Wednesday’s News & Ideas - 5/6/2026

Vatican criticizes conversion therapy, features gay Catholic testimony in ‘historic’ report
Religion News Service: Advocates for LGBTQ+ Catholics expressed surprise to see the Vatican publishing the testimonies of married gay men.

After she complained of gender bias, a PCA church fired her. A judge ruled it retaliation.
Religion News Service: A judge for the Illinois Human Rights Commission ruled that Naperville Presbyterian Church fired a longtime staffer after she complained of being treated differently from male leaders. The church is led by author and pastor Dane Ortlund.

The oldest U.S. Jewish seminary, Hebrew Union College, shuts down a rabbinical program
NPR: The college has other campuses, but its rabbinical program in Cincinnati will shut down and graduate its last four students at the end of the first week in May.

Poll finds broad rejection of religion-related messages from Trump, Hegseth*
The Washington Post: Americans rate Pope Leo positively but are deeply critical of the president’s social media post that appeared to depict himself as Jesus, the Post-ABC-Ipsos poll found.

The room next door to faith*
The Christian Century: I am learning that questioning religion is not the same as abandoning it, Peter Choi writes.

The Spark

David Attenborough and the voice that revealed a planet
He turned a whisper into one of the most powerful voices in history. At 100, it carries both wonder and warning, The Ringer says.

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