Jesuitical

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CHRISTIANITY
EVERY TWO WEEKS

Welcome to Jesuitical, a podcast for young Catholics hosted by two young, lay editors at America—Zac Davis and Ashley McKinless. Each episode features a guest who offers a unique perspective on faith, culture or current events. We also bring you some of the top (and maybe more obscure) Catholic news of the week. And we'll ask: Where do we find God in all this?

1 DAY AGO

The Indigenous sister risking her life to protect the Amazon

On this week’s episode of “Jesuitical,” Ashley and Zac are joined by Sister Laura Vicuña Pereira Manso, an Indigenous activist fighting to protect the Amazon rainforest and serve its people. As the current vice president of the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon region (known as CEAMA) and a 2019 auditor of the Synod for the Pan-Amazon Region, Sister Laura has met with Pope Francis to make the case for women’s ministries, including restoring women deacons. They discuss: - Sister Laura’s experience at Amazon Synod, and whether synodality “works” - What a typical day looks like when you are ministering to Indigenous communities in the Amazon and struggling against powerful (and violent) corporations. - What she would say to those who criticize women deacons as a “Western obsession” Links for further reading: A Franciscan sister joins the fight for Indigenous rights in Brazil A nun makes the case for women deacons to Pope Francis What you need to know about the 2019 Synod on the Amazon Brazilian Cardinal talks restoring women deacons, ordaining married men at synod press briefing Synod Diary: Women deacons are not a ‘Western’ obsession We’d like to give a special thanks to our translators, America O’Hare fellow Leilani Fuentes and Ellie Hidalgo of Discerning Deacons, who helped with the translations for this episode. You can follow us on X and on Instagram @jesuiticalshow. You can find us on Facebook at facebook.com/groups/jesuitical. Please consider supporting Jesuitical by becoming a digital subscriber to America Media at americamagazine.org/subscribe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

56 min
7 NOV

Donald Trump won—again. Unpacking the Catholic vote and what comes next

On this week’s episode of “Jesuitical,” Ashley and Zac are joined by America magazine’s editor in chief, Sam Sawyer, S.J., to discuss the results of the 2024 presidential election, in which Donald Trump defeated the sitting vice president, Kamala Harris. They discuss: The Catholic vote in the election and how it differed from previous elections How Catholic leaders might respond to a second Trump presidency The role of faith and trust in God in the face of political turmoil Please consider supporting Jesuitical by becoming a digital subscriber to America Media at americamagazine.org/subscribe Links for further reading: The day after Trump’s victory: searching for mercy, justice and God’s providence Five political takeaways from the 2024 election Voters in 3 states reject abortion ballot measures, defying trend around country Trump courted white Catholics—and they helped him win the White House again Donald Trump won: 5 Catholic takeaways Donald Trump defeats Kamala Harris to become the 47th president of the United States Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

40 min
28 OCT

Cardinal Tobin on the synod and the future of women deacons

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

44 min
25 OCT

Father James Martin on making history at the Synod on Synodality

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

33 min
24 OCT

How synodal is the U.S. church?

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

40 min
23 OCT

A synod insider on making your parish synodal

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

54 min
18 OCT

Listening to the critics of the synod

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

47 min
16 OCT

A Catholic Arab born in Israel still has hope for the synod—and peace in the Holy Land

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

50 min

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Welcome to Jesuitical, a podcast for young Catholics hosted by two young, lay editors at America—Zac Davis and Ashley McKinless. Each episode features a guest who offers a unique perspective on faith, culture or current events. We also bring you some of the top (and maybe more obscure) Catholic news of the week. And we'll ask: Where do we find God in all this?