Jesuitical

At the end of the second session of the Synod on Synodality, Jesuitical’s co-host Zac Davis and producer Sebastian Gomes spoke with Cardinal Joseph Tobin, the archbishop of Newark, about the synod’s final document, which kept open the question of women’s access to the diaconate. The cardinal also spoke to the urgent need for initiating processes of communal decision-taking in parishes and for greater accountability to synodality among U.S. bishops.

Thank you for following Jesuitical’s coverage of the Synod on Synodality. It was sponsored in part by the Jesuit School of Theology at Santa Clara University.

Please consider supporting Jesuitical by becoming a digital subscriber to America Magazine and stay up to date on Catholic news and analysis.

Links:

Synodality—and ‘controversial’ issues—are here to stay: Takeaways from the Synod’s final document

Pope Francis says he will not write his own exhortation on synod, publishes members’ final document

Women Deacons and the Catholic Church: A Video Explainer

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the eve of the highly anticipated publication of the final report for the Synod on Synodality, Jesuitical host Zac Davis and Inside the Vatican host Colleen Dulle speak with their colleague and synod delegate James Martin, S.J., about his experience this month inside the second assembly.

Zac and Colleen discuss:

- The atmosphere at this year’s synod assembly compared to last year’s

- How controversial topics like L.G.B.T. issues and women’s ordination have been tackled

- The deep conversion that took place among the members and the long-term impact of this gathering on the global church

Jesuitical’s synod coverage is sponsored in part by the Jesuit School of Theology at Santa Clara University.

Links from the show:

The Jesuit roots of the synod’s ‘conversations in the spirit’

‘Palpable outrage’: Synod delegates react to women deacons study group meeting

Synod Diary: The Vatican Curia is still learning synodality

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It is no secret that the reception of the synod in the United States has been uneven. Whether you participated in a synod listening session, or even heard about the Synod on Synodality when it was launched by Pope Francis three years ago, likely depends on whether your pastor or bishop made it a priority. To get a sense of the ways the synod is (and isn’t) taking root in the U.S. church, we spoke with Michael Sean Winters, a columnist covering the Catholic Church for National Catholic Reporter and a fellow at the Center for Catholic Studies at Sacred Heart University. 

Zac, Ashley and Sebastian ask Michael Sean:

- Whether the Vatican gave bishops the time and resources needed to make the synod a success

- About the common claim that the U.S. church, where lay men and women already hold positions of authority in dioceses and chanceries, is already “synodal”

- If the synod process can help to reduce the polarization among U.S. Catholics

Links from the show:

Michael’s column at NCR

Become a subscriber to America to follow our daily synod diaries and much more!

Jesuitical’s synod coverage is sponsored in part by the Jesuit School of Theology at Santa Clara University.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We are in the final stretch of the Synod on Synodality, and the question that looms large in and outside the synod hall is: Will this process give us concrete results? But some Catholics aren’t waiting for the synod’s final document or Pope Francis’ post-synod apostolic exhortation to start bringing synodality down to earth in practical ways. Avril Baigent, a facilitator at this year’s synod assembly, is a co-founder of the School for Synodality, a project that supports the synodal conversion of the Church in England and Wales. 

Zac and Ashley ask Avril:

- What does synodal discernment look like in families, parishes and dioceses?

- Does every decision in the church need to be made “synodaly”?

- Is the “conversations in the spirit” method capable of producing concrete proposals?

In Signs of the Times, Zac and Sebastian discuss the lack of transparency around the synod’s Study Group 5, tasked with looking at the possibility of the female diaconate, which has led to “palpable outrage” among delegates and damage control on the part of the Vatican. Plus, the Vatican announced on Monday that Pope Francis will release the fourth encyclical of his pontificate, “Dilexit Nos” (“He Loved Us”), on the Sacred Heart of Jesus. 

Links from the show:

‘Palpable outrage’: Synod delegates react to women deacons study group meeting

‘Dilexit nos’: Pope to publish encyclical on Sacred Heart of Jesus

Learn more about the School for Synodality

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From the beginning of his papacy, Pope Francis has encouraged Catholics to speak boldly and to air their criticisms openly. Since, the pope initiated the three-year Synod on Synodality, critics of the process have done just that. One such critic is George Weigel, a distinguished senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and the author of numerous books including his latest, To Sanctify the World: The Vital Legacy of Vatican II.

To better understand the concerns of those who are skeptical of the synod, Zac and Ashley spoke with George, who is in Rome contributing to First Thing’s “Letters from the Synod” series. They discuss:

- The confusion around what synodality really means and whether the synod is a good use of the church’s “evangelical energy”

- Whether George sees the synodal process as inherently problematic or if he’s more concerned about who is, and isn’t, in the synod hall

- Whether the synod is in accordance with the vision of church articulated at the Second Vatican Council

In Signs of the Times, Zac discusses where we are in the synod process and looks ahead to the drafting of the assembly’s final document.

Links from the show:

The Synod on Synodality at the halfway point

Letters from the Synod

Jesuitical’s synod coverage is sponsored in part by the Jesuit School of Theology at Santa Clara University.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Margaret Karram, was in Rome as a member of the Synod on Synodality on Oct. 7, 2023 when she learned her homeland, Israel, was under attack. Margaret, a Catholic Arab born in Israel, is also the president of the Focolare Movement, a lay Catholic organization that promotes unity and fraternity in countries around the world. Though part of her felt she should leave Rome, she ultimately decided that the experience of synodality could help Catholics to become “bridges of peace” in places, like the Holy Land, where hope for a just end to the conflict is all but lost. Ashley and producer Sebastian Gomes speak with Margaret about her upbringing, the Focolare Movement and her experience inside the synod hall.

They ask:

- What it was like to learn about Hamas’ attack on her homeland on Oct. 7 while in the synod hall 

- About the difficulties and blessings she experienced growing up as a Catholic Arab in a majority Jewish neighborhood in Haifa, Israel

- How the Focolare charism of dialogue and unity can keep Catholics from despairing when we face situations like the war in the Holy Land, where peace seems impossible

In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley discuss the ecumenical prayer service held for synod delegates on the 62nd anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council. The vigil was held at the site of St. Peter’s crucifixion and included readings from Vatican II documents by fraternal delegates. Plus, in the synod hall, delegates have begun their discussion on Part III of the instrumentum laboris on “Places,” that is, how the church lives and proclaims the Gospel in particular contexts and cultures. 

Links from the show: 

Synod Diary: At the synod’s ecumenical prayer service, a cry for unity in a world at war

Cardinal Hollerich: Church is rooted in places and cultures

Learn more about the Focolare Movement 

Jesuitical’s synod coverage is sponsored in part by the Jesuit School of Theology at Santa Clara University.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While it might not generate as many headlines as women deacons or L.G.B.T. Catholics, the role of the bishops has emerged as one of the most prominent—and controversial—topics of the Synod on Synodality. Two of the 10 study groups established by Pope Francis are dedicated to bishops, and the pope used his opening address at the final session of the synod in Rome to defend his decision to include lay people as voting members in a Synod of Bishops. 

Few people are better equipped to dig into questions around the role, qualifications and selection of bishops than Tom Reese, S.J., a senior analyst at Religion News Service and former editor in chief of America magazine. Tom has written several books about the history and structure of the episcopacy and has covered synods since the 1980s. Zac, Ashley and Sebastian talk to Tom about:

- How the process of choosing bishops has changed from the apostolic age to today

- The qualities we should look for in a bishop—holiness, theological smarts or administrative skill?

- How the role of bishops is being discussed and discerned at the synod 

Zac and Ashley also share the tragic news that after a yearlong battle with cancer, friend and three-time guest Greg Hillis has passed away. Please keep him and his family in your prayers. 

Links from the show:

• Pope Francis defends giving women and lay men voting rights at synod
• Read Tom Reese’s column
• 17 Schoolgirls Die In Rwanda Attack
• Nukes, contemplation and vocation: An introduction to Thomas Merton for young Catholics, interview with Greg Hillis
• Living like monks in quarantine, interview with Greg Hillis
• Greg Hillis & Family Cancer Journey

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the eve of the final session of the Synod on Synodality, a diverse group of women working in ministry at the margins of the church had the opportunity of a lifetime: a private audience with Pope Francis at the Vatican. They brought their stories of serving Indigenous communities, working to protect the planet and bringing the Gospel to the peripheries. Among this global delegation was Rosella Kinoshameg, who is from the Odawa/Ojibway people and lives in the Wikwemikong Unceded Reserve in Manitoulin Island, Ontario, Canada. 

Zac and Ashley talk with Rosella about:

- Her experience in Canada’s residential schools, state- and church-sponsored institutions that sought to strip Indigenous children of the language, traditions and heritage

- Her work in the “Diocesan Order of Service,” a unique ministry that empowers mostly Indigenous women to serve their own communities through communion services, praying at funerals and wakes and ministering to the sick and dying

- What she makes of the conversation about women’s ministry at the synod 

In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley recap the latest news from Rome, including Pope Francis’ announcement that he will create 21 new cardinals; the pope’s letter to Catholics in the Middle East on the anniversary of Oct. 7; and what the synod delegates are discussing in the Paul VI Hall this week. 

Links from the show: 

Pope Francis names 21 new cardinals, including Timothy Radcliffe, O.P.

Pope Francis to Catholics in the Middle East: Thank you for being able to pray and love despite everything

Jesuitical’s synod coverage is sponsored in part by the Jesuit School of Theology at Santa Clara University.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Zac, Ashley and Sebastian are back in Rome to cover the second and final session of the Synod on Synodality, and who better to talk to about what to expect this month than Gerard O’Connell? America’s Vatican correspondent and co-host of the “Inside the Vatican” podcast, Gerry has covered every synod since 1985. Last year, the Jesuitical team spoke to Gerry about his career and why he considers this synod to be the most significant event in the life of the church since Vatican II. (Listen here!)

This year, Zac, Ashley and Sebastian bring their burning questions (and maybe a little synod skepticism) to Gerry for answers and analysis. They ask: 

- Was it a mistake to relegate some of the “hot button” issues from last year’s synod to outside study groups?

- If most of the “hot button” issues are off the table, what are synod delegates going to discuss this year?  

- What does it mean for the synod to “work”?

The team also gives a rundown of what’s happened at the synod so far: a two-day retreat for delegates, an unusual penitential service and the opening Mass, celebrated by Pope Francis. 

Our Synod content is brought to you in part by the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University.

Links from the show:

From 2023: Everything you need to know about the Synod on Synodality

Women deacons, LGBT issues not on the agenda for October’s synod meeting

Vatican releases working document to guide October synod meeting

Father Radcliffe tells synod members: Don’t be driven by fear of the church changing—or staying the same

Interview: Timothy Radcliffe on how he prepares to give homilies—and preach to synod delegates

Synod opens with unusual penitential service: 7 cardinals ask for forgiveness for church’s sins

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this first episode from the second phase of the synod on synodality in Rome, Zac and Ashley introduce the highly anticipated gathering at the Vatican and introduce two of the youngest synod delegates who reflect on their life-changing experience.

Our Synod content this year is brought to you in part by the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University. Learn more at: https://www.scu.edu/jst/becoming/

Follow America's coverage of the synod, including daily synod diaries delivered right to your inbox by becoming a subscriber. Visit: americamagazine.org/subscribe

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s episode of “Jesuitical,” Ashley and Zac share a “conversation in the Spirit” with Linda Staudt, a lay delegate from Canada who was selected to participate in the 2023 and 2024 Synod of Bishops for her extensive work in Catholic education and her involvement at the local, provincial, and national levels of the Canadian church. With her wealth of knowledge and experience, Linda has become a tireless evangelist for synodal listening at the grassroots level. 

They discuss: 

- Linda’s experience of being selected as one of seven lay delegates to the Synod on Synodality from North America, and her initial reaction to being chosen. 

- The synodal process of listening, reflection, and discernment, and how it differs from traditional parliamentary-style meetings for its ability to reach and include the voices of those on the margins of the church.

- Linda’s advice for parishioners and clergy who are frustrated by a lack of synodal engagement in their diocese or parish.

Ashley, Zac, and the “Jesuitical” team join America’s “Inside the Vatican” team on their way to Rome to cover the 2024 Synod on Synodality. Great news: you can follow along from home! Visit AmericaMagazine.org/subscribe and you’ll get access to daily synod diaries along with our full coverage. If you have questions about the synod or topics about the Vatican you’d like us to cover during the synod, let us know! Send an email to [email protected]

Links from the show: 

Five things to watch for in the upcoming October synod

I listened to Synod delegates opposed to LGBTQ issues. Here are my responses.

Women deacons, LGBT issues not on the agenda for October’s synod meeting

Vatican II—and its media coverage—has a lesson for today’s synod: Don’t expect immediate results

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on a live recording of  “Jesuitical,” Zac and Ashley chat with Bishop Kevin Sweeney, the eighth bishop of the Diocese of Paterson, N.J. (and a “Jesuitical” superfan!), about his spiritual journey as a young priest on Sept. 11, 2001, and his transition to becoming a bishop during the Covid-19 pandemic. Bishop Sweeney cites his knowledge gained in hard times as the catalyst for his pastoral approach to fostering community in an evolving church.

They discuss: 

- Bishop Sweeney’s own vocational journey, from considering professional baseball to embracing the priesthood and, later, the episcopacy.

- How modern vocations of both men and women emphasize the radical Gospel call to co-responsibility among the laity in the life of the church.

- Tangible ways that the church can help navigate the upcoming U.S. presidential election with a spirit of unity and respect.

In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley discuss Pope Francis’ recent advice to Catholics voting in the 2024 U.S. presidential election, where he called both major candidates “against life” and framed the election as a vote for the “lesser evil”; and curious stories about incorruptibility—the divine intervention that allows the bodies of certain saints to completely or partially avoid decomposition after death as a sign of their holiness.

Links from the show: 

I was a young New York priest on 9/11. The lessons of that day stay with me as a bishop.

Beyond The Beacon Podcast 

Pope Francis: Trump and Harris are ‘both against life’ but Catholics must vote and choose ‘lesser evil’

Nun’s incorruptible remains highlight rich heritage of Black Catholics in U.S., say experts

Carmelites find St. Teresa of Ávila’s body still incorrupt over 400 years after her death

Become a Jesuitical Patron and get access to the recording of an exclusive synod Zoom event with James Martin, S.J., held on Thursday, Sept. 19

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on “Jesuitical,” Zac and Ashley chat with gold medal-winning Olympic rower Nick Mead, who shares insights about being an Olympic athlete and praying with his team in Paris. Nick had the honor of being one of the two flag bearers at the 2024 closing ceremony (along with Catholic Olympic champion Katie Ledecky), and this fall, he’s preparing for his next win: a marriage in the Catholic Church. 

They discuss: 

• How it felt to experience the excitement, camaraderie and faith sharing at the highest stage of athletic accomplishment 
• The training and sacrifices involved in being an Olympic athlete, including the intense conditioning schedule, the toll on relationships and the pressure to perform. 
• Nick’s religious background and experience with pre-marital counseling in the Catholic Church

In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley discuss Pope Francis’ recent trip to Asia and Oceania, including his stops in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste and Singapore; and a new short documentary produced by their colleague and producer Sebastian Gomes on the state of the question of women deacons in the Catholic Church, which is now published on YouTube. Watch here! 

What’s on tap?

Gatorade

Links from the show: 

• Women Deacons and the Catholic Church | An Explainer
• Pope Francis visits ‘the periphery of the peripheries’ in Vanimo, Papua New Guinea
• Pope Francis celebrates Mass for nearly half the population of Timor Leste
• Pope Francis in Singapore: visiting a small but influential Catholic Church
• What does Pope Francis’ ‘no’ mean for the Catholic debate over women deacons?
• Beyond The Beacon Podcast 
• Become a Jesuitical Patron and get access to an exclusive synod Zoom event with James Martin, S.J., on Thursday, Sept. 19, from 6-7 p.m. ET.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the first episode of season eight of “Jesuitical,” Zac and Ashley critique a general perception that younger priests are more conservative and rigid in their pastoral ministry. Joining them to discuss the countercultural decision to join the diocesan priesthood is the Rev. Wade Bass, a young priest who serves as pastoral administrator at Our Lady of Angels Catholic Church in Allen, Tex., a suburb of Dallas.

They discuss: 

- Father Wade’s call to the priesthood, experience in seminary and love of the liturgy

- The daily life and duties of young diocesan priests today, the joy and positive energy among younger priests, and the risks of loneliness and burnout

- The extent to which the ministry of these priests is—or is not—impacted by theological and ideological debates within the church 

In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley discuss Pope Francis’ apostolic journey to Asia; a lawsuit from the Diocese of Paterson, N.J., over a new procedural change by the United States government regarding the processing of green cards for foreign-born priests; and the tragic execution by Hamas of Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, whose mother, Rachel, appeared on Jesuitical in November 2023.

Links from the show: 

Pope Francis begins the longest trip of his papacy yet despite age and mobility issues

Mother of a Gaza hostage on keeping faith after Oct. 7: ‘It doesn’t make sense. And I still believe.’

Diocese sues immigration agencies over rule change that could force thousands of foreign-born priests to leave

U.S. Catholics are more liberal. Young priests are more conservative. Can the synod help us overcome our divisions?

Why Pope Francis is worried about seminaries and young priests with ‘authoritarian attitudes’

Join Jesuitical for a live recording on Wednesday, Sept. 11 in Madison, New Jersey!

Become a Jesuitical Patron and get access to an exclusive synod Zoom event with James Martin, S.J., on Thursday, Sept. 19, from 6-7 p.m. ET.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

[CLICK HERE to complete the 2024 Jesuitical listener survey]

This week on “Jesuitical,” Zac and Ashley struggle to resist the temptation to “type” each other as they learn about the Enneagram from Liz Orr, a college chaplain who created the popular “Rude Ass Enneagram” Instagram account and authored the new book, “The Unfiltered Enneagram: A Witty and Wise Guide to Self-Compassion.”

They discuss:

Various personality types and how they relate to each other (including Zac and Ashley)

How we create defensive structures to protect our egos and what to do about it

What the Catholic Church as a community and institution can learn from the Enneagram about humble self-assessment

In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley discuss the developing news around Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganó, former nuncio to the United States, who has been formally charged with schism by the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. They also preview the upcoming Jubilee year of hope and chart the pilgrimages and charitable works that will grant you an indulgence!

What’s on tap?

Spicy Margarita 

Links:

Archbishop Viganó charged with schism by the Vatican, will face trial

Archbishop Viganò says he will not participate in Vatican schism trial

Rude Ass Enneagram Instagram account

The Unfiltered Enneagram: A Witty and Wise Guide to Self-Compassion

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

[CLICK HERE to complete the 2024 Jesuitical listener survey]

This week on “Jesuitical,” Zac and Ashley are joined by journalist Rachel Swarns to discuss her latest book, The 272: The Families Who Were Enslaved and Sold to Build the American Catholic Church. Rachel shares her wisdom about this important issue for U.S. Catholics and her experience as a Black Catholic, opening up a wide-ranging conversation about the work being done to repair such a grave injustice and promote racial justice in the church.

