The Communion Project Podcast

The Communion Project
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The temperature of our Church, and our country, is running hot. The Communion Project Podcast, hosted by Jonathan Lewis, features Catholic leaders and thinkers wrestling honestly with division in the Church, and sharing practical ways to choose friendship over factions and live a communion greater than any difference. Whether you are a Church leader or simply a Catholic who is tired of the choosing sides, welcome to the conversation. New episodes bi-weekly. Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.

Episodes

  1. Jul 14

    Dr. Tim O'Malley On Saint Augustine, Unity, and Reform

    Is the Catholic Church in America really as divided as the headlines suggest — or are we being told a story that isn't quite true? In this episode, host Jonathan Lewis sits down with Dr. Tim O'Malley, theologian, author, and Associate Director for Research at the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame, to unpack liturgical division, the wisdom of St. Augustine, Pope Leo's early emphasis on unity, and what it really means to live in communion with people who are different from us. Drawing on Augustine's response to the Donatist controversy, the legacy of Vatican II, and his own conversion story growing up Catholic in the Bible Belt, Tim offers a hopeful and refreshingly honest take on Church unity — and a practical challenge for every Catholic listening. Episode Timestamps00:00 — Cold open: political idolatry and the worship shaping American life today00:23 — Meet Tim O'Malley: professor at Notre Dame's McGrath Institute for Church Life01:07 — Tim's conversion story: growing up Catholic in South Florida and becoming "the only Catholic" in East Tennessee03:04 — Tim's most formative liturgical memories: confirmation, marriage, and Mass at Notre Dame on 9/1105:01 — Why the ordinary, regular practice of Sunday Mass shapes identity more than the "big moments"06:21 — Why liturgy is so often the flashpoint for division in the U.S. Catholic Church09:26 — Is liturgy a proxy war? How Vatican II's reforms were historically unprecedented12:31 — Most Catholics aren't fighting about the liturgy — so who is, and why?13:58 — "The spicy part": Tim's hot take on infant baptism reform15:11 — Docility and the wisdom of Romano Guardini: letting the liturgy shape you16:03 — St. Augustine's letter to Januarius on liturgical diversity and unity in non-essentials17:07 — What St. Augustine and the Donatist controversy teach the Church about unity amid division20:06 — Naming America's real idolatry: political worship, MAGA, and eschatological hope in politics21:01 — Pope Leo XIV, Chicago roots, and echoes of Augustine, "the Bishop of Hippo," in his early pontificate22:08 — Pope Leo's motto "In the One, We Are One" and what it means for the Church today22:55 — What breaks Tim's heart: exclusion, disunity, and forgetting the gift of grace25:05 — What gives Tim hope: the rise of lay-led ecclesial and apostolic movements27:01 — What does it actually mean to be "in communion"? Why difference is essential to real unity30:36 — Tim's #1 practice for building unity: get off social media and know your literal neighbor31:49 — Lightning round: potluck dish, patron saints for this moment (Augustine and Benedict)32:48 — What Tim wants newcomers to know about the Catholic Church34:06 — Closing reflection: "My fault, my fault, my most grievous fault" — why imperfection belongs in the Church34:37 — Episode wrap-up and where to find more Communion Project resources About the GuestDr. Tim O'Malley is a theologian and Associate Director for Research at the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame. He holds a PhD from Boston College and has spent his career studying and teaching on liturgy, sacraments, and the life of the Church.

  2. Jul 7

    Archbishop Lori on Political Tribalism and Family Meals

    Archbishop William E. Lori has spent nearly 50 years in Church leadership as a priest and bishop, over 20 years as chaplain to the Knights of Columbus, and 14 years as Archbishop of Baltimore, the first Catholic diocese in the United States. His 2026 pastoral letter, In Charity and Truth: Toward a Renewed Political Culture, names something most American Catholics feel but rarely say out loud: our political culture has gone toxic, and we've stopped seeing each other as brothers and sisters. Host Jonathan Lewis talks with Archbishop Lori about where that forgetting comes from, what it costs a parish, a presbyterate, and a country. Key Moments [00:53] Growing up the youngest of four brothers in southern Indiana, and the sacrificial love his parents showed his brother Frankie, who had special needs. Catholic formation · family · disability and dignity [03:10] Two Masses he'll never forget: a Christmas liturgy at a homeless shelter that ended in "Jingle Bells," and saying Mass alone at the empty tomb in the Holy Land. Eucharist · the poor · Holy Land pilgrimage [05:59] Why American public and family life have grown so divided — collective amnesia about the image of God, an information ecosystem built to inflame, and the fading family dinner table. polarization · pastoral letter · Catholic social teaching [09:41] Is the Church a thermostat setting the culture's temperature, or a thermometer just reflecting it back? You can guess someone's news diet by how they react to a homily. culture of encounter · Evangelii Gaudium · parish life [13:10] Polarization isn't just a pew problem — forming younger priests, why bishops like each other more than the press assumes, and what changes when a presbyterate eats at the same table. clergy formation · Church unity · leadership [17:19] The line that anchors the conversation: do I want my side to win, or do I want Christ to win? Catholic identity ranked below political identity. Catholic identity · partisanship · synodality [27:09] Boutique parishes versus real belonging — and why 2,000 Easter converts in Baltimore say something about which one wins. evangelization · parish renewal · Easter converts [29:51] From Archbishop John Carroll and Cardinal Gibbons to Isaac Hecker's conviction that being Catholic and being American reinforce each other — in America's 250th year. US Catholic history · religious freedom · Catholic schools [37:47] Why a 19th-century parish priest started a fraternal order instead of letting immigrant Catholics join secret societies, and why the Knights are growing again in an age of "Bowling Alone." Knights of Columbus · Michael McGivney · loneliness epidemic [41:23] One practice to start with: find someone you're pretty sure disagrees with you, and have an actual conversation. practical wisdom · dialogue across difference [42:42] What fills his heart, what breaks it — the condos going up that the Church isn't reaching, and the twenty-somethings packing the oldest cathedral in the country on a Sunday. hope · evangelization · Church renewal [44:35] Lightning round: a case for St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, and the one thing he'd want a curious inquirer to know about entering the Church. Elizabeth Ann Seton · human dignity · evangelization Guest Archbishop William E. Lori has served as Archbishop of Baltimore since 2012, leading the oldest diocese in the United States. He previously served as Bishop of Bridgeport, Connecticut, and Auxiliary Bishop of Washington, D.C. Since 2005, he has served as Supreme Chaplain of the Knights of Columbus. He is the author of several pastoral letters, most recently In Charity and Truth: Toward a Renewed Political Culture.

