Jesuitical

When was the last time you talked about faith with a friend? If you’re listening to this podcast, maybe you don’t mind dropping words like “sin,” “grace” and “confession” in casual conversations. But most Americans, according to Jonathan Merritt, have forgotten or never learned how to “speak God”—and that’s bad news for people who care about the future of the church. We ask Jonathan, an award-winning religion writer, podcast host and author of the new book Learning to Speak God from Scratch, why spiritual conversations matter, how we can save endangered sacred words and what distinguishes Catholic and Protestant approaches to language. This week in Signs of the Times we focus on one story that’s been on all of our minds: the unfolding sexual abuse crisis in the U.S. Catholic Church. We bring you up to speed on developments since the release of the Pennsylvania grand jury report on Aug. 14, ask how the church got here and discuss possible ways forward as the church seeks to bring healing to victims and accountability to priests and bishops who for decades committed and covered up horrific crimes against children. Let us know how you are processing the news and let know when you are (or aren’t) finding God in all this by reaching out in our Facebook group and Twitter @jesuiticalshow or emailing us at jesuitical@americamedia.org. Please consider helping Jesuitical keep the mics on by supporting the show on Patreon—every little bit helps! Links from the show Pennsylvania report documents over 1,000 victims of priest abuse Vatican: Pope Francis is on the side of the victims of Pennsylvania abuse Bishops around U.S. respond with ‘sorrow’ to abuse report, vow to act Pennsylvania prelate says bishops who hid abuse should resign Pope Francis issues new letter on sex abuse: ‘We showed no care for the little ones’ Don’t blame the sex abuse crisis on queer Catholics What’s on tap? Brooklyn Brewery East IPA Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Being the only Latino means that while the white men get to disagree with each other and develop idiosyncratic or counterintuitive arguments, you can never just say how you feel or what you think about a story,” wrote Julio Ricardo Varela in America. “Instead, you always have to frame your comments in a way that responds to the needs of the 56.5 million people who share some part of your identity.”   Julio is a Puerto Rican journalist. Along with writing for Latino Rebels, a website he founded in 2011 that provides news, analysis and commentary about U.S. Latino culture, he is the co-host of the Webby-nominated “In The Thick” podcast with Maria Hinojosa and a contributor to Latino USA on NPR. On this week’s episode, we talk to Julio about working in media as a Latino, Hurricane Maria, the sexual abuse crisis and more.   In Signs of the Times, a giant Pope Francis scarecrow wins a competition in Ireland; and a 27-year-old pastor starts GodSquad Church to bring God to the gamer community. In Argentina, where abortion is illegal in most cases, the Senate voted down a bill that would have legalized abortion through 14 weeks of pregnancy. What made the difference between Argentina and the referendum in Ireland earlier this year that legalized abortion? In Peru, Jesuit priest Carlos Riudavets Montes was found murdered on Aug. 10.   Finally, we bring you the latest developments on the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church, including the grand jury report from Pennsylvania and reports on two Benedictine abbey schools in England.   We know it has been a difficult week trying to process what it means to be Catholic during this crisis. Part of the reason we do this is to help all our listeners process moments such as these. You can email us at jesuitical@americamedia.org or tweet us on Twitter. Please feel free to also join our Facebook group, where members this week followed a live panel featuring Ashley and Zac on an intergenerational discussion on how Catholics are responding to the sexual abuse crisis and shared their own questions and comments about the crisis.   Links from the show: Giant straw Pope Francis wins annual scarecrow festival in Ireland An online church for gamers: Va. pastor draws thousands to worship on Twitch Details of second letter priest sent to Cardinal O’Malley describing McCarrick abuse Pennsylvania report documents over 1,000 victims of priest abuse New reports of sexual abuse rock Benedictine abbey schools in England The abortion debate in Argentina vs. Ireland: what made the difference? Jesuit priest murdered in Peru   What’s on tap? Luna Vida pinot grigio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Did you miss us? Jesuitical is BACK from its summer break and we are sunsprayed, rested and ready to hit the studio for a new season. We also have some pretty big personal news to share, so tune in for some life updates. We also loved getting to spend some more time talking with listeners during the break, both on- and offline. Our online communities like Patreon, Twitter and our Facebook groupcontinue to grow, and we’ve been blessed with some visits to America’s offices over the past month. We asked the members of our Facebook group for guest suggestions for the upcoming season, and one name that came up more than once was Sister Simone Campbell. Sister Simone is the leader of Nuns on the Bus and executive director of NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice—and also a former Jesuitical guest! While the Signs of the Times and Consolations and Desolations segments of the show are new this week, we’re re-airing an incredibly insightful interview with Sister Simone from last year. It was a busy July for Catholic news too—during Signs of the Times we discuss the sexual abuse stories that have been coming from several parts of the Catholic world, and get into Pope Francis’ revision of the Catechism of the Catholic Church’s teaching on the death penalty. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we talk with Gilbert Sunghera, S.J. He is an architectural consultant and associate professor of architecture at the University of Detroit Mercy. Gilbert has worked on projects such as the Jesuit community at Fairfield, the parish of St. Joseph the Worker in Wyoming and the Jesuit high school chapel in Sacramento. We talk with Gilbert about architecture, how he balances his dual passions and what it means to design a sacred space.   