Monday’s News & Ideas - 4/20/2026
- Traveling with Pope Leo
- Is Trump the Antichrist?
- Mullally calls for peace
- SCOTUS religious liberty case
- IDF solder strikes Jesus statue
- Telling experience of history
A dispatch from inside the Vatican bubble during a remarkable exchange between pope and president
The Associated Press: During Leo’s epic four-nation trip to Africa, being inside the Vatican “bubble” has been an almost surreal experience, as an unprecedented back-and-forth plays out between U.S. President Donald Trump and history’s first American pope.
When Trump’s satire hits too close to home for American Christians, Antichrist claims emerge
Religion News Service: “Throughout both of Trump’s terms, he’s done so many things that I thought were going to be over the line, and it never happens,” said Matthew Sutton.
Archbishop of Canterbury expresses solidarity with Pope Leo XIV in calling for peace in Iran
The Associated Press: Archbishop Sarah Mullally, who assumed her role as head of the Church of England in January, said she stood with the pope in his “courageous call for peace.”
Supreme Court takes up religious liberty case over Colorado’s universal preschool program
CBS News: The legal fight, known as St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy, is the latest to land before the Supreme Court in recent years that involve religious entities' participation in state-funded programs.
Israeli army to launch criminal investigation after soldier strikes Jesus statue in Lebanon
The Guardian: Netanyahu says “harsh disciplinary action” will be taken after IDF confirms sledgehammer photo is authentic.
The Spark
The hardest part of history to tell is how it felt
Historians and nonfiction authors often glide over lived experience. They prefer actions, citations, details, dates, Defector says.
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