  3. Jun 30

    Fr. Jim Martin and Tim Busch on Friendship, Division, and Dinner

    THE COMMUNION PROJECT PODCAST Episode 1: Fr. Jim Martin and Tim Busch on Friendship, Division, and Dinner Fr. James Martin, SJ and Timothy Busch have been portrayed by Catholic media as polar opposites. Neither man thinks that framing is accurate, and for seven years, quietly, they've been proving it wrong through private salon dinners: small gatherings of Catholics from across the ideological spectrum, built around Mass, the Rosary, a shared meal, and a favorite scripture verse. In this inaugural Conversations in Communion episode, host Jonathan Lewis welcomes Fr. Jim and Tim for an honest, wide-ranging conversation about faith, friendship, and what it takes to stay in communion with people you're supposed to disagree with. Key Moments [00:08] The Friendship Nobody Expected Seven years of honest conversation between two men Catholic media placed on opposite ends of the spectrum. Catholic unity · polarization · dialogue across difference [13:44] The Salon Dinners Mass, the Rosary, dinner, a scripture verse. No debate. No agenda. Just people becoming less than strangers — and a possible model for the broader Church. Community · bridge-building · synodality · parish renewal [20:09] Formation Stories Tim rode his bike to daily Tridentine Mass as a third-grader in Michigan. Fr. Jim had an encounter with God in a Pennsylvania meadow he couldn't name until years later. Catholic formation · vocation · Jesuit spirituality [24:27] The Mass That Changes Everything Spiritual warfare, ordination Masses, liturgy with refugees in Nairobi, and what the words of consecration ask of us. Eucharist · real presence · transubstantiation · liturgy [31:22] What Breaks Their Hearts — and What Fills Them Both say division. But Tim points to the largest surge in baptisms and confirmations in 25 years as evidence the Holy Spirit isn't finished with the Church. Church renewal · sex abuse crisis · hope [35:41] Pope Francis, Pope Leo XIV, and Unity Fr. Jim knew Pope Francis personally and participated in the Synod on Synodality. Both men read Leo XIV's early papacy as a continuation — with unity as its defining note. Pope Leo XIV · Pope Francis · Synod on Synodality [45:51] The Church's Moral Authority in a Fractured World On AI ethics, just war, and why the Vatican keeps drawing people who don't share the faith: two thousand years of moral theology is already there. AI · just war · moral theology · Catholic social teaching [51:58] Where They Actually Disagree Sexual ethics, the role of government, Dorothy Day versus Mother Teresa. Communion doesn't require uniformity. Catholic social teaching · subsidiarity · political diversity [01:00:45] Advice for Catholics in the Pews Tim: pray. Fr. Jim: listen without preparing your rebuttal. Be humble enough to be wrong. Discipleship · dialogue · humility · prayer Fr. James Martin, SJ is a Jesuit priest, editor-at-large of America Magazine, and author of Building a Bridge, Learning to Pray, and Work in Progress. Timothy Busch is founder of the Napa Institute and co-founder of the Busch School of Business at The Catholic University of America.

  4. Jun 23

    Welcome to The Communion Project Podcast

    In this introductory episode, host Jonathan Lewis lays out the heart and vision behind The Communion Project. This isn't a space for political debates or surface-level compromise. Instead, it is a podcast where Catholics actively practice communion in real time. We aren’t here to change your beliefs, but to deepen your conviction in a unity that is far greater than any difference.

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About

The temperature of our Church, and our country, is running hot. The Communion Project Podcast, hosted by Jonathan Lewis, features Catholic leaders and thinkers wrestling honestly with division in the Church, and sharing practical ways to choose friendship over factions and live a communion greater than any difference. Whether you are a Church leader or simply a Catholic who is tired of the choosing sides, welcome to the conversation. New episodes bi-weekly. Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.

Information

  • Creator
    The Communion Project
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    4
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Communion Project