You may have heard that, at Charlie Kirk’s memorial service, Erika Kirk said that she forgave her husband’s assassin.
You may have also heard that only a few minutes later, President Donald Trump said that while Charlie Kirk “did not hate his opponents—he wanted the best for them,” he was different: “I hate my opponent, and I don’t want the best for them!” This moment got a lot of attention, understandably so, but another moment stuck out to me even more. And even though we’re almost a week and a half removed from the memorial service, I think it’s still worth exploring today.
Pope Leo on Tuesday appeared to offer his strongest criticism yet of President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration policies, questioning whether they were in line with the Catholic Church’s pro-life teachings.
“Someone who says I am against abortion, but I am in agreement with the inhuman treatment of immigrants in the United States, I don’t know if that’s pro-life,” the pontiff told journalists outside his residence in Castel Gandolfo.
Angela Thompson soaked in the garden tub of her new apartment in Columbia, South Carolina. With a freshly cut bob and a lease penned in her name, she reflected on the 30-year marriage she had just left behind. “I put down a deposit, I got the utilities and I furnished the [apartment] off Facebook Marketplace,” she told Uncloseted Media and The 19th.
At just 17 years old, Thompson married a youth pastor six years her senior due to pressure from a non-denominational evangelical church she described as “close to a cult.”
“The message from my church was: ‘You find a man, you marry a man, you have his babies, you stay married forever, whether you're happy or not,’” she says. “Look around and pick a man,” they would tell her.
The Committee to Protect Journalists has estimated that since Israel’s war with Gaza began in October 2023, Israel has killed 235 journalists and imprisoned another 86. According to CPJ, this has been the deadliest period for journalists since they first began collecting data in 1992.
In response to ongoing federal threats from President Donald Trump, Chicago faith leaders organized a surge of solidarity to protect the most vulnerable. Alongside a deep pride for their city, some of the organized actions share a critical motif: joy.
Community leaders in Chicago were already alert to the threat that Trump posed to immigrant communities in Chicago when the president began hinting at sending the National Guard into the city to support Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and cut the crime rate of what he falsely claimed to be the most dangerous city in the world. For some of the faith leaders, it was important that they protest not just the dangerous influx of troops, but also the false narrative surrounding their city.
“We’re called to be constantly rejoicing,” Rev. Juan Pablo Herrera told Sojourners. “It’s a spiritual strength that we can have in times of negativity coming against us, that we can choose to live with joy as a way of defying the forces of principality.”
In a short few months, I will pass a milestone and move into my sixth year of publicly living out my transgender identity. The years have indeed brought external changes—a deepened voice, new growth of facial hair, and a visible confidence. But more importantly, I finally know true happiness and peace.
Oscar season hasn’t even started, and 2025 is already shaping up to be a strong year at the movies. We’ve seen small-budget standouts, from the thought-provoking body horror of Together to the empathetic dramedy of Sorry, Baby. Even the superhero blockbusters—Superman, Fantastic Four—had more to say about justice and community than I’ve come to expect from spandex cinema. And then there was Sinners, which was perfect.
In August, at least 20 people were killed in an Israeli attack on Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza. According to MSNBC, Israel struck the hospital at least four times, killing journalists, health workers, and emergency response personnel, many of whom were responding to the initial round of bombings.
“On Sunday, Erika Kirk forgave the man who shot her husband,” Jimmy Kimmel told his live studio audience on Tuesday night, his first show back after a six-day suspension following his musings on Charlie Kirk’s assassination. “She forgave him.”
“That is an example we should follow,” Kimmel continued, his voice cracking with emotion. “If you believe in the teachings of Jesus, as I do, there it was. That’s it. A selfless act of grace, forgiveness from a grieving widow that touched me deeply. And if there’s anything we can take from this tragedy, I hope it’s that.”
When a Texas Republican congressional candidate used a flamethrower to set a Quran ablaze as part of a political ad in August, I wasn’t shocked by the act itself.
Unfortunately, burning the Quran as a political act has a long history. What made my heart sink was hearing the candidate claim the fire was “powered by Jesus Christ.”