They discuss:

The history of Catholic slaveholding and the Jesuits’ involvement in the slave trade

The sale of enslaved people by the Jesuits in 1838, its impact on families and the reunion of the descendants 

The efforts of Georgetown University and the church to repair this injustice

In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley cover Pope Francis’ recent meeting with comedians from around the world (and America’s editor at large, James Martin, S.J.). They then discuss the pope’s trip to the G7 in Italy and the concerns he raised in his speech about artificial intelligence. Lastly, they talk about recent polling from the Vinia Research Group that found that Catholics’ belief in the real presence in the Eucharist is higher than a 2019 report from the Pew Research Group would suggest.

What’s on tap?

Prosecco

Links from the show:

Pope Francis jokes with Colbert, Fallon, Conan, Whoopi, Chris Rock, Gaffigan and others at the Vatican

Pope Francis has private meeting with Joe Biden at G7 summit

New Study Suggests More Than Two-Thirds of Catholics Believe the Eucharist is Truly Jesus

Do most Catholics think the Eucharist is ‘just a symbol’? It’s complicated.

The 272: The Families Who Were Enslaved and Sold to Build the American Catholic Church by Rachel L. Swarns

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

[CLICK HERE to complete the 2024 Jesuitical listener survey] 

Basketball fans know Steve Javie as a longtime N.B.A. referee and a frequent commentator on ESPN and ABC. But for the parishioners at St. Andrew’s Catholic Church in Newtown, Pa., he’s Deacon Steve. 

In the midst of the N.B.A. finals tournament, Deacon Steve took some time out of his busy schedule to chat with Zac and Ashley about life on the court and in the pulpit. 

They discuss:

His journey from zealous rookie ref to humble officiator in the N.B.A.

The dangers of turning sports into your religion.

How his career in refereeing has informed his ministry as a permanent deacon.

In Signs of the Times, a second miracle has been attributed to Blessed Carlo Acutis. Zac and Ashley discuss the life and legacy of the Italian teenager on track to be the first millennial saint. Plus, Pope Francis has again used a homophobic slur in a discussion about admitting gay men to seminary. How are Catholics supposed to understand these comments from a pope who famously said about gay priests, “Who am I to judge?”

Links from the show:

Pope Francis recognizes miracle needed for the first ‘millennial’ saint: Blessed Carlos Acutis

Pope Francis uses gay slur for second time in closed-door meeting, Italian reports allege

Jesuitical: Pope Francis used a homophobic slur. How should Catholics respond?

What’s on tap?

Miller Lite—on ice

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s a very special week on “Jesuitical”—Ethan Hawke joins us to discuss his new film, “Wildcat,” about the Catholic writer Flannery O’Connor, who is portrayed in the film by Ethan’s daughter, Maya. Zac, Ashley and Ethan share a wide-ranging and profound conversation about this great American writer and the work of bringing her to life in “Wildcat.”

They discuss:

• Ethan’s introduction to Flannery through Maya and the inspiration behind “Wildcat”
• Portraying Flannery’s complicated views on race
• Exploring religious questions through art

Links from the show:

• Ethan Hawke’s new biopic ‘Wildcat’ gracefully captures Flannery O’Connor’s complex attitudes on race, writing and faith
• What can we learn from our confirmation names?
• Share your confirmation saint name in our Facebook group



What’s on tap?

Flannery’s favorite concoction: Coca-Cola and coffee (plus a shot of bourbon, per Ethan’s recommendation)

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on “Jesuitical,” we’re breaking from our usual format to discuss news out of the Vatican that Pope Francis used a homophobic slur while discussing church policy on admitting gay men to the priesthood. To discuss this incident and the apology that followed, Ashley is joined by “Jesuitical” producer Sebastian Gomes; Mike O’Loughlin, executive director of Outreach, a resource for L.G.B.T.Q. Catholics; and Ricardo da Silva, S.J., producer of the “Inside the Vatican” podcast, host of the “Preach” podcast and an associate editor at America.

They discuss: 

The context of the incident, the Vatican’s response, and the implications for L.G.B.T.Q. Catholics

Vatican policy about gay men in seminaries and the history of Francis’ outreach to L.G.B.T.Q. Catholics

Advice for those affected by the pope’s comments

Links from the show: 

I am a gay priest. We need more than an apology for Pope Francis’ homophobic slur.

Pope Francis used an anti-gay slur. What now for L.G.B.T.Q. Catholics?

Pope Francis says Italian seminaries should reject gay applicants

Vatican issues apology after Pope Francis’ use of an anti-gay slur

Pope Francis’ remarks about gay seminarians ‘taken out of context and used to divide,’ Italian bishop says

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on “Jesuitical,” Zac and Ashley are live at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio, for a conversation with Eric Sundrup, S.J., who provides spiritual direction (or spiritual violence, depending on who you ask) for the podcast. The hosts and Eric share their own experiences discerning their paths as young adults and offer insights from Jesuit spirituality to young people navigating big life questions.

They discuss:

The need for community and friends you can be vulnerable with while discerning

How consolation and desolation can guide discernment

Advice for young people discerning their path

During Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley are joined by Stuart Wilson-Smith, C.S.P., the Catholic chaplain at the University of California, Los Angeles, to discuss the recent student protests taking place on campus. Father Stu describes the scene on U.C.L.A.’s campus, how the Catholic center offered support and spaces for interfaith dialogue to students, and where he saw God amid the protests.

Links from the show: 

UCLA’s Catholic chaplain: The world saw scenes of violence at campus protests. Here’s what they didn’t see.

Learn more about the Paulists

What’s on tap?

Kentucky Bourbon from the Neeley Family Distillery 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ryan Burge set out to learn how many Catholics agree with church teachings on three key pro-life issues: abortion, euthanasia and the death penalty. The answer? Fewer than 1 percent. This week on “Jesuitical,” Zac and Ashley are joined by Ryan, an associate professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University and the author of the “Graphs about Religion” Substack, to discuss his findings on the beliefs of American Catholics today.

They discuss:

Trends in Catholic opinion on pro-life issues.

How faith-based beliefs and secular politics interact in our polarized society.

The role of data in understanding religious trends and effectively communicating church teaching.

In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley discuss the eucharistic pilgrimages taking place ahead of July’s National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis. They also cover the controversial commencement speech given by Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker at Benedictine College.

Links from the show:

Cafeteria Catholicism?

Planning to join up with the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage? Here’s what you need to know.

Harrison Butker’s commencement speech and the danger of a Catholic ‘dead traditionalism’

Young U.S. Catholics want more orthodoxy. That doesn’t mean they reject Vatican II.

Podcast: When Catholic doctrine can change—and when it can’t

What’s on tap?

Carajillos (2 parts cold brew, 2 parts Licor 43)

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Jesuitical, Zac and Ashley are joined by Andrea Von Kampen, a singer-songwriter and friend of the show. Hailing from Lincoln, Neb., Andrea discusses her new album, “Sister Moon.” (For those keeping track at home, yes, that is a St. Francis of Assisi reference.) Recorded at Union Pool in Brooklyn, N.Y., they share a wide-ranging conversation touching on spirituality, live music, the environment and more.

They discuss:

The spiritual and environmental influences on “Sister Moon”

How Andrea writes about important issues without being preachy

The joys and challenges of touring as a singer-songwriter, especially post-Covid

In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley cover the ins and outs of the recent synod meeting of parish priests at the Vatican. They also discuss a “home blessing challenge” in Cincinnati, then close out by talking about the Catholics who recently received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from a fellow Catholic, President Joe Biden.

Links from the Show

Sister Moon

Andrea Von Kampen's website

Parish priests had a synod meeting with the Vatican. But will they be included in October’s assembly?

Cincinnati priests compete to meet parishioners in home blessing challenge

Jesuit Father Gregory Boyle and Nancy Pelosi to be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom

Francesco: A Pope Francis Documentary

What’s on tap?

Nine Pin Hard Cider

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Jesuitical, Zac and Ashley share their conversation with Cardinal Wilton Gregory on the role of a church in a polarized society. As the Archbishop of Washington, D.C., “the epicenter of division,” Cardinal Gregory has devoted himself to bringing people together across vast political and faith-based differences, lending profound insight (and humor!) to this live conversation, which was hosted by Georgetown University’s Catholic Social Thought and Public Life and Leadership Roundtable.

They discuss:

• Cardinal Gregory’s conversion as a boy and life as a priest
• Watching people come together through the synod, from diocesan meetings to the universal session in Rome
• The cardinal’s advice for young people who feel disengaged from politics

During Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley are joined by one of Jesuitical’s assistant producers, Delaney Coyne, to break down a recent debacle surrounding an A.I. priest. They cover the laicization of Catholic Answers’ “Father Justin” and discuss the kind of insights this technology can—and can’t—provide.

Want to advertise your school, ministry program, book or anything else on Jesuitical? Send us an email at [email protected] 

Links from the show

The real lesson behind the ‘Father Justin’ AI priest debacle.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Few events inspire a media spectacle quite like the election of a pope. The white smoke, cardinals locked in the Sistine Chapel, secret ballots and ancient rules—it’s catnip for secular and Catholic journalists alike. But how did these customs evolve—and how might they change in the future?

To find out, Zac and Ashley talk with Miles Pattenden, a historian, expert in the history of papal conclaves and the author of Electing the Pope in Early Modern Italy, 1450-1700.

They discuss:

How the election of popes evolved from St. Peter to today

The role of the Holy Spirit—and politicking—inside conclaves

And whether the secrecy of conclaves can survive in a modern world that prizes transparency

In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley discuss a new Justice Department investigation into last year’s leaked F.B.I. memo about the potential domestic threat posed by “traditional Catholics.” Plus, in a talk about forgiveness, a Michigan bishop called on Catholics not to “hate” politicians like Joe Biden—and then called the president stupid. 

Want to advertise your school, ministry program, book or anything else on Jesuitical? Send us an email at [email protected] 

Links from the show:

No Bias Found in F.B.I. Report on Catholic Extremists

Biden ‘doesn't understand the Catholic faith,’ bishop says: ‘I’m not angry at him, he’s just stupid’

Electing the Pope in Early Modern Italy, 1450-1700, by Miles Pattenden 

MilesPattenden.com

What’s on tap?

Amaro Spritz

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on “Jesuitical,” Zac and Ashley are joined by Megan Nix, the author of Remedies for Sorrow: An Extraordinary Child, a Secret Kept from Pregnant Women, and a Mother's Pursuit of the Truth. The memoir details Megan’s journey after her daughter, Anna, contracted a little-known but relatively common congenital disease, cytomegalovirus, or CMV, during Megan’s pregnancy.

They discuss: 

Megan’s experience of her daughter’s diagnosis and the lack of awareness and support surrounding CMV

The tension of loving Anna as she is and wanting to improve her quality of life

How St. Thomas Aquinas’s five remedies for sorrow helped Megan understand the joys and sorrows of raising a child with disabilities

In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley talk about a recent proposal out of Baltimore that would cut the number of parishes from 61 to 21. They also cover an imposter priest wreaking havoc throughout the New York area and Pope Francis’ plans to reinstate Pope Benedict XVI’s former secretary, Archbishop Georg Gänswein, as an apostolic nuncio.

What’s on tap?

A mojito (with fresh mint!)

Links from the show:

Baltimore archdiocese proposes cutting 61 parishes to 21 in the city

Imposter Priest Who Robbed Catholic Churches Nationwide Arrested in California

After public rift, Francis restores Benedict XVI’s former secretary to Vatican service

Remedies for Sorrow: An Extraordinary Child, a Secret Kept from Pregnant Women, and a Mother's Pursuit of the Truth

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on “Jesuitical,” Zac and Ashley are joined by Amir Hussain, a theology professor at Loyola Marymount University. Amir shares his insights about navigating life as a Muslim teaching theology at a Catholic university, prompting a conversation ranging from the imperative and blessings of interfaith dialogue to life without a cell phone.

They also cover:

Amir’s experience completing the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius

The history and diversity of Muslims in the United States

Finding common ground and sharing experiences with people of different faiths

In Signs of the Times, Jesuitical’s producer, Sebastian Gomes, and “Inside the Vatican” host Colleen Dulle join Ashley to break down “Dignitas Infinita,” the recent declaration from the Vatican covering issues surrounding human dignity like gender theory, human trafficking, surrogacy and more.

What’s on tap?

Boulevardier

Links from the show:

New Vatican doc ‘Dignitas Infinita’: What it says on gender theory, surrogacy, poverty and more

Colleen Dulle and Gerard O’Connell discuss Dignitas Infinita on “Inside the Vatican”

What meeting John Wooden taught a Muslim theologian about Jesuit education

Muslims and the Making of America

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Aug. 19, 2014, the world watched in horror as the American journalist James Foley read a script prepared for him by ISIS terrorists, who filmed him from an unknown location in the Syrian desert. Mr. Foley, who had been in ISIS captivity for almost two years, was then beheaded by his captors. That is how Diane Foley learned that her son, who had been kidnapped in Libya on a previous reporting trip, would not be coming home this time.

In the new book, American Mother, Diane teams up with Colum McCann, an award-winning and international best-selling author, to tell her and her son’s story. Both authors join Zac and Ashley this week for a powerful conversation about grief, forgiveness and perseverance.

They discuss:

How Diane’s son James discovered his vocation as a journalist 

Why Diane decided to meet with one of her son’s killers 

How her Catholic faith sustained her through James’s years of captivity and after his death

In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley discuss a new book of interviews with Pope Francis, in which he discusses his relationship with Pope Benedict XVI and the conclave that elected him and his predecessor. Plus, Cardinal Wilton Gregory calls President Biden a “cafeteria Catholic” during an appearance on CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Easter Sunday, and the Society of Jesus releases a strongly worded statement on the war in Gaza.

Links from the show:

Pope Francis opens up about Benedict XVI, past conclaves and more in new book

Important U.S. cardinal says Biden is a ‘cafeteria Catholic’

‘We cannot be silent’: A statement from the Jesuits on Gaza

American Mother, by Colum McCann with Diane Foley

Bonus episodes available now through Patreon:

​​The quirky history of papal conclaves

Cardinal Gregory on young people, politics and becoming a listening church

Live show!

If you live in the Cincinnati area, you’re invited to join Zac, Ashley and Father Eric Sundrup (Jesuitical’s spiritual director) for a live show at Xavier University, on Tuesday, April 9, 6:30-7:30 pm. The event will be held in the Conatan Board Room in Schmidt Hall and will be followed by Mass. 

What’s on tap?

Cielo prosecco, a.k.a, Easter Bubbly

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Although “Jesuitical” is often recorded over drinks, longtime listeners know that the hosts abstain from alcohol during Lent, which means there’s no better time to welcome Derek Brown to the show. He’s an award-winning mixologist, the founder of Positive Damage Inc., and an expert on no- and low-alcohol cocktails and mindful drinking. Derek joins Zac and Ashley for an enlightening conversation about drinking, its place in our culture and evaluating its place in our lives.

They discuss: 

Derek’s journey from award-winning bartender to mindful drinking advocate—and how his faith informed that decision

Why it seems like so many people today are re-evaluating their relationship with alcohol

Tips for taking a more mindful approach to drinking

Links from the Show

Confessions of a Catholic Bartender

Derek’s Positive Damage substack

What’s on tap?

Pinch hitters (0% ABV—it’s still Lent!)

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s an election year, and like it or not, the race is heating up, so “Jesuitical” went to Washington, D.C., to hear from an expert about the state of play. A long-time friend of the show, N.P.R.’s Scott Detrow, is the weekend host of “All Things Considered” and a co-host of the podcasts “Consider This” and “Trump’s Trials,” N.P.R.’s weekly recap of the former president’s multiple court cases. He joins Zac and Ashley for a refreshing conversation about politics and faith as we gear up for November’s election.

They discuss: 

Joe Biden and Donald Trump, who both recently clinched their respective parties’ nominations

The ethics of covering politics in today’s polarized climate

The role of religion in U.S. politics

In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley cover the diplomatic dust-up caused by the pope’s recent comments about the war in Ukraine before moving into a conversation about Francis’ 11th anniversary of his election, which was on March 13. The hosts talk about continued criticism of Pope Francis, as well as their own opinions about Francis’ papacy.

Jesuitical is going on the road in 2024! We hope you’ll join us. And if you’d like Zac and Ashley to come to your city, send us an email at [email protected].

March 18: Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California. Live interview with the award-winning TV newscaster Carol Costello. 7:30 p.m. PST in LMU’s Life Science Auditorium. All are welcome!

Links from the show:

After backlash, Vatican clarifies Pope Francis’ call for Ukraine to have ‘courage of the white flag’ 

Spanish bishop rebukes priests who joked about wishing pope goes to heaven soon

Attacking Pope Francis, anonymous cardinal seeks to curb the influence of his papacy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Oscars are this Sunday, so Zac and Ashley welcome John Dougherty, the moderator of America’s Catholic Movie Club, to unpack the state of play—and the Catholic themes—in some of this year’s Best Picture nominees. John, who is also the director of campus ministry at St. Joseph’s Prep in Philadelphia, is an expert in finding God in all films. He guides the hosts through a fun-filled conversation on the best stories and performances of 2023.

John, Zac and Ashley discuss:

- How movies can help us to better understand ourselves and our culture

- Thoughts on Best Picture nominees like “Barbie,” “Oppenheimer,” “The Holdovers,” “Killers of the Flower Moon,” and more (plus, Zac gives his pick for St. Ignatius Film of the Year)

- Predictions and hopes for this year’s Oscar winners

In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley discuss Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s recent lawsuits against Catholic migrant shelters, Church Militant’s announcement that they will cease operations in April after losing a defamation lawsuit and Pope Francis’ announcement that he will wash the feet of inmates at a women’s prison on Holy Thursday. 

Jesuitical is going on the road in 2024! We hope you’ll join us. And if you’d like Zac and Ashley to come to your city, send us an email at [email protected].

March 18: Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California. Live interview with the award-winning TV newscaster Carol Costello. 7:30 p.m. PST in LMU’s Life Science Auditorium. All are welcome!

Links from the show: 

John Dougherty’s writing

The return of the Catholic Movie Club: Why going to the movies is a sacred act

Hard truths, Catholics and women in Hollywood: takeaways from this year’s Oscar noms

Catholic charities and religious freedom are under fire at the border

Church Militant will cease publication in April after losing defamation suit

Pope Francis to do Holy Thursday feet washing at women’s prison

Support Jesuitical on Patreon

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s the question every college senior dreads when they’re back home for Christmas break: What are you going to do after graduation? At a live recording of Jesuitical at Loyola University Chicago, Zac and Ashley talk with Paddy Gilger, S.J., about how students (and the rest of us) can use the tools of Ignatian discernment when making more life decisions.

