Mid-City Christian

Gravity, Gravitas, and Grave Matters

Homelands and social doctrines

By George Weigel on Jun 20, 2018 03:01 am
St. John Paul II’s recognition of the dynamics of post-Cold War economies was not drawn from his Polish experience, but from intense conversations with western [...]
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Gravity, Gravitas, and Grave Matters

By James Casper on Jun 19, 2018 03:28 pm
As the Japanese novelist Shusako Endo noted, people often ponder where they were born, a circumstance over which they had no control, while giving little [...]
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Immigration, moral authority, and the “order of love”

By Philip Primeau on Jun 19, 2018 12:03 pm
The question of immigration is complicated enough under the best circumstances. But the problem of mass migration, much of it illegal, in a globalized world [...]
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Questions on sexuality loom large ahead of youth synod

By Catholic News Agency on Jun 19, 2018 11:50 am
The “instrumentum laboris” for the Oct. 3-28 Synod of Bishops on “Young People, the Faith and the Discernment of Vocation" highlights how many young people, [...]
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Two new books explore Pope St. John Paul II’s moral convictions, intellectual legacy

By Filip Mazurczak on Jun 18, 2018 01:48 pm
A Pope and a President by Paul Kengor and Wind From Heaven by Monika Jablonska delve into many unknown or overlooked aspects of John Paul’s [...]
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Synodality vs. Synodality

By Christopher R. Altieri on Jun 17, 2018 05:23 pm
As Pope Francis' uneven record indicates, collegiality and synodality are great — until one tries to do something with them. [...]
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This Father’s Day: Vow to be a Committed Catholic Father

By Matthew James Christoff on Jun 17, 2018 03:01 am
While there are numerous ways to categorize and analyze Catholic fatherhood, one way is to consider how Catholic men live out truth and mercy as [...]
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Providence, Prosperity, and Purpose

By Carl E. Olson on Jun 16, 2018 09:00 am
On the Readings for Sunday, June 17, 2018 [...]
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Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk: Russian invasion of Ukraine is a ‘silent war’

By Catholic News Agency on Jun 15, 2018 04:02 pm
“We do not just need to pray for reconciliation. We need to do effective acts of reconciliation. This is crucial,” Shevchuk said, adding that “reconciliation [...]
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Joyce Kilmer, John Paul II, and the artistic vocation

By Peter M.J. Stravinskas on Jun 15, 2018 03:54 pm
All who reverence the Bible, but especially Christians, ought to have a deep appreciation for words and for those who take words and give them [...]
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Jeff Sessions could be expelled from the Methodist Church

From pulpits across America, sermons condemn separation of immigrant families
The Washington Post *
600 United Methodists file church complaint against Jeff Sessions
Religion News Service
Border separations open rift between Trump and evangelicals
Politico
Anti-abortion group seeks to strike rape and incest exceptions from Iowa’s fetal abortion heartbeat law
The Des Moines Register *
Teen said he took bomb to school to cause fear, police say
The Associated Press
New Mexico diner sued by agency for religious discrimination
The Associated Press
Jewish boy forced to remove Star of David necklace at school, lawsuit alleges
New York Daily News *
Ex-teacher who made anti-gay comments settles lawsuit
The Associated Press

International Headlines

Pope criticizes Trump administration policy on migrant family separation
Reuters
India takes direct control in Kashmir after alliance ends
The Associated Press
For what’s believed to be the first time, the Vatican uses the term ‘LGBT’ in official document
The Washington Post *
Vatican promises to hear more abuse complaints in Chile
The Associated Press
Denmark’s Jews questioning their future in the country following proposed ban on circumcision
Haaretz
Taj Mahal’s attackers dispute site’s Muslim origins
Religion News Service
Al-Shabab kidnaps Somali children to fill its ranks. Parents pull kids from school or flee to protect them
Global Post
Where a taboo is leading to the deaths of young girls
The New York Times *

Analysis & Commentary

Jeff Sessions could be expelled from the Methodist Church over migrant policies
Vox
What it means to be a Christian in America today
The Conversation
‘The most dangerous place for a child to be is inside the womb of a woman inside a planned parenthood clinic’
Slate
What a World Cup star can teach the world about being Muslim
The Globe and Mail *
This could completely change the face of refugee aid
The Washington Post *
Who’s most afraid to die? A surprise
The Wall Street Journal *

* Some websites may require a paid subscription

June 21, 2018 issue is online San Francisco archdiocesan, parish and school news

http://www.catholic-sf.org/current-issue

Why Families Keep Coming to the US Border

How violence and terror in their homelands spurs migrants to come north.

