https://sojo.net/feeds/articles Sojourners Online Articles en https://sojo.net/articles/news/minneapolis-faith-leaders-amplify-demands-ice-repent After an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot and killed Renee Nicole Macklin Good, faith leaders in Minneapolis joined demands that ICE leave their city and repent. “We have our demands. Hundreds of clergy across this state who have gathered together across faith traditions are standing with the rest of Minnesotans to say not again,” Minister JaNaé Bates Imari, co-executive director of ISAIAH, a multiracial interfaith nonprofit, told a crowd of Minnesotans at a press conference. The press conference, organized by ISAIAH, drew more than a hundred leaders from numerous faith traditions, representing the breadth of the city’s religious communities. ISAIAH presented its demands: That ICE agent Jonathan Ross be arrested, charged, and prosecuted for killing Good; that ICE immediately cease its surge in operations in the state; and that Congress investigate the Department of Homeland Security. Fri, 09 Jan 2026 17:46:03 EST Sojourners https://sojo.net/articles/news/minneapolis-faith-leaders-amplify-demands-ice-repent https://sojo.net/articles/opinion/abolish-ice-cry-prophets The book of Amos tells us of a priest named Amaziah, who is depicted as something of a rival prophet to Amos himself. The book itself is full of Amos’ harsh words against Israel’s exploitation of the poor and greedy indulgence of the rich, as well as prophetic calls to repentance before God’s judgment falls on the whole nation. Fri, 09 Jan 2026 10:05:50 EST Sojourners https://sojo.net/articles/opinion/abolish-ice-cry-prophets https://sojo.net/articles/news/after-maduro-venezuelan-christians-pray-end-us-imperialism After the U.S. military’s abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, faith leaders are processing deep feelings of conflict, both with Maduro and with the U.S. intervention. Rev. Ricardo Corzo Moreno is a Presbyterian pastor living in Caracas, Venezuela’s capital. Moreno’s apartment building is approximately one mile away from an air force base in La Carlota that was bombed in the attack. He described how shocked and terrified his neighborhood as bombs started dropping and planes flew at low elevation over their buildings. “After everything ended ... it was a total silence. Nobody went out in the street; everyone stayed in their buildings. For the next 24 to 48 hours, Caracas became like an empty city,” Moreno said. “A lot of churches here in Caracas, they decided to cancel Sunday service because people were afraid that something would start happening in the population.” Thu, 08 Jan 2026 13:18:30 EST Sojourners https://sojo.net/articles/news/after-maduro-venezuelan-christians-pray-end-us-imperialism https://sojo.net/articles/culture/pluribus-turns-happiness-virus-and-peace-problem If you ask TV writer and producer Vince Gilligan what his latest show, Pluribus, is about, he’ll turn the question right back around on you. “I really like the idea of making a show and letting viewers tell us what it’s about,” Gilligan told Sojourners. “I don’t know that there’s any one answer to that question other than what the individual thinks.” Wed, 07 Jan 2026 15:46:32 EST Sojourners https://sojo.net/articles/culture/pluribus-turns-happiness-virus-and-peace-problem https://sojo.net/articles/opinion/will-us-church-be-silent-venezuela Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God (Matthew 5:9). As followers of Jesus, this beatitude from the Sermon on the Mount offers a moral compass for how we treat our neighbors, including those in other nations. Jesus isn’t calling us to be passive; he’s calling us to actively make peace. I’m reminded of the Hebrew and Greek words for peace, shalom and eirene, which evoke a sense of repair or a “setting right” of what is broken. Jesus modeled this active pursuit of peace in his own life. Born into a community occupied by violent, imperial powers, Jesus rejected the logic of might-makes-right and instead ushered in something more powerful: God’s promised reign of justice, righteousness, and love. Today, that kind of restoration often requires combating the fear, hatred, hubris, and greed that so often undergird conflict. Jesus’ call to be peacemakers feels especially urgent given that this year began with a literal bang: On Jan. 3, the Trump administration launched a military assault on Venezuela to abduct and arrest President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. At least 80 Venezuelans were killed by an attack that did not have congressional approval, violated international law, and set a dangerous precedent for a presidency characterized by extending and imposing U.S. power and influence on other countries through military force. Most significantly for us as Christians, the administration’s actions in Venezuela signal a further U.S. retreat from a commitment to protect human dignity, freedom, human rights, and peace. Wed, 07 Jan 2026 13:58:13 EST Sojourners https://sojo.net/articles/opinion/will-us-church-be-silent-venezuela https://sojo.net/articles/opinion/america-first-resurrects-logic-crusades-venezuela During his life, Otto Maduro, the late Venezuelan sociologist and