They discuss:

• Whether college is a bubble—and if that is a good or bad thing
• How they saw God working in their lives as they made the leap from college to careers
• The importance of doing discernment in community

Jesuitical is going on the road in 2024! We hope you’ll join us. And if you’d like Zac and Ashley to come to your city, send us an email at [email protected].

March 18: Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California. Live interview with American TV Newscaster Carol Costello. Time and venue TBD.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Jesuitical, Zac and Ashley welcome Meg Kissinger, a Pulitzer Prize finalist and author of While You Were Out: An Intimate Family Portrait of Mental Illness in an Era of Silence. Meg’s memoir employs her journalistic skills to tell a tale of a Catholic family navigating mental illness. It serves as a great foundation for a profound, personal conversation about faith, tragedy, and trusting in an institution even when people in it have failed you.

They discuss:

• Meg’s family’s experience with mental illness and suicide
• The evolution of the church’s pastoral care for those impacted by suicide
• How community life can help us to have better conversations about mental health

In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley discuss the recent news that the prefect of the Vatican Apostolic Archives, Archbishop Sergio Pagano, is retiring—and dishing Vatican secrets on the way out. They then cover the recent controversy over the funeral of activist Cecilia Gentili, which was held at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York last week.

If you are having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.

What’s on tap?

Coffee—it’s still Lent!

Jesuitical is going on the road in 2024! We hope you’ll join us. And if you’d like Zac and Ashley to come to your city, send us an email at [email protected]

Feb. 28: Crystal City Marriott Hotel in Arlington, VA Live interview with Cardinal Wilton Gregory on “A Listening Church in a Divided Nation” from 7-8 p.m. Reception to follow from 8-9 p.m. Please RSVP here.

March 18: Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California. Live interview with American TV Newscaster Carol Costello. Time and venue TBD.

Links from the show:

• When my siblings died by suicide, the church failed us. Now, it’s finally listening.
• The keeper of the Vatican’s secrets is retiring. Here’s what he wants you to know.
• Cardinal Dolan on St. Pat’s funeral for transgender activist: ‘I think our cathedral acted extraordinarily well’

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To ring in the Lenten season, “Jesuitical” is talking Exodus 90, a 90-day ascetic spiritual practice for men centered around three pillars: prayer, fasting and fraternity. Terence Sweeney, an assistant teaching professor in the Honors Program and Humanities Department at Villanova University, joins Zac and Ashley to chat about the hugely popular program—why people love it, what it leaves out and what Catholics who don’t participate can learn from it.

They discuss:

- The absence of communal Lenten practices in today’s church and how Exodus 90 tries to fill that void

- Exodus 90’s shortcomings and the dangers of spiritual meritocracy in ascetic practice

- What all Catholics can take from Exodus 90 this Lent

In this week’s Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley are joined by Christine Lenahan, one of America’s O’Hare Fellows. They discuss controversial depictions of Christ, from the “He Gets Us” Super Bowl ads and a new painting of Jesus that caused quite an uproar in Seville, Spain.

What’s on tap?

Water. Happy Lent.

Jesuitical is going on the road in 2024! We hope you’ll join us. And if you’d like Zac and Ashley to come to your city, send us an email at [email protected]

Feb. 28: Crystal City Marriott Hotel in Arlington, VA Live interview with Cardinal Wilton Gregory on “A Listening Church in a Divided Nation” from 7-8 p.m. Reception to follow from 8-9 p.m. Please RSVP here.

March 18: Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California. Live interview with American TV Newscaster Carol Costello. Time and venue TBD.

Links from the show:

- Fasting, praying and working out: What ‘Exodus 90’ gets right—and wrong—about asceticism for men

- Controversial artistic depictions of Jesus are nothing new

- In defense of the ‘He Gets Us’ Super Bowl ads

- 101 Things To Give Up For Lent

- Terence Sweeney's podcast episode, "A Medieval Anti-racist"

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you’re still Catholic, there are presumably things you love about the church. But it can be tempting to focus on the negatives: the scandals, the boring homilies, the lackluster music. This week, Zac and Ashley are doing something a little different: talking about why they love the church with Bishop Donald Hying of Madison, Wis. at a special live recording at St. Thomas Aquinas parish, they discuss:

- How Bishop Hying’s love for the church changed when he became a bishop

- The saints, the sacraments and the Catholic imagination

- How to balance love and hard truths in pastoral work

In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley discuss a street artist known for his paintings of Pope Francis (and who now has the Vatican’s official stamp of approval) and a new document from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith that reminds priests that when it comes to administering the sacraments, they need to stick to the script.

Jesuitical is going on the road in 2024! We hope you’ll join us. And if you’d like Zac and Ashley to come to your city, send us an email at [email protected]

Feb. 28: Crystal City Marriott Hotel in Arlington, VA Live interview with Cardinal Wilton Gregory on “A Listening Church in a Divided Nation” from 7-8 p.m. Reception to follow from 8-9 p.m. Please RSVP here.

March 18: Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California. Live interview with American TV Newscaster Carol Costello. Time and venue TBD.

Links from the show:

- Street artist of ‘Super Pope’ fame gets official Vatican stamp of approval

- Vatican to priests: Stick to the script for Sacraments

- Bishop Hying: Why I Love the Church

What’s on tap?

Fernet Branca on ice

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on “Jesuitical,” Zac and Ashley are joined by Matthew Cressler, a scholar of Catholicism and race. Matthew created “Bad Catholics, Good Trouble,” a webcomic series about anti-racism and struggles for justice across American Catholic history, which frames an enlightening discussion about racial justice in the Catholic Church.

They discuss:

- Institutional and individual Catholic responses to the civil rights movement

- The history of white supremacy in American Catholicism

- What it means to be a “good” or “bad” Catholic in the face of injustice

In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley discuss allegations of sexual misconduct against Quebec’s Cardinal Archbishop Gérald Lacroix; a summit in Rome that brought together pairs of Catholic and Anglican bishops from 27 countries; and Martin Scorsese’s latest meeting with Pope Francis.

Jesuitical is going on the road in 2024! We hope you’ll join us. And if you’d like Zac and Ashley to come to your parish, diocese, center or school, send us an email at [email protected]

Feb. 28: Crystal City Marriott Hotel in Arlington, VA Live interview with Cardinal Wilton Gregory on “A Listening Church in a Divided Nation” from 7-8 p.m. Reception to follow from 8-9 p.m. Please RSVP here.

March 18: Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California. Live interview with American TV Newscaster Carol Costello. Time and venue TBD.

Drink:

Old Fashioneds

Links from the show: 

- Bad Catholics, Good Trouble

- Anglican, Catholic bishops travel, pray, work together

- Québec’s Cardinal Lacroix, named in sex abuse lawsuit, will temporarily step aside from duties

- Martin Scorsese Meets Pope Francis, Announces Film About Jesus

- The Joan and Bill Hank Center for the Catholic Intellectual Heritage at Loyola University Chicago

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amy-Jill “AJ” Levine, a Jewish scholar of the New Testament and author of The Misunderstood Jew: The Church and the Scandal of the Jewish Jesus, sits down with Zac and Ashley at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, an Anglican Cathedral in New York City. It’s a dynamic interfaith conversation in an ecumenical setting, and AJ helps break open Jesus’ Jewish identity and context for the hosts.

They discuss: 

• AJ’s Jewish upbringing in Massachusetts and how she became interested in studying the New Testament
• Common anti-Jewish tropes and misconceptions in New Testament interpretation
• How interfaith dialogue can help Catholics and Jews better understand each other and ourselves

And a final reminder that the deadline to apply to the O’Hare Fellowship is fast approaching. O’Hare Fellows spend a year living in New York City and working at America’s offices in midtown, where they will generate content for America’s multiple platforms: print, web, digital, social media and events. If you or someone you know might be interested in the O’Hare Fellowship, the final deadline to apply is February 1, 2024. Apply here!

Jesuitical is going on the road in 2024! We hope you’ll join us. Please email us if you plan to attend any of the events below at, [email protected]

Feb. 28: Crystal City Marriott Hotel in Arlington, VA Live interview with Cardinal Wilton Gregory on “A Listening Church in a Divided Nation” from 7-8 p.m. Reception to follow from 8-9 p.m. Please RSVP here.

March 18: Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California. Live interview with American TV Newscaster Carol Costello. Time and venue TBD.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On December 18, the Vatican’s doctrinal office released “Fiducia Supplicans,” a declaration that allowed priests to give simple or pastoral blessings to couples in irregular situations, including those in same-sex relationships. This week on “Jesuitical,” Father Alex Santora, pastor of Our Lady of Grace and St. Joseph parish in Hoboken, N.J., joins Zac and Ashley to explain how “Fiducia Supplicans” is being received in his parish.

They discuss:

- Father Santora’s reaction to “Fiducia Supplicans” and how he plans to discuss the declaration and enflesh it in his parish

- Taking a pastoral approach to complicated situations and accompanying people even when you have to tell them “no”

- The importance of listening in pastoral ministry

In an infernal Signs of the Times segment, Zac and Ashley cover Pope Francis’ recent comments that he hopes hell is empty, the subsequent criticisms from some Catholics, and why an empty hell might not be such a crazy idea, even if it’s not a dogma of faith. They also dive into a recent poll from Gallup on Pope Francis’ approval ratings in the U.S. (it is an election year, after all) and explore how our country’s ideological divides might impact our view of the pontiff.

After the interview, Ashley and Zac welcome another one of Jesuitical’s assistant producers, Delaney Coyne, to share about her experience as an O’Hare Fellow at America. She talks about how her love for social justice led her to apply to the fellowship, the work she does at America and finding God in disagreement. If you or someone you know might be interested in the O’Hare Fellowship the final deadline to apply is February 1, 2024. Apply here!

Jesuitical is going on the road in 2024! We hope you’ll join us. Please email us if you plan to attend any of the events below at, [email protected]

Jan 22: Vintage Brewing Company (Madison West) from 7-9 pm. Meet and greet with Zac and Ashley, over drinks! Location: 674 South Whitney Way, Madison, WI 53711

Jan. 23: St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Madison, Wisconsin. Mass at 5:30 pm followed by a live interview with Bishop Donald Hying on “Why we love the church” from 6:30-8:30pm.

Jan. 25: Loyola University Chicago (Ignatius House) in Chicago, IL. Live discussion with Patrick Gilger, S.J. on, “What the hell should I do with my life?: God, discernment and vocation outside the college bubble” from 7-9 p.m. Student Mass to follow at 9pm (Note: This event has limited capacity. Please RSVP to [email protected])

Feb. 28: Crystal City Marriott Hotel in Arlington, VA Live interview with Cardinal Wilton Gregory on “A Listening Church in a Divided Nation” from 7-8 p.m. Reception to follow from 8-9 p.m. Please RSVP here.

March 18: Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California. Live interview with American TV Newscaster Carol Costello. Time and venue TBD.

Links from the show:

- The Editors: Vatican document on same-sex blessings does not confuse church teaching—it deepens it

- Pope Francis says he hopes hell is ‘empty’

- 58% of Americans, 77% of U.S. Catholics View Pope Favorably

What’s on tap?

White Claws

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on “Jesuitical,” Zac and Ashley welcome John Martens, a professor of theology and director of the Centre for Christian Engagement at St. Mark’s College at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver to shine a light on the Bible passages that have shaped Pope Francis’ papacy.

They discuss:

- How the Call of Matthew and the Parable of the Good Samaritan shape the pope’s view of a church that is a “field hospital” for sinners

- Debates over the connection between justice, truth and mercy

- Criticisms of Pope Francis’ approach, especially in the U.S. Church

In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley cover a Vatican official’s recent call to reconsider mandatory priestly celibacy in the church. They also discuss Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, the head of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, who has come under fire for a book he wrote 25 years ago on spirituality and sensuality. And after the interview they welcome another friend to share about his faith: Michael O’Brien, one of America’s O’Hare Fellows who helps produce “Jesuitical.” He shares what drew him to the fellowship and how his post-grad year at America has enriched his faith. If you or someone you know might be interested in the O’Hare Fellowship the final deadline to apply is February 1, 2024. Apply here!

Jesuitical is going on the road in 2024! We hope you’ll join us. Please email us if you plan to attend any of the events below at, [email protected]

Jan 22: Vintage Brewing Company (Madison West) from 7-9 pm. Meet and greet with Zac and Ashley, over drinks! Location: 674 South Whitney Way, Madison, WI 53711

Jan. 23: St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Madison, Wisconsin. Mass at 5:30 pm followed by a live interview with Bishop Donald Hying on “Why we love the church” from 6:30-8:30pm.

Jan. 25: Loyola University Chicago (Ignatius House) in Chicago, IL. Live discussion with Patrick Gilger, S.J. on, “What the heck should I do with my life?: God, discernment and vocation outside the college bubble” from 7-9 p.m. Student Mass to follow at 9pm (Note: This event has limited capacity. Please RSVP to [email protected])

Feb. 28: Crystal City Marriott Hotel in Arlington, VA Live interview with Cardinal Wilton Gregory on “A Listening Church in a Divided Nation” from 7-8 p.m. Reception to follow from 8-9 p.m. Please RSVP here.

March 18: Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California. Live interview with American TV Newscaster Carol Costello. Time and venue TBD.

Links from the Show

Pope Francis’ focus on the Bible and mercy—and why so many Catholics are uncomfortable with it

Apply to the O’Hare Fellowship

RSVP to our event in Arlington, Virginia!

What’s on Tap?

New Fangled

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Christmas is a time for traditions. From the quirky to the classic, every family has a favorite holiday movie, dish or custom. This week on Jesuitical, Zac and Ashley talk to four of their colleagues about their Advent and Christmas traditions—some old, some aspirational, some completely made up but all filled with the joy and anticipation of the season.

This is Jesuitical’s last episode of 2023—unless you become a member of the Patreon community. Next week, members will get a bonus mail-bag episode in their feeds. Zac and Ashley answer listener questions about the synod, the future of the parish and more. Sign up today!

Links from the show:

The perfect imperfections of the Nativity pageant, by Heather Trotta, vice president for advancement

What my mother’s Advent gift tradition taught me about the true meaning of giving, by Molly Cahill, associate editor

A (Midwestern) discussion about Advent traditions, by Joe Hoover, S.J., poetry editor

I love my Advent wreath. I just keep forgetting to light it, by Kerry Weber, executive editor

What’s on tap?

Prosecco with pomegranate seeds…and eggnog with orange Fanta

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on “Jesuitical,” Zac and Ashley interview Stephanie Saldaña, the author of What We Remember Will Be Saved: A Story of Refugees and The Things They Carry. Stephanie lives with her family in Bethlehem, where the economy has long relied on tourism around Christmas time as Christian pilgrims flock to the site of Jesus’ birth. But as one might imagine with the war raging in Gaza, Advent in Bethlehem looks different this year. Stephanie helps the “Jesuitical” team to enter into that reality.

They discuss:

• Stephanie’s experience on and after Oct. 7 as a Christian living in the West Bank
• The challenges Bethlehem residents are facing during the war and how that’s impacted Advent celebrations
• Stephanie’s spirituality and the importance of closeness amid these difficult times

In a funeral-focused Signs of the Times segment, Ashley and Zac get into Pope Francis’ recent announcement that he won’t be buried at the Vatican as well as recent Vatican guidelines about scattering ashes. They also talk about the recent lawsuit brought by a group of nuns against gun manufacturer Smith & Wesson. Plus, Zac shares his quibbles with this year’s liturgical calendar.

Links

• In war zones, hospitals are holy ground. The explosion of one in Gaza is a tragic turning point.
• When dancing turns to mourning: A wedding hall fire brings tragedy to Qaraqosh
• Pope Francis says he will not be buried at the Vatican, simplifies papal funeral rite
• Vatican says no to scattering ashes, but approves families keeping ‘minimal’ part of cremated remains in a ‘significant’ place
• Group of nuns sue gunmaker Smith & Wesson over assault weapons

What’s on tap? 

Arak

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s “Jesuitical,” Zac and Ashley are honored to welcome Rachel Goldberg, the mother of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, one of the hostages taken into Gaza following Hamas’s massacre at the Nova music festival in Southern Israel on Oct. 7. In the weeks since Hersh and 240 other hostages were brutally kidnapped, Rachel has met with a host of people, including the pope and the president, to share her son’s story. She was gracious enough to bring that story to “Jesuitical,” and she and the hosts shared a moving conversation.

They discuss:

• 
  
• Rachel’s family life and Hersh’s passion for reading and adventure
• 
  
• The last time Rachel saw Hersh on Oct. 6 and her experience learning about the massacre on Oct. 7
• 
  
• Rachel’s meeting with Pope Francis and the power of dialogue in sustaining hope
• 
  
• How Rachel’s Jewish faith has been challenged and served as a source of strength in the wake of unthinkable tragedy
• 
  

Support Jesuitical on Patreon or become a digital subscriber to America Media.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Even though Pope Francis recently canceled his trip to Dubai for COP28 on doctor’s orders, the meeting still represents a huge initiative in Francis’ papacy; in “Laudate Deum,” Francis writes that the meeting has the potential to be “a historic event that honors and ennobles us as human beings” (“Laudate Deum,” No. 59). So Ashley and Zac welcomed Jose Aguto, the executive director of Catholic Climate Covenant, on this week’s episode of “Jesuitical” to discuss Catholic climate advocacy at this pivotal moment.

They discuss:

• 
  
• Pope Francis’ commitment to climate justice throughout his papacy
• 
  
• How Catholics should understand climate change as both a systemic and spiritual issue, and where we can find hope
• 
  
• The history and current state of climate action in the U.S. church
• 
  

In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley check in with Maggi Van Dorn, host of the “Hark!” podcast, which explores the meaning and making of our favorite Christmas carols. The first episode of season three, which came out on Sunday, dives into “O Holy Night” and features Greg Boyle, S.J. Maggi takes the “Jesuitical” team behind the scenes of “Hark!” production and helps to usher in the Advent season.

Links from the show:

• ‘Our ecological crisis is fundamentally a moral one’: Catholic Climate Covenant’s new executive director hopes to inspire care for creation
• Jose Aguto, Catholic Climate Covenant
• Global Climate Change: A Plea for Dialogue Prudence and the Common Good
• Laudate Deum
• Laudato Si’
• The abolitionist history of ‘O Holy Night’
• “Hark!” Podcast



What’s on tap?

(knock-off) Chartreuse

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ten years ago, Pope Francis released his first papal document, “Evangelii Gaudium,” which lays out his vision for the church in the 21st century. To help break down this inaugural document of Francis’ papacy, Zac and Ashley welcome Rafael Luciani, an associate professor of practice at the School of Theology and Ministry at Boston College.

They discuss:

• Pope Francis’ call to “pastoral conversion” and “missionary discipleship”
• How Pope Francis’ Latin American roots guide his vision for the church
• The foundation for a synodal church put forth in “Evangelii Gaudium”

Links from the show:

Evangelii Gaudium

What’s on tap?

