Church Life Today

The desire for the deathless extension of existence. The desire for autonomy without impediments. The desire for consciousness without bounds, for self-determination without exhaustion, for individual benefits without costs. Desires such as these seem very much at home in the transhumanist project, which seeks to push back against human limits, especially via technological means. But have we rightly assessed the true costs of what many hail as “progress”? Should we continue to try to outwit the boundaries of our humanity, or, moreover, can we actually do so even if we want to?These questions and more like them come to the fore on Church Life Today, as I welcome Mary Harrington to our show. Mary is a contributing editor at UnHerd, and our conversation today follows an event hosted by UnHerd in which Mary debated Elise Bohan on the latter’s book Future Superhuman: Our Transhuman Lives in a Make-or-Break Century. Mary’s opening remarks were published under the title “Transhumanism is already here” and you can find a link to the video of their debate in this episode’s show notes. Mary herself has just released a new book, Feminism Against Progress, in which she builds up many of the arguments she introduced in the debate and which she is sure to introduce to us today. Resources:Feminism Against Progress by Mary HarringtonVideo of “UnHerd Club - Mary Harrington & Elise Bohan: The transhumanism debate”“Why progress isn’t feminist” by Mary Harrington for UnHerd“We Need a Class Politics of Biotech” by Mary Harrington for CompactThis episode is supported by Providence College Humanities Program, https://humanities.providence.edu/veritas/Church Life Today is a partnership between the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame and OSV Podcasts from Our Sunday Visitor. Discover more ways to live, learn, and love your Catholic faith at osvpodcasts.com. Sharing stories, starting conversations.

We live toward what we assume to be our ends. Some of us hold such assumptions consciously, others do not, but either way the ends we seek shape the lives we live and the societies we build. The Christian eschatological imagination is concerned with the end of all things in the consummate glory of God, in our union with God. The way there is through judgment. And what is judged is, oftentimes, the other ends we have desired and built our worlds around. But to glimpse––just glimpse––the beauty and fullness of the final end God gives even now is a light for hope, while at the same time the bestowal of a mission to return to––rather than flee from––the concrete and historical lives we live now, in this world, such as it is. That is the tension of Christian eschatology, which literature often times powerfully, stunningly, even hauntingly presents to us in images and experiences.On our episode today we plunge into such considerations with Judith Wolfe, who recently delivered the annual Religion and Literature Lecture at the University of Notre Dame, on the topic of “The Eschatological Imagination in Literature.” Dr. Wolfe is professor of philosophical theology in the School of Divinity at the University of St. Andrew’s. Additionally and among other positions and activities, she serves as general editor of the Journal of Inkling Studies, she has developed or is currently working on a number of large projects such as the Widening Horizons in Philosophical Theology project with funding from the Templeton Religion Trust, and she is the author or editor of a number of books (not to mention her articles), including the Oxford Handbook of Nineteenth-Century Christian Thought, Heidegger and Theology, Heidegger and Eschatology, and C.S. Lewis and His Circle. She joins me today, in person, during her visit to Notre Dame. Follow Up Resources:●      Find out more about Professor Judith Wolfe on her University of St. Andrew’s faculty page●      “At the Threshold: Begin with the End” – a video with Judith Wolfe speaking about eschatology●      Books by Judith WolfeThis episode is supported by Providence College Humanities Program, https://humanities.providence.edu/veritas/Church Life Today is a partnership between the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame and OSV Podcasts from Our Sunday Visitor. Discover more ways to live, learn, and love your Catholic faith at osvpodcasts.com. Sharing stories, starting conversations.