CT Editors

Last month, US Attorney General Jeff Sessions vowed to enforce a “zero tolerance” policy when it comes to immigration. Here’s one way he described how this would look:

"If you are smuggling a child, then we will prosecute you and that child will be separated from you as required ...

Women

4 Ways to Share God’s Love in Summertime

The “Ordinary Time” of summer invites us to give the extraordinary Good News.

Tina Osterhouse

According to a recent Barna report, American Christians are less likely to share their faith with others than they were 25 years ago. In 1993, 9 out of 10 Christians agreed with the statement, “Every Christian has a responsibility to share their faith.” Today, only two-thirds agree—a ...

Book Review | CT Magazine

The God Who Overpowers Childhood Trauma

A new book crawls into the lives of children at risk, enters their desperation, and accompanies them on their journey toward redemption.

Mary DeMuth

The great beauty of the Christian narrative is redemption, and redemption shines powerfully through Ericka Andersen’s Leaving Cloud 9: The True Story of a Life Resurrected from the Ashes of Poverty, Trauma, and Mental Illness. In its pages, Andersen chronicles the tumultuous upbringing of her husband, Rick Sylvester—a sordid tale of neglect, home instability, drug abuse, and the kind of fending for oneself that hints of Oliver Twist. Rick and his sister, Jenny, are shuffled between their ...

Look at That: Ecology and Culture

R. M. Stangler

When the astronaut Edgar Mitchell recalled seeing Earth from a lunar vantage point, he offered a priceless quote: You develop an instant global consciousness, a people orientation, an intense dissatisfaction with the state of the world, and a compulsion to do something about it. From out there on the moon, international politics look so petty. […]

Wanda Skowronska

The word “dissent” is usually associated with those courageous opponents of the Soviet regime during the Cold War but may well be applied now to psychologists and psychiatrists opposed to strange diagnoses. Dissidents usually state unpleasant truths and are silenced by denunciation, ostracism or imprisonment. While dissident psychologists may not be sent to a physical gulag, […]

'Pro-life is Pro-love' – Conference aims to empower women

· Texas pro-life laws face sweeping legal challenge

Dozens of pro-life laws in Texas are being challenged in a lawsuit claiming that they pose an undue burden on women, but a national pro-life group says abortion regulations are important for women’s health and safety.

· Chaput asks Notre Dame student for youth synod advice

· Sacred Hearts priest in Chile investigated for sexual abuse

· Chicago Catholic Charities provides showers for homeless people

· US aid to Iraqi Christians, Yazidis on fast track via Catholic Relief Services

· Pope donates to volcano relief efforts in Guatemala

· As assisted suicide law is reinstated, critics say Californians 'deserve better'

· Relic of St Clement found in trash settles into Westminster Cathedral

· 'Pro-life is Pro-love' – Conference aims to empower women

· Steubenville project seeks to revitalize town, connect residents and students

· Questions on sexuality loom large ahead of youth synod

· Why the World Health Organization says Minecraft could ruin your mind

· Daily Readings

· Saint of the Day

What does it mean to be Christian in America?

600 United Methodists file church complaint against Jeff Sessions
Religion News Service: More than 600 United Methodist clergy and laypeople have signed a formal denominational complaint against fellow United Methodist Attorney General Jeff Sessions, condemning his role in the Trump administration's "zero-tolerance" policy of separating children from their parents along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Religion Dispatches: Why the Methodist effort to discipline Sessions is a risky business

Message of religion as important as ever, even in a royal wedding
The (Toronto) Star: The trappings of religion, even when manifest in a royal wedding, may belong to the past, but the message of religion is as important and as relevant as it has always been, says Dow Marmur.

What does it mean to be Christian in America?
Religion & Politics: In his new book, "Christian: The Politics of a Word in America," historian Matthew Bowman documents a few of the many forms that Christianity in the U.S. has assumed over the past 150 years.

Pope: Aborting children with birth defects is like Nazi eugenics program
Catholic News Service: Pope Francis denounced the practice of administering prenatal tests to determine birth defects that often lead to abortions, comparing it to the Nazi-era eugenics program that determined what lives were worth keeping or eliminating.

Churches must 'count the cost' of pursuing youth on social media
Baptist News Global: As young people abandon Facebook in favor of other social media platforms, should churches follow them into virtual spaces that many ministers have barely heard of?