Wine from Mendoza, Argentina

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Jesuitical, Zac and Ashley welcome Lee C. Camp, a professor of theology and ethics at Lipscomb University, the author of Scandalous Witness: A Little Political Manifesto for Christians and the host of “No Small Endeavor,” a podcast that explores what it means to live a good life.

They discuss:

• Lee’s upbringing as a Protestant Christian in Alabama, and how his studies at the University of Notre Dame changed his views on the Catholic world
• Moral theology and the value of asking, “What does it mean to live a good life?”
• The importance of good, wholesome arguments in religious tradition

In Signs of the Times, Ashley and Zac talk about Pope Francis’ controversial decision to remove Bishop Joseph Strickland from his duties overseeing the diocese of Tyler, Tex. They then discuss the U.S. bishops more broadly, focusing on this week’s U.S.C.C.B. meeting in Baltimore and the conflicting assessments of the U.S. church put forth by various leaders.

Links from the show:

• Pope Francis removes Bishop Strickland of Diocese of Tyler, Texas
• Archbishop Broglio and Cardinal Pierre offer competing visions of synodality at bishops’ meeting
• Zac and Ashley’s appearance on “No Small Endeavor” 

What’s on tap?

Chimay Trappist ale

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How does a 25-year-old woman from Salt Lake City end up facilitating peace negotiations during a civil war in South Sudan? This week on “Jesuitical,” Zac and Ashley are joined by Elizabeth Boyle, an International Relations Officer in the Community of Sant’Egidio, a lay social movement of the Catholic Church whose mission focuses on three “P”s: “prayer, peace, and the poor.”

Zac and Ashley talk to Elizabeth about:

• The journey that brought Elizabeth to peacebuilding and the work she’s doing with the Community of Sant’Egidio in Rome
• What her work in South Sudan reveals about the challenges and possibilities of peacemaking
• How Catholics (and the church) can integrate peace into their spirituality

In Signs of the Times, Ashley and Zac discuss Pope Francis’ recent announcement that he would travel to Dubai to attend COP28. Then, they get into a most pressing issue facing the church: Sabrina Carpenter’s “Feather” music video, which caused an uproar after being filmed in the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Brooklyn.

Links from the show:

• Interview: Pope Francis’ presence at COP28 climate conference in Dubai is ‘without precedence’
• Brooklyn bishop ‘appalled’ over music video shot in Catholic church, will investigate
• Podcast: When Catholic doctrine can change—and when it can’t
• The Community of Sant'Egidio

What’s on tap?

Lambrusco

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this special crossover episode of Jesuitical and Inside the Vatican, Zac Davis speaks with his colleagues Gerard O’Connell, Sam Sawyer, S.J., and synod member James Martin, S.J., about the concluding document of the recent synod on synodality in Rome. They discuss:

• The open debate about women’s ordination to the diaconate
• Why reference to L.G.B.T. Catholics was not included in the synthesis document
• What the synthesis document is and how it can be read and used widely
• Was this really a synod of bishops?
• Plus, new paths for appointing bishops and performance reviews

Links:

• Father James Martin: What happened at the Synod on Synodality
• Cardinal Cupich on the synod, women deacons, giving bishops job reviews and why ‘LGBTQ’ was left out of the final doc
• Synod publishes final report and votes: Calls for more discussion on synodality, women deacons and more
• Full text: Pope Francis’ homily closing the 2023 Synod on Synodality

Support Jesuitical and Inside the Vatican by becoming a digital subscriber to America!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on “Jesuitical,” Zac and Ashley discuss a, if not the, big question hanging over the synod: Can it change church teaching? They unpack the place of authority, doctrinal development and the synod with Richard Gaillardetz, the Joseph Professor of Catholic Systematic Theology at Boston College and the author of a foundational text on the levels of church teaching: By What Authority?: A Primer on Scripture, the Magisterium, and the Sense of the Faithful.

They ask Dr. Gaillardetz:

• What’s the difference between a dogma, doctrine and teaching?
• What do I need to believe to be Catholic? Is it O.K. to disagree with church teaching?
• How has church teaching developed throughout history?

In Signs of the Times, the synod enters its final week with discussion on the synthesis report, and an Australian theologian addresses concerns some synod delegates have about tradition and the development of doctrine.

Links from the show: 

• Purchase By What Authority? Foundations for Understanding Authority in the Church, by Richard Gaillardetz
• Synod: Fr Ormond Rush's theological reflection on Synthesis Report

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As a young adult, José Manuel de Urquidi had a lot of questions about faith but couldn’t find satisfying answers. He went to law school, opened a craft brewery and started a family, but it wasn’t until he started podcasting that he found his purpose as a digital missionary.

José is a voting member in the synod on synodality at the Vatican this month and his advocacy for evangelizing–or rather listening–in digital spaces is turning heads. Leading up to the synod, he worked closely with the synod secretariat to get the word out on dozens of digital platforms. The result is the digital synod “continental” document, which centers previously unheard voices of those who are or feel excluded from the traditional structures of the Church.

In Signs of the Times, Ashley and Zac break open the final thematic module of the synod that’s currently being discussed: Participation, governance and authority. 

Links

Synod Diary: Will the synod change its members?

Synod cardinal from Brazil: In the Amazon ‘everyone votes, except the bishop’

The digital synod continental document

What’s on Tap?

Lokita Mezcal

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on “Jesuitical,” Zac and Ashley turn their attention to the Middle East. Their guest is Olivier Poquillon, O.P., a French Dominican priest who, until recently, served as the pastor of a Catholic Church in Mosul, Iraq. That church was almost completely destroyed by ISIS in 2014 when the terrorist group took over one of the few remaining religiously diverse communities in the country. After ISIS was driven from the city, Father Poquillon returned to oversee the reconstruction of the church. He was recently named the director of the École Biblique in Jerusalem—the oldest biblical and archaeological research center in the Holy Land—and is on the commission for methodology for the Synod on Synodality here in Rome.

Zac and Ashley talk to Father Poquillon about:

• The history of religious diversity and violence in Mesopotamia, the birthplace of the Abrahamic faiths
• What Pope Francis’ 2021 visit to Iraq meant to the people of Mosul
• What he heard from the Catholics living in the Middle East during their local synodal sessions

In Signs of the Times, the hosts discuss the latest Catholic developments related to the war between Israel and Hamas, including the news that Pope Francis might know one of the Argentine victims of the Oct. 7 massacre. Next, they talk about the pope’s new apostolic exhortation on St. Thérèse of Lisieux, “the Little Flower.”

Links from the show:

• Pope Francis: My friend could be a victim of Hamas attack
• Jerusalem cardinal offers himself in exchange for Israeli hostages
• Pope Francis publishes new apostolic exhortation on St. Thérèse of Lisieux

What’s on tap?

Chianti Classico

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Listen to this full bonus episode on Patreon!

Ashley and Zac are joined by their colleagues, Sebastian Gomes and Colleen Dulle to break down the curious media strategy around the Vatican's synod on synodality. Synod members are "fasting" from public speaking after Pope Francis decried what he perceived to be distorted media narratives around previous synods. But this media blackout strategy brings very real risks.

Support Jesuitical and access bonus content–including this full episode–on Patreon.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ashley and Zac get schooled in social justice from a Latin American perspective. Emilce Cuda, the Secretary of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America and the highest ranking lay woman working in the Vatican, joins the podcast to explain how “el pueblo”—ordinary, working class people—are at the forefront of a burgeoning synodal church. They also discuss:

• Populism in Latin America versus North America
• Pope Francis’ vision for a church that does social justice
• What it’s like working as a lay woman in the Vatican

In Signs of the Times, the hosts share updates about the synod on synodality, including some of the hot topics emerging from inside the hall: concern for the poor, the environment, welcoming marginalized groups including women and LGBT Catholics, formation and a lot more. They also discuss Pope Francis’ remarks concerning the terrorist attack on Israel last Saturday.

What’s on tap:

Malbec (from Argentina!)

Links:

• Cardinal Tobin at the synod: the church is ‘most beautiful when the doors are open’
• Pope Francis calls for end to conflict in Israel and Gaza: ‘Every war is a defeat’
• Israel condemns Jerusalem Christian churches over ‘immoral linguistic ambiguity’ in statement on Hamas attack
• Pope Francis calls for ‘the immediate release’ of all hostages taken by Hamas, expresses concern for Gaza civilians
• America’s synod coverage

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The synod on synodality learned a lot from the young people who attended the youth synod in 2018, says Julian Paparella, who was 25 years old when he addressed hundreds of bishops in that assembly. Now studying in Rome, he joins Zac and Ashley to shed light on the dynamic at work inside synods and how the process has evolved over the past five years to truly listen to lay—and especially younger—people. They also discuss:

• The young people’s call in 2018 for greater inclusion of women in the church
• The balance between learning synodality and tackling the hot-button issues that matter to many people who feel excluded from the church
• How conversion happens inside a synod among the participants

In Signs of the Times, the part of the show where the hosts sift through Catholic news of the week, the hosts discuss the complicated process of the discussions in the synod on synodality.

Links

Julian Paparella’s Synodal Intervention

America’s synod coverage

What’s on Tap?

Birra Moretti

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hello from Rome! Ashley and Zac are joined by their colleague Gerard O’Connell, a journalist who has covered the Vatican since 1985. They bring questions from listeners about the Synod on Synodality, which began this week: How will the discussions inside the synod hall work? How will the synod deal with internal polarization? What will determine the success of this synod? They also discuss:

• The changes that Pope Francis has brought to the synod, making it more open and inclusive.
• How to listen and remain open to the Holy Spirit.
• Lay involvement in the synod, especially of women and young people.

Links from the Show

• Analysis: The synod is not Vatican III. It’s Pope Francis’ implementation of Vatican II.
• America’s synod coverage

What’s on Tap?

Falanghina (Italian white wine)

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Jesuitical, Zac and Ashley are joined by Chris Hadley, S.J., to talk about the oft-overshadowed third person of the Trinity: the Holy Spirit. Father Hadley, an associate professor of systematic theology at Santa Clara University, uses his expertise in pneumatology to guide us through a great discussion about:

• How Catholics understand the Spirit, from biblical times to today
• Signs of the Holy Spirit at work in the world
• How Catholics can open themselves to the Holy Spirit—at the Synod and beyond

In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley announce that they will travel to Rome to cover the Synod on Synodality, which is shaping up to be the biggest church event since Vatican II. Jesuitical will cover the broader themes at the synod and welcome guests from around the world to share their insight and experience. They will be recording twice a week, with some episodes exclusive to Patreon, so subscribe for all of our coverage.

Links from the Show

Christopher M. Hadley, S.J.

America’s synod coverage plans

What’s on Tap?

Old-Fashioneds

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Jesuitical, Zac and Ashley are talking about the migrant crisis in New York City and the work Catholics are doing to respond. They are joined by Richard Slizeski, the senior vice president for mission at Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens. They talk to him about:

• Migrants’ often harrowing experiences coming to the United States
• What’s missing in the political debates around the migrant crisis in New York
• How Catholic Charities’ mission and Catholic identity informs their work on the ground

In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley discuss recent revelations about what World War II-era Pope Pius XII knew about the Holocaust as it was occuring, as well as Pope Francis’ recent conversation with Bill Clinton.

Links from the Show

• As New York’s migrant crisis makes headlines, Catholic Charities gets to work
• Letter Found in Vatican Archives Confirms Church Was Told About Death Camps; more info
• Conversation between Pope Francis and Bill Clinton

What’s on Tap?

Dark beer—Guinness stout, specifically

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Zac and Ashley are talking about the psychological care that seminarians (i.e., priests-in-training) receive as part of their formation. They are joined by Maribel Laguna, the founder and owner of Cor Sacrum Counseling and Consulting. They talk to Maribel about:

• The Catholic Church’s relationship with psychology and counseling, historically and today
• The unique challenges seminarians are facing
• The type of psychological screening that goes into the decision to accept someone into a seminary program

In Signs of the Times, they discuss Pope Francis’ new pick to lead the Vatican’s doctrinal office and the best thing to go on tour in the United States this year: the relic of St. Jude’s arm.

Links from the show:

Pope Francis appoints Archbishop Victor Manuel Fernandez as the new head of Vatican office for doctrine

St. Jude’s arm is on tour in the US; tour schedule

Become a member of Jesuitical’s Patreon community

Invite Jesuitical to your college, parish or community! Send us an email: [email protected]

What’s on tap?

Grapefruit Margarita 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the season premier of Jesuitical’s seventh season, Zac and Ashley talk with their friend and colleague James Martin, S.J., who is out with a brand new book, Come Forth: The Promise of Jesus's Greatest Miracle. They ask Father Martin:

• If Jesus actually raised Lazarus from the dead (and do Catholic have to believe it)
• What Mary, Martha and Lazarus can teach us about friendship
• And how we can all come forth into new life in our daily lives

In Signs of the Times, we discuss the “DJ Priest” who made headlines at World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal, and ask: Were Pope Francis’ criticisms of “reactionary” Catholics in the United States fair (or helpful)?

Links from the show:

The (not so) curious case of priests who DJ in the history of electronic music

Pope Francis speaks out against his critics in the U.S. Catholic Church

Pope Francis’ criticisms of ‘reactionary’ U.S. Catholics are counterproductive

Come Forth: The Promise of Jesus's Greatest Miracle

Exclusive Excerpt: What can the story of Lazarus teach us about new life?

Become a member of Jesuitical’s Patreon community

What’s on tap?

Corpse Reviver No. 2

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We have a great summer bonus episode, all about baseball! To listen to the full episode, become a patron of Jesuitical!

This is the first season with a pitch clock in Major League Baseball, which was implemented to try to speed up the game and appeal to younger viewers. But to some longtime baseball fans the rule change feels gimmicky and disrespectful to the grand tradition of America's pastime.

If the debate sounds familiar, that's because the Catholic Church is at a similar pivotal moment in its history. Younger people are not filling the pews as previous generations have, and Catholics are grappling with how to reform itself without compromising its authentic tradition. 

On today's episode, two past guests and baseball fanatics return to debate the pitch clock and draw analogies between the game and the church they love. J.D. Long-Garcia is a senior editor at America and Greg Hillis runs the Aquinas Center of Theology at Emory University. You can read their takes on the pitch clock here:

J.D. Long-Garcia, "The pitch clock is a travesty. The Catholic Church must learn from baseball’s mistake."

Greg Hillis, "Quit Trying to ‘Fix’ Baseball" and "In Praise of the Pitch Clock"

Help support the production of Jesuitical by becoming a patron! It's simple, easy, and you can listen to bonus episodes on your podcast app!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the season finale of “Jesuitical,” Zac and producer Sebastian Gomes talk with Cardinal Michael Czerny, S.J., who leads the Vatican’s department for social justice and human development. (Ashley was out of the country at the time of the interview). Cardinal Czerny is also the co-author of the new book Siblings All, Sign of the Times: The Social Teaching of Pope Francis. We talk to him about:

• The disputed legacy of Vatican II
• How Pope Francis has developed the church’s social teaching
• How the church should relate to the outside world

In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley point ahead to some stories to look out for this summer. And in As One Friend Speaks to Another, they look back at the season and the many graces it held.

Links from the show:

Jesuitical listener survey

Learn more about the O’Hare fellowship

Vatican confirms Pope Francis will enjoy a ‘staycation’ in July

Pope Francis’ prep advice for World Youth Day: talk to your grandparents first

Siblings All, Sign of the Times: The Social Teaching of Pope Francis by Cardinal Michael Czerny and Father Christian Barone

Ignatian Wisdom Fellowship from Loyola University Chicago

Sacred Heart Major Seminary’s online course "An Introduction to Spirituality”

What’s on tap?

Rum sunset, prepared by outgoing O’Hare fellow, Chris Parker

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Jesuitical, Ashley and Zac chat with Bryan McCarthy, who teaches philosophy at the University of Pittsburgh, Greensburg, and is the author of a new paper, “Christianity and Psychedelic Medicine: A Pastoral Approach.” They discuss: 

• What the church teaches about drugs and intoxication
• How psychedelic drugs are being used in therapeutic settings, and how Christians should respond
• Bryan’s own religious experiences while using psychedelic drugs 

During Signs of the Times, Ashley and Zac give initial reactions to the new working document for the Synod on Synodality and discuss a curious story involving a fake priest and serious labor violations out of California. 

Links from the show: 

• Bryan’s paper
• Vatican releases Synod document calling for discussion of women, LGBT Catholics, church authority and more
• California restaurant had fake priest hear workers’ confessions, Labor Department says

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Earlier this year, Pope Francis called most Catholic homilies “a disaster.” Well, we’re doing something about it. This week, Ashley and Zac welcome Ricardo da Silva, S.J., their colleague and the host of the brand new podcast from America Media, “Preach: The Catholic Homilies Podcast.”

“Preach” releases weekly and features a diverse cast of the finest Catholic preachers. On each episode, preachers open up their hearts and minds, sharing their spiritual lives, approaches to interpreting Scripture and techniques for preparing the best homilies.

Whether you’re curious about preaching methods, or you’re a preacher looking for inspiration and best practices, “Preach” is here to accompany you through the liturgical year with great homilies and conversations about them.

Follow “Preach: The Catholic Homilies Podcast” on your podcast app! Or at AmericaMagazine.org

If you know a priest, deacon or lay preacher who would benefit from “Preach,” please share it with them! And, if you want to recommend a great preacher for “Preach,” let us know here. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on “Jesuitical,” Zac and Ashley chat with Linda K. Wertheimer, a journalist and the author of the book Faith Ed: Teaching about Religion in an Age of Intolerance. In a recent article in The New Republic, Linda explores renewed efforts in some parts of the country to get prayer back into public schools. They discuss:

• Linda’s experience of being the only Jewish student in a public school with weekly Christian Bible classes
• The history of school prayer at the Supreme Court
• How to balance religious freedom and inclusion in an increasingly diverse country

In Signs of the Times, the hosts give an update on Pope Francis’ recovery after his three-hour abdominal surgery and discuss the approval of what would be the first publicly funded religious charter school in the nation.

Finally, Ashley reflects on her vision of heaven.

Links from the show:

Surgeon: Pope Francis is ‘alert’ and cracking jokes after hernia operation

Catholic virtual school approved by Oklahoma board would be first religious charter in the U.S.

Inside the Christian Legal Crusade to Revive School Prayer

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Ashley and Zac are joined by Bishop John Dolan of the Diocese of Phoenix to talk about losing several members of his family to suicide, a groundbreaking new mental health ministry in his diocese and how the church can better support those struggling with mental health issues. 

They are also joined by America colleague James Martin, S.J., who serves as a consultor for the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication. They discuss the dicastery’s new document “Towards Full Presence: A Pastoral Reflection on Engagement with Social Media.”

Finally, Zac brings a question to discuss: Does God take bribes? 

Links from the show: 

Bishop Dolan: How losing family to suicide led me to start a mental health ministry

Office of Mental Health Ministry of the Diocese of Phoenix

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

Towards Full Presence: A Pastoral Reflection on Engagement with Social Media

Vatican tells the bishops of Catholic Twitter: be reflective, not reactive

God doesn’t accept bribes in prayer. Or does he?