liberation theologian, lamented how the majority of Latin Americans were being treated to “fatten the bank accounts” of a small minority. This deeply troubled Maduro. As he wrote in his 1982 Religion and Social Conflicts, “I cannot submissively cross my arms in the face of certain allegedly ‘Christian’ attitudes and traditions that appear to me to be an antievangelical instrumentalization of the church in the service of social injustice.” Tue, 06 Jan 2026 17:01:48 EST Sojourners https://sojo.net/articles/opinion/america-first-resurrects-logic-crusades-venezuela https://sojo.net/articles/opinion/our-prayers-you-new-year As we say goodbye (maybe even good riddance) to 2025, I’m reminded just how much prayer has served as an essential balm, refuge, and strong tower in the midst of such a trying and tumultuous year. Whatever 2026 has in store, I’m confident that we will need to flex our prayer muscles. Prayer centers us in God’s presence. Prayer prepares and equips us for courageous action. Prayer empowers us when we feel weak and encourages us when we feel demoralized. I’m deeply grateful that we have a staff team that believes in the necessity of prayer, evidenced through the many short ones that they have shared below. My prayer as we sojourn together into 2026 is that our fervent prayers guide and embolden us to advance God’s reign of justice, peace, and steadfast love with greater urgency and courage. Tue, 30 Dec 2026 15:43:12 EST Sojourners https://sojo.net/articles/opinion/our-prayers-you-new-year https://sojo.net/articles/opinion/bethlehem-still-reminder-joy-amid-grief For many of us who were raised Christian, our earliest memories of Christmas may have featured the town of Bethlehem. Whether through songs or the stories in scripture, this quaint town that welcomed the Christ child took on a central role in our faith. Fri, 19 Dec 2025 17:37:36 EST Sojourners https://sojo.net/articles/opinion/bethlehem-still-reminder-joy-amid-grief https://sojo.net/articles/news/dhs-bars-norma-pimentels-charity-federal-funding The Department of Homeland Security’s move to suspend funding for Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley—and to seek an unusually long ban on future federal grants—is prompting concern among Catholic leaders and immigration advocates who see the action as part of a broader effort to curtail faith-based humanitarian work at the U.S.-Mexico border. CCRGV, a South Texas nonprofit led by Sister Norma Pimentel, has been given 30 days to respond to DHS’s proposed debarment, which would shut the organization out of most federal funding streams for six years. The suspension, which applies only to the South Texas organization, not to Catholic Charities USA or other diocesan agencies nationwide, would be a major blow to CCRGV. The charity, which operates the Humanitarian Respite Center in McAllen, Texas, has been a major recipient of DHS funds through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Emergency Food and Shelter-Humanitarian program and its newer Shelter Services Program. Fri, 19 Dec 2025 12:00:13 EST Sojourners https://sojo.net/articles/news/dhs-bars-norma-pimentels-charity-federal-funding https://sojo.net/articles/opinion/anti-ice-nativities-are-reason-season On Thursday, Dec. 11, a man dismantled a nativity scene depicting Immigration and Customs Enforcement arresting the Holy Family at a Charlotte church. The now-viral video depicts the man knocking over the mannequins in ICE uniforms who appear to be detaining a kneeling Mary and Joseph. Fri, 19 Dec 2025 09:25:33 EST Sojourners https://sojo.net/articles/opinion/anti-ice-nativities-are-reason-season https://sojo.net/articles/opinion/mary-casts-down-pete-hegseths-false-god I remember the first time I asked Mary to pray for me. It was at the height of the George Floyd protests in June 2020. Thu, 18 Dec 2025 13:39:01 EST Sojourners https://sojo.net/articles/opinion/mary-casts-down-pete-hegseths-false-god https://sojo.net/articles/culture/train-dreams-walks-job-through-grief-and-grace “This world is intricately stitched together, boys. Every thread we pull, we know not how it affects the design of things,” muses William H. Macy’s Arn Peeples, an aging tree logger in Train Dreams. Throughout their ongoing work on the construction of the Spokane International Railway, laborers like Arn occasionally ruminate on their place in a broader human tale of hubris and glory, though they don’t have all the answers. Indeed, the world is intricately stitched together. And the same could be said about the film itself, though, moment by moment, it gives the feeling of a wandering walk in the woods. Much like Arn, director Clint Bentley and screenwriter Greg Kwedar seem aware of their lack of answers—but find asking the questions worthwhile anyway. Thu, 18 Dec 2025 11:45:45 EST Sojourners https://sojo.net/articles/culture/train-dreams-walks-job-through-grief-and-grace https://sojo.net/articles/news/8-stories-gave-us-hope-2025 The church has a funny sense of time. When everyone else is looking at Spotify Wrapped and other year-in-reviews, the Christian liturgical calendar has already turned the page, insisting a new year is already here. You’d be forgiven for thinking of Advent as an end-of-year marker, but