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The marketplace of ideas has ceased to be fully stocked because all ideas are no longer welcome. So much for Jews controlling Hollywood, mass media and book publishing.

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ASSISI, Italy (AP) — The bones of St. Francis of Assisi, the medieval friar who inspired Pope Francis and generations of Christians before him, are going on public display for the first time, giving his hilltop Umbrian hometown yet another reason to welcome pilgrims.

That’s a mixed blessing for Assisi Mayor Valter Stoppini, residents and the Franciscan friars who are organizing the monthlong display of relics to commemorate the 800th anniversary of the saint’s death this year.

Already, nearly 400,000 people have registered to pray before the relics and Stoppini estimates the number could well reach a half-million before the bones go back into their tomb March 22.

A small army of 400 volunteers have been recruited to herd them through the medieval city’s cobblestone streets and into the lower Basilica of St. Francis to view the bones, which are held in a bulletproof glass box.

That will put enormous strain on the city’s center, with its narrow souvenir-lined streets and limited services. But it will also test the patience of Assisi’s residents, who are no stranger to mass influxes of pilgrims, but usually just for limited celebrations.

“We’re used to this kind of event, but that lasts for one, two or three days,” Stoppini said. “This is something prolonged, for a month, so I’m a bit worried, but calm.”

A saint who inspired a pope and many more

As it is, Assisi is one of the world’s most popular Christian pilgrimage destinations, located on a hill in the Umbrian countryside and built with a pink-tinged limestone that gives it its unique glow, especially at sunset.

Millions of pilgrims flock here each year thanks to the presence of St. Francis’ tomb and the spectacular basilica, decorated with Giotto’s frescoes illustrating the saint’s life, that rises over it.

St. Francis was born into a wealthy family in 1182, but renounced his wealth to live as a mendicant friar after receiving what he said was a vocation to rebuild and reform the church.

He is best known for his message of peace, his love of creation and attention to the poor — teachings that strongly inspired Pope Francis, the first pope to name himself after the saint.

While St. Francis’ remains have been periodically inspected over the years by the Franciscan friars to ensure their conservation, this is the first time they are going on display publicly.

The decision to remove them from the crypt and welcome pilgrims for a month is a means to keep his message alive and give Christians a chance to pray before them, officials said.

Stoppini said a monthlong exhibition was the maximum he could ask of Assisi’s residents given the strain on the city that already saw a massive influx of pilgrims in 2025.

Assisi has a new saint, too

While Assisi is famous for St. Francis, a new saint is drawing a new generation of pilgrims: Carlo Acutis, who was canonized last year by Pope Leo XIV as the Catholic Church’s first millennial saint.

Acutis, who died at age 15 of leukemia, is buried in a different Assisi basilica, but his wild popularity especially among young Latin Americans has turned Assisi into a new religious destination for Catholic youth groups visiting Italy.

“When we go out onto the piazza, we find many people who ask us ‘Where’s Carlo? Where’s Carlo?’” said Brother Marco Moroni, the custodian of the convent of St. Francis.

Last year alone saw a 30% increase in the number of pilgrims, though that was likely due to both Acutis’ canonization and the Holy Year, which brought some 33 million pilgrims to Rome, many of whom also traveled on to Assisi.

“The beautiful thing is that saints don’t go to war against one another, thanks be to God,” he added.

“Many who come to the basilica go to see Carlo, and many who go to Carlo Acutis come to the basilica, creating an osmosis and a growing movement that does though create some problems for the city.”

For the locals, religious tourism is necessary

For the souvenir merchants of Assisi, who make their living off religious tourists and pilgrims who flock to the picturesque town, a monthlong event is welcome.

“Other people will see what we see every day,” with Francis’ spirit imbuing the town, said shopkeeper Arianna Catarinelli, who works in a souvenir shop in the main drag of town leading to the basilica.

The shop features Assisi-emblazoned sweatshirts, pens featuring Acutis’ photo, St. Francis-themed coffee mugs and neon rosaries.

“For residents, finding parking isn’t easy. But for businesses, I think it’s positive that there are so many people,” she said.

To cope with the influx, city hall has created new parking lots outside the city center and runs a shuttle service to bring people into town.

Assisi resident Riccardo Bacconi, who works in a local bank branch, said he hoped the extra parking lots will be the legacy of the exposition that will continue to make life easier for locals.

Speaking after he went for a morning run Saturday, Bacconi acknowledged the town lives from tourism and anyone who chooses to live here has to put up with it.

“I don’t judge it negatively, economically it’s important,” he said. “There are more advantages than disadvantages.”

A U.S. appeals court has cleared the way for a Louisiana law requiring poster-sized displays of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms to take effect.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals voted 12-6 to lift a block that a lower court first placed on the law in 2024. In the opinion released Friday, the court said it was too early to make a judgment call on the constitutionality of the law.

That’s partly because it’s not yet clear how prominently schools may display the religious text, if teachers will refer to the Ten Commandments during classes or if other texts like the Mayflower Compact or the Declaration of Independence will also be displayed, the majority opinion said.