What’s on tap? 

Maker’s Mark

Support Jesuitical by becoming a Patron at Patreon.com/americamedia

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Jesuitical is joined by Sister Donna Dodge, the president of the Sisters of Charity of New York, which recently decided to embark on a “path to completion,” meaning the over 200-year-old congregation will no longer accept new vocations (though their ministry continues). We discuss:

• How religious life has changed since Sister Donna joined in 1966
• How the sisters discerned that it was time to let go—and how their charism of charity will live on in the work of lay collaborators
• Why the church needs to change the way it talks about “vocation” with young people

And in Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley chat with America’s national correspondent, Michael O’Loughlin, about the controversy sparked by the Los Angeles Dodgers’ decision to include a group of “drag queen nuns” in their Pride Night this June.

Links from the show:

Drag queen ‘nuns’ will be included in LA Dodgers Pride Night. I have complicated feelings about it.

The end of an era for the Sisters of Charity of New York 

Nerves, tears and chanting: What I saw during the New York Sisters of Charity vote to stop accepting members

What’s on tap? 

Scotch on the rocks

Support Jesuitical by becoming a Patron at Patreon.com/americamedia

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Can we consider Toni Morrison a Catholic novelist,” Nadra Nittle asked in an article for America in 2017. Since Morrison’s passing in 2019, Nadra has been exploring that question in more depth, and the result is her new book: Toni Morrison's Spiritual Vision: Faith, Folktales, and Feminism in Her Life and Literature, out this month from Fortress Press.

This week, Zac reintroduces this popular interview with Nadra Nittle from 2021 which explores the Catholic sensibilities and love for aesthetics of the acclaimed writer Toni Morrison.

Support Jesuitical by becoming a Patron at Patreon.com/americamedia

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Jesuitical is joined by Pete Davis to talk about his new documentary “Join or Die,” “a film about why you should join a club — and why the fate of America depends on it.” They discuss:

• Why Americans join fewer clubs and associations than they used to
• Why churches are suffering the same fate
• The work of Robert Putnam in his groundbreaking book, Bowling Alone

During Signs of the Times, Zac highlights a new transcript of Pope Francis in conversation with Jesuits in Hungary.

Links from the show: 

“Join or Die”

‘This is God’s Style’: Pope Francis’ conversation with Hungarian Jesuits

How could a country that was 90 percent Catholic “disappear” Catholic priests and seminarians?

Who is the real Bergoglio?

What’s on tap? 

Tank 7 American Saison Ale from Boulevard Brewing Company

Support Jesuitical by becoming a Patron at Patreon.com/americamedia

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Jesuitical, we’re joined by Luke Russert, the author of the new memoir Look for Me There: Grieving My Father, Finding Myself. Luke is the son of Tim Russert, the legendary host of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” and served as an NBC News correspondent from 2008 to 2016. We talk to Luke about:

• What it was like to lose his father and hero Tim Russert the year he graduated from college
• Why he decided to leave a successful career in journalism to travel the world
• The limits of travel when it comes to processing grief and finding yourself

And during Signs of the Times, Ashley and Zac discuss the following news stories: 

• The historic participation of Catholic cardinals and bishops at the coronation of King Charles III this weekend
• The Sisters of Charity of New York’s decision to no longer accept new members and to embark on a “path of completion”
• The maiden voyage of a Staten Island Ferry named for Dorothy Day

Links from the show:

• Look for Me There: Grieving My Father, Finding Myself
• British Catholics will attend a coronation for the first time since the Reformation
• Sisters of Charity of New York Vote on Congregation’s Path to Completion
• Onboard the first journey of a Staten Island ferry named for Dorothy Day

What’s on tap?

Guinness 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Everything is on the table: immigration and racism, women's ordination, abortion, sexual abuse, pornography, gender identity and dating apps. We’ve never seen a conversation with the pope like this. In Hulu’s “The Pope: Answers,” Francis sits with a group of 20 to 25-year-olds to discuss their most profound questions and struggles with faith and the church’s teachings. The young people also get practical, asking if the pope gets a salary.

Ashley and Zac are joined by two Jesuit colleagues, Ricardo da Silva, S.J., and Jim McDermott, S.J., to discuss the new documentary and how Catholics can process this profoundly honest conversation that seemingly raised more questions than answers.

Read more:

In Hulu’s ‘The Pope: Answers,’ Pope Francis talks abortion, gender identity, dating apps and more with 10 young adults by Ricardo da Silva, S.J.

Hulu’s ‘The Pope: Answers’ is the most thrilling movie out right now by Jim McDermott, S.J.

Listen to the full conversation here.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Jesuitical is joined by Sam Sawyer, S.J., the new editor in chief of America Media to talk about: 

• How Sam went from working as a software developer to joining the Jesuits
• The Catholic Church’s approach to technology, and what A.I. and ChatGPT have in store for it
• His latest essay in America: “Catholicism, authentic communion and the way out of our polarization trap”

And during Signs of the Times, Ashley and Zac discuss the following news stories: 

• Pope Francis has given women the right to vote at the synod for the first time in history
• Pope Francis losing his blue verification checkmark on Twitter
• Two events in Catholic-Anglican relations: A gift from Pope Francis to King Charles III and a “breakdown in communication” between a visiting Anglican group in Rome and the Basilica of St. John Lateran 

Links from the show

Support America’s Anniversary!

“Catholicism, authentic communion and the way out of our polarization trap”

Does ChatGPT have a soul? A conversation on Catholic ethics and A.I.

Pope Francis gives relics of the True Cross to King Charles III for his coronation

Over 50 Anglicans celebrate liturgy at Pope Francis’ cathedral after “breakdown in communication”

What’s on tap? 

Negronis and Aeropress Coffee

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Let’s face it: talking about climate change can feel depressing and futile. It seems like every few years there’s a new dire report, another agreement signed, and little progress is made. This week’s guest, Dorothy Fortenberry, is a writer and executive producer of “Extrapolations,” a new show from Apple TV+ that aims to shake us from our complacency by showing us what the world might look like in 10, 20, 30 years if we stay on our current trajectory. We talk to her about getting people to care about climate change, her love of Pope Francis’ environmental encyclical “Laudato Si’” and the ethics of having kids in a climate crisis.

In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley discuss a controversy between a group of Franciscans and Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, and talk about how Catholics should react to SatanCon, a gathering of members of the Satanic Temple in Boston next week.

Links from the show:

Military archdiocese: The end of Walter Reed’s pastoral care contract is ‘incomprehensible’

Boston 'SatanCon' prompts Catholics to respond with prayer and the Gospel

Watch “Extrapolations” on Apple TV+

I was at the first Earth Day. And I carry what I learned about care for creation to this day by James Martin, S.J.

This Earth Day, meet the artist making beautiful icons of God’s endangered creatures by Jim McDermott, S.J.

What’s on tap?

Micheladas

Support Jesuitical! Become a digital subscriber to America Media!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Jesuitical chats with Ronald Rolheiser, O.M.I., spiritual master and the author of many books, including “The Holy Longing: The Search for a Christian Spirituality.” Ashley and Zac talk to Father Rolheiser about the importance and universality of spiritual energy, sex, isolation and the differences between therapy and spirituality.

During “Signs of the Times,” the team is joined by Michael O’Louglin to unpack an FBI memo that seems to be targeting “traditionalist Catholics.” Later they discuss Hulu’s new documentary, “The Pope: Answers.”

Links from the show: 

RonRolheiser.Com

House committee alleges FBI used undercover agent to produce analysis on ‘radical traditionalist’ Catholics

In Hulu’s ‘The Pope: Answers,’ Pope Francis talks abortion, gender identity, dating apps and more with 10 young adults

What’s on Tap?

Sparkling wine, with bubbles that are rising (like Jesus)

Support Jesuitical! Become a digital subscriber to America Media!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For this special triduum edition of Jesuitical, we’re doing something a little different. Instead of a regular interview, we’re sharing an episode from the America Media podcast “Imagine: A Guide to Jesuit Prayer,” by our friend and colleague Tucker Redding, S.J. In this episode, Tucker guides us through an imaginative prayer focusing on the Way of the Cross, the time between Jesus’ trial under Pontius Pilate and his crucifixion.

In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley give an update on Pope Francis’ health and time in the hospital, and then they share their favorite parts of the Easter Triduum.

Happy Easter everyone!

Links from the show:

• Imagine: A Guide to Jesuit Prayer
• After hospital pizza party and baptizing a baby, Pope Francis expected to return to Vatican Saturday
• The Easter Vigil is the longest liturgy of the year. And it’s so, so worth your time.
• More Easter content from America

The best way to support Jesuitical is to become a digital subscriber to America Media and access all of our digital content!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Before Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, B.V.M., captured the heart of America during Loyola Chicago’s Cinderella run to the Final Four in 2018, she was Zac’s hero and mentor while he was attending Loyola. To be fair, she had been many things to many people in 100 years of life. Sister Jean is out with a new book (written with help from ace basketball writer Seth Davis) titled Wake Up With Purpose!: What I’ve Learned in My First Hundred Years. She joins the podcast to discuss that magical Final Four run, why she loves being around young people and where she believes the Catholic Church is headed.

During Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley give an update on Pope Francis’ health and discuss why an A.I.-generated image of him in a puffer jacket went viral. Finally, Zac explains where he found God during jury duty.

Links from the show: 

• “Wake Up With Purpose!”
• What you don’t know about Loyola’s Sister Jean
• How Loyola Chicago’s Sister Jean prays—on and off the court
• Vatican: Pope Francis’ condition improving after resting overnight in hospital
• AI-generated images of Pope Francis in puffer jacket fool the internet

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What if you could pray with the Black Madonna of Montserrat, on the banks of the River Cardoner or the cave in Manresa where St. Ignatius developed the Spiritual Exercises—from the comfort of your couch? Today’s guest, Vivian Richards, S.J., wants to help Catholics do just that. Father Vivian is a Jesuit priest of India’s Karnataka province and part of the team of Jesuits who developed the JesuitPilgrimage app. The app provides photos, prayer and audio guides and interactive maps to bring users to the significant spots in the life of St. Ignatius and the Society of Jesus. We talk with Father Richards about how smartphones can help (and hurt) our prayer life, what it’s like to work at the Jesuit curia (a.k.a the home office) and what it means to take a “digital pilgrimage.”

And in Signs of the Times, Ashley and Zac discuss President Joe Biden’s asylum policy being at odds with Catholic teaching, the five lucky cousins who will receive an inheritance from the late Pope Benedict XVI and Georgetown University poaching the star coach of Providence College’s men’s basketball team.

Links from the show:

Bishop Seitz on Biden’s new asylum policy: Death cannot be the cost of our immigration laws

Five cousins of late Pope Benedict XVI may receive small inheritance

Georgetown hires Ed Cooley to revive Hoyas men's basketball

JesuitPilgrimage App

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bishop Robert Brennan leads the most diverse diocese in the country: Brooklyn-Queens. Every Sunday, you are able to find Mass in over 25 languages throughout the diocese. Before coming to Brooklyn, Bishop Brennan was bishop of Columbus, Ohio (Zac’s hometown). This week, we talk to Bishop Brennan about the differences between Ohio and Brooklyn, what it’s like to switch dioceses as a bishop and the future of parish life in an era of church closings and reorganization.

In Signs of the Times, Ashley and Zac look at St. Patrick’s Day dispensations around the country and a new “cannabis studies” certificate offered by St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia.

Links from the show: 

Bishop Brennan Podcast: Big City Catholics

St. Joseph’s University has a cannabis certificate program, and some Catholics aren’t pleased

When St. Patrick’s Day falls on a Friday in Lent, should we eat the corned beef?

Jesuitical March Madness: Facebook

What’s on tap? 

Scotch! (We have a St. Patrick’s Day dispensation ourselves)

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Each year, during Holy Week, Catholics hear the story of Jesus’ triumphant entrance into Jerusalem, the Last Supper and the washing of the apostles’ feet, and finally, the betrayal, trial and crucifixion of Jesus. These events at the heart of our faith can become familiar, even sanitized after a while. But this year, we can hear them all anew thanks to “The Passion,” a new musical production from the Notre Dame Folk Choir.

Zac and Ashley talk with J.J. Wright, the director of the University of Notre Dame Folk Choir, and Tristan Cooley, the creative director and librettist for “The Passion,” about the origins of the album, how spending so many hours with these Gospel passages affected their faith and how current realities—clergy sex abuse, police brutality and ongoing discussions about the place of women in the church—shaped the production.

In Signs of the Times, we mark International Women’s Day by discussing the record number of female employees at the Vatican—as well the hope expressed during synod consultations for greater inclusion and leadership for women in the church. Next, newly discovered asteroids were named for three Jesuits and a pope. Why are there so many monuments to Catholics in space? And finally, we celebrate the 10th anniversary of Pope Francis and share what we remember most from his historic papacy.

Make sure to check our Facebook page to vote in the Jesuitical Saint Sixteen (and shout out to our organizers Chris Kinkor and Jeff Johnson!)

Links from the show:

10 years of Pope Francis: Significantly more women working at the Vatican

Synod working document for the continental phase

New asteroids named for 3 Jesuits and pope of ‘Gregorian calendar’ fame

Everyone has an opinion about the pope. But how does Pope Francis understand his past 10 years?

A Big Heart Open to God: An interview with Pope Francis

Tour dates for “The Passion”

Stream “The Passion” on Spotify

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Catholics love their saints. But it's not easy to become one. On this special Deep Dive episode of “Inside the Vatican,” we take you inside the grueling process of saint-making, which starts at a local diocese and involves dozens of people, a long paper trail with the Vatican, travel for miracle verification and a lot of money.

We’ll hear from Vatican historians and journalists about how the process evolved from folks being devoted to holy people in their cities to a codified Vatican process. We’ll talk with individuals who are working on Dorothy Day's canonization cause in New York about how the significant cost and local politics can lead to causes being delayed indefinitely. And finally, we’ll look into how miracles are verified—and why some people think that ought to change.

Support Inside the Vatican! Become a digital subscriber to America Media.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Zac and Ashley join forces with the hosts of the universe’s leading Jewish podcast, “Unorthodox,” for our annual Lenten conversation. As is custom, Mark Oppenheimer, Stephanie Butnick and Liel Leibovitz offer the hosts of “Jesuitical” their annual Lenten practices. 

Links from the show: 

Unorthodox

Tablet Magazine

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Catholics probably won’t hear hip-hop at Mass anytime soon, but that doesn’t mean the genre doesn’t have a lot to say about God and the plight of God’s people. Much like liberation theology starts from the experience of the poor when talking about God, hip-hop, which originated in the South Bronx in the 1970s, expresses the struggles for justice and freedom of people living on the margins of America. That’s the case this week’s guest, Alex Nava, makes in his new book, Street Scriptures: Between God and Hip-Hop. Zac and Ashley ask Alex about the history of liberation theology and about the liberating potential of hip-hop.

In Signs of the Times, we give an update on the crackdown Catholics and other opponents of the Ortega regime in Nicaragua and discuss the slick “He Gets Us” ads for Jesus at the Super Bowl. Were they an effective way to evangelize—or a massive waste of money?

Links from the show:

Pope Francis denounces imprisonment of Nicaragua’s Bishop Rolando Álvarez

What the Jesus Super Bowl ads get right (and wrong) about evangelization

Street Scriptures: Between God and Hip-Hop

What’s on tap?

French 75

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jean Vanier was the founder of L’Arche, a network of intentional communities where people with and without disabilities live alongside one another in mutual friendship. While he was considered a “living saint” up until his death in 2019, allegations that he had sexually abused six adult, nondisabled women sent shockwaves throughout the L’Arche Community. And more recently, a nearly 900-page report was released last Monday shed more light on the scope of the abuse.

Jenna Barnett has been following this story since it broke. She is the host of the new podcast “Lead Us Not” from Sojourners. We talk to Jenna about Vanier and how L’Arche is responding, as well as larger questions about how we hold in tension the good works created by deeply flawed, charismatic founders.

During Signs of the Times, we talk about the developing situation between the church and the government in Nicaragua, where four priests were sentenced to 10 years in prison, as well as Notre Dame’s new food delivery robots. (After we recorded, news broke that the four priests were part of a group of 222 political prisoners who were deported from Nicaragua and will take refuge in the United States.)

Links from the show: 

Listen to “Lead Us Not”

New report finds evidence Jean Vanier founded L’Arche to reunite a religious sect with ‘mystical-sexual’ practices

Explainer: The Catholic Church’s fraught relationship with the Nicaraguan government

Robot food delivery launches at the University of Notre Dame

Remembering Rachel Held Evans

What’s on tap?

Champagne for Zac’s 30th 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What would it take to build a radically inclusive church? That is the question Cardinal Robert McElroy took up in a recent article published by America. In it, he called on the church to dismantle the “structures and cultures of exclusion” that alienate some Catholics, including women, the poor, divorced-and-remarried couples and L.G.B.T. Catholics. Most controversially, he argued that people who do not conform to the church’s teaching on sex and marriage should not be excluded from receiving Communion.

The article sparked a wide range of reactions online, and this week on “Jesuitical,” Zac Davis and Ashley McKinless bring on Cardinal McElroy on to the podcast to continue the conversation. They ask the cardinal whether he is in favor of open Communion, if the inclusion he’s advocating for requires a change in church teaching and if he’s worried that disagreements over the place of women and L.G.B.T. Catholics in the church could lead to schism.

Cardinal McElroy shares his view that “judgmentalism is the worst sin in the Christian life,” and says his “pastoral vision here in San Diego is to make—and it’s hard to accomplish this—to make L.G.B.T. people feel equally welcome in the life of the church as everyone else.”

Read, "Cardinal McElroy on ‘radical inclusion’ for L.G.B.T. people, women and others in the Catholic Church"

Read the full transcript of Jesuitical's interview with Cardinal McElroy here.

Watch: Why Pope Francis is going to South Sudan

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The human person is an autonomous, self-governing and self-actualizing being. It has individual rights that no government or obligation should infringe upon. At least, that is the traditionally American, classically liberal way of viewing a human being. But does this view match up with a Christian anthropology? And what does that mean for how Christians should engage in the public sphere?

This week, Ashley and Zac are joined by Susannah Black Roberts to discuss all of this and more. Susannah is a senior editor at Plough Quarterly and Mere Orthodoxy and the co-host of “The Ploughcast” podcast.

During Signs of the Times, the hosts give an overview of a new interview with Pope Francis and talk about his disdain for “long homilies.” 

Links from the Show: 

Pope Francis gives major interview on his critics, sex abuse, decriminalizing homosexuality and more

Pope Francis: Long homilies are ‘a disaster’—keep it under 10 minutes

Our post-liberal moment: What do we want? The common good! When do we want it? Now!

Susannah Black Roberts and Christian Post-Liberalism

Is Christianity Opposed to Liberalism?

