I’m back in Oklahoma after spending big chunks of the last week in California and Texas.

This is our weekly roundup of the top headlines and best reads in the world of faith. We start with the killer’s sentence in the 2018 Tree of Life synagogue shooting.

What To Know: The Big Story

Antisemitic attack: “The man who killed 11 congregants at a Pittsburgh synagogue was formally sentenced to death Thursday, one day after a jury determined that capital punishment was appropriate for the perpetrator of the deadliest attack on Jews in U.S. history.”

That’s the lede from The Associated Press’ Peter Smith (a religion writer who has covered this case from the beginning) and Michael Rubinkam.

Painful process: Survivors characterized Robert Bowers’ trial as extremely difficult to endure and a necessary accounting, according to the New York Times’ Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs, Anna Betts and Jon Moss. The Times:

“Most families of the victims have said that they supported a death sentence, but some have been outspoken in their opposition to it. One, Miri Rabinowitz, whose husband was killed, said executing the gunman would be a “bitter irony” because her husband had been devoted to “the sanctity of life.”

What’s next: But a big question remains: When will Bowers be put to death?

An even bigger question: Will he actually be executed?

As Religion New Service’s Yonat Shimron points out, “it will take years and likely decades for the sentence to be carried out, if it happens at all.” RNS explains:

Bowers will join 41 others on federal death row. Sixteen people have been executed by the federal government since Congress reinstated capital punishment in 1988. Bowers’ defense team is now expected to appeal the verdict to the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals. He may then have other appeals available to him, up to and including the Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, in 2021, Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a moratorium on federal executions, officially to allow the the Justice Department to review policies and procedures surrounding the practice. 

Bowers, 50, will likely live for the foreseeable future —  most likely in Terre Haute, Indiana, where most federal death row prisoners are housed.

See additional coverage by the Wall Street Journal’s Kris Maher and the Washington Post’s David Nakamura.

Power Up: The Week’s Best Reads

1. Pope in Portugal: Citing politics, conspiracies and peace, the National Catholic Reporter’s Brian Fraga and Christopher White detail the complicated nature of Francis’ visit to Fátima.

In an equally insightful piece, White delves into how World Youth Days test the limits of aging popes.

While in Portugal, Francis visited a once-troubled neighborhood in Lisbon to draw attention to the Catholic Church’s charitable side and met with survivors of clergy sex abuse in that country, The Associated Press’ Nicole Winfield reports.

2. Done with church: Why aren’t middle-aged Americans going back to church? The Wall Street Journal’s Clare Ansberry explores that question.

“Americans in their 40s and 50s often identify with a religion, but they’re also in the thick of raising kids, caring for aging parents and juggling demanding jobs,” Ansberry’s story notes.

In a related think piece at the Atlantic, Jake Meador tackles “The misunderstood reason millions of Americans stopped going to church.”

CONTINUE READING: “Seeking Justice In Tree Of Life Synagogue Shooting: Will Killer Really Be Executed?” by Bobby Ross, Jr., at Religion Unplugged.