as any theology nerd will remind you, Advent is the first season in the church’s annual cycle, not the last. Which is to say: The church starts the new year not with champagne or fireworks, but with a season of waiting. In the Northern Hemisphere, this year-end/year-beginning coincides with colder days, longer nights, and bare trees. And it’s in this moment—when it’s gray and freezing and most things look dead—that Christians make a daring claim: This bleakness all around us is not the end, but a beginning. The new life God promises begins in the dark. Wed, 17 Dec 2025 13:02:17 EST Sojourners https://sojo.net/articles/news/8-stories-gave-us-hope-2025 https://sojo.net/articles/opinion/want-love-your-neighbor-grieve-them Our shared planet is crumbling under the weight of human greed and exploitation; our neighbors are being snatched up and disappeared from our communities; and money for jobs and education is being used to fund wars and genocide. And I’m expected to believe that God is good? Mon, 15 Dec 2025 17:13:04 EST Sojourners https://sojo.net/articles/opinion/want-love-your-neighbor-grieve-them https://sojo.net/articles/culture/rental-family-brendan-fraser-loves-his-neighbor-lying-them In Rental Family, Brendan Fraser’s character Phillip does a lot of pretending. While looking for gigs as an American actor living in Tokyo, he lands a strange role: “token white guy.” And it gets weirder, the more Phillip learns about it: His new employer, a company called “Rental Family,” doesn’t cast for the stage or the screen. They hire actors—“surrogates”—to play roles in people’s lives, to “help people connect to what’s missing.” Phillip becomes whatever the company’s clients need him to be: a mourner at a staged funeral, a groom for an anxious bride, the dad who’s finally part of the picture. Sometimes he pretends to be these people for 30 minutes, sometimes he has to pretend for weeks on end. Soon, Phillip comes to love the job he was initially so skeptical of. Fri, 12 Dec 2025 14:45:39 EST Sojourners https://sojo.net/articles/culture/rental-family-brendan-fraser-loves-his-neighbor-lying-them https://sojo.net/articles/culture-opinion/lord-rings-doesnt-mean-what-maga-thinks-it-does This Christmas, I’m looking forward to curling up on a snowy morning with one of my favorite stories: J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. Whether in book or film, Tolkien’s high fantasy remains politically relevant and holds a prescient message for the Advent season. Thu, 11 Dec 2025 15:33:30 EST Sojourners https://sojo.net/articles/culture-opinion/lord-rings-doesnt-mean-what-maga-thinks-it-does https://sojo.net/articles/opinion/i-came-us-capitalist-now-i-support-mamdani When President Donald Trump and New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani first met back in November, I had to laugh. Partially because there is something deeply absurd about these two men—Mamdani, a self-proclaimed Democratic Socialist, and Trump, who once proclaimed he wished to be a dictator for “one day”—smiling and posing for photos in the Oval Office. But I mainly found myself laughing because, despite the drastic differences between these two politicians, both have been critical to my own faith and political journey. Thu, 11 Dec 2025 13:05:06 EST Sojourners https://sojo.net/articles/opinion/i-came-us-capitalist-now-i-support-mamdani https://sojo.net/articles/news/faith-leaders-share-why-they-joined-zohran-mamdanis-transition-team As Zohran Mamdani prepares to take the New York City mayor’s office, he’s tapped several NYC faith leaders to work on his transition team, centering affordability and day-to-day needs of New Yorkers. Mamdani’s election was one of the most successful in recent memory. Mamdani, who entered the race as a relatively unknown upstart, defeated former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in a primary and general election—becoming the first candidate since 1969 to earn over one million votes. Over a month after Mamdani’s victory, much of the excitement behind his campaign has yet to waver. Mamdani’s transition team, made up of 17 advisory committees and more than 400 people helping to advise his incoming administration, received more than 50,000 applications. Among those selected to facilitate his transition are at least 18 faith and religious leaders from a range of traditions. Of the Christian leaders listed, the denominations represented include Baptists, Seventh-day Adventists, and Episcopalians, spread across committees focused on housing, youth and education, and community safety. Those faith leaders told Sojourners they looked forward to working with the Mamdani administration. Wed, 10 Dec 2025 15:19:51 EST Sojourners https://sojo.net/articles/news/faith-leaders-share-why-they-joined-zohran-mamdanis-transition-team https://sojo.net/articles/culture-interview/knives-outs-rian-johnson-says-he-will-always-be-youth-group-kid One of the stranger moviegoing experiences of my life was walking out from The Last Jedi and feeling sure I’d experienced a masterpiece. I’m not the most devoted Star Wars fan, but I thought I’d seen something special. I still do. So, you can imagine my surprise when the rest of the world was, shall we say, a little divided on