Without those sorts of details, the panel decided it did not have enough information to weigh any First Amendment issues that might arise from the law. In other words, there aren’t enough facts available to “permit judicial judgment rather than speculation,” the majority wrote in the opinion.

In a concurring opinion, Circuit Judge James Ho, an appointee of Republican President Donald Trump, wrote that the law “is not just constitutional — it affirms our nation’s highest and most noble traditions.”

The six judges who voted against the decision wrote a series of dissents, with some arguing that the law exposes children to government-endorsed religion in a place they are required to be, presenting a clear constitutional burden.

Circuit Judge James L. Dennis, an appointee of Democratic President Bill Clinton, wrote that the law “is precisely the kind of establishment the Framers anticipated and sought to prevent.”

The ruling is the result of the court’s choice to rehear the case with all judges present after three of them ruled in June that the Louisiana law was unconstitutional. The reversal comes from one of the nation’s most conservative appeals courts, and one that’s known for propelling Republican policies to a similarly conservative U.S. Supreme Court.

Republican Gov. Jeff Landry celebrated the ruling Friday, declaring, “Common sense is making a comeback!”

The ACLU of Louisiana, one of several groups representing plaintiffs, pledged to explore all legal pathways to continue fighting the law.

Arkansas has a similar law that has been challenged in federal court. And a Texas law took effect on Sept. 1, marking the widest reaching attempt in the nation to hang the Ten Commandments in public schools.

Some Texas school districts were barred from posting them after federal judges issued injunctions in two cases challenging the law, but they have already gone up in many classrooms across the state as districts paid to have the posters printed themselves or accepted donations.

The laws are among pushes by Republicans, including Trump, to incorporate religion into public school classrooms. Critics say it violates the separation of church and state, while backers say the Ten Commandments are historical and part of the foundation of U.S. law.

Joseph Davis, an attorney representing Louisiana in the case, applauded the court for upholding America’s “time-honored tradition of recognizing faith in the public square.”

Families from a variety of religious backgrounds, including Christianity, Judaism and Hinduism, have challenged the laws, as have clergy members and nonreligious families.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation, another group involved in the challenge, called the ruling “extremely disappointing” and said the law will force families “into a game of constitutional whack-a-mole” where they will have to separately challenge each school district’s displays.

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said after the ruling that she had sent schools several correct examples of the required poster.

In 1980, the Supreme Court ruled that a similar Kentucky law violated the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which says Congress can “make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” The court found that the law had no secular purpose but served a plainly religious purpose.

And in 2005, the Supreme Court held that such displays in a pair of Kentucky courthouses violated the Constitution. At the same time, the court upheld a Ten Commandments marker on the grounds of the Texas state Capitol in Austin.

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This story has been corrected to show the ruling was issued Friday, not Tuesday.

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Tens of thousands of Palestinians gathered under heavy Israeli restrictions at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque compound for the first Friday prayers of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, including some who were allowed to enter from the occupied West Bank.

The Ramadan prayers at Al-Aqsa took place for the first time since a shaky ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect in October. It was the first opportunity many had to leave the West Bank and pray at the site in Jerusalem’s Old City since Ramadan last year.

Israel restricted the number of Palestinians allowed to enter from the West Bank to 10,000 on Friday, and only allowed men over 55 and women over 50 as well as children up to 12. It has imposed similar restrictions in the past, citing security concerns.

A frequent flashpoint

The hilltop, which Jews refer to as the Temple Mount, is the holiest site in Judaism and was home to the ancient biblical temples. Muslims call the site the Noble Sanctuary. Today it is home to Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third-holiest site in Islam.

It has frequently been a flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israeli police said more than 3,000 police were deployed across Jerusalem. They said their presence was not meant to show aggression or force but was aimed at providing help in case of an emergency.

Many Palestinians view the heightened Israeli security presence, and increasing visits by religious and nationalist Israeli Jews, as a provocation. They fear that Israel intends to take over or partition the compound. The Israeli government denies having any such plans.

Jerusalem’s Islamic Waqf, the Jordanian religious authority that administers the compound, said there were 80,000 in attendance. In normal times, Ramadan Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa can draw up to 200,000.

Ezaldeen Mustafah, a Palestinian from the West Bank, was among those lamenting the restrictions.

“We need more people than this,” he said.

Some Palestinians from the West Bank on Friday said they were turned away from crossing into Jerusalem even though they had permits. Jihad Bisharat said he was told his permit had been canceled and was sent back. Israel’s army didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Old City, home to major religious sites sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims, is in east Jerusalem, which Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war, along with the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The Palestinians want all three territories for a future state with its capital in east Jerusalem. Israel annexed east Jerusalem, a move not recognized by most of the international community, and considers the entire city to be its capital.

Ramadan in Gaza

Many Palestinians said the month’s typically festive spirit is eluding them as they struggle with grief and losses following two years of conflict in Gaza sparked by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack into Israel.

“All the mosques have been bombed,” said Ramiz Firwana, a Gaza resident who gathered with other worshippers for a Friday sermon and prayers held in schoolyard.

