Wisdom Wednesday this week finds many items – but no sense of unity – about the killing of Charlie Kirk and political violence. Pope Leo gets a lot of press this week, including a report on his first formal interview and his unusual formal papal portrait. We have a wide range of views and opinions this week, but we are drawn first to an opinion piece by Jesuit Tom Reese: It is time to prioritize children over guns.
Children or guns?
OPINION Thomas Reese: “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.” From Religion News Service.
Uneven response of faith leaders to killing of Charlie Kirk
Southern Baptist Convention leaders released a “Statement of Lament and a Call for Justice” Sept. 13 in response to the assassination of far-right political advocate Charlie Kirk. From Baptist News Global.
OPINION Bishop Robert Barron praises late far-right activist Charlie Kirk. “The Trump-aligned prelate called the young influencer a man of ‘considerable charm’ and ‘goodness of heart’ despite his racist and violent views. From Black Catholic Messenger.
OPINION Also for Black Catholic Messenger, Tulio Huggins examines the death of Charlie Kirk and the importance of measured responses, in light of the late activist’s immoral public persona. “However, what isn’t so praiseworthy is whitewashing Kirk, as did Bishop Robert Barron this week. To call Kirk ‘a kind of apostle of civil discourse’ and paint him as Christlike is ridiculous and not based in reality.”
OPINION A Christian group with ties to the Trump administration referred to Kirk as “a modern-day MLK.” “As a student of King’s political philosophy, I find such a comparison both abhorrent and nonsensical.” From Baptist News Global.
Even before Charlie Kirk’s murder in Utah, which has led conservatives to declare war on “the left” as the source of all the nation’s problems, evangelical leaders were blaming transgender people as the source of evil. From Baptist News Global.
The ‘Kirk effect.’ Mass attendance is up at various colleges in wake of Charlie Kirk assassination, according to the National Catholic Register. Matt Zerrusen, co-founder of Newman Ministry, a Catholic nonprofit that operates on about 250 campuses nationwide, stated “I have not talked to anyone who has not seen an increase in Mass attendance . . . . Some schools are reporting increases of 15%.”
Pope Leo XIV
Pope Leo XIV decried economic inequality between rank-and-file workers and corporate titans, according to transcripts from his first formal interview with a journalist since ascending to the papacy. From National Catholic Reporter.
OPINION Jim McDermott, for National Catholic Reporter, says the pope’s official portrait “breaks conventions.” “. . . unlike his peers, Leo looks directly at us. And that single difference creates an immediate emotional impact. There is no sense of distance here. Leo seems to be right in front of us in the present moment.”
Text: Pope Leo’s homily for the canonization Mass for Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati. Provided by the National Catholic Reporter.
Surveys and statistics
More than 8 in 10 U.S. Catholics view Pope Leo favorably, according to Pew Research. Overall, 84% of U.S. Catholics have a positive view of Pope Leo XIV, though most also say they know little or nothing about him. And while a third of Catholics predict Leo’s leadership of the church will be similar to that of his predecessor, Pope Francis, a much larger share aren’t sure.
Most U.S. Catholics say they want the Church to be ‘More Inclusive.’ But there are large divides between Catholics who attend Mass weekly, and those who don’t, in what they want from the church. Also reported: Most U.S. Catholics say the church should allow women to become deacons (68%), should allow priests to marry (63%), and should allow women to become priests (59%).
Catholics, faith leaders rally around Muslim chaplain targeted by ICE
“I think our whole sense of human dignity and the individual rights, human rights, enter into this,” said Franciscan Fr. Al Hirt, a parish pastor in Cincinnati and a member of the AUSCP. According to the National Catholic Reporter, when U.S. immigration authorities detained Imam Ayman Soliman at a routine check-in July 9, the outcry was swift. Known as the “interfaith imam” Soliman’s case has inspired hundreds to protest, pray and plead for his release.
Humanitarian work in post-USAID world
“Whatever the issue is, when people of goodwill and people of faith understand the needs around the world, they have always stepped up,” said Edgar Sandoval, CEO of World Vision, in a recent interview with Religion News Service.
At NatCon, a confusing resurgence of anti-Muslim sentiment
NatCon’s negative focus on Islam makes for a potential preview of what conservatives will be concerned with in the next year. From Religion News Service.
Department of War misquotes Bible
Videos praising the military while quoting the Bible have flooded the former Department of Defense’s social media accounts over the past few weeks. “Those verses were not about the United States military,” said Brian Kaylor, a Baptist minister and author. “They weren’t really even about any imperial military force, and quite the opposite.” From. Religion News Service.
Relic stolen
A relic of Carlo Acutis, who was declared the Catholic Church’s first millennial saint last week, was stolen from a parish in western Venezuela. The relic, which was housed in a glass reliquary, disappeared just two days after Pope Leo XIV declared Acutis a saint. From the Associated Press.
Too many pilgrims at Santiago
Pilgrims have turned Spain’s Santiago de Compostela into the world’s latest overtourism flashpoint, according to the Associated Press. Last year, a record half-million people signed up to trek one of the approved routes to the cathedral — equal to five times the city’s resident population.
Documentary: The Revival Generation
“The Revival Generation: Gen Z Turning to Jesus” premiered at the Kennedy Center. Abigail Robertson, granddaughter of televangelist Pat Robertson and producer of the film, took the stage to praise God for the Christian revivals taking place around the globe. The documentary covers the UniteUS revivals taking place across US colleges, according to Religion News Service.
Seinfeld condemned for comparing Free Palestine with the KKK
“I condemn Seinfeld’s horrific comments, which I’ve made clear to his team and to the event sponsors,” said Sophia Chitlik, a Democratic North Carolina state senator who shared the stage at Duke University. The story was reported by the student newspaper and the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
Newsom urged to eliminate death penalty in California
Death Penalty abolitionist Sister Helen Prejean challenged California Gov. Gavin Newsom to eliminate capital punishment in the state once and for all. “Commute all the sentences on Death Row so that they will never be in danger of death again, and we the people will stand behind you,” she said, as reported by Baptist News Global.
Faith communities unite to fight hunger
Congregations across cultural and theological lines must see hunger as an affront to justice and unite in the struggle to eradicate food insecurity, according to a new campaign launched by Church World Service and reported by Baptist News Global.
Trump says he’s bringing back prayer to schools
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. From Baptist News Global.
Book Review Fire on the Altar
With an Augustinian pope in the Vatican, curiosity about Saint Augustine is heating up — making the recent release of Fire on the Altar: Setting Our Souls Ablaze through St. Augustine’s Confessions, a new guide to his Confessions, especially timely. From the National Catholic Register.
Vatican to single mothers: Confess, then receive Communion
The prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith wrote a letter in response to an email he received from a Latin American bishop, noting that Pope Francis had also received several letters from laypeople on the same topic. From the National Catholic Register.
Benedict XVI’s Theology
Speaking to EWTN News, Professor Chad Pecknold reflects on the life and legacy of Benedict XVI. He sums up his theology at the end of his life by saying, “Jesus, I love you.” From the National Catholic Register.
Work of Mercy
In Boston, friars provide funerals for those who died with no known family. The story, from the National Catholic Reporter.
3000 drones light up the Vatican
St. Peter’s Square became the stage for an unprecedented spectacle on Saturday night, as tens of thousands gathered for Grace for the World, a massive concert closing the third World Meeting on Human Fraternity. Story and spectacular images from the National Catholic Register.
Justice Bulletin Board
See the item for this week. From Barbara Molinary Quinby.
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