Wisdom Wednesday | September 3rd

While many school leaders have become resigned to the necessity of preparing for potential school shootings, it was shocking to learn of an attack while students were gathered for worship. Welcome to Wisdom Wednesday, as faith leaders ponder what steps to take to secure safety in schools and churches. Elsewhere today, a wide range of thought-pieces, some provocative, all identified and owned by the writers and publishers.

The Annunciation Church shooting

Pope Leo Prays for Minneapolis School Shooting Victims and laments the “pandemic of arms” that has left many children dead or injured. The National Catholic Register reports the pope turned to Mary, the Queen of Peace, to ask for her intercession.

The National Catholic Reporter offers updated coverage on the church shooting and its aftermath.

Religion News Service examines the planning to add safety drills In churches as well as schools. After Annunciation shooting, Catholic schools pray, prepare drills in sanctuaries

The Associated Press reports the videos and writings of the shooter “expressed hate towards almost every group imaginable.”

The Black Catholic Messenger reports that Archbishop Shelton Fabre, chair of the U.S. bishops’ domestic justice committee, called the attack “senseless” and requested prayers for the grieving.

Faith matters regarding Trump administration

The mass deportation efforts of the Trump administration have brought another level of violence into the schools of Washington D.C. Religion News Service reports what happens in the nation’s capital will have repercussions for the whole country.

As U.S support for the death penalty reaches new lows, President Donald Trump wants to make capital punishment the norm in the nation’s capital. A report from Baptist News Global.

Warnings escalate about Trump and RFK Jr.’s threat to public health. Also from Baptist News Global.

OPINION Phyllis Zagano writes at Religion News Service: Trump’s assault on art and culture is only outdone by his debasement of his fellow humans.

‘Alligator Alcatraz’ appears headed for closure. A report from Baptist News Global.

DC Churches to Trump: Stay Out of Our Parking Lots. Ministers protest the presence of federal officers scaring people away from houses of worship. From Christianity Today.

DHS is using the Bible to promote ICE, claiming a ‘righteous’ fight against immigrants. The agency refers to Scripture as it seeks to recruit agents who are pivotal in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. From Religion News Service.

Trump and the after-life

President Trump says he wants to enter heaven, writes Jesuit Father James Martin. “As a Catholic priest, I take that seriously.” His open letter was published in America magazine August 28, and more recently shared with permission in Today’s American Catholic.

Pope Leo XIV

Pope Leo embraces Francis’ legacy on LGBTQ+ Catholics, Fr. James Martin says, in this report from National Catholic Reporter.

Pope Leo XIV has been named to Time magazine’s “Time 100 AI” list for 2025, recognized as one of the world’s top “thinkers” shaping how humanity confronts artificial intelligence. Also from National Catholic Reporter.

19th-century Catholic teaching, 21st-century tech: How concerns about AI guided Pope Leo’s choice of name. From National Catholic Reporter.

Pope Leo XIV is expected to bring Augustinian friars with him when he moves into the papal apartment of the Apostolic Palace in the autumn, the Italian daily La Repubblica reported. The decision reflects his determination to preserve the communal life of his religious order even after his election to the papacy. From National Catholic Reporter.

Essays and Conversations

‘The current liturgy in English is terrible’ That’s the opinion of Jesuit Father Tom Reese – and it was the opinion of many of the founders of the Association of U.S. Catholic Priests. In his recent column published by Religion News Service, Reese says the people of God deserve better than what they are hearing in church today.

Christian Nationalism or National Christianity As they work to limit belonging to (White) Christians, Christian nationalists are also hard at work carving up Christian belonging into discrete national (and racial) types. According to this view of things, one is never simply a Christian but is instead an American Christian, or a Palestinian Christian, or a Mexican Christian—and those national differences outrank whatever unity we might have in Christ. From the Christian Century.

A new iteration of White supremacy A growing international network of fitness-focused clubs for men is the newest iteration of the white supremacy movement. A Religion Hub feature from Religion News Service.

Today’s American Catholic offers this observation. Through all the panel discussions on CNN, MSNBC, and other media outlets, through the many thousands of articles and podcasts, there is one category of voter that is hardly ever mentioned: the category of the faith voter, and the Catholic voter in particular.

Do you live in a healthy media ecosystem? Media is food for our brain. The media you consume might be nutritious. Or maybe it’s addictive, toxic and full of empty calories. News Decoder examines the menu.

Religion News Service notes that “Supporting religious diversity on campus is a surprising consensus among faculty across the red-blue divide.” Faculty members represent a university’s core identity and mission. But no one had systematically studied faculty opinions on matters related to spirituality and religion − until now.

A culture living on Christian leftovers What happens when a culture loses the concept of anything transcendent above? Truth, goodness and beauty become ends in themselves; they don’t lead anywhere, and they never make you look up. An opinion from Baptist News Global.

Several religious groups have historically used psychedelics for healing. Now, a growing number are pushing for their use as a way to mystical experiences. Meanwhile, the Episcopal Church has removed a priest who had founded a Christian psychedelic society. From Religion News Service.

News Reports

A Bible-teaching group seeks a foot in the door of Kentucky public schools, reports Baptist News Global. The group was created to promote evangelical Christian curriculum, and Kentucky Republican legislators earlier this year created a path for religious education during school hours.

When a federal judge provisionally rules that a state’s mandate for public schools to display the Ten Commandments is unconstitutional, does that ruling apply only to the school districts involved in the litigation or to all districts in the state? Baptist News Global seeks an answer.

Outrage, condemnation

The oldest Muslim community in the United States, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA “strongly condemns the burning of the Holy Quran by congressional candidate Valentina Gomez”, as well as the wholly inaccurate and inflammatory remarks she has made about Islam,” the group said in a statement Aug. 28. From Baptist News Global.

‘Far-right Black Catholic’ wins primary

Royce White, an NBA pro turned GOP populist, won the Minnesota primary for Senate. White, formerly of the Houston Rockets, is the nation’s first upper-chamber candidate born in the 1990s. The report from Black Catholic Messenger.

New book on Japanese Catholic Martyrs

Writer Gene Pelc, who was sent 50 years ago to promote Marvel Comics in Japan, discusses St. John Paul II, Spider-Man and why he wrote a new book on the Japanese martyrs. The account, from National Catholic Register.

Suggestions

Advice: 10 Times to Pray While You Drive On the road? Keep these tips in mind now and always, from National Catholic Register.

Justice Bulletin Board

Barbara Molinari Quinby offers this weekly reflection. Today, she writes about slavery and human trafficking. She says, “Paul’s letter serves as a reminder that in Christ we must see the actions of this world differently and pursue alternative routes to correct corrupt social structures.”