The Last Jedi. I’m not here to relitigate that whole exhausting conversation now. But while watching that movie, I felt a connection to the filmmaker, Rian Johnson. Something in the way he navigated the power of belief, the handing down of received wisdom, and the challenges of carving new paths in old traditions spoke to me. I was not surprised to later learn that Johnson had been raised in the church, and I was delighted when he decided to take that as both the theme and setting of the third Knives Out film, his wildly popular murder mystery franchise starring Daniel Craig’s Foghorn Leghorn-throated detective Benoit Blanc. Tue, 09 Dec 2025 14:25:06 EST Sojourners https://sojo.net/articles/culture-interview/knives-outs-rian-johnson-says-he-will-always-be-youth-group-kid https://sojo.net/articles/culture/charlie-brown-and-sufjan-know-good-grief-christmas Sufjan Stevens’ Songs for Christmas boxset includes a memoir essay about how the smell of a burning spatula sent him tumbling into old Christmas memories and, eventually, something like a spiritual revelation—“a tragic-comic-sentimental shock that was simultaneously mundane and supernatural.” In the vision Stevens describes, the smell of melting plastic becomes a portal to the whole universe, past and present, and “at the very center of the universe I saw the Christ Child … This was the mysterious Incarnation of God. It feels about right that Stevens would treat Christmas like both a theological mystery and a craft-store accident. Mon, 08 Dec 2025 16:18:59 EST Sojourners https://sojo.net/articles/culture/charlie-brown-and-sufjan-know-good-grief-christmas https://sojo.net/magazine/januaryfebruary-2026/feeling-powerless-visit-black-owned-bookstore I WAS A library kid growing up. I was in Borders all the time to the point where the workers would be like, “Where are your parents? Why are you still here? It’s dark outside!” Children are some of our most marginalized members of society. Kids can’t [generally] walk into a bookstore and buy books, or they can’t just walk into a library and check out books. Often, they have to have an adult with them. Banning children’s books is a hurdle to literacy and to learning history and how we engage with others in community. Mon, 08 Dec 2025 12:02:50 EST Sojourners https://sojo.net/magazine/januaryfebruary-2026/feeling-powerless-visit-black-owned-bookstore https://sojo.net/articles/culture/sojourners-top-movies-2025 For five years now, Sojourners has created a list of our favorite films of the year. And because we’re Sojourners and not Vulture or IndieWire, our list follows a different set of priorities. We only focus on films that are concerned with spirituality or justice (or when we’re really lucky, both). This year, more than any of the other four years we’ve done this round-up, I was struck by the sheer number of films grappling with faith and justice. Fri, 05 Dec 2025 15:04:39 EST Sojourners https://sojo.net/articles/culture/sojourners-top-movies-2025 https://sojo.net/articles/opinion/christian-nationalisms-power-rests-simple-proposition-no-questions Over the past several months, the Department of Homeland Security has steadily released promotional videos recruiting Americans to join DHS agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement. These videos include clips of military agents loading into armored vehicles, bombs falling from planes, and overhead shots of barren cities. Thu, 04 Dec 2025 15:38:20 EST Sojourners https://sojo.net/articles/opinion/christian-nationalisms-power-rests-simple-proposition-no-questions https://sojo.net/articles/opinion/dont-ignore-darkness-advent-1 One of my least favorite December rituals is putting up Christmas lights. I loathe having to untangle the strands and can never quite summon the patience to put them up as beautifully as many of our neighbors. Needless to say, our house will never win any Christmas light competition. At the same time, I love the beauty of a well-adorned house, glowing with light that cuts through the darkness and communicates joy. But before we get to the light, we must first contend with the darkness. Thu, 04 Dec 2025 14:16:51 EST Sojourners https://sojo.net/articles/opinion/dont-ignore-darkness-advent-1 https://sojo.net/magazine/januaryfebruary-2026/we-need-more-heaven-talk AFTER COLLEGE, I served as the musical arranger and pianist for a play based on the life of Amanda Berry Smith, a 19th-century Black woman evangelist who traveled the country and world preaching and singing. Born enslaved, she sang church hymns and spirituals. In the play, as in life, the spirituals contextualized Smith’s faith while subverting the power structures that undermined everything she was and was called to be. Fatigued by rejection from all sides but not hopeless, Smith, at the demand of a group of white clergymen, sang: I got shoes, you got shoes All of God’s children got shoes When I get to heaven, gonna put on my shoes I’m gonna dance all over God’s heaven Heaven, heaven Everybody talkin’ ’bout heaven ain’t going there Gonna dance all over God’s heaven. We rendered the spiritual lively and upbeat, as if Smith were putting it on for the clergymen, merriment in the face of subjection. The audience, however, was to understand