“O God, who in your inexpressible providence were pleased to choose Saint Joseph as spouse of the most holy Mother of your Son, grant, we pray, that we, who revere him as our protector on earth, may be worthy of his heavenly intercession. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.”So concludes the litany of Saint Joseph. This litany leads us to contemplate the titles and honors of Joseph, husband of Mary and custodian of the Incarnate Word. To contemplate Joseph requires that we contemplate the mysteries of God, because Joseph, from whom Scripture records no words spoken, is directed by and responsive to the Word who speaks our salvation. But it takes time, attention, and a patient, longing devotion to turn a prayer like the litany of Saint Joseph into something that allows us to contemplate such subtle and sweeping beauties. And so, for today’s episode, especially in honor of the Solemnity of Saint Joseph, I want to offer you some reflections on a few of these titles and honors of Joseph, to help us, together, to marvel at this great saint anew, precisely by marveling at what and who he himself holds most dear and cherishes.This episode of Church Life Today is different than most since this is an episode without a guest, unless you’d like to count Saint Joseph himself as my guest. The reflections I share with you in this episode are drawn from the book I wrote with Our Sunday Visitor under the title Model of Faith: Reflecting on the Litany of Saint Joseph. That book presents some 25 such reflections, but here today I will only share a handful with you, mostly in pairs. Each reflection seeks to open up one of the titles or honors of Saint Joseph from his litany. I am grateful to Our Sunday Visitor for agreeing to allow me to use portions of the book for our podcast today … and I am grateful to Our Sunday Visitor again for producing this podcast. So thanks all around to Our Sunday Visitor, who is helping us to give thanks to God for and through Saint Joseph. Follow up Resources:●      Model of Faith: Reflecting on the Litany of Saint Joseph by Leonard J. DeLorenzo●      “Finding God in Saint Joseph” by Leonard J. DeLorenzo, presenting the first two reflections contained in this episode.●      A Report on American Catholic Religious Parenting from the McGrath Institute for Church Life.●      Providence College Veritas ConferenceThis episode is supported by Providence College Humanities Program, https://humanities.providence.edu/veritas/Church Life Today is a partnership between the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame and OSV Podcasts from Our Sunday Visitor. Discover more ways to live, learn, and love your Catholic faith at osvpodcasts.com. Sharing stories, starting conversations.

After the overturn of Roe v. Wade, a wide array of commentators bemoaned how much more support would now be needed for women who become pregnant when abortion is no longer available, or less readily available. What that implies, of course, is that abortion is a substitute for other supportive measures for pregnant and parenting women, or even more to that point, that those other forms of support are substitutes for the perceived cure-all of abortion. My guest today calls out this implicit assumption in an essay she wrote that specifically focuses on the ways in which institutions of higher education do or do not adequately support women as women, with their distinctive reproductive capacities in view.Angela Franks is Professor of Theology at St. John’s Seminary in Boston. She is no stranger to our own McGrath Institute for Church Life as she currently serves as a Life and Human Dignity Writing Fellow for our Church Life Journal, and she has joined me on our show before to talk about gender, bodies, and the space of responsiveness. The article that is the basis of our discussion today comes under the title “Why Does Higher Ed Throw Women Under the Bus?”, which appeared in the Church Life Journal in September 2022, not long after the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in the Dobbs case. Follow up Resources:●      Article: “Why Does Higher Ed Throw Women Under the Bus?” by Angela Franks in the Church Life Journal●      Podcast Episode: “Catholic Colleges and Pregnant Students, with Renée Roden” on Church Life Today●      Podcast Episode: “Gender, Bodies, and the Space of Responsiveness, with Angela Franks” on Church Life Today●      Article: “The Body as Totem in the Asexual Revolution” by Angela Franks in the Church Life Journal●      Video Series: “Into Life: Love Changes Everything” from the Sisters of Life and the McGrath Institute for Church Life: a 12-part original series on accompanying a woman into life.This episode is supported by NCEA, https://www.ncea.org/NCEA2023/whyattendChurch Life Today is a partnership between the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame and OSV Podcasts from Our Sunday Visitor. Discover more ways to live, learn, and love your Catholic faith at osvpodcasts.com. Sharing stories, starting conversations.

