Weekend Plug-in 🔌

Editor’s note: Every Friday, “Weekend Plug-in” features analysis, fact checking and top headlines from the world of faith. Subscribe now to get this newsletter delivered straight to your inbox. Got feedback or ideas? Email Bobby Ross Jr. at therossnews@gmail.com.

(ANALYSIS) Pope Francis is traveling to Canada this weekend.

The purpose of the Catholic leader’s seven-day trip: to apologize to Indigenous peoples for abuses at church-run residential schools.

In advance of his visit, which starts Sunday, here are five key facts:

1. It’s a “one-of-a-kind” papal trip.

Christopher White, the National Catholic Reporter’s Vatican correspondent, reports:

When he touches down in Edmonton, Alberta, Francis will find a dramatically altered scene than that of past airport arrivals. Gone will be the jubilant sights and sounds of marching bands and cheering crowds.

When he arrives on the ground — almost certainly via hydraulic lift, given that his limited physical mobility has added another layer of complication to this difficult trip — the first hands he will shake will be that of Indigenous elders and survivors of residential schools. Indigenous drummers will provide background percussion and there will be no customary meetings with the head of state or speeches to civic authorities on his first day in the country.

2. Francis will find a nation where Catholicism is in decline.

Jessica Mundie, a fellow for the National Post, explains:

The role of the Catholic Church in society is not what it once was. What used to be a pillar in the social and political life of communities has now, for some, become the building they pass on the way to the grocery store. Its reputation has been tarnished by sex abuse scandals in Canada and around the world, and after last summer, when hundreds of suspected unmarked graves were discovered on the sites of past residential schools, many were reminded of the church’s role in this country’s controversial history.

Canadian Catholics are hoping that a visit from the Pope, which includes stops in Quebec City and Iqaluit, and meetings with First Nations, can begin to address past wrongs.

3. This marks the first papal visit to Canada in two decades.

ReligionUnplugged.com’s own Clemente Lisi notes:

The last pope to visit Canada was St. John Paul II in 2002, part of World Youth Day that was held in Toronto. His papal Mass attracted more than 800,000 people at Downsview Park.

“We are immensely grateful that the Holy Father has accepted our invitation to continue the journey of healing and reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples of this land,” said Bishop Raymond Poisson, president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. “In late July, Pope Francis will have the opportunity to visit Indigenous peoples here in their homeland, as he promised when he met them recently in Rome. We pray for the health of the Holy Father as we undertake the intensive planning for this historic visit.”

4. The trip to Canada comes amid concerns about the 85-year-old pontiff’s health.

Michael J. O’Loughlin, national correspondent for America, points out:

Francis continues to be bothered by a torn ligament in his knee that affects his mobility. Another planned trip, for early July, to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan, was postponed because of his knee pain. Some commentators have suggested that the pope looks frail in recent video footage. The church analyst Thomas Reese, S.J., speculated last year that we are witnessing “the beginning of the end of his papacy.”

But recent high-profile interviews not only gave journalists opportunities to question the pope during a time of international upheaval but allowed the Vatican to show that Francis is still in charge.

5. This past weekend, Francis asked for prayers for his pilgrimage to Canada.

The Associated Press’ Frances D'Emilio, in a dispatch from Vatican City, quotes Francis:

“Dear brothers and sisters of Canada, as you know I will come among you above all in the name of Jesus to meet and embrace the Indigenous populations,″ Francis said.

“Unfortunately, in Canada, many Christians, including some members of religious institutions, contributed to the policies of cultural assimilation, that, in the past, gravely damaged, in various ways, the Native communities,” the pope said, speaking from a studio window of the Apostolic Palace facing the square.

“For this reason, recently, at the Vatican, I received several groups, representatives of Indigenous peoples, to whom I manifested by sorrow and my solidarity for the evil they have suffered,″ Francis said.

“And now I will make a penitential voyage that I hope, with the grace of God, can contribute to the path of healing and reconciliation already undertaken,” said Francis, appealing for the faithful to “accompany me with prayers” during the pilgrimage.

Look for ReligionUnplugged.com coverage of Francis’ trip by Lisi, a senior editor who focuses on Catholic news.

Power Up: The Week’s Best Reads

1. ‘Pro-baby and pro-mother’: After Supreme Court win, anti-abortion activists across South debate next steps: “They have thanked God, hugged strangers and cried tears of joy. Anti-abortion advocates are now trying to decide how to move forward in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade as the law of the land,” The Tennessean’s Mariah Timms and Keith Sharon report.

Meanwhile, some activists whose religions permit abortion are planning lawsuits and “trying to bring God on to their side of the fight,” according to USA Today’s Trevor Hughes.

2. A Congo teen alleged rape by a priest. She had to flee. He can still say Mass: “After clerical abuse scandals that have rocked much of the Catholic world — generally in nations with the resources to pressure and expose the church — attention is turning to regions where the scale of abuse remains both a mystery and a cause for trepidation,” the Washington Post’s Chico Harlan and Alain Uaykani report.