the thinly veiled critique: Blending judgment and hope, the song affirmed that all God’s children have shoes, but in heaven, some of these children will put them on and dance. More pointedly, the song indicates that talking about God’s heaven isn’t the same as being a part of it. Over and against those who deny shoes while talking about heaven, the lyrics affirm God’s inclusivity, God’s resistance to scarcity, and God’s abundance. The spiritual posits that God’s heaven runs by a different calculus than this world and its dominant religious logic. Thu, 04 Dec 2025 11:06:39 EST Sojourners https://sojo.net/magazine/januaryfebruary-2026/we-need-more-heaven-talk https://sojo.net/articles/news/vatican-commission-says-no-women-catholic-deacons-1 A high-level Vatican commission voted against allowing Catholic women to serve as deacons, maintaining the global Church's practice of all-male clergy, according to a report given to Pope Leo and released on Thursday. The commission, in a 7-1 vote, said historical research and theological investigation “excludes the possibility” of allowing women to serve as deacons at this time but recommended further study of the issue. Thu, 04 Dec 2025 10:47:14 EST Sojourners https://sojo.net/articles/news/vatican-commission-says-no-women-catholic-deacons-1 https://sojo.net/articles/news/only-promise-refugee-advocates-are-making-amid-trumps-re-vetting In late November, a child care worker at The PLACE, a refugee center in Amarillo, Texas, reported to work with a worried look on her face. She asked Brady Clark, whose community development nonprofit helps run The PLACE, if the latest announcement from the Trump administration would affect her family. She was referring to a memo from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service announcing it would re-interview all refugees admitted under President Joe Biden and beyond—an estimated 233,000 people. The USCIS memo, dated Nov. 21, said the agency will terminate the refugee status of people already in the U.S. if they are found not to meet refugee criteria. The memo claims the Biden administration potentially prioritized expediency, quantity, and admissions over quality interviews and detailed screening and vetting. Tue, 02 Dec 2025 14:53:58 EST Sojourners https://sojo.net/articles/news/only-promise-refugee-advocates-are-making-amid-trumps-re-vetting https://sojo.net/articles/opinion/your-algorithm-wants-you-worship-devil From 2023 to 2024, I served as a Jesuit Volunteer with the purpose of helping educate high school students. I was repeatedly left awestruck by how easily young people today become dependent on and how effectively they can navigate online spaces. Mon, 01 Dec 2025 13:25:47 EST Sojourners https://sojo.net/articles/opinion/your-algorithm-wants-you-worship-devil https://sojo.net/articles/culture-opinion/amid-immigration-cruelty-stranger-things-feels-modern-day-parable The early seasons of Stranger Things hit different in 2025. I realized this as I rewatched the series ahead of the final season’s premiere. Watching federal agents sow mistrust and harm children no longer seems like a sci-fi nostalgia trip, and the creeping evil influence of the Upside Down feels more like commentary on current events than a Stephen King pastiche. In fact, in fighting for the world they want and practicing radical solidarity, the kids in Hawkins, Ind., teach us exactly the lesson we need for right now. Stranger Things might even be a modern-day parable. When the show debuted in 2016, it was a smash hit and proved that Netflix could compete in the original-content arena. Following a group of teenagers and the adults they trust in a fight against the forces of evil, the show owes much of its success to ’80s nostalgia. The group has fought various monsters over its seasons, many of which took cues from Dungeons & Dragons, but Season 4 took a more psychological turn, focusing on a being that feeds on the ongoing trauma people in Hawkins have experienced in their personal lives. Wed, 26 Nov 2025 14:11:51 EST Sojourners https://sojo.net/articles/culture-opinion/amid-immigration-cruelty-stranger-things-feels-modern-day-parable https://sojo.net/articles/news/trump-reopen-cases-thousands-already-admitted-refugees U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has ordered a broad review of all refugees who entered under former President Joe Biden, an internal U.S. government memo seen by Reuters said, an unprecedented move that could reopen cases of thousands who sought U.S. protection. The order would apply to about 233,000 refugees who entered between Jan. 20, 2021 and Feb. 20, 2025, according to the memo signed by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Joe Edlow. It also orders a halt to all processing of applications for permanent residence for refugees who entered under Biden. Wed, 26 Nov 2025 11:32:33 EST Sojourners https://sojo.net/articles/news/trump-reopen-cases-thousands-already-admitted-refugees https://sojo.net/articles/opinion/finding-apostle-paul-epstein-files As the Apostle Paul warns us in 1 Timothy 6:9: “But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.” And if you want proof of Paul’s words, look no further than the release of Jeffrey Epstein’s emails. Tue, 25 