Welcome to Wisdom Wednesday and a Happy Rosh Hashanah to those observing the High Holy Days. Hindus also are observing a multi-day festival, which began Monday – the first day of Fall.
A salute this week goes to U.S. Catholic for taking up views of vaccinations and Catholic teaching. “We struggled over how to publish the results of this survey—or whether to publish them at all.” Don’t miss the story.
What to make of Charlie Kirk? Analysis and opinion come from Baptist News Global, including, “As G.K. Chesterton reminds us, ‘The Bible tells us to love our neighbors, and also to love our enemies; probably because generally they are the same people.’”
Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur
Happy Rosh Hashanah or happy new year are both appropriate greetings if you are talking to Jewish friends, family, co-workers, or classmates around the holiday, according to an article in the Detroit Free Press. You can also say “Shanah tovah,” which means good year in Hebrew.
For many US Jews, the High Holy Days will be a mix of anxiety and determination, according to a report from Religion News Service. The High Holy Days began this year on Sept. 22 with Rosh Hashana — the Jewish New Year — and continue through Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, which ends at nightfall on Oct. 2.
Hindu festival
Monday (Sept. 22) marked the start of Navaratri, a vibrant, nine-night Hindu festival dedicated to the Divine Feminine in all her forms. Religion News Service reports that Hindus dedicate rituals to the goddess Durga — the “Mother Goddess” who embodies the feminine energy known as Shakti — in recognition of her victorious nine-day battle against the buffalo demon, Mahishasura.
The vernal equinox
Three things to know about the vernal equinox, from PBS.
Justice Bulletin Board
Recognizing a Palestinian state
The United Kingdom, Australia and Canada have issued a coordinated initiative reflecting growing outrage at Israel’s conduct of the war in Gaza and the steps taken by the Israeli government to thwart efforts to create a Palestinian state. From Religion News Service.
Vaccination
From U.S. Catholic: “We struggled over how to publish the results of this survey—or whether to publish them at all. We debated whether sharing them might give oxygen to misinformation and false narratives about vaccine efficacy and Catholic teaching about vaccines. But, ultimately, we decided that this is an important snapshot of the current conversation and that the truth is not served by ignoring or burying the results.”
The hierarchy of truths
Do Catholics have to believe in Marian apparitions, Eucharistic miracles, or the Shroud of Turin? Or practice devotions like wearing the brown scapular or various miraculous medals? While these practices are popularly associated with Catholicism, U.S. Catholic reports some might be surprised to find that they are not essential to the faith.
OPINION: Why Trump proudly hates his enemies
Sunday’s memorial for the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk certainly was an interesting spectacle. The five-hour event in Glendale, Ariz., attended by thousands of supporters spread across two arenas, was hardly a somber funeral so much as a combined tent revival and political rally.
Charlie Kirk’s ‘resurrection’
Recent AI-generated content of Charlie Kirk is found on social media. A video clip, which has gone viral online, is a cloned version of Kirk’s voice delivering what appeared to be what Kirk would say in the wake of his own death.
Pope Leo
Pope Leo talks Trump, sex abuse scandals, LGBTQ+ welcome and China in his first interview. Three items from the Associated Press.
Leo embraced Pope Francis’ message for LGBTQ+ Catholics that “todos, todos, todos” are welcome in the Catholic Church but said that he found “it highly unlikely” the church’s core doctrine about sexuality would change anytime soon.
100 days of Pope Leo XIV: A calm papacy that avoids polemics is coming into focus
Pope Leo XIV publicly acknowledges African roots. The comments came in July during an interview with Elise Ann Allen, released this week alongside a Spanish edition of her new biography of Leo. From Black Catholic Messenger.
Advocate for Ukraine
Bartholomew I, the ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople and one of Orthodox Christianity’s most influential leaders, has begun a nearly two-week apostolic visit to the United States that included a meeting with President Donald Trump. From Religion News Service.
Feature: A group of Catholic sisters disappears
Filmmaker Morgan Atkinson’s latest film, “In the Company of Change,” is both a tribute to an Ursuline sister who died in 2023 at age 92, and an exploration of the societal and ecclesial shifts that reshaped Catholic religious life in America over the past 75 years. The one-hour documentary premiered Sept. 14 on PBS Kentucky. From Religion News Service.
Sagrada Familia
After well over a century under construction, Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia basilica is ready to raise its immense central tower and become the tallest Christian church in Europe. The basilica’s General Director Xavier Martínez said last Thursday that “the tower will be finished at the end of this year or the beginning of 2026.” From Religion News Service.
Baptist author takes on the Department of War
Regarding Bible quotations on social media: “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.
Focus on the Family kids
For some Dobson kids, focusing on the family led to estrangement. Amber Cantorna-Wylde, now 40, claims it was James Dobson’s teachings on family that tore her own apart. After she came out as gay, her parents stopped speaking with her — a decision she says resulted from Dobson-approved parenting advice. Reaction to Dobson’s death, from ABC News, the AP and Religion News Service.
Cathedral mural honors immigrants
A 25-foot mural at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan, unveiled last week and blessed during Sunday Mass (Sept. 21), honors generations of immigrants to New York, taking on a new meaning in today’s political climate. The mural, “What’s So Funny About Peace, Love and Understanding,” was two years in the making and spans the three-wall entrance of the 146-year-old cathedral.
Mexican churches mark quake anniversary
There is no official consensus on the overall death toll from the 1985 and 2017 earthquakes. Some estimates put the total figure at more than 12,000, but the real number remains unknown. From Religion News Service.
Golden Trump statues
Are they idols or sculptures? Baptist News Global comments that they’re undoubtedly part of the bizarre meme culture that has come to permeate so much of modern politics.
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