You may remember in the last couple years the listening sessions that took place in dioceses and parishes as a first step in the Church’s “synod on synodality.” Maybe you participated in one of these listening sessions, or even helped to host one, as I did. By Fall of 2022, reports from those parish listening sessions were gathered at the diocesan level, then at the national level by bishops’ conferences, and eventually sent to an organizing committee at the Vatican. At that point, a group gathered to review the reports and write a Document on the Continental Phase, which was meant to synthesize the local and national reports, and prepare for the next stage in the synodal process. When my guest today started to look more closely at the methodology of this process, though, he, as a social scientist, started to question the authenticity of the process itself, at least in terms of what it was purported to be. Are we really hearing the voice of the faithful here?My guest is Mark Regnerus, professor of sociology at the University of Texas at Austin and author of an article published in early 2023 in Public Discourse, calling the methodology of the synodal process thus far into question. In addition to this article written for a popular audience, Professor Regnerus is the author of more than 40 articles in peer reviewed journals and, additionally, author of four books, including The Future of Christian Marriage. He joins me today to discuss his misgivings about this synodal process, yes, as a Catholic, but more distinctively from his professional perspective as a social scientist.Follow-up Resources:●     “Census Fidei? Methodological Missteps Are Undermining the Catholic Church’s Synod on Synodality” by Mark Regnerus in Public Discourse●     Document for the Continental Stage (the document Prof. Regnerus questions)●     “Co-Responsibility: An Antidote to Clericalizing the Laity?” by John Cavadini in the Church Life Journal●     Called & Co-Responsible: Exploring Co-Responsibility for the Mission of the Church, Conference at the University of Notre Dame (videos of presentations)●     Recorded seminars on co-responsibility, from the McGrath Institute for Church Life●     “Will They Return to Mass,” with Hans Plate on Church Life TodayChurch Life Today is a partnership between the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame and OSV Podcasts from Our Sunday Visitor. Discover more ways to live, learn, and love your Catholic faith at osvpodcasts.com. Sharing stories, starting conversations.

In his high priestly prayer, Jesus prayed to his Father that “they may all be one.” He meant us, his disciples. As he entered into his passion, Jesus began to offer himself for our unity in him, with him, through him––sharing in his union with the Father by the Holy Spirit. And yet, if we look around the Church today, disunity may be more apparent than unity.In his new book, acclaimed author and moral theologian Charlie Camosy seeks to help Catholics––especially Catholics in the US––to rediscover our call to unity and to begin engaging with each other in a way that does not cancel out disagreements, but rather allows us to find unity in diversity. The book is One Church: How to Rekindle Trust, Negotiate Difference, and Reclaim Catholic Unity, from Ave Maria Press. Dr. Camosy joins me to talk about the sources of disunion, the pathways toward reunion, and the importance of reclaiming our unity in Christ.Follow-up Resources: ●     One Church: How to Rekindle Trust, Negotiate Difference, and Reclaim Catholic Unity, by Charles C. Camosy●     Discussion Guide for One Church, from Charles C. Camosy and Ave Maria Press●     “This Is What You Get When Politics Invades Our Ecclesial Lives,” by Robert G. Christian III in the Church Life Journal●     “Breaking from the Culture War Mentality,” with Fr. Aaron Wessman on Church Life TodayThis episode is supported by NCEAhttp://www.ncearise.org/Church Life Today is a partnership between the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame and OSV Podcasts from Our Sunday Visitor. Discover more ways to live, learn, and love your Catholic faith at osvpodcasts.com. Sharing stories, starting conversations.

Scott Weeman wants to help empower the body of Christ to heal the body of Christ. His organization, Catholic in Recovery, intentionally brings together the Twelve Steps recovery process with the sacramental life of the Catholic Church. This work is an exercise in grace building on nature, where the holistic healing of mind, body, spirit, relationships, and all the rest that is necessary for those who have suffered from addiction and other compulsive behaviors opens up to the fulfillment that only the Lord can provide.In addition to founding Catholic in Recovery, Scott is also the author of two books: The Twelve Steps and the Sacraments, and more recently, The Catholic in Recovery Workbook, both published by Ave Maria Press.He joins me today to talk about this mission to foster communities of healing, helping people to find new life out of addiction, and in Christ with one another. Follow-up Resources:Learn more about Catholic in RecoveryThe Twelve Steps and the Sacraments by Scott WeemanThe Catholic in Recovery Workbook by Scott WeemanStories of Grace, Episode 14: “I am” by Leah Jacob in the Church Life JournalLearn more about the McGrath Institute for Church Life's Fiat Program for Faith and Mental HealthChurch Life Today is a partnership between the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame and OSV Podcasts from Our Sunday Visitor. Discover more ways to live, learn, and love your Catholic faith at osvpodcasts.com. Sharing stories, starting conversations.

