Bishop Barron reflects on equality as a God-given right at America 250 prayer event

by Kate Scanlon - OSV News May 18, 2026

People pray during a worship service on the day of "Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise & Thanksgiving" at the National Mall in Washington, May 17, 2026. Credit: OSV News photo/Seth Herald, Reuters

WASHINGTON (OSV News) — As the nation prepares to celebrate its 250th birthday, it should reflect on how the American understanding of equality is grounded in the belief that all people are equally children of God, Bishop Robert E. Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, said May 17 at a prayer rally on the National Mall.

“As we reflect on our history, from the founding through the trials of the Civil War to the struggle for civil rights, we can see this consistent thread, the conviction that human dignity, equality, rights, freedom, and the rule of law are all grounded in God,” he said.

 

Vatican Dispatch

Pope Leo will publish first encyclical, ‘Magnifica Humanitas,’ on preserving humanity in the A.I. age on May 25

by Gerard O’Connell May 18, 2026

Pope Leo XIV signs his first apostolic exhortation, "Dilexi Te" ("I Have Loved You"), in the library of the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican Oct. 4, 2025. Credit: CNS photo/Vatican Media

Pope Leo XIV signed his first encyclical on May 15, a document on the protection of the human person in the age of artificial intelligence, the Vatican announced today. His signature came on the 135th anniversary of the promulgation of Pope Leo XIII’s famous encyclical “Rerum Novarum,” which came in response to the upheaval of the Industrial Revolution and is considered the beginning of the church’s modern social teaching.

 

Can Women Deliver a Blue Wave?

Democrats are quietly relying on female candidates to win the House.

Justin H. Vassallo

May 18, 2026

Please email comments to letters@commonwealmagazine.org.

Democratic congressional candidate Christina Bohannan visits UAW workers on strike in Burlington, Iowa (Keith Turrill/Alamy Stock Photo).

Eighteen months after Kamala Harris’s disastrous defeat, there are mounting expectations of a decisive victory for Democrats in November’s midterms—a “blue wave” that will seal Donald Trump’s lame-duck status. But a closer look at the range of truly competitive U.S. House districts reveals a more sobering picture. The number of vulnerable Republicans has held steady at around thirteen or fourteen, according to Cook Political Report. Flipping the House looks likely given the GOP’s slim five-seat majority, but to match their margin after the 2018 blue wave, Democrats need a net gain of twenty-three seats. Pickups elsewhere will depend on an extraordinary degree of anti-incumbent sentiment in places that have favored the GOP since the Tea Party era. 

NCR interview: NYC Archbishop Hicks says, 'We have to be a church of dialogue'

 

NCR interview: NYC Archbishop Hicks says, 'We have to be a church of dialogue'

News

• ncr

  Camillo Barone

Vatican Dispatch

Pope Leo establishes new Vatican commission on artificial intelligence

by Gerard O’Connell May 16, 2026

Pope Leo XIV speaks to visitors and pilgrims attending Mass for the Jubilee of Choirs and the feast of Christ the King on Nov. 23, 2025. Credit: CNS photo/Vatican Media.

In another sign of his close attention to the ever-growing importance of artificial intelligence and the impact it will have on the future of humanity and the church, Pope Leo has approved the establishment of an inter-dicasterial commission at the Vatican on the subject.

The Vatican announced this today, May 16, and said the pope approved the new commission in a rescriptum—a papal decree in response to a matter presented to him—when he received Cardinal Michael Czerny S.J., prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, in audience on May 3.

Forgiving Our Thoughts

 

 

 

Practicing “Just This”

Forgiving Our Thoughts

Monday, May 18, 2026

READ ON CAC.ORG

 

 

For Father Richard, true prayer begins with a positive “yes,” a surrender to God and Reality:  

When I entered the Franciscan seminary in 1961, part of our training was learning to avoid, resist, and oppose all distractions. It was such poor teaching, but it was the only way we thought back then. It was all about willpower: celibacy through willpower, poverty through willpower, community through willpower. But willpower isn’t what we need—or it’s not all that we need! We need the power to surrender the will, to face, and even to trust what is. Now, that’s heroic! Anything less is a fruitless and futile effort, because if we start with negative energy, a “don’t,” we won’t get very far (see Romans 7:7–11). That was the extent of the teaching I received, and it was really no teaching at all—just “Don’t!” When we hear that, the ego immediately pushes back. Some days we have strong willpower and we succeed, but most days we barely succeed. [1]

Rededicate 250 touts a star-studded prayer bash with politicians and Christian celebrities

by Jack Jenkins - Religion News Service May 15, 2026

Work continues on the stage for the Rededicate 250 event on the National Mall, Tuesday, May 12, 2026, in Washington. Credit: AP Photo/Alex Brandon

(RNS) — Bishops, evangelical influencers, Cabinet members and an actor who plays Jesus are a few of the speakers and performers scheduled to participate in “Rededicate 250,” the Trump administration’s daylong prayer celebration happening on the National Mall this weekend.

Advertised as a “rededication of our country as One Nation Under God” and a “once in a lifetime national moment,” the Sunday event is intended to reflect on the faith of America’s founders and to appeal to God to bless and guide the nation. It’s an initiative of Freedom 250, a White House-backed, public-private campaign staging patriotic events to celebrate the nation’s 250th birthday (not to be confused with the bipartisan America 250 efforts). Supporters welcome the event as a tribute to America’s roots, while critics say the Christian-saturated, MAGA-heavy festival casts an exclusionary vision of America’s past and present. Americans United for Separation of Church and State suggested the event advances Christian nationalism rather than religious freedom.

‘Marty, Life is Short’ on Netflix laughs amid life’s tragedies

 

Film

‘Marty, Life is Short’ on Netflix laughs amid life’s tragedies

‘Marty, Life is Short’ gives an honest look at Martin Short’s past, one that is scattered with loss. But he has never stopped laughing or making others laugh.

by William Gualtiere  America