Plough Quarterly

The Anchored Argosy: Alastair & Susannah Roberts' freight of wonders

What’s on tap?

Cosmopolitan

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re changing things up a bit today and bringing you a preview of a new podcast we’re enjoying and think you will, too. Where There’s a Will searches for the surprising places Shakespeare shows up outside the theater.

Host Barry Edelstein, artistic director at one of the country’s leading Shakespeare theaters, and co-host, writer and director Em Weinstein, ask what is it about Shakespeare that’s given him a continuous afterlife in all sorts of unexpected ways? You’ll hear Shakespeare doing rehabilitative work in a maximum security prison, helping autistic kids to communicate, shaping religious observances, in the mouths of U.S. presidents, and even at the center of a deadly riot in New York City.

Join Barry and Em as they uncover the ways Shakespeare endures in our modern society, and what that says about us. In this preview, Barry and Em take a deep dive into how Shakespeare informs contemporary religious practices and faith traditions, and explore one of Shakespeare’s greatest plays—The Winter's Tale. Hear more from Where There’s a Will: Finding Shakespeare here.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For many Christians, the prevalence of the religious imagery at the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol—crosses, rosary, a flag proclaiming “Trump Is My President—Jesus Is My Savior”—came as a shock. But not for this week’s guest, Brad Onishi, who joined (and eventually left) an evangelical church that combined the conservative politics and “God and country” faith embraced by many who sought to overturn the 2020 election that day. Brad is a co-host of the “Straight White American Jesus” podcast and the author of the new book, Preparing for War: The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism – And What Comes Next. We discuss the history of white Christian nationalism, how Catholics and evangelicals became allies in our political and culture wars, and if there’s a non-toxic way to mix faith and politics.

In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley mark the passing of Sister André, a French nun and oldest known person in the world, who died this week at the age of 118; the late Pope Benedict XVI’s custom-made cologne; and the future of the March for Life on its 50th anniversary.

Links from the show:

Sister André, a French nun and oldest known person in world, dies at age 118

Pope Benedict Has Custom-Designed Cologne

The March for Life has always had one message: End Roe v. Wade. What is its mission now?

Podcast: The future of the March for Life now that Roe v. Wade is gone

Straight White American Jesus podcast

Preparing for War: The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism--and What Comes, by Brad Onishi

What’s on tap?

Aperol Spritz

Music: City Girl by Flux Vortex

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There has been no shortage of commentary on the life of Pope Benedict XVI since his death on Dec. 31. But one aspect of Benedict’s legacy that many Americans miss is his contributions to Catholic social teaching. John Carr would know.

John is the founder of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown University and for 20 years served as director of the Department of Justice, Peace, and Human Development at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. John has more than five decades of experience working in the Catholic Church to help promote its public witness to justice. We talk to John about Pope Benedict, the perception of the church and politics as well as his personal and professional experience with the sexual abuse crisis.

As you can probably tell from Ashley’s voice in the interview, we decided to give her vocal cords a rest. So you’ll hear an abbreviated version of the rest of the show. 

What’s on tap

Orange Fanta

Links from the show: 

Pope Benedict’s greatest disconnect from U.S. elites wasn’t about sex. It was over economic justice.

I helped write the bishops’ first document on Catholics and voting. Here’s why I’m voting Biden, not Trump.

Eight lessons to help us move forward from the sex abuse crisis.

Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life

A timeline of Pope Benedict XVI’s life and papacy: From humble beginnings to historic resignation

Pope Benedict XVI, defender of orthodoxy defined by historic resignation, dies at 95

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Ashley and Zac turn over the keys to their listeners. In their first ever mailbag episode, they answer listener-submitted questions on a range of topics, from what it's like being a professional Catholic in a parish, to what theological mystery they struggle with the most and who they cheered for in the World Cup. 

What's on tap?

Rosso di Montalcino, combined with a great story!

Note: This episode was recorded on Dec. 20, 2022. Early access to this episode was available to Patreon supporters. Join the community at: www.patreon.com/americamedia

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Christmas drinks, Christmas carols, Christmas movies–it's the Jesuitical Christmas special! On today's festive episode, Ashley McKinless and Zac Davis are joined by two colleagues, Maggi Van Dorn, the host of America Media's podcast "Hark! The stories behind our favorite Christmas carols" and associate editor Jim McDermott, S.J., to discuss the making of "Hark!", the incredible history of the Ukrainian classic, "Carol of the Bells", and why carols are so meaningful year, after year, after year. They also channel Mr. Grinch and discuss their least favorite carols. Merry Christmas to all!

The story of ‘Carol of the Bells,’ a Christmas classic born in Ukraine

Don't forget to follow Hark! The stories behind our favorite Christmas carols on your podcast app!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is there a question you have about the Catholic Mass that you’ve always been too embarrassed to ask? Like: When we say, “Only say the word and my soul shall be healed,”...what’s “the word”? You’re in luck. This week, we’re talking to Father Dave Dwyer, the executive director of Busted Halo, a media outreach of the Paulist Fathers, and the author of the new book Mass Class: Your Questions Answered. Zac and Ashley ask Father Dave their own burning questions about the liturgy, what he would say to Catholics who lost their “Mass habit” during the pandemic and how to make sure Mass etiquette does not get in the way of true reverence.

In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley talk with Carol Zimmerman, who has worked for Catholic News Service for 30 years reporting on education, health care and the Supreme Court. What will the church in the United States lose when the domestic operations of CNS close on Dec. 30?

Finally, it’s your last chance to submit questions for Zac and Ashley mailbag episode! Post your questions on Twitter, Facebook, Patreon or to [email protected] by Monday, Dec. 19.

Links from the show:

U.S. bishops announce Catholic News Service to cease domestic operations at year’s end

Catholic News Service provides vital context that secular media misses. Shutting it down is a mistake.

Mass Class: Your Questions Answered, by Father Dave Dwyer

What’s on tap?

Pick your poison: Paloma or Negroni 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Ashley and Zac are joined by Matt Maher. Matt is a nine-time-GRAMMY nominee and three-time-GMA Dove Award winning musician. His latest album is “The Stories I Tell Myself.” They talk to Matt about his connection with the hit TV show “The Chosen” and how the events of the past couple of years influenced his new album. They discuss how the pandemic affected his art, why he decided to write songs about racial justice and polarization and they get Matt’s take on the liturgy wars.

During Signs of the Times, the hosts discuss new allegations of sexual abuse against a prominent Jesuit artist. Plus, how should we think about lifting Covid-19 protocols at Mass around the Communion cup and sign of peace?

Links from the show:

Prominent Jesuit artist restricted from ministry after allegations of sexually abusing women religious

U.S. dioceses begin to bring back Communion Cup

Italy's Catholic Church reintroduces handshakes during Mass

Matt Maher's tour dates and the new album, "The Stories I Tell Myself"

What’s on tap?

Thoroughbred Mule

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s not every day your colleague gets to interview—and share a laugh with—Pope Francis. So this week we’re talking to Kerry Weber, an executive editor at America, who was one of five America editors who spent two hours speaking with the pope on Nov. 22. We ask Kerry what surprised her most about the Holy Father and what it was like to be a woman asking Francis about women’s ordination, a question considered by many to be off the table, within the walls of the Vatican.

In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley discuss the appointment of a Chinese bishop to a diocese not recognized by the Holy See—and the Vatican’s unusually harsh response.

And finally, stick around after the credits for a preview of America Media’s new season of its Advent podcast “Hark! The stories behind our favorite Christmas carols.”

Links from the show:

Exclusive: Pope Francis discusses Ukraine, U.S. bishops and more

Behind the scenes: What it’s like to interview Pope Francis

Vatican statement suggests China violated agreement over appointment of bishops

China vows more ‘friendly consensus’ after unusually harsh Vatican statement

The Catholic Church in China | A Short Documentary

The story of ‘Carol of the Bells,’ a Christmas classic born in Ukraine

What’s on tap?

Champagne 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey everyone! Jesuitical is taking a break for Thanksgiving, but if you’re looking for something new to try, we’d love to suggest “How God Works”, a podcast from PRX. "How God Works” is a rare combination of cutting edge science and ancient wisdom as psychology professor Dave DeSteno helps us grapple with some of life’s biggest questions.

We're delighted to share with you this great episode about gratitude—and why every day should feel like Thanksgiving! If you like it, make sure to follow our friends at “How God Works” on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get podcasts!

Follow "How God Works", wherever you listen to podcasts!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Have you ever wondered why most Catholics practice their faith in a local parish church? Is it simply to attend Mass and participate in the sacraments? Is it to find a meaningful community? Is it just because their family has always attended there? With the church facing serious demographic challenges across the United States, and amid a rapidly shifting religious culture, the established parish model can no longer be taken for granted.

In this fourth and final discussion on America Media’s new, groundbreaking documentary, “People of God: How Catholic Parish Life is Changing in the United States,” Ashley and Zac, together with Jim McDermott, S.J., and Sebastian Gomes, try to answer the overarching and critical question in the face of the uncertain future of parish life: What’s the point?

Watch “People of God: How Catholic Parish Life is Changing in the United States”

Follow on your podcast app: Hark! The Stories Behind Our Favorite Christmas Carols, an all-new season releasing Sunday, Nov. 27, 2022

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’ve all been there. You need to buy something random and a bit urgently. You hop in the car and drive to a nearby Walmart, or open your Amazon app and get a next-day delivery through Prime. No doubt that these regular fixtures of our modern economy have brought convenience and expedience to our lives, but what are the tradeoffs that we aren’t considering? Kathryn Judge is the author of Direct: The Rise of the Middleman Economy and the Power of Going to the Source. We talk about how “middlemen” became part of our everyday consumer lives and whether or not the way we shop necessarily lines up with our Catholic values.

In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley talk with Kevin Clarke, America’s chief correspondent, about what happened at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ annual meeting in Baltimore.

Links from the Show: 

• Direct: The Rise of the Middleman Economy and the Power of Going to the Source
• Archbishop Broglio, questioned on abuse, homosexuality and whether he’s a ‘Pope Francis’ bishop in first press conference as USCCB head
• Jesuitical Litany of the Saints

What’s on tap? 

Fancy Free (Luxardo liqueur Old Fashioned)

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When the Covid-19 pandemic closed churches, many parishes began streaming Mass for their communities. That opened up a whole new digital world for Catholics near and far searching for great preaching and a meaningful sense of community. Today, as people return to their parish churches, some Catholics want to stay connected to the digital communities they discovered during the pandemic. What does the rise of these remote parishioners mean for a church that is sacramental to its core?

Today, Ashley and Zac welcome Jim McDermott, S.J., and Sebastian Gomes to discuss Part Three of America Media’s new, groundbreaking documentary, “People of God: How Catholic Parish Life is Changing in the United States.”

Watch “People of God: How Catholic Parish Life is Changing in the United States”

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s no secret that the priesthood in the United States is aging, quickly. But what if part of the solution to the priest shortage is actually ordaining more older priests? Deacon Steve Kramer thinks the church should get serious about late-in-life vocations—recruiting men in the 40s, 50s or even 60s who have had another career, who maybe have been married and lost their spouse, for the priesthood. On the other hand, he thinks we should be encouraging men in their 30s and 40s to consider becoming a deacon—a vocation usually associated with more “mature” gentlemen.

During National Vocation Awareness week, we ask Deacon Steve about the growing role of deacons in the U.S. church, his experience joining the diaconate in his 30s (and with four young kids!) and what questions someone discerning a call to the priesthood or diaconate should ask themselves.

In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley talk with Colleen Dulle, the host of America Media’s “Inside the Vatican” podcast, about French Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard, the former head of the French bishops’ conference who admitted to abusing a 14-year-old girl 35 years ago. They ask: Have reforms aimed at combatting clerical sexual abuse really brought accountability to the highest levels of the church?

Links from the show:

French cardinal admits to abusing teen girl 35 years ago

Report: 330,000 child victims of sex abuse in France’s Catholic Church

Pope Francis issues new rules for accountability and response to allegations of sexual abuse

Pennsylvania report documents over 1,000 victims of priest abuse

Former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick laicized by Pope Francis

Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology

People of God: How Catholic Parish Life is Changing in the United States

What’s on tap?

Barolo 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In many parishes across the United States, churches are closing, there’s a shortage of priests and many younger Catholics are leaving the faith. That has forced some dioceses to "cluster" parishes, a process that asks communities to tighten budgets, share resources and, in many cases, share priests. One such parish cluster sits in the small city of Antigo, Wis., where the local pastor, the Rev. Joel Sember, is about to incorporate a fourth church into his three-parish cluster.

Today, Ashley and Zac welcome Jim McDermott, S.J., and Sebastian Gomes to discuss Part Two of America Media’s new, groundbreaking documentary, “People of God: How Catholic Parish Life is Changing in the United States.” Is parish clustering a longterm solution or a bandaid fix to a much deeper crisis in the U.S. church?

Watch “People of God: How Catholic Parish Life is Changing in the United States”

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What does it mean to be a mystic in the modern age? Many of us think of mysticism as something for spiritual masters who lock themselves away from the world in monasteries and convents and dedicate their lives to constant prayer. But we are all called to a close and yes mystical relationship with God and to lead lives of contemplation. And today's guest, Kelly Deutsch, wants to help people do just that.

After entering a convent, Kelly came down with an illness that left her bedridden for 18 months—and spurred great spiritual desolation and growth. She went on to found Wanderlust, a center for contemplative formation, which provides podcasts, courses and other spiritual resources to those hunger for a closer union with the divine.

And in Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley discuss a new report on clergy burnout and the at-times deceptive ways Catholic political groups try to sway voters.

Links from the show

New study of priests shows a distrust of bishops, fears of false sex abuse allegations and widespread burnout

‘The Catholic Church is always politically nonpartisan’: Arizona bishops warn voters of groups claiming to represent the church

Spiritual Wanderlust

People of God: How Catholic Parish Life is Changing in the United States

What’s on tap?

Seltzer Water with Lime

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Catholic parishes are growing quickly in the Southwest, and that’s raising important questions for the U.S. church: How are Anglo and Latino communities integrating on the ground? Why aren’t Latinos adequately represented in parish, diocesan and national church structures? Ashley and Zac welcome Jim McDermott, S.J., and Sebastian Gomes to discuss Part One of America Media’s new, groundbreaking documentary, “People of God: How Catholic Parish Life is Changing in the United States.” The film begins in the suburbs of Phoenix, Ariz., where one parish built a second church to accommodate the new families joining the parish on an almost daily basis.

Watch "People of God: How Catholic Parish Life is Changing in the United States"

Stay tuned to the Jesuitical feed for more bonus episodes on the film!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To get in the sPoOkY spirit, this week’s episode of Jesuitical is getting a little macabre. Zac and Ashley are joined by Candida Moss, a columnist for the Daily Beast and the Edward Cadbury Professor of Theology at University of Birmingham. We talk to Professor Moss about how the church and the culture’s understanding of hell has changed over the centuries, what some sure signs of demonic possession are, and why the church teaches what it does about cremation and burial practices. 

After the conversation with Candida Moss, stick around for a special new episode of “Voting Catholic,” which is out with a brand new season ahead of the midterm elections.

Links from the show: 

The church forbids ‘human composting’ at death. But what about ‘green’ burials?

When Did Satan Go From Inmate to Warden?

Why Did the Catholic Church Ban the Spreading of Ashes?

Listen to the Voting Catholic podcast from America

What’s on tap?

Moscow Mule

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Podcast episodes and YouTube videos featuring Father Michael Schmitz rack up thousands, even millions, of views. His latest project, “The Bible in a Year,” has even made it to the top of the Apple Podcast charts since it debuted in 2021. But for students at the University of Minnesota Duluth, Father Mike isn’t just another celebrity priest. He’s their chaplain.

This week, we talk to Father Mike about the big questions Catholics (and non-Catholics) on campus are asking today, the challenges and opportunities of ministering at a big state school and how he balances life in the public eye and being present to his students.

And in Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley chat with Colleen Dulle about Inside the Vatican’s latest deep dive into the synod on synodality. The global church has just finished up the listening phase of the synod and reports from at least 112 of the 114 bishops’ conferences around the world are in. What have we learned so far from this yearlong consultation? And what comes next?

Topics:

04:10 - Colleen Dulle of "Inside the Vatican" breaks down the Synod on Synodality at the end of phase one

14:55 - A day in the life of Fr. Mike Schmitz

20:55 - The joys and challenges of doing campus ministry on a secular university campus

32:53 - How 'The Bible in a Year' project changed Fr. Mike's engagement with Scripture

42:07 - How Fr. Mike balances being a celebrity priest and a chaplain to his students

Links from the show:

Podcast: Synod reports from all over the world are in. What happens next?

The Bible in a Year podcast

Watch America’s new documentary, People of God: How Catholic Parish Life is Changing in the United States

What’s on tap?

An IPA that was not made in Father Mike’s brother’s brewery

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most Catholics these days don’t think there is a conflict between the theory of evolution and their faith. But it’s harder to wrap our heads around the idea that we’re still evolving—and that God might be, too. This week, we talk with Sister Ilia Delio, a theologian who thinks we can’t separate the evolving nature of our universe and consciousness from our faith. We ask Sister Delio what it’s like to work at the cutting edge of theology, where rapidly changing technology and artificial intelligence might be taking us as a species, and what that means for the church.

In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley discuss the still-open questions about the legacy and implementation of the Second Vatican Council, which opened 60 years ago this week. Did the council fail? What would success look like, and what would the church look like today if Vatican II hadn’t happened?

Links from the show:

Did Vatican II fail? Are we allowed to ask the question?

Pope Francis marks 60th anniversary of Vatican II by warning against worldly ‘progressivism’ and backward-looking ‘traditionalism’

The Emergent Christ, Ilia Delio

People of God: How Catholic Parish Life is Changing in the United States

What’s on tap?

Pinot Noir 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Ashley and Zac are joined by Father Thomas Joseph White, O.P., of the all-Dominican bluegrass group, The Hillbilly Thomists. They discuss what the Order of Preachers could teach the wider church about preaching, liturgically appropriate music as well as The Hillbilly Thomists new album, Holy Ghost Power. 

During Signs of the Times, America’s national correspondent, Michael O’Loughlin, discusses a shakeup at the Newman Center at The Ohio State University. 

Links from the Show: 

Holy Ghost Power (Spotify)

Who owns the Newman Center? Shake-up at Ohio State highlights the tension between students and older parishioners

Pope Francis: The devil knows the passwords to our heart. We must know them too.

What’s on tap? 

High Screamer: 2 oz. bourbon, 1 oz. Cointreau, 0.5 oz simple syrup, 1/2 of a lime, juiced. Best served on ice.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Zac and Ashley are unpacking from their recent pilgrimage to Italy. So, they're bringing back an interview from 2021 with the Superior General of the Society of Jesus, Fr. Arturo Sosa, S.J. Behind the mic, Ashley is joined by Colleen Dulle, host of America Media's "Inside the Vatican" podcast to discuss with Fr. Sosa his relationship with Pope Francis (another Jesuit!) and how he interprets the pope's reforming agenda. They also discuss how the Jesuits are increasing their collaboration with women around the world.

