has no money or power, but he has “Feet that walk, hands that can hold a posterboard, and a voice to chant or sing or pray.”
Kyle Worley, a Texas pastor, says “Sports betting has become too prevalent for Christians to ignore.” Daniel Silliman seeks to uncover “the spiritual longing hiding in America’s obsession with betting.” From Christianity Today.
Justice advocate Tamika Royes, on Reparations, reconciliation, and restoration. Will the new social justice pope address the cries of Black Catholics? Writing in Black Catholic Messenger, Royes probes the enduring call for a pontiff who will finally move in the name of justice and recompense for African-Americans.
Counseling needs to be prioritized. In the African context, Sister Rfanyu proposed a synodal model of counseling that synthesizes insights on healing and synodality and offers practical pathways for implementation. From the National Catholic Register.
The stakes of Obergefell aren’t abstract. Hanging in the balance are the basic rights of living, breathing, beloved people. The opinion piece cites the county clerk in Kentucky: “Kim Davis has consistently cited her Christian belief as motivation. The high view of marriage held by Davis—who conceived twins with the man who would become her third husband while still married to her first—is apparently incompatible with same-sex unions.”
In a 2004 essay, Cardinal Avery Dulles wrote “Groups of priests still protest that they are not accorded the basic requirements of due process. … ” In June 2025 the AUSCP membership approved the document “Ensuring Justice for All Priests: A Discussion of Priests’ Rights and Due Process and a Proposed Step Toward Restoring Justice.” NCR’s Ryan DiCorpo reported on this document in the June 27, 2025 edition. AUSCP member Fr. Alexander Santora also cites the document in The Catholic Church’s abuse scandal is a tragedy. Some priests are victims, too | (Opinion: Special to the USA TODAY Network, 8/28/25)
Calendar events
In 2025, the “immortal” Henrietta Lacks is still receiving her due, says Nate Tinner-Williams in Black Catholic Messenger. An October event in Maryland will help cement her remembrance in Maryland medicine—and begin a new chapter of family advocacy.
Judaism 101. The Jewish month of Elul is here. This period of the calendar is traditionally a time for reflection, renewal, and return. Elul is the sixth month in the Jewish calendar. A time of prayer and introspection, it is the prelude to the High Holidays: Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Selichot begins at midnight September 13/14. From the website, jewfaq.org.
AUSCP member Bob Cushing passes along an invitation from Father John Dear. “Join me on Saturday, Sept. 27th, when I welcome Dr. Ken Butigan to lead us in a refresher course on active nonviolence that we might go forward in hope to follow the nonviolent Jesus!” Register here.
Michael Centore, editor of Today’s American Catholic, offers a collection of items regarding non-violence. “There have been many impassioned reflections in the wake of the tragic shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis on August 27. I might refer the reader to Tom Reese’s column for the Religion News Service, Matthew Shadle’s latest entry on his Substack, Window Light, Paul Chu on “the pandemic of arms” in Where Peter Is, or Sr. Mary Ann Flannery’s blog post drawing on her forty years as an educator to offer a careful, compressed take on the relationship between thought, prayer, and action.
Justice Bulletin Board
Barbara Molinari Quinby writes, “Every one of us, at some point in our lives, will be the sad witnesses to journey with someone in their dying. For me recently, this passage was my beloved husband of 53 years, who crossed over on August 6, 2025.”
Care for Creation
Early in the misty morning on August 14, the rain-slick streets of downtown Atlanta were filled with nearly 500 Catholic sisters speaking in hushed tones. The sisters embarked on a “pilgrimage of hope” to support immigrants and the environment.
The AUSCP Care for Creation Working Group invites you to sign up for a webinar on Tuesday, September 16, Noon to 1 p.m. EDT, 11 a.m. to Noon p.m. CDT, 10 to 11 a.m. MDT, 9 to 10 a.m. PDT. The online meeting will focus on Pilgrims of Hope for Creation. You will hear an overview of this creation care initiative, inspiring stories from pilgrimages across the United States, and why hundreds of Catholics are joining this effort. This is a great opportunity to learn how others planned a creation care pilgrimage and consider planning one in your community or joining an already scheduled pilgrimage! Register now.
Take a ‘treeish’ point of view on this year’s Season of Creation, says a guest writer at NCR. In his message for this year’s Season of Creation, Pope Leo XIV notes that the theme, “Seeds of Peace and Hope” — chosen by Pope Francis before his death in late April — “appears most timely.”
Documentary: ‘Bread Not Stones’
A new hour-long documentary has been released showcasing the value and richness of the traditional Roman rite in the Diocese of Charlotte, whose local bishop plans to suppress it next month. Interviews are featured with priests and parishioners who discuss their love for the traditional Latin Mass. Not the typical viewpoint at Wisdom Wednesday, from National Catholic Register.
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