Jesuitical

What’s going on in the Holy Land—and what’s at the root of the problem? Why should Catholics care? This week, Zac and Ashley have an urgent conversation with Father David Neuhaus—an Israeli Jesuit who brings a unique, on-the-ground perspective to the situation.  Our Guest: Father David Neuhaus, superior of the Jesuit community in JerusalemRelated Links:  Former Jerusalem archbishop: How long will Catholics keep ignoring the suffering of Palestinians? Israeli Jesuit Father David Neuhaus: The first step to peace in the Holy Land is ending the occupation Subscribe: Apple Podcasts / Spotify Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Ashley and Inside the Vatican’s Colleen Dulle chat with Arturo Sosa, S.J., the 31st Superior General of the Society of Jesus. In other words, he’s got St. Ignatius Loyola’s old job. In other words, he leads the world’s Jesuits.  Our Guest: Father Arturo Sosa, superior general of the Society of Jesus Related Links:  What the conversion of St. Ignatius can teach us 500 years later Lay people have been passing on the Catholic faith for 2,000 years. Now Pope Francis has made it an official ministry Vatican sends letter to U.S. bishops: Don’t rush the debate on Communion, politicians and abortion Bishop McElroy: The Eucharist is being weaponized for political ends. This must not happen. For the church to live in eucharistic coherence, we must be willing to challenge Catholics persisting in grave sin. What’s on tap: The Cannonball (the official cocktail of the Ignatian Year)Ingredients:Mezcal, 2ozLime juice, 3/4ozBlackberries, 6 (reserve one for garnish (this is the ‘cannonball’))Jalapeno slices, 4Agave nectar, 1/2ozSoda water (optional)In the bottom of a cocktail shaker, muddle together blackberries, jalapeno slices and lime juice. Add ice, mezcal, and agave nectar. Shake vigorously for 30 seconds. Strain into an old fashioned glass with ice. Drop one blackberry in from a height of 6 inches. Observe impact. Clean up. If desired, top with soda water or seltzer. Finally, await convalescence and conversion. Subscribe: Apple Podcasts / Spotify  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Zac and Ashley take you behind the scenes of Jesuitical in an exit interview with our amazing outgoing editor, Noah Levinson. Noah has been with the podcast since day one, and we could not be more grateful for everything he’s done for the show. Our Guest: Noah Levinson, the outgoing audio editor extraordinaire of Jesuitical Related Links:  Learn more about the Camphill Movement (Noah’s new gig!)What’s on tap: Cherry kijafa of unknown provenanceSubscribe: Apple Podcasts / Spotify Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Zac and Ashley talk with Pete Davis about the case for putting down roots and committing—to a relationship, a job, a social cause—in a world that tells us to always keep our options open. Our Guest: Pete Davis, author of Dedicated: The Case for Commitment in an age of Infinite Browsing (out May 4) and co-founder of the Democracy Policy Network.Sings of the Times:  Who is Father Swamy, and why is he (still) sitting in jail?  US Catholic bishops to vote on pressuring Joe Biden to stop taking Communion over abortion views Related Links:  DedicatedBook.org What’s on tap: Advent Calendar Wine (long story) Subscribe: Apple Podcasts / Spotify Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Zac and Ashley discuss the spiritual and liturgical elements of protest movements with Nathan Schneider. Nathan wrote a feature article for America marking the 10-year anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street and Arab Spring protests, entitled, “Our world is ripe for revolution. 10 years after Occupy and the Arab Spring, what have we learned?”Our Guest: Nathan Schneider, a reporter and professor of media studies at the University of Colorado Boulder.Sings of the Times:  Catholic Church leaders react to Derek Chauvin verdict in killing of George Floyd Why did the Biden administration have to be reminded of its commitment to refugees? The Nuns are going to the border Related Links:  Our world is ripe for revolution. 10 years after Occupy and the Arab Spring, what have we learned? Who was Ben Salmon and why should he be considered for sainthood? What’s on tap: AbsintheSubscribe: Apple Podcasts / Spotify  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Ashley and Zac discuss the intersection of Christian purity culture and racism with Flora X. Tang. Flora wrote a piece for America in the aftermath of the Atlanta killings of eight people, including six women of asian descent, entitled “Purity culture, racism and the violence against Asian women in Atlanta”. Our Guest: Flora X. Tang, doctoral student in Theology and Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame, where she studies post-traumatic sacramental theology. Sings of the Times:  Pope Francis accepts resignation of US bishop for the first time under new sex abuse protocols Archbishop Hebda prays for peace following police shooting of Daunte Wright Related Links: Purity culture, racism and the violence against Asian women in AtlantaWhat’s on tap: Live Free or Die, from Death & CoSubscribe: Apple Podcasts / Spotify  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stina Kielsmeier-Cook had a plan. Or more accurately, she thought God had a plan: She would marry her college sweetheart, and their shared love for Jesus and radical Christian commitment to serving the poor would anchor their marriage in something real and eternal. But a couple of years into their marriage, her husband, Josh, lost his faith, and now Stina is navigating an increasingly common reality: mixed-faith marriage.We talk to Stina about her new