Links:

Read the transcript of this interview here

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Does it seem like the economic deck is stacked against young people today? Inflation, debt, the cost of living and an overvalued housing market can be soul-crushing to younger generations trying to get on their feet and start their lives. The feelings of helplessness and isolation are not lost on Pope Francis, who is calling young Catholics working to transform economic systems to Assisi, Italy, this week. It’s the first ever in-person meeting of The Economy of Francesco!

Elizabeth Garlow, an American economist and new mom, will be there, and she joins Zac and Ashley on the podcast to discuss why the current system is failing young people. She’s convinced that it is not enough to tweak the current system; a bold reimagining is necessary. And with the help of Pope Francis, these young Catholics are moving to the frontlines of the movement.

Links from the show: 

Wondrium

The Economy of Francesco

Let Us Dream: The Path to a Better Future, by Pope Francis and Austen Ivereigh

Anna Rowlands on Catholic Social Teaching

Humanizing the Economy: Co-operatives in the Age of Capital, by John Restakis

Francesco Collaborative

What’s on tap?

Oberon Ale from Bell’s Brewery

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Zac and Ashley are putting the Rome in Roman Catholic. Why did Peter go to Rome? Is he actually buried under St. Peter’s Basilica? And why has Rome remained the center of the Roman Catholic Church for 2,000 years?

To help answer these questions, they are joined by Professor Kenneth Bartlett. Professor Bartlett is a Renaissance historian, author and professor at the University of Toronto. He is also the guide of “Smithsonian’s: The Guide to Essential Italy,” which is available for streaming on Wondrium, our partners who provided support for this episode.

Links from the show: 

Wondrium

What Catholics need to know about Kazakhstan before Pope Francis’ visit

Diocese of Phoenix creates Office of Mental Health Ministry

What’s on tap?

Brunello di Montalcino 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What do Justin Bieber, Kanye West, Britney Spears and Shia LaBeouf have in common (besides being famous)? All four of these celebrities made waves by announcing they had become Christian in recent years. Rightly or wrongly, we ordinary Christians often celebrate when a high-profile figure joins our “team.” But what should we think when our church leaders become celebrities?

It’s a question Katelyn Beaty explores in her new book Celebrities for Jesus: How Personas, Platforms, and Profits Are Hurting the Church. Katelyn looks at the phenomenon of “celebrity Christians” in the evangelical church, but the trend of priests and pastors gaining massive followings—online and IRL—exists across many denominations and in the Catholic Church. (After all, who’s a bigger celebrity than the pope?) We ask her the dangers of having a faith that is centered on charismatic individuals, how social media is changing the ways we relate to church leaders and how people in the pews can build real community in our celebrity-obsessed era.

In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley break down some of the top Catholic news stories you might have missed while on summer vacation.

Links from the show:

Support Jesuitical by subscribing to AmericaMagazine.org!

Celebrities for Jesus: How Personas, Platforms, and Profits Are Hurting the Church

Pope Francis releases new letter on liturgy: Catholics need a better understanding of Vatican II’s reforms

Full text: Pope Francis’ apology to Indigenous Peoples in Canada

​​Pope Francis names 21 new cardinals, including Bishop Robert McElroy of San Diego

Lessons for evangelization from Britney Spears’ journey with the Catholic Church

The missing piece of Shia LaBeouf’s conversation with Bishop Barron: the stories of abuse victims

What’s on tap?

Dirty gin martinis 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Ashley and Zac chat with Rebecca Jennings, a senior correspondent at The Goods by Vox, who is the author of a new article, “How Catholicism became a meme: One of the world’s most powerful religions is now an alt status symbol.” Rebecca explains why Catholicism’s aesthetic is popping up across the internet, and what that says about the church’s place in wider culture.

During Signs of the Times, the hosts discuss the murder of two Jesuit priests in Mexico and the launch of a three year Eucharistic revival in the United States.

This is Jesuitical’s last episode of the season—we’ll be back in your feeds this fall! In the meantime, follow Jesuitical on Facebook and Twitter, and you can support the show on Patreon.

Links from the show: 

• TRAVEL TO ITALY WITH JESUITICAL
• Jesuitical Listener Survey!
• How Catholicism became a meme
• Two Jesuit priests killed in Mexico
• Interview: What is the bishops’ eucharistic revival, and why should Catholics care?

What’s on tap?

The Jennings: Vodka soda with a splash of St. Germain and a lime.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jesuitical 2022 Reader Survey

That the Catholic Church is firmly opposed to abortion is not news to anyone. However, what Catholics in the pews think and feel about the issue is not as clear—and we don’t ever talk about it.

In this special episode of Jesuitical, we try to change that. In this show, you’ll hear from three guests on a few topics related to abortion. First, Tricia Bruce, a sociologist affiliated with Notre Dame who authored a landmark study about how Americans (including Catholics) understand the abortion issue. Next, Rachel Lu, a moral philosopher and contributing writer for America, who believes that the next focus point after Roe v. Wade will be about motherhood and honor. Finally, you’ll hear an excerpt from a conversation we had last year with Caitlin Flanagan, who considers herself a pro-choice Catholic but still grapples with both sides of the issue. 

Links from the Show: 

How Americans Understand Abortion a comprehensive interview study of abortion attitudes in the U.S.

The next issue in the abortion debate after Roe v. Wade: Do we really honor motherhood?

The Dishonesty of the Abortion Debate: Why we need to face the best arguments from the other side

Jesuitical 2022 Reader Survey

Join Jesuitical in Italy 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last July, Pope Francis issued a document restricting the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass, setting off a heated and at times toxic debate between more traditionalist Catholics and those who want to see the reforms of the Second Vatican Council more fully implemented. Is there a way for us to talk about the liturgy without it turning into a war?

To find out, we brought on the Rev. Pierre Amar, a priest in the Diocese of Versailles in France. Father Amar grew up attending the Latin Mass and was ordained into the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, an order dedicated to the celebration of the pre-Vatican II Mass rite. But he also loves and celebrates the novus ordo or ordinary form, and does not think the two forms of the liturgy need to be in conflict. We ask Father Amar why people today are still attracted to the Traditional Latin Mass over 50 years after the council and what he thinks about Pope Francis’ move to restrict the celebration of the older rite.

In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley are joined by Colleen Dulle, host of the “Inside the Vatican” podcast, to discuss speculation that Pope Francis is preparing to resign. 

Links from the show:

• Will Pope Francis resign? Here are some reasons to believe it—and some to be skeptical
• Explainer: What is the history of the Latin Mass?
• I once fell in love with the Latin Mass—which is why I understand why Pope Francis restricted it.
• Pope Francis on Pentecost: ‘The Holy Spirit creates harmony with division.’
• Join Jesuitical in Italy!
• We want to hear from you ! Please take our survey!

What’s on tap?

Pre-Vatican II Dewars scotch

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If we are what we eat, how could our consumption habits not be morally fraught? This week’s guest, Robert Cruz, believes they are, and he wants Catholics to be more intentional about what goes on their dinner plates. Working in the meat department of his local grocery store opened Robert’s eyes to the way meat is processed, marketed and sold—and inspired him to start a small regenerative farm on his own property. We ask Robert what Catholic social teaching says about ethical eating, how eating chickens he raised himself changed his relationship to food and animals, and why fake meat is not the morally superior option many vegetarians assume it to be.  

In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley weigh in on Archbishop Salvator Cordileone’s decision to bar Speaker Nancy Pelosi from Communion because of her “aggressive” support for abortion rights. Plus, Pope Francis has named a new U.S. cardinal: Bishop Robert McElroy of San Diego.

Links from the show:

Archbishop Cordileone on barring Nancy Pelosi from Communion: ‘I cannot in my conscience allow the situation to continue.’

​​Pope Francis names 21 new cardinals, including Bishop Robert McElroy of San Diego

Dear Catholic vegetarians: Eating fake meat isn’t going to save the planet.

Regenerative Farmers of America

Join Jesuitical in Italy!

What’s on tap?

Old Fashioned

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, an 18-year-old in Uvalde, Tex., killed 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School. The massacre came less than two weeks after a white supremacist killed 10 people at a supermarket in a majority-Black neighborhood of Buffalo, N.Y.

We’ve been here before. This happens all the time in America. And it feels like we have the same reactions, the same conversations, read the same tweets.

Which is why instead of a normal show this week, we’re revisiting a conversation from 2018 about gun control. In the aftermath of a shooting that killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., we brought on Patrick Blanchfield, who writes about gun violence in the United States. We discussed what gets missed in our gun control conversations, the familiar debate over “thoughts and prayers” and how violence in American schools and on our streets is connected to American violence abroad.

Links from the show:

Catholic leaders react to Texas school massacre: ‘Don’t tell me that guns aren’t the problem.’

Cardinal Cupich: The Second Amendment did not come down from Sinai

How the Catholic Church in Uvalde is helping a devastated community grieve and heal

Sad, tired and angry: A prayer in the face of gun violence

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Covid-19 pandemic disrupted nearly every aspect of our lives, and our religious practices were no exception. How this period of uncertainty affected the spiritual lives of young people is the subject Springtide Research Institute’s latest report, “The State of Religion & Young People 2021.” We talk with Springtide’s executive director, Dr. Josh Packard, about why young people have lost faith in the church and its leaders—and what older Catholics need to do to meet Gen-Z where they’re at. 

In Signs of the Times, producer Sebastian Gomes joins Ashley as a guest host this week to discuss the U.S. bishops’ decision to cease the domestic operations of Catholic News Service. What does this closure mean for Catholic journalism and the people in the pews?

Links from the show:

Pope Francis’ recipe to heal his painful knee? A shot of tequila

Catholic News Service closure opens the door to partisan and ideological church coverage, Catholic journalists warn

The State of Religion & Young People 2021 – Catholic Edition

Join Jesuitical in Italy!

What’s on tap?

Tequila!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the surface, Jane Austen’s classic novels like Pride and Prejudice and Emma might seem to be about courtship and marriage, manners and the social hierarchies of Regency England. But while weddings and ballrooms abound in her books, so do lessons about how to live a virtuous life. 

This week on Jesuitical, we speak with Haley Stewart, a self-described Jane Austen evangelist and the author of the new book, Jane Austen’s Genius Guide to Life: On Love, Friendship, and Becoming the Person God. We ask Haley how virtues like humility and patience are cultivated in Austen’s fiction; what Jane would say about modern dating and romance; why Catholics (and men) should take her novels seriously.

In Signs of the Times, Cardinal Joseph Zen, the 90-year-old former bishop of Hong Kong, was arrested and briefly detained for his involvement in pro-democracy protests. Zac breaks down what this arrest means for the (very complicated) situation of the Catholic Church in Hong Kong and mainland China. 

Links from the show:

Join Jesuitical in Italy

Cardinal Joseph Zen, 90, arrested in Hong Kong

Jane Austen’s Genius Guide to Life: On Love, Friendship, and Becoming the Person God Created You to Be

What’s on tap?

Balcones bourbon, distilled by our guests’s husband!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last month, FemCatholic published an investigation on the maternity leave policies at diocesan offices around the United States. What they found wasn’t flattering. Two of the report’s authors, Kelly Sankowski and Renée Roden, join the show this week to talk about their findings. 

During Signs of the Times, Ashley and Zac are joined by Gloria Purvis to give their off-the-cuff reactions to the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion that appears to signal the court’s readiness to overturn Roe v. Wade this summer. 

Links from the show: 

Podcast: Is a better abortion debate possible?

What's the State of Maternity Leave in the US Catholic Church? FemCatholic Investigates

FemCatholic Mother’s Day petition to U.S. bishops

U.S. bishops respond to Supreme Court abortion opinion leak: We ‘stand ready to help all pregnant women’

Have Catholics been praying the Our Father all wrong?

What’s on tap? 

Margaritas, sans lime, simple syrup and contrieua 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At a time when young people are leaving the Catholic Church, and those who remain are less likely to attend Mass, evangelizing may not seem like a top priority. It can be tempting for Catholic leaders to think: We need to stop the internal bleeding first, then we can worry about the rest of the world.

Bishop William Wack disagrees: In every age and place, Catholics are called to “make disciples of all nations,” and our time is no different. Named the head of the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee in Florida in 2017, Bishop Wack recently authored a pastoral letter on evangelization, titled “Sharing the Gift.” Ashley and Zac talk to Bishop Wack about praying in public, talking to friends (and strangers) about Jesus and what makes evangelization different from proselytizing. 

In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley talk with their colleague Jim McDermott, S.J., about how Catholics should think about wearing masks—even when they are not required. What Catholic principles can help us discern our way through what is hopefully the final stages of the Covid-19 pandemic?

Links from the show:

Catholics: Please keep wearing your masks. Listen to the whole conversation here.

Bishop Wack: We need more evangelical Catholics

Pastoral Letter, Sharing the Gift

Join Jesuitical in Italy

What’s on tap?

Threes Brewing Logical Conclusion IPA

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you had a chance to ask Pope Francis one question, what would it be? That was not a hypothetical question for this week’s guests. Emily Burke and Henry Glynn are two of the students who were selected to take part in “Building Bridges North-South: A Synodal Encounter Between Pope Francis and University Students,” hosted by Loyola University Chicago. The conversation centered on migration, and Emily and Henry used their time with Francis to talk about climate change refugees. 

We ask these young climate activists what it was likely to speak with the pope, how they hope to get more members of the U.S. church, including priests and bishops, to make the climate a priority and how they stay hopeful in their fight for the planet.

In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley discuss the German Synodal Path—and the bishops who are concerned it could lead to schism. 

Links from the show:

The German Synodal Way, Explained

74 bishops sign open letter warning of German Synodal Path’s ‘potential for schism’

Join Jesuitical in Italy

Join Jesuitical's Patreon community!

Learn more about Catholic Climate Covenant

What’s on tap?

Champagne—Christ is risen and so are our glasses!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Father Joshua Whitfield is a priest of the Diocese of Dallas and the author of The Crisis of Bad Preaching. He’s also a married man and a father of six. This week, Father Joshua joins Ashley and Zac to talk about his vocation as a husband, father and father, why most Catholic homilies are just plain awful and why he still has hope for the upcoming synod on synodality. Ashley and Zac also discuss a recent semi-secret gathering of bishops, theologians and journalists and whether or not God still speaks to us in our dreams. 

Links from the Show: 

Register to join Ashley, Zac and Father Eric in Italy this September

Not many Catholics care about the synod. But I’m not ready to give up on it yet.

Father Josh: A married Catholic priest in a celibate world

Bishops have frank conversations with lay theologians about Pope Francis, U.S. Church and Vatican II in semi-off-the-record meeting

The Crisis of Bad Preaching

Join Jesuitical in Italy!

Wondrium special offer

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The sexual revolution and second-wave feminism were supposed to empower women in society—and in the bedroom. So why are so many millennial women miserable when it comes to their dating and sex lives? Even after the #MeToo movement enshrined “enthusiastic consent” as the baseline requirement for sexual encounters, women (and men) continue to have sex they don’t really want and don’t enjoy. 

This week, we talk to Christine Emba, herself a millennial woman, who has surveyed this bleak landscape and think we need to build a new sexual ethic based on empathy and “seeking the good of the other.” Christine is a columnist for The Washington Post and the author of Rethinking Sex: A Provocation. We ask her why consent is not enough to guarantee ethical sex, how young Catholics can have conversations around these fraught issues and what values a healthier sexual culture would uphold. 

No Signs of the Times or faith-sharing this week—but that doesn’t mean there was not a lot of Catholic news! Check out some of the great work being done by our America colleagues in the links below. 

Links from the show:

• Rethinking Sex: A Provocation 
• Bishops have frank conversations with lay theologians about Pope Francis, U.S. Church and Vatican II in semi-off-the-record meeting
• What it means to be a woman — from a Catholic perspective
• Roundtable: Indigenous abuse survivors on truth, reconciliation and the need for a papal apology
• Former Jesuit superior of Ukraine: ‘Putin is destroying the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine.’
• Join Jesuitical in Italy!
• Wondrium special offer

What’s on tap?

Coffee

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

During his historic address to a joint session of Congress in 2015, Pope Francis raised up four virtuous Americans as models of citizenship: Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton. That last name was certainly familiar to Catholics who came of age after Vatican II, but do young Catholics know much about this mid-century Trappist monk and author?

Thomas Merton is best known for his spiritual autobiography, The Seven Storey Mountain. But he was also a prolific letter writer and, though living in a monastery, engaged with the most pressing social and political issues of the 1950s and ’60s: the civil rights movement, nuclear proliferation and the Vietnam War. In his new book, Man of Dialogue: Thomas Merton's Catholic Vision, Greg Hillis introduces Merton to the next generation of Catholics. We ask Greg why some question Merton’s Catholicity, what we should make of the monk’s brief affair with a nurse and why his writing is still relevant today.

In Signs of the Times, we discuss Pope Francis’ major overhaul of the Roman Curia and what it means for the mission of the church. 

Links from the show:

Join Jesuitical in Italy!

Pope Francis is drawing on Vatican II to radically change how the Catholic Church is governed

Man of Dialogue: Thomas Merton's Catholic Vision

Wondrium special offer

What’s on tap?

Something. Anything!—feel free to pour yourself a glass if you’re listening on Friday since it’s the Feast of the Annunciation. Fasting dispensed!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Jesuits, from their founding, have always been heavily involved in education. And in the last 50 years, they’ve made it their mission to expand access to their world-class schools to the poor who have traditionally been excluded and left behind. This week, Ashley and Zac talk with Steve Katsouros, S.J., founder of the Come to Believe network, “a results-oriented, affordable 2-year commuter program offering associate degrees in the liberal arts and sciences, designed to ensure that students complete their degrees with little to no debt and are prepared for either a 4-year higher educational institution or the workforce.”

During Signs of the Times, Matt Malone, S.J. comes on the show to talk about America Media’s new marketing campaign, #OwnYourFaith. And then they get into the question: Where does accountability end and cancel culture begin? 

What’s on tap:

Manhattan (dispensed for St. Patrick’s Day)

Links from the show: 

Join us in NYC: Film screening, “POPE FRANCIS IN IRAQ”

Come to Believe: How the Jesuits Are Reinventing Education (Again)

Come to Believe Network

The Catholic Church belongs to all of us. It’s time to #OwnYourFaith.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you think meatless Fridays or forgoing sweets for the duration of Lent is hard, imagine giving up English—or whatever your primary language is. This week’s guest, Jimin Kang, did just that last year. Jimin speaks five languages but is most comfortable in English. We ask her how giving up English affected her relationship with her family and with God, and how people who only speak one language can adapt this Lenten practice to open themselves up to new people and cultures. 