The Post investigates the case of a 14-year-old girl — an aspiring nun who reported sexual abuse — where evidence “shows that the bishop failed to follow the Vatican’s guidelines.”

3. Why a South Carolina town feels vindicated by U.S. Supreme Court’s recent football prayer ruling: The Post and Courier’ s Leah Hincks offers an interesting take on the court’s June 27 ruling in favor of Joseph Kennedy, a Bremerton, Washington, high school football coach who wanted to kneel and pray at the 50-yard line.

At the Washington Post, Michelle Boorstein explores how the court “has handed victory after victory to religious petitioners seeking more voice, money and access in the public square.”

BONUS: With inflation at a 40-year high, long lines are back at U.S. food banks, The Associated Press’ Anita Snow and Eugene Garcia report.

The price increases have put pressure on churches trying to meet the rising need, according to Christianity Today’s Adam MacInnis.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Colleen Schrappen and Religion News Service’s Haley Barker, Riley Farrell and Marika Proctor offer additional insight.

More Top Reads

• U.S. houses of worship increase security after shootings (by Deepa Bharath and Luis Andres Henao, Associated Press)

• How close is Stanley Rother to being recognized as a Catholic saint? (by Carla Hinton, The Oklahoman)

• Grave excavation begins at one of the oldest Black churches in the U.S. (by Daniel Silliman, Christianity Today)

• Teen charged with first-degree murder in death of Rev. Autura Eason-Williams, United Methodist pastor (by Daniel Connolly, Memphis Commercial Appeal)

• ‘Rabbi Charlie’ balances Colleyville fame with one-to-one connection (by Yonat Shimron, Religion News Service)

• Expert repairs Utah synagogue’s sacred scrolls. It’s ‘more than calligraphy. It is Torah magic’ (by Peggy Fletcher Stack, Salt Lake Tribune)

• U.S. rabbi reviving Jewish roots in her family’s Italian town (by Frances D’Emilio, AP)

• The choice for historically Black congregations in south Nashville: stay or go (by Liam Adams and Sydney Satterwhite, The Tennessean)

• United Nations slams killings, rights abuses under Afghanistan’s Taliban (by Rahim Faiez, AP)

• Do Jewish New Yorkers care about identity politics? Jerry Nadler hopes so (by Paul Schwartzman, Washington Post)

• Keeping the hippie dream alive (by Sam Kestenbaum, New York Times)

• More cremations mean fewer chances to grieve together (by Melissa Morgan Kelley, Christianity Today)

• United Methodists grapple with schism as 300-plus churches leave across U.S. (by Liam Adams, The Tennessean)

• Chilean cowboys gather for blessing at national shrine (by Giovanna Dell'Orto, AP)

• He wrote a beloved prayer book. But his gravestone misspelled his name (by Ari L. Goldman, Forward)

Inside The Godbeat: Behind The Bylines

Some Christians are fighting to revive community-centered journalism, seeing it as a way to help believers love their neighbors better, Christianity Today reports.

The story’s author, Angela Lu Fulton, leads the Reforming Journalism Project.

Charging Station: In Case You Missed It

Here is where you can catch up on recent news and opinions from ReligionUnplugged.com.

• Ukrainian refugees in Poland redefine what it means to be a church (by Erik Tryggestad)

• Why are hit worship songs so different from the Psalms? (by Terry Mattingly)

• Children across Africa and Asia celebrate Nelson Mandela Day (by Vicky Abraham)

• Catholic voters down on Biden ahead of midterms; most favor abortion rights with limits (by Clemente Lisi)

• Nashville Food Project founder's battle with cancer and faith in life immortalized in memoir (by Camila Da Silva)

• Abortion in America brings up both spiritual and legal considerations (by Chelsea Langston Bombino)

• Americans on right and left agree — donations should be used promptly, not stashed (by Steve Rabey)

• One reason people latch onto religion and stay: unspeakable joy (by Paul Prather)

• With parents in detention centers, Rohingya children in india face uncertain future (by Shadab Farooq)

The Final Plug

Twenty years ago, I wrote an Associated Press story on 1-800 prayer lines.

I was reminded of that feature when I read Mya Jaradat’s recent Deseret News piece on a “sermon-by-phone service.”

“Leaning back in bed, I hit the speaker button,” Jaradat writes. “Something about listening to the service on my phone felt warmer and more intimate than watching a recording or livestream on my computer. There was nothing between me and the pastor’s upbeat voice — it’s like she was right there with me, holding my hand as she spoke.”

Happy Friday, everyone! Enjoy the weekend.

Bobby Ross Jr. is a columnist for ReligionUnplugged.com and editor-in-chief of The Christian Chronicle. A former religion writer for The Associated Press and The Oklahoman, Ross has reported from all 50 states and 15 nations. He has covered religion since 1999.