Nov 2025 17:17:52 EST Sojourners https://sojo.net/articles/opinion/finding-apostle-paul-epstein-files https://sojo.net/articles/culture-interview/wake-dead-man-takes-benoit-blanc-church The most powerful moment in Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery isn’t a murder or a big reveal. It’s a phone call. Father Jud Duplenticy (Josh O’Connor) is trying to help solve the murder of the controversial head priest of his small-town parish, Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin). Standing in the rectory with private detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig), Jud calls a records office to request information related to the case. The clerk, Louise (Bridget Everett), is overly chatty, much to Father Jud’s annoyance. It seems like she’ll never shut up. But it turns out she, too, has a request. After a few minutes, Louise stops talking to ask, “Father, would you pray for me?” Tue, 25 Nov 2025 15:37:45 EST Sojourners https://sojo.net/articles/culture-interview/wake-dead-man-takes-benoit-blanc-church https://sojo.net/articles/culture/unto-us-scary-child-born What if Jesus used his omnipotence not only to curse barren fig trees but also to kill those who annoyed him? That’s a premise director Lotfy Nathan explores in The Carpenter’s Son. The supernatural horror film imagines Mary, Joseph, and Jesus’ time in Egyptian exile after they flee King Herod (though curiously, none of the characters in the film are directly called by those names). Nicolas Cage plays the Carpenter, who, along with the Mother (FKA twigs), tries to protect their son (played by Noah Jupe, credited only as The Boy) from the suspicious townspeople around him. The Boy’s miracles are awe-inspiring, but they’re also terrifying: In one sequence, he pulls a snake out of a woman’s mouth. While the Carpenter and Mother try to control the Boy’s power, they’re not able to stop his wanderings. Eventually, his curiosities lead him to a devil figure—a character known only as the Stranger (Isla Johnston), who tries to use his powers for her own ends. Mon, 24 Nov 2025 16:38:22 EST Sojourners https://sojo.net/articles/culture/unto-us-scary-child-born https://sojo.net/articles/opinion/holy-resistance-isnt-just-historys-winners In early November, Democrats won several key elections up and down the ballot in states like Virginia, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and, perhaps most notably, in New York, where Zohran Mamdani became the first Muslim, South Asian, Democratic Socialist mayor-elect in New York City’s history. For voters concerned about the Republican Party’s authoritarian lurch, it was a reminder that political wins on the left are still possible. Mon, 24 Nov 2025 13:49:54 EST Sojourners https://sojo.net/articles/opinion/holy-resistance-isnt-just-historys-winners https://sojo.net/articles/opinion/trump-keeps-showing-us-hes-not-pro-life Let’s take a quick trip back to the fall of 2016. Justin Bieber, Drake, and Twenty-One Pilots are topping the charts. All the cool kids are bottle-flipping. And almost every adult I know is falling in line to vote for Donald Trump. I’m from the western side of Michigan, and my home county went to Trump by almost 30 percentage points. I was just starting to develop political opinions at that time, but it shocked me how so many people—who I knew cared deeply about their own moral lives—could countenance voting for a candidate who made a mockery of Christian values like forgiveness and marital fidelity. Fri, 21 Nov 2025 15:45:16 EST Sojourners https://sojo.net/articles/opinion/trump-keeps-showing-us-hes-not-pro-life https://sojo.net/articles/opinion/i-was-arrested-outside-ice-facility-we-need-shut-down On Nov. 14, more than 100 clergy gathered to raise their voices to demand the closure of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing facility in Broadview, Ill., the release of all detainees, and that the Department of Homeland Security honor federal law by allowing detainees spiritual care. Thu, 20 Nov 2025 16:08:21 EST Sojourners https://sojo.net/articles/opinion/i-was-arrested-outside-ice-facility-we-need-shut-down https://sojo.net/articles/opinion/cost-staying-quiet-when-murder-becomes-foreign-policy The Trump administration is blowing boats to pieces off the coast of Venezuela. At different points this year, I’ve been left with the unsettling feeling that I don’t have the emotional bandwidth to fully process—let alone respond to—all of what’s happening. Early in the year, we all acknowledged that this overwhelmed feeling was by design, part of the Trump administration’s “flood-the-zone” strategy, intended to weaken and divide its opposition. I’ve been wrestling with this in light of the attacks the Trump administration is orchestrating in Venezuela. On one hand, I’m perplexed at why such a costly, unlawful, and frankly evil operation isn’t garnering louder public outcry; on the other hand, I know there is so much else on people’s minds. It’s not that we don’t care about it all—from Chicago to Palestine to Sudan to so many other places where we know there’s urgent suffering—but there’s only so much outrage we can process before weariness takes over. And yet I can’t ignore what’s happening in Venezuela Thu, 20 Nov 