book, Blessed Are the Nones: Mixed-Faith Marriage and My Search for Spiritual Community, in which she grapples with the challenges (and opportunities) of sustaining a marriage, raising kids and nourishing her own faith life in a new state of “spiritual singleness.” Along the way, she meets women saints, Catholic nuns and religious “nones” who point the way to a reimagined Christian community for an increasingly secular world. In Signs of the Times, the influential (and controversial) Vatican II theologian Hans Küng has died at 93 and a look back at the Vatican’s Easter Triduum.Links from the show: Hans Küng, influential Vatican II theologian censured by John Paul II, dies at 93Cardinal: Too many Catholics don’t understand that some church teachings can actually changeDon’t call Dorothy Day a saint. But a ferry? Sure.Stina’s book: Blessed Are the Nones: Mixed-Faith Marriage and My Search for Spiritual CommunityThe Great Courses Plus (Get a month of unlimited access for free!)Subscribe to America Join our Patreon community.What’s on tap?Ginger Shrub cocktail  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why does an all loving God allow evil and suffering in the world? The theodicy isn’t just a problem for popes and theologians—at some point in any believers life it’s a question that seizes and stops a prayer in the throat.Yet we try to offer inadequate answers all the time: God only gives us what we can handle. This is a test. Everything happens for a reason. Push any of these responses a bit, and the unraveling begins.Perhaps the only real answer is in asking the questions. In poetry. In prayer. Joe Hoover, S.J., America’s poetry editor, is out with a new book O Death, Where is Thy Sting?, which is a meditation on all of this and more. In this week’s show, Zac and Ashley sit down with Joe to talk about suffering—fitting for Good Friday. Links from the show: Joe’s book: O Death, Where Is Thy Sting?The Great Courses Plus (Get a month of unlimited access for free!)Subscribe to America Join our Patreon community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Father Casey Cole, a Franciscan priest and popular YouTuber, has pulled off what few before him have: garnered a massive Catholic following while remaining faithful, truthful and, above all, charitable on social media. We talk to Father Casey about how he deals with internet toxicity, generational differences among Catholics and whether St. Francis would be on Twitter if he were alive today. In Signs of the Times, the Loyola Ramblers (and their 101-year-old chaplain Sister Jean) are back in the NCAA tournament and heading to the Sweet 16. Plus, Pope Francis has appointed Juan Carlos Cruz—a sex abuse survivor, advocate and gay man—to the Pontifical Council for the Protection of Minors.  This episode of Jesuitical is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus. Sign up for The Great Courses Plus and get an entire month of unlimited access to thousands of video and audio courses from the world’s best professors by visiting http://thegreatcoursesplus.com/jesuitical.As always, thanks for listening. You can support the media ministry of America and unlock unlimited access to all our articles with a digital subscription for less than $1 per week. Subscribe here. And to get all that plus bonus content from Jesuitical, become a member of our Patreon community.Links from the show:Sister Jean, Loyola Chicago’s #1 fan, returns to March Madness fully vaccinatedPope Francis names Juan Carlos Cruz, prominent abuse survivor and whistleblower, to Vatican panelJuan Carlos Cruz: the survivor who changed the pope’s mind on sex abuseBreaking in the Habit YouTube ChannelBreaking In The Habit | Reflections of a Friar in Training Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Will Arbery’s 2019 play “Heroes of the Fourth Turning” was praised by viewers from across the political spectrum for its nuanced depiction of Catholic conservatives in the Trump era. While Donald Trump is no longer in the White House (or on Twitter), 74 million Americans voted to give him a second term, and debates about how his supporters will affect the Republican Party and the country have only intensified since the attack on the Capitol. We talk to Will about his play, the Jan. 6 insurrection and learning to listen across our cultural divides.   In Signs of the Times, we bring our colleague Michael J. O’Loughlin to discuss the Vatican’s controversial statement banning blessings for same-sex couples. Plus: the Jesuits pledged to raise $100 million to benefit the descendents of enslaved persons owned and sold by the Society of Jesus, and March Madness returns.  This episode of Jesuitical is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus. Sign up for The Great Courses Plus and get an entire month of unlimited access to thousands of video and audio courses from the world’s best professors by visiting http://thegreatcoursesplus.com/jesuitical.As always, thanks for listening. You can support the media ministry of America and unlock unlimited access to all our articles with a digital subscription for less than $1 per week. Subscribe here. And to get all that plus bonus content from Jesuitical, become a member of our Patreon community.Links from the show: Vatican, with Pope Francis’ approval, says priests cannot bless same-sex couples‘It just hurts’: Catholics react to Vatican ban on blessings for same-sex couplesHow ESPN’s Joe Lunardi invented bracketologyInterview: Did playwright Will Arbery predict the storming of the Capitol in ‘Heroes of the Fourth Turning’?A visit to the rural Catholic college that has 171 students, 12 horses and zero textbooks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices