News that the U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority might overturn Roe v. Wade is not overly shocking. We’ve known that for months.

But the timing — and manner — of this week’s leak of Justice Samuel Alito’s draft majority opinion that would strike down the landmark 1973 decision, which legalized abortion nationwide? That counts as a bombshell.

To discuss the big scoop by Politico’s Josh Gerstein and Alexander Ward, ReligionUnplugged.com convened a panel of top religion journalists who have written extensively about the abortion debate. Click here to watch the discussion.

Clemente Lisi and I moderated the panel. Lisi, who teaches journalism at The King’s College in New York, is a ReligionUnplugged.com senior editor and a veteran GetReligion writer who focuses on Catholic news for both websites. The panelists were:

• Adelle Banks, Religion News Service production editor and national reporter (see “If Roe goes, Black church leaders expect renewed energy for elections”).

• Kelsey Dallas, Deseret News religion reporter and associate national editor (see “As some rallied over Roe v. Wade, these Christians prayed”).

• BeLynn Hollers, Dallas Morning News reporter who covers women’s health, politics and religion (see her coverage of Texas’ restrictive abortion law).

• And Kate Shellnutt, Christianity Today senior news editor (see “This is and isn’t the moment pro-life evangelicals have waited for”).

Among the tantalizing questions the panel explored: Is the abortion debate a religion story?

Yes and no, Hollers said.

Yes, Dallas said. “But maybe not for the reasons people might assume,” she quickly added.

Banks’ RNS colleague Jack Jenkins interviewed demonstrators outside the Supreme Court after the leak.

“He noted how much of a religious presence there was there, which I guess in some ways answers that question,” Banks said. People for and against abortion, she said, were “there for religious reasons.”

Shellnutt said, “It’s kind of hard to ignore, I think, the differences among faith groups you see on this.”

Other questions ranged from the religion-related history of Roe v. Wade (both Hollers and Banks have delved into this) to the religious freedom ramifications of the court’s potential decision. The future of religious groups’ activism on abortion — on both sides of the issue — was a major topic, too. Other helpful coverage:

• Abortion has long been complicated for Catholic Biden. Now, he leads the fight (by Matt Viser, Washington Post)

• Roe v. Wade: Faith leaders react to leaked SCOTUS opinion (by Emily McFarlan Miller, RNS)

• Where abortion will stand — and fall — if Roe goes down (by Leah Savas, World)

• For red-state clergy who back abortion rights, losing Roe is a call to action (by Bob Smietana and Alejandra Molina, RNS)

• Think piece: An abortion provider and a pro-life lawyer found common ground (by Andy Puzder, Wall Street Journal).

Power Up: The Week’s Best Reads

1. Why the Christian flag can fly on this government flagpole: If not for the leak detailed above, this is the Supreme Court case we’d be talking about.

As the Deseret News’ Kelsey Dallas explains, justices on Monday “cleared the way for the Christian flag to fly over Boston’s city hall in a ruling that may do little to resolve confusion over the limits of religious liberty and free speech.”

See additional coverage by Christianity Today’s Kate Shellnutt and The Associated Press’ Mark Sherman. And check out this Richard Ostling post at GetReligion on another church-state case looming at the high court: “Alongside abortion, don't neglect the Supreme Court's big school prayer ruling.”

2. Black Catholic nuns: A compelling, long-overlooked history: “Even as a young adult, Shannen Dee Williams — who grew up Black and Catholic in Memphis, Tennessee — knew of only one Black nun, and a fake one at that: Sister Mary Clarence, as played by Whoopi Goldberg in the comic film ‘Sister Act,’” The Associated Press’ David Crary writes.

But 14 years of tenacious research led to the publication of the Ohio history professor’s “comprehensive and compelling history” of Black nuns, Crary reports. Williams’ book, “Subversive Habits,” is due out May 17.

CONTINUE READING: “Abortion Bombshell: Panel Explores Religious Response To Roe V. Wade's Likely Strikedown” by Bobby Ross at Religion Unplugged.