In 2011, Steve Pokorny founded Freedom Coaching: a one-to-one mentoring system aimed at helping those with an attraction or compulsion to pornography. This isn’t merely about learning how to avoid pornography; it is even more about reclaiming true health in the mind, the heart, and the body. It is about reclaiming our humanity. Freedom Coaching operates from the conviction that the reason most people with an attachment to pornography don’t experience sustained, lasting freedom is they’ve never learned how to attain healthy forms of intimacy. And attaining healthy forms of intimacy is only possible through receiving a redeemed view of the human body.In addition to founding and leading Freedom Coaching, Steve is also the author of Redeemed Vision: Setting the Blind Free from the Pornified Culture. He joins me today to not only talk about his work, but especially about the hope for redemption for those for whom new life has seemed otherwise unattainable.Follow up Resources:Learn more about Freedom Coaching website at https://freedom-coaching.net/Redeemed Vision: Setting the Blind Free from the Pornified CultureChurch Life Today episode with Joe Campo on “Being a Father to the Fatherless”Learn more about the McGrath Institute for Church Life's Fiat Program for Faith and Mental HealthChurch Life Today is a partnership between the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame and OSV Podcasts from Our Sunday Visitor. Discover more ways to live, learn, and love your Catholic faith at osvpodcasts.com. Sharing stories, starting conversations.

“We had compassion for those left behind but thought that our job was to provide them an opportunity (no matter how small) to get where we were. We didn’t think about changing our definition of success.” Those words come from Chris Arnade. His definition of success had been tied to upward mobility, ascending socially and professionally to the point of becoming a well-compensated Wall Street investor, who happened to pick up PhD in theoretical physics on the way. But eventually he went searching for something else––for other places and indeed for other people. He walked. He walked right into the kinds of towns and abandoned cities that most of successful Americans turned away from, even ridiculed. He paid attention to the people in these places, learned their stories, entered––as much as could––into their lives, discovering the ways in which they searched for meaning or sought community. The result of these immersions is his book, Dignity: Seeking Respect in Back Row America.Church Life Today is a partnership between the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame and OSV Podcasts from Our Sunday Visitor. Discover more ways to live, learn, and love your Catholic faith at osvpodcasts.com. Sharing stories, starting conversations.

Choose life. Building a pro-life culture means, among other things, making it easier for women who are pregnant to choose life. But is it easy to choose life if you are a college student, even a Catholic college student, maybe even at a Catholic school? FemCatholic recently conducted a study around questions just like that. In an article presenting their findings, they ask, “Are Catholic colleges designed for women?” One of the authors of that article is my guest today. Renée Roden is a journalist and playwright, who currently lives and serves in a Catholic Worker community in Chicago. She holds a bachelor’s degree in theology and theater, along with a Master of Theological Studies degree from the University of Notre Dame, and a Master of Science dual degree in journalism and religion from Columbia University. Her articles have appeared in publications like America Magazine, Commonweal, and the Church Life Journal. In this report for FemCatholic, she and her co-author don’t ask whether college students should be having sex, nor do they take up pro-choice vs. pro-life arguments; instead, they wanted to see what it is like for young women who get pregnant while in college. It is very likely that a large number of women who get pregnant in college seek abortions. This report tries to figure out what colleges are doing and what they might do to help students choose life.Follow-up resources:●     “Are Catholic colleges designed for women?”, a report from FemCatholic, by Renée Roden and Kelly Sankowski●     “Into Life: Love Changes Everything”, 12-part series with the Sisters of Life, created by CampCampo Films and the McGrath Institute for Church Life●     “A New Equality” by Jessica Keating in Notre Dame Magazine.Church Life Today is a partnership between the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame and OSV Podcasts from Our Sunday Visitor. Discover more ways to live, learn, and love your Catholic faith at osvpodcasts.com. Sharing stories, starting conversations.