Dr. Elizabeth Bookser-Barkley, known by her loved ones and students as "Buffy," is an English professor and chair of the Department of Liberal Arts at Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati, Ohio. She has her PhD in English and is also the author of four books and numerous articles for St. Anthony Messenger magazine. Barkley has taught the St. Anthony Messenger's editorial director, Chris Heffron, and its executive editor, Susan Hines-Brigger. Barkley joins Off the Page to discuss her January 2025 cover story, "Dead Man Walking at 30," and March 2025 feature, "The Nuns Are OK." If you are curious what the Catholic Church teaches on capital punishment, see the new revision of 2267 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

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(00:00:01) Introduction

(00:04:05) Buffy's Background

(00:10:11) Buffy's Love for Teaching and Feature Writing

(00:15:00) Who is Sr. Helen Prejean?

(00:19:08) Dead Man Walking at 30

(00:23:48) The Nuances of Capital Punishment

(00:38:22) The Nuns are OK

(00:44:53) Exploring the Decline of Religious Life

(00:47:45) Road to Renewal: Contemplative Dialogue

(00:52:47) Interviewing and Covering the Sisters of Charity

(00:55:57) Conclusion

Buffy Barkley — The Legacies of Sister Helen Prejean and Religious Sisters