About two-thirds of American Catholics have a “very” or “somewhat” favorable view of Pope Leo, according to the new survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, while about 3 in 10 don’t know enough to have an opinion. Very few Catholics — less than 1 in 10 — view him unfavorably. (Henao & Thomson-DeVaux, AP News)
Read MoreJune 17 marks 10 years since a deadly mass shooting at Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church shocked the nation. A white supremacist, intent on starting a race war, opened fire during Wednesday night Bible study, killing nine Black worshippers as they bowed their heads in prayer. (Elliott, Craig & Balaban, NPR)
Read MoreJelly Roll has become the leading figure in this wave of what one could call barstool conversion rock: faith-flavored, hopecore, God-finds-us-at-the-bottom-of-a-bottle pop rock recorded by popular male artists. The genre (if we can call it that) is noticeably present on the Billboard Hot 100 and platforms like TikTok, where Alex Warren’s “Ordinary” has been used in nearly half a million videos. (McGinnis, Christianity Today)
Read MoreIn her 25 years in the Christian music industry, Holly Zabka, president of Provident — a Sony subsidiary dedicated to Christian music — has never encountered a moment of such prominence for the genre. "This is the most exciting time to be in Christian music," she says. "I don't think we've ever been in this season of opportunity." (Madden, NPR)
Read MoreHarvard University is suing the Trump administration over its accusations that the Ivy League school has failed to keep Jewish students safe by allowing antisemitism to flourish. But over the past few months, the university has quietly gutted a Harvard Divinity School program that its own antisemitism investigation found was critical of Israel and may have been biased against Jewish students. (Shimron, Religion News Service)
Read MorePope Leo XIV has appointed a new president for the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy for Life, a bioethics think tank that Catholic conservatives criticized under Pope Francis for departing from official church teaching on issues such as contraception and euthanasia. (Giangravé, Religion News Service)
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