In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley talk with their colleague Jim McDermott, S.J., about the Arizona priest who performed thousands of baptisms that have been declared invalid because he used one wrong word. How should the church respond when priests make mistakes like this? 

I Gave Up English for Lent

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As is our custom, Jesuitical asked our friends from the Unorthodox podcast to suggest some additional Lenten penances. Stephanie, Liel and Mark did not hold back this year, so Zac and Ashley get creative about how to incorporate these new sacrifices into their Lenten journey. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Ashley and Zac talk to Patrick Saint-Jean, S.J., a Jesuit in formation, an assistant professor of psychology and a student therapist at Creighton University. Patrick is the author of a new book, The Crucible of Racism, as well as The Spiritual Work of Racial Justice: A Month of Meditations with Ignatius of Loyola. We talk with Patrick about why anti-racism isn’t optional for the spiritual life, his experience with racism in the Jesuits and what young people should be looking for this Lent. 

During Signs of the Times, we look at how Pope Francis is responding to the war in Ukraine, and what it means to pray for peace, even if it feels useless sometimes. 

Links from the show: 

The Crucible of Racism

The Spiritual Work of Racial Justice

Podcast: Can Pope Francis negotiate peace between Russia and Ukraine?

Praying for peace in Ukraine—even when it feels useless

What’s on tap?

Nothing for Lent.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The global health community and countless others who were healed, taught or simply inspired by Dr. Paul Farmer were shocked and saddened to learn of his death on Feb. 21. Dr. Farmer was a medical anthropologist, physician and co-founder of Partners In Health, a nonprofit that revolutionized global health care. He believed the poorest of the poor in places like Haiti and Rwanda deserve high-quality medical care—then dedicated his life to delivering it.

Dr. Farmer was also deeply Catholic and a man with a gift for friendship, including with Jennie Weiss Block, who we speak with this week in Signs of the Times. Jennie, a Dominican laywoman and practical theologian, served both as Paul’s chief adviser starting in 2009 and his spiritual director. We talk to Jennie about the sides of Paul the world never saw and what she thinks Paul would want his many admirers to do now to carry on his legacy.

We also had the great blessing of speaking with Paul back in June 2021, and in honor and celebration of his life, we are sharing that conversation again this week.

Dr. Paul Farmer, pray for us. 

Links from the show:

Paul Farmer was my friend. He should be made a saint—and a doctor of the church.

Dr. Paul Farmer: Medicine and liberation theology

Paul Farmer: Servant to the Poor

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Picture a painting or icon of your favorite Catholic saint. He or she probably has a pretty serious expression, is most likely white and is on the older side. Those images have been wonderful objects of prayer and devotion for Catholics down through the centuries. But do they speak to young people of faith today? To you?

The icons created by today’s guest, Gracie Morbitzer, seek to do just that. Gracie has created over 100 icons of saints that reflect the modern church: They are young, diverse, sometimes tattooed—and no less holy because of it. We ask what inspired this artistic endeavor and how creating icons has changed her relationship to the saints.

And in Signs of the Times, we speak with our colleague Kevin Clarke about CatholicVote’s lawsuit against Catholic Charities over their humanitarian work at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Links from the show

• Join our pilgrimage to Italy!
• Two nuns have a message for Catholics angry about their ministry to immigrants: ‘We don’t have any intention of stopping.’
• 5 years ago we started a podcast for young Catholics. What we learned about politics, prayer and the church surprised us.
• The Modern Saints
• Icon: Hildegard of Bingen
• Icon: Ignatius of Loyola

What’s on tap?

The Archangel: 2 1/4oz gin, 3/4 Aperol, 2 cucumber slices and a lemon twist.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A wedding is a day, a marriage is a lifetime. That’s what Paul and Maureen Moses like to tell couples (including Zac and his wife) that they prepare for matrimony. Paul and Maureen are coordinators of Catholic Engaged Encounter in Brooklyn and Queens, and have been married for 45 years. They run a weekend retreat that fulfills the infamous “marriage prep” part of getting married in the Catholic Church (though they’ve found that many non-Catholics get a lot out of it, too). Zac and Ashley talk to them about what they’ve learned about marriage in their vocation and how the church can better accompany couples.

The hosts are also joined by James Martin, S.J., to talk about how to discern whether the voice you heard during prayer was God or just your ego talking. 

Links from the show: 

Come to Italy with us!

5 signs you are hearing God’s voice (and not your ego) in prayer by James Martin, S.J.

Catholic Engaged Encounter

Catholic Engaged Encounter Brooklyn-Queens

Learning to Pray

What’s on tap: 

Rock Red blend from the Waltz family vineyard 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Behind (almost) every tattoo is a story, and this week’s guest thinks the church should start listening to those stories. Gustavo Morello, S.J., an associate professor of sociology at Boston College, has studied the religious significance of tattoos and found that even tattoos that don’t seem particularly religious can have a deep spiritual meaning for those who have them. We ask Gustavo about religious hang-ups around tattoos, their rising popularity and what they can teach us about the faith lives of young people.

In Signs of the Times, we’re talking about the pope’s monthly prayer intention encouraging nuns to fight back when they’re treated unfairly by men of the church and we remember a Catholic music icon.

Links from the show:

LIMITED TIME ONLY: $350 our pilgrimage to Italy

Pope Francis tells nuns: Fight back when you are treated unfairly ‘by men of the church.’

Catholic sister whose rock version of Our Father topped charts dies at 84

For many, a tattoo isn’t just ink. It’s a religious experience.

What’s on tap?

Malbec from Argentina

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're having a conversation with Kerry Weber, author of a new essay in America titled "You will never regret going to the funeral." 

Read the article here and listen to the full conversation at: https://www.patreon.com/americamedia

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

And just like that, with a papal decree last week, St. Irenaeus of Lyon became the 37th “doctor of the church.” Who was Irenaeus? What was the church like when he lived, sometime during the second century? And how did interpret and defend Scripture and Christian theology in a time before the Bible as we know it and the Creed even existed? To find out, we brought on Scott Moringiello, an associate professor in the Catholic studies department at DePaul University and an expert on Irenaeus and the history of biblical exegesis. We also get into what it’s like to teach undergraduates theology, often against their will.

During Signs of the Times, we discuss the report on sex abuse in the Archdiocese of Munich, where Pope Emeritus Benedict served as bishop for four years, and Gonzaga University’s decision to revoke alumnus John Stockton’s basketball seasons tickets. Finally, we discuss the role of literature in our faith lives.

Links from the show: 

Register to come with Jesuitical to Italy in September!

Pope Francis declares St. Irenaeus a doctor of the church

Explainer: Pope Francis is naming St. Irenaeus a ‘Doctor of the Church.’ What does that mean?

“The Rhetoric of Faith: Irenaeus and the Structure of the Adversus Haereses”

Podcast: What you need to know about Pope Benedict’s record on sexual abuse

Gonzaga revokes John Stockton’s season tickets over his refusal to wear masks.

What’s on Tap: 

Bourbon (for some French influence to honor Irenaeus) 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You have probably heard that in order for someone to be declared a saint they (usually) need to have two miracles attributed to their intercession. But how does the Catholic Church decide what’s a miracle and what is just a rare healing—or a hoax?

To find out, we spoke with Bishop Eusebio Elizondo, an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Seattle who has served as the “devil’s advocate” in the canonization process. The devil’s advocate (today formally known as the “promoter of the faith”) is appointed by the church to make the case against a candidate’s sainthood. We ask Bishop Elizondo what kinds of questions the devil’s advocate asks, how modern science has changed the church’s understanding of miracles and why most miracles today involve healing—as opposed to, say, water and wine or loaves and fishes.

In Signs of the Times, we preview the Jan. 22 beatification of Rutilio Grande, a Jesuit priest and martyr from El Salvador, and discuss an advice column about Catholic weddings that raises interesting questions about the role of parents in the sacrament. 

Links from the show:

• Come to Italy with Jesuitical!
• 4 lessons from Rutilio Grande, priest, prophet and martyr
• Ask Amy: Upset mother objects to paying for Catholic wedding
• Boy’s recovery a Kateri miracle

What’s on tap?

Last night’s leftover wine

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For every A-list celebrity, there are thousands of people working behind the scenes and in supporting roles. They hustle from gig to gig, stitching jobs and roles together to make a living. They’re people like Marianne Muellerleile. Marianne is a distinguished actor who has appeared in hundreds of films, TV series and commercials. We talk to Marianne about what it’s like being Catholic in Hollywood, and what makes for a funny commercial (she’s been in quite a few, including Geico’s “Aunt Infestation”).

On Signs of the Times, we talk about the ethics of a Catholic school running up the score in a basketball game and discuss some new research about the true identity of Mary Magdalene. 

Links from the show: 

Come to Italy with Jesuitical!

A School Won 92-4 in Basketball. Then the Coach Was Suspended.

Was Mary Magdalene really from Magdala? Two scholars examine the evidence

Join our Patreon community!

What’s on tap?

Tea and decaf instant coffee, for a “Dry Second Wednesday in January”

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A charismatic demagogue with millions of devoted followers. A novel means of communication with little government regulation and few guardrails. The threat of violence in the streets and a country in crisis.

No, we’re not talking about the 45th president but America’s first radio priest, Father Charles Coughlin. On “Radioactive,” a new podcast series from Tablet Studios, Andrew Lapin takes listeners through the history of Father Coughlin, who through a mixture of Catholic piety, anti-Semitism and raw political ambition became the most popular voice on the U.S. airwaves during the Great Depression and the lead up to World War II.

We ask Andrew what Father Coughlin’s story can tell us about the connection between religious demagoguery and authoritarianism; the Wild West of new media platforms; and the failure of the church to reign in Catholics who exploit these toxic forces.

In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley share some Pope Francis-inspired New Year’s resolutions and give their predictions for Catholic stories coming in 2022.

Links from the show:

• Volunteer, stop judging and get off Twitter: 8 New Year’s Resolutions Inspired by Pope Francis
• Pope Francis’ action-packed agenda for 2022
• Potentially explosive report will document handling of sex abuse in Pope Benedict’s former diocese
• Who will be the first Black Catholic saint from the United States?
• Join our Patreon community
• Come to Italy with Jesuitical!

What’s on tap?

Bringing in the New Year with some Bubbly

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're unpacking the pope's controversial comments about having children or pets.

To listen to the full conversation, go to https://www.patreon.com/americamedia

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why was Jesus always feasting, eating and drinking? What makes the table a place of sacred encounter? And how are you supposed to learn how to cook on a budget? 

Lidia Bastianich is a best-selling cookbook author, an Emmy award-winning public television host, restaurateur and the owner of a flourishing food and entertainment business. She’s also someone who has overcome extraordinary odds in her life. Born in the Istrian peninsula, her family fell behind the Iron Curtain when it became Yugoslavia. Her family crossed the border into Italy, living in a refugee camp in Trieste before being relocated permanently in the United States by Catholic Charities. 

In her new PBS special, “Lidia Celebrates America: Overcoming the Odds,” she tells the stories—and shares the table with—other resilient Americans with inspiring stories. 

Links from the show:

“Lidia Celebrates America: Overcoming The Odds.”

Come to Italy with Jesuitical!

Italian Bishop Gives Children Harsh News: There Is No Santa Claus

Wine at Communion, the sign of peace, holy water fonts: Will these parts of the Mass ever come back?

What’s on Tap?

2016 Bastianich Plus White Wine

Tequila for Kevin, our studio manager’s, birthday

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jesus said the poor will always be with us, but that doesn’t mean we can’t end homelessness. And this week’s guest, Rosanne Haggerty, is dedicated to doing just that. Rosanne is the president and C.E.O. of Community Solutions, which develops innovative, data-driven strategies to end homelessness and strengthen communities. We ask Rosanne how Catholic social teaching informs her work and to break down some common misconceptions about homelessness in the United States.

In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley discuss San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone’s vaccination status and the Archdiocese of Cincinnati’s bold parish restructuring plan.

Finally, Friday morning is your last chance to enter your name in a drawing for a signed copy of Michael O’Loughlin’s new book, Hidden Mercy, by becoming a member of our Patreon community.

Links from the show:

Join the Jesuitical Podcast on Pilgrimage in Italy!

San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone reveals he is not vaccinated against Covid-19

Archdiocese of Cincinnati to reduce 208 parishes to 57 ‘families of parishes’

Learn more about Community Solutions

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In public, the Catholic Church and L.G.B.T. activists were constantly clashing in the 1980s and ’90s over the treatment of gay and lesbians in the church and the institution’s role in responding to the H.I.V./AIDS epidemic. But behind the headlines, there were stories of Catholics responding with compassion and heroism in the face of fear and stigma. Michael J. O’Loughlin, national correspondent for America, joins Zac and Ashley to discuss his new book, Hidden Mercy: AIDS, Catholics, and the Untold Stories of Compassion in the Face of Fear. 

Links from the show:

Hidden Mercy

How the Catholic Worker Movement inspired one couple to open their doors to people with AIDS

Hark! The Stories Behind Our Favorite Christmas Carols

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Robert McCarthy is a 25 year old Catholic law student who ran for public office in a local election in Nassau County on Long Island, N.Y. He lost, but learned a lot about local politics, vocation, and himself along the way. 

To listen to the full conversation, go to patreon.com/americamedia

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“No child is going to be abandoned twice.” That is the mission of Mustard Seed Communities, a nonprofit founded by Monsignor Gregory Ramkissoon to serve some of the most vulnerable people on earth: children and adults in low-income countries with severe mental or physical disabilities. What began as a small home for a handful of children who were left to fend for themselves on the streets of Kingston, Jamaica, is now a network of communities providing 600 children and adults with shelter, education, health care and training in Jamaica, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, Zimbabwe and Malawi.

We ask Monsignor Gregory what inspired his ministry, about the ethics of “mission trips” and how working with people the world has discarded has shaped his understanding of God.

You can find out more about Mustard Seed Communities—and support their incredible work this Giving Tuesday—here.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Unless you are a saint (and maybe even if you are one), there is probably someone in your life, whether a relative on Facebook or a person you’ve never actually met on Twitter, who makes you think...less than charitable thoughts. While self-righteous take-downs of your political opponents can feel good in the moment, they are unlikely to change anyone’s mind—and probably aren’t great for your own emotional well-being either.

Our guest this week, Kirsten Powers, shows another way forward. A political commentator for places like Fox News and CNN, Kirsten has been at the center of our toxic national discourse for years, and in her new book, Saving Grace, she provides hard-earned wisdom for dealing with people across political and cultural divides.

In Signs of the Times, the debate over the bishops’ document on the Eucharist ends in a whimper, our friend and colleague Michael O’Loughlin gets a letter from Pope Francis and Zac and Ashley discuss an increasingly popular practice in Italy: “de-baptism.”

Thanks to everyone who is supporting Jesuitical on Patreon. We have a new bonus episode dropping for you soon! If you’re not yet a member of our Patreon community, sign up here today.

Links from the show:

• Debate over the Eucharist and pro-choice politicians ends in a whimper at bishops’ meeting
• Pope Francis thanks America’s Michael J. O’Loughlin for reporting on Catholic responses to H.I.V./AIDS
• In Catholic Italy, ‘de-baptism’ is gaining popularity
• Saving Grace: Speak your truth, stay centered and learn to coexist with people who drive you nuts

What’s on tap

Margaritas on the rocks

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s bishops week on Jesuitical! Ashley and Zac unpack several stories surrounding U.S. bishops in the news: Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles, Bishop John Stowe of Lexington, Ky., Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco, and Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago.

That all leads into a conversation with Bishop Frank Caggiano of Bridgeport Connecticut, who unpacks his understanding of what Pope Francis is after in calling for a “synod on synods,” and more broadly, what it means to have a church that listens. 

Links from the show: 

• Archbishop Gomez: The church must confront ‘woke’ social justice movements that aim to ‘cancel’ Christian beliefs
• Interview: Archbishop Cordileone on Biden, Pelosi, abortion and Pope Francis
• ‘The Church Must Be Political’
• Cardinal Cupich: Pope Francis’ Latin Mass reforms are necessary to secure Vatican II’s legacy

What’s on tap? 

Southern Comfort Manhattans  

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ashley and Zac chat with Father Jim McDermott about Netflix’s ‘Midnight Mass.’ To listen to the full conversation, sign up to support Jesuitical on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/americamedia

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You might know Ross Douthat as the token conservative at The New York Times, or the Catholic critic of Pope Francis. But in his new book, The Deep Places: A Memoir of Illness and Discovery, you’ll see a different side of Ross: a father and husband suffering with an incredibly painful chronic disease, looking for relief—and answers. We talk to Ross about how his experience of chronic Lyme disease affected his faith, what it taught him about the suffering in our society that is often out of sight and how friends and you can best accompany a loved one who is sick or in pain. 

In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley discuss President Joe Biden’s meeting with Pope Francis, and share the pope’s prayer intention for the month of November.

Want more Jesuitical? Join our Patreon community to get bonus episodes!

Links from the show:

• Biden says Pope Francis told him to ‘keep receiving Communion’
• Leaked draft of bishops’ document on Communion lacks explicit reference to pro-choice politicians
• Burned out, overworked or depressed? Pope Francis is praying for you.
• The Deep Places: A Memoir of Illness and Discovery

What’s on tap?

Pumpkinhead Ale from Shipyard Brewing Company

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Catholic Church owns a lot of land: churches, monasteries, schools, hospitals, cemeteries and more. What it’s missing are maps. That’s where Molly Burhans comes in. Molly is on a mission to not only make a digital record of Catholic landholdings but to help the church use that land for good. We ask Molly how Catholic organizations can make their land environmentally sustainable and socially useful, how frustrating it can be to work with the Vatican at times and how she remains hopeful in the face of climate change.  

In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley discuss the history of pope and president meetings ahead of Joe Biden’s trip to the Vatican. Plus, a gay teacher and music director in the Diocese of Brooklyn is fired after he married his partner. We ask: What’s the true cause of scandal in stories like this?

Finally, we have a bonus episode for the members of our Patreon community. We sit down with our colleague Jim McDemott, S.J., a.k.a. The Pop Culture Priest, to talk about why we love the extremely Catholic Netflix show “Midnight Mass.” Become a Patreon member today to get this and future bonus episodes!

Links from the show

Biden’s meeting with Pope Francis carries resonance as disputes divide U.S. Catholics

Video: Joe Biden talks his Catholic Faith, Pope Francis and Politics

A Gay Music Teacher Got Married. The Brooklyn Diocese Fired Him.

How a Young Activist Is Helping Pope Francis Battle Climate 

Learn more about GoodLands

What’s on tap?

Slightly expired Coors Light and Spencers Trappist beer

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the age of “doing your own research.” Given the increased attention we’ve all been paying to science this past year, we thought it important to bring on Brother Guy the Catholic Science Guy, a.k.a. Guy Consolmagno, S.J. Nicknamed “the pope’s astronomer,” Brother Guy is the director of the Vatican Observatory, president of the Vatican Observatory Foundation and he’s here to give science a much needed “shot in the arm.”