2025 16:07:18 EST Sojourners https://sojo.net/articles/opinion/cost-staying-quiet-when-murder-becomes-foreign-policy https://sojo.net/articles/culture/rosal-lux-god-haunted-masterpiece On the cover art of her latest album, Lux, Spanish superstar Rosalía poses in a white nun’s habit, arms bundled to suggest straight-jacket confinement or maybe self-love. Before anyone heard a note of the new music, the internet was already bubbling over with commentary, par for the course when it comes to the complicated pop auteur. Fans and haters alike wondered what the Catholic imagery might mean. Habit aside, had Rosalía gone tradwife? Even Ikea joined in on the pre-release conversation, posting a version of the album cover with an overhead lamp. In Latin, Lux means light. The album is a visionary landmark in pop music. Largely departing from previous forays into flamenco fusion and experimental reggaeton, Rosalía primarily draws from the classical tradition for the project, recording with the London Symphony Orchestra and pushing her voice into new operatic territory. Oh, and she sings in 13 different languages. Wed, 19 Nov 2025 17:15:02 EST Sojourners https://sojo.net/articles/culture/rosal-lux-god-haunted-masterpiece https://sojo.net/articles/opinion/chicago-state-holy-rage Chicago is in a state of holy rage. Last Friday morning, I stood with many of my colleagues in ministry at a multifaith service outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing facility in Broadview, Ill. It would be better to call this facility an abduction center, as those who are detained there have little to no contact with the outside world. Wed, 19 Nov 2025 15:40:51 EST Sojourners https://sojo.net/articles/opinion/chicago-state-holy-rage https://sojo.net/articles/culture/frankenstein-tech-bro-meets-his-monster The most terrifying thing about power isn’t the force it applies; it’s the moral vacuum it creates in the soul of the person wielding it. I think of the times I’ve made choices that were professionally powerful but ethically hollow—the quick decision that saved time but neglected a vulnerable party, the project that elevated my status but buried someone else’s contribution. We’ve all been Victor Frankenstein, playing God with a Promethean flame, only to be horrified when the fire scorches someone else. Tue, 18 Nov 2025 12:23:53 EST Sojourners https://sojo.net/articles/culture/frankenstein-tech-bro-meets-his-monster https://sojo.net/articles/culture/put-your-soul-your-hand-and-walk-must-watch-documentary In early 2024, filmmaker Sepideh Farsi felt compelled to document life in Gaza. Ultimately, she couldn’t gain access to the Strip, but she connected with a photographer who’d lived all 25 years of her life there: Fatma Hassona. The documentary Put Your Soul On Your Hand and Walk is almost entirely composed of their monthslong correspondence. Farsi weaves Hassona’s portraits of an increasingly battered Gaza between a steady exchange of audio messages, spotty video calls, and text messages. Fri, 14 Nov 2025 16:14:49 EST Sojourners https://sojo.net/articles/culture/put-your-soul-your-hand-and-walk-must-watch-documentary https://sojo.net/articles/opinion/course-virgin-mary-would-trample-ice Every age of Christian art has wrestled with power. From the earliest icons to contemporary murals and prints, artists have used sacred imagery to question authority, confront injustice, and call the church to stay accountable to its own ideals. As chaplain Federico Cinocca writes, protest art can serve as “a precious ally to help theology in its [critical] role and uncover narratives that reinforce marginalization.” Fri, 14 Nov 2025 16:11:34 EST Sojourners https://sojo.net/articles/opinion/course-virgin-mary-would-trample-ice https://sojo.net/articles/news/us-catholic-bishops-issue-rare-rebuke-trumps-immigration-crackdown The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has issued a rare condemnation of President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown and advocated for “meaningful immigration reform.” “We are troubled by threats against the sanctity of houses of worship and the special nature of hospitals and schools,” the bishops said in a special message, the first of its kind in 12 years. Fri, 14 Nov 2025 12:17:25 EST Sojourners https://sojo.net/articles/news/us-catholic-bishops-issue-rare-rebuke-trumps-immigration-crackdown https://sojo.net/magazine/december-2025/all-bullies-are-frightened-children I WAS NEVER the smartest seminarian, but I read my Bible every day. I feel rooted in the scriptures and formed by what I see Jesus teaching us and how he’s calling us to imitate him. I was moved in that moment to pray in the verbatim words of Jesus, to warn the ICE officers who were standing on the roof about the spiritual consequences of their actions in language that was not just me—[it] was an echo of scriptural prophetic language talking about how generations after them would view their actions and calling them to repent. Thu, 13 Nov 2025 09:25:49 EST Sojourners https://sojo.net/magazine/december-2025/all-bullies-are-frightened-children https://sojo.net/articles/news/reckoning-renewal-and-next-chapter-catholic-feminism In early November, a group of faith activists gathered to