On Tuesday (Aug. 11), RNS national reporter Bob Smietana hopped into his car and drove to Rate Field, home of the Chicago White Sox, to cover the team’s “divine promotion" — a game during which it gave away more than 40,000 hats inspired by Pope Leo XIV, a lifetime Sox fan. Before long, Bob was in the team’s dugout, chatting with one of the players about faith, baseball, and of course, Pope Leo. He said it was probably the best day of his reporting career. Ever. The pope hats — a genius marketing move — were everywhere. In the church of baseball, fans sang, passed the peace, cheered for a celebrity nun tossing out the first pitch and even hummed along to the organ. “You know, baseball unites. The church unites. You put two good things together, and it’s perfect," said Sister Mary Jo Sobieck, who bounced a baseball off her arm before firing a first pitch home. Bob has been a religion reporter for 27 years, but in another life, he said he would have covered baseball. For a few hours, the players, the fans, the rituals, even the hot dogs and beer — and of course, “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” — create a world of their own. This is also the way religion works at its best, Bob noted. In the midst of daily life, the world pauses and there’s a bit of respite and joy. Top Stories | CHICAGO (RNS) — After three terrible years, the White Sox are in the midst of a revival — with good young players and perhaps a little divine intervention. The team's best-known fan is Pope Leo XIV. |
 | (RNS) — 'We too can have rough patches in our marriage,' said the Rev. Jamal Bryant, senior pastor of an Atlanta-area megachurch where is wife is an executive pastor. |
 | RALEIGH, N.C. (RNS) — Over the past decade, a group of democracy activists with a long history of involvement in social and political causes has found a balm in Buddhist meditation. |
 | (RNS) — Hunt's lawyers had argued he was a private figure and his misconduct was nobody's business. He also claimed a tweet criticizing him was defamatory. |
 | (RNS) — This week’s photo selection includes the Chicago White Sox hosting pope night, Hindu pilgrims and more. |
Opinion | (RNS) — The behavior of some West Bank settlers is not Judaism. It is not Zionism. And it must be stopped. |
ICYMI | (RNS, EL PASO MATTERS) — Catholic parishes and other community groups in Socorro, Texas, organized against the sprawling $126 million complex. They cited moral objections and warned that the town's infrastructure couldn't support it. |
 | (RNS) — The largest portion of the funding — $1.4 billion — is expected to support some 2,500 faith-based hospitals and clinics and train and pay tens of thousands of community health workers to provide healthcare services. |
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