On Thursday evening, families sat amid the rubble and destruction for iftar, the meal held at the end of the daily dawn-to-dusk fast.

“Despite the displacement, the pain and the destruction, we want to rejoice and live,” said Mohammad Kollab, from Khan Younis. “We are not a people destined only for destruction and killing.”

Israel’s military offensive has killed more than 72,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, and caused widespread destruction and displaced most of the territory’s residents. Israel launched the offensive after Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took another 251 hostage in the initial attack.

The Oct. 10 U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal has brought an end to major military operations and the release of the remaining hostages. But Palestinians, including many civilians, are still being killed in near-daily strikes that Israel says are aimed at militants who threaten or attack its forces.

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Associated Press reporters Sam Metz contributed from Ramallah, West Bank, and Wafaa Shurafa from Gaza City, Gaza Strip.

ROME (AP) — Pope Leo XIV will visit ground zero of Europe’s migration drama, the Sicilian island of Lampedusa, on July 4 in a strong sign of continuity with Pope Francis, who often clashed with the U.S. over his strong outreach to migrants, according to travel plans announced Thursday.

The Vatican released Leo’s agenda for day trips to a half-dozen Italian cities over the next six months, including a visit to the tomb of St. Augustine, the inspiration of his religious order. The Vatican has rarely released such plans together and so far in advance, but word of the visits was starting to filter out.

The busy itinerary, which will take Leo up and down the Italian peninsula, is in addition to plans for some intense foreign travel in 2026. There are plans under study for a four-nation trip to Africa after Easter that would take Leo to Algeria, Equatorial Guinea, Angola and Cameroon. Leo himself has said he hopes to visit his beloved Peru, as well as Argentina and Uruguay, trips that could happen toward the end of the year.

The Vatican previously confirmed that one foreign trip not on the agenda this year is to Leo’s native United States, which this year is celebrating its 250th anniversary. Instead on U.S. Independence Day, Leo will travel to Lampedusa, an Italian island that is closer to Africa than the Italian mainland.

Pope Francis had made Lampedusa his first trip outside Rome after his 2013 election to show solidarity with migrants who landed there after being smuggled from north Africa.

Francis famously celebrated Mass on the island on an altar made of shipwrecked migrant boats and denounced the “globalization of indifference” that greets migrants who risk their lives trying to reach Europe — a mantra that would come to define his papacy and increase tensions with the first Trump administration.

Leo too has clashed with the second Trump administration over its crackdown on migrants, strongly backing U.S. bishops who have denounced the mass deportations.

History’s first U.S.-born pope was limited in his ability to leave Rome during his first year as pontiff because of the busy 2025 Holy Year agenda, which saw millions of pilgrims coming to the Vatican for special Masses and papal audiences.

With the Jubilee behind him, Leo can now get out of town more easily: He has begun a series of parish visits within his Roman diocese each Sunday throughout Lent, the period leading up to Easter.

And the Italy itinerary announced Thursday will take Leo near and far as he gets to know the Italian church and faithful better.

The travels begin on May 8 with a visit to Naples and the nearby ancient city of Pompeii. He’ll return to the region later that month, on May 23, to meet with the faithful of Acerra. The area is known as the “Land of Fires,” for the years of toxic-waste dumping by the local mafia that has led to increased rates of cancer and other ailments for its residents.

Leo will go north to Pavia, near Milan, on June 20. The tomb of St. Augustine is located in a Pavia basilica, suggesting the visit will be of great personal importance to a pope who has described himself as a son of the 5th century saint.

On July 4, he travels to Lampedusa, an Italian island that is closer to Africa than the Italian mainland. Pope Francis had made Lampedusa his first trip outside Rome after his 2013 election to show solidarity with migrants who landed there after being smuggled from north Africa.

Francis famously celebrated Mass on the island on an altar made of shipwrecked migrant boats and denounced the “globalization of indifference” that greets migrants who risk their lives trying to reach Europe — a mantra that would come to define his papacy.

On Aug. 6 Leo will visit the Umbrian hilltop town of Assisi, which this year is celebrating the 800th anniversary of the death of its most famous resident, St. Francis. And later that month, Aug. 22, Leo will take part in an annual Italian political and religious conference in the Adriatic seaside resort of Rimini.

Leo, who was born in Chicago and spent two decades as a missionary in Peru, has said he loves to travel. He spent many years on the road when he served two, six-year terms as the superior of his Augustinian religious order, which required him to visit Augustinian communities around the world.

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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

“If there is no peace in the minds of individuals, how can there be peace in the world? Make peace in your own mind first.” ~S. N. Goenka 

I recently completed my third Vipassana meditation course.

There is a moment at the beginning of the course when you surrender your phone (and receive it back at the end). That transition feels deeply symbolic. The outer world goes quiet, not all at once, but unmistakably. And only then do you realize how much static you’ve been carrying.

I never want it back at the end. Never.

Ten days with no phone. …

The old world of classical or Newtonian physics presented us with a universe that could be described as working like clockwork in its behavior—but the universe turned out to be...

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