discuss the future of the Catholicism and feminism. The Women-Church Convergence, a historic coalition dedicated to justice in social and ecclesial structures, hosted 14 women and nonbinary people from across the country at Mount Olivet Conference and Retreat Center in Minnesota. As the organization begins to sunset, the gathering discussed how to make sure younger Catholic-rooted feminists are supported in their work. Wed, 12 Nov 2025 16:00:50 EST Sojourners https://sojo.net/articles/news/reckoning-renewal-and-next-chapter-catholic-feminism https://sojo.net/articles/news/pope-leo-host-hollywood-stars-including-cate-blanchett-chris-pine-vatican Lights, camera, action, pope? About three dozen Hollywood stars will meet Pope Leo this weekend, including actors Cate Blanchett, Chris Pine and Adam Scott, the Vatican said on Monday. Wed, 12 Nov 2025 14:02:14 EST Sojourners https://sojo.net/articles/news/pope-leo-host-hollywood-stars-including-cate-blanchett-chris-pine-vatican https://sojo.net/articles/interview/jesus-led-him-top-refrigerator-protest-snap-cuts As the longest government shutdown in U.S. history draws to a close, much of the news cycle has centered on the struggles of 42 million Americans missing benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. While benefits remain delayed, many of those 42 million may have spent more than a week unsure of how to pay for groceries. It’s difficult to grasp such a large number. For those without direct connections to food insecurity, the issue can remain hypothetical and far off. Terence Lester, founder and executive director of the nonprofit Love Beyond Walls, is used to serving those our political system forgets. Love Beyond Walls is a nonprofit focused on poverty and homelessness, based the Atlanta suburb of College Park, Ga. The organization has partnered with local school districts to convert unused classroom space into resource centers designed to make sure students in poverty can get their basic needs met at school. It also provides hygiene stations for people experiencing homelessness throughout the city. Tue, 11 Nov 2025 10:52:11 EST Sojourners https://sojo.net/articles/interview/jesus-led-him-top-refrigerator-protest-snap-cuts https://sojo.net/articles/news/florida-faith-movement-grows-alligator-alcatraz-protests They’re out there, deep in the Florida Everglades every Sunday evening—rain or shine—holding signs, singing songs, and praying. Since it opened at the beginning of July, Florida’s migrant detention center dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz" has sparked a slew of controversy surrounding its existence, including multiple lawsuits from environmental and civil rights groups seeking to shutter the detention camp. With pending legal challenges and now a government shutdown, the future of the controversial facility remains uncertain. But one thing has been constant: Florida faith leaders have shown up week-after-week throughout it all. Tue, 11 Nov 2025 10:34:47 EST Sojourners https://sojo.net/articles/news/florida-faith-movement-grows-alligator-alcatraz-protests https://sojo.net/magazine/december-2025/billionaires-are-national-disaster CHUCK COLLINS WAS “born on third base.” As a scion of the Oscar Mayer meat processor fortune, Collins was firmly in America’s top 1%. However, at age 16, he began reading The Catholic Worker newspaper, co-founded by Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin. Within two years he was living with the Mustard Seed Catholic Worker community in Worcester, Mass., serving soup to homeless men. Day’s philosophy of “nonviolent economics” exposed Collins to the violence caused by economic systems. Day believed that there is a “social mortgage on capital” and that society has a claim on private wealth, since it comes from the commons. At age 26, Collins made what he called “the first real adult decision of my life.” He gave away the half-a-million-dollar trust fund his parents had set up for him to local and national groups working for social change. For 40 years, Collins has organized for a more moral economy. “The prophets, then and now,” he’s written, “call us to a discipleship of equality, working for a society that leaves no one behind, and where all can thrive.” Author of a dozen books, Collins’ newest is Burned by Billionaires: How Concentrated Wealth and Power Are Ruining Our Lives and Planet. He is a senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies where he directs the Program on Inequality and the Common Good and co-edits inequality.org. He lives in Vermont. Sojourners editor Julie Polter interviewed Collins in September via Zoom. —The Editors Mon, 10 Nov 2025 15:55:31 EST Sojourners https://sojo.net/magazine/december-2025/billionaires-are-national-disaster https://sojo.net/articles/opinion/moral-lesson-buried-last-weeks-blue-wave Following a stronger-than-expected showing from Democratic candidates in last week’s elections, there's been a lot of media discourse about what the party can learn from these wins. Much of the focus has been on Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral victory in New York City. Mon, 10 Nov 2025 14:05:54 EST Sojourners https://sojo.net/articles/opinion/moral-lesson-buried-last-weeks-blue-wave