Today

Violence at worship, church courts convene, and the churches weigh in on AI

By The FaithDaily Desk

Good morning. The most serious news came from Ontario. Charisma News reported that gunfire erupted outside a synagogue as Jewish worshippers gathered for Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar. By the time the shooting stopped, a veteran police officer had been seriously wounded. The account describes a barrage of bullets outside the doors.

Violence touched another community as well. Religion News Service, citing court documents, reported that a Sikh truck driver was attacked from behind with a knife early Sunday in a restroom at the Bitter Creek rest stop on Interstate 80 in Wyoming, midway between Cheyenne and Salt Lake City. RNS reported the attack has stirred fresh fears in the Sikh community.

Artificial intelligence ran through much of the day's coverage. Charisma News reported that President Trump announced plans to create an "AI Force," writing on Truth Social that his administration aims to combat resistance to AI and data centers. From Vatican City, RNS reported that Pope Leo is positioning the Vatican as a moral convener in the AI debate and a possible bridge between the United States and China. In a separate RNS report, Bishop Oscar Cantú, chair of the US bishops' new AI task force, said the Church and the White House are "not in sync" and urged the president to look beyond "ego" in the AI race. Writers at Santa Clara University, in an RNS commentary, argued the Catholic Church can offer Silicon Valley the idea of synodality.

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