Speaking of architecture, America’s new office space—including the studio where Jesuitical is recorded—was profiled in the New York Times this week. You have a look at where we work and read the profile here. We are on vacation until next month, so no Signs of the Times or Consolations and Desolations this week. However, we still want to hear from you! Come share your consolations and desolations or some interesting Catholics news in our Facebook group. You can also find us on Twitter @jesuiticalshow, support us on Patreon and send us an email at jesuitical@americamedia.org. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You don’t have to have a Ph.D. in theology to write about religion (thank goodness)—but Tara Isabella Burton’s work shows it certainly doesn’t hurt. After getting her doctorate in theology at Oxford University, Tara became the first full-time religion correspondent for Vox (with a V she is quick to clarify). There she translates religious stories to a largely secular audience and brings a theologian’s lens to questions of public policy and values. Tara also published her first novel this year, Social Creature, a thrilling story about striving and sin in the decadent world of upper-class New York. We ask her about the book, how her own own faith has shaped her writing and why everyone should study theology. Jesuitical is on vacation until August, so no Signs of the Times this week, but we still want to hear from you! Come share your consolations and desolations or some interesting Catholic news in our Facebook group. You can also find us on Twitter @jesuiticalshow, support us on Patreon and send us an email at jesuitical@americamedia.org.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rachel Held Evans grew up loving the bible. Like, was on her high school’s homecoming court representing the Bible club. She was taught to honor and defend it from all its enemies, science and history included. But her Biblical worldview started to fall apart in college. Neat, pre-packaged answers that she was taught weren’t satisfying anymore. “I never had permission to challenge the Bible,” Rachel told us on this week’s podcast. “And yet when I began doing that it's like all these new layers of meaning began to unfold and it became a richer experience.” Rachel talks to us this week about her new book, “Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again.” We talk about why finding enchantment in the Bible is important, how to teach Bible stories to your kids and more. In this week’s rundown of Catholic news, we discuss what Catholic organizations are doing to help immigrant families separated at the border; Philippine priests seeking gun permits in light of recent murders; and a Kenyan priest who was suspended from ministry for rapping. Want to discuss this week’s episode with the hosts and other Jesuitical listeners? Check out our Facebook group. You can also find us on Twitter @jesuiticalshow, support us on Patreon and send us an email at jesuitical@americamedia.org. Links from the show Donations surge at Catholic Charities border asylum-seeker center Hundreds of calls come in at USCCB HQ seeking to foster detained kids Parkland students kick off anti-gun tour with rally at Catholic church Philippine bishops hesitant about priests seeking gun permits Kenya parishioners disappointed after priest suspended for rapping Swole.Catholic helps people strengthen body and soul   What’s on tap? New Jersey Beer Co.’s LBIPA, courtesy of Patron and friend of the podcast, John Dougherty. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ask most people what they know about black Catholic sisters, and they will probably murmur something about “Sister Act.” Dr. Shannen Dee Williams did, too, until she began digging into communities’ archives and uncovering the previously hidden lives of African-American women religious. Now she’s telling those stories in a forthcoming book (with an amazing title), Subversive Habits.  Shannen tells us about the incredible resilience and deep faith of black Catholic women in the face of racism, discrimination and exclusion. We ask her how these stories affected her own faith and what racial reconciliation in the church looks like today. In our news segment this week, we talk fun Catholic World Cup facts, an update on the synod on young adults and Pope Francis’ controversial comments on abortion and Nazis. Finally, we discuss the Trump administration’s policy of separating children from their parents at the border—and what you can do to help.  Have you checked out our Facebook page yet? Starting today, we’ll be asking for your consolations and desolations there. You can also find us on Twitter @jesuiticalshow, support us on Patreon and send us an email at jesuitical@americamedia.org. Links from the show Faith and the 2018 World Cup: little-known Christian details about soccer (football!) stars Synod working document: Young Catholics need a church that listens to them Pope Francis says abortion is ‘same thing’ as Nazi eugenics Catholic leaders denounce Sessions’s asylum decision: ‘We have truly lost our moral compass.’ Father James Martin: Five things you can do to help immigrants at the border What’s on tap? Celebrating our Catholic Press Association awards with Champagne! Well, technically, prosecco. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we talk with Jeremy McLellan, a comedian from Charleston, S.C. Jeremy was recently named a “New Face of Comedy” at the Just for Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal. He was recently baptized at this year’s Easter Vigil. We talk to the comedian about his time living in a L’Arche community, his struggles with depression and making people laugh in 2018. In Signs of the Times, Pope Francis accepts the resignations of Chilean bishops and meets with energy executives to discuss care for the poor and the environment. In Baltimore, the archdiocese is letting Catholic couples get married outside of the bride or groom’s parish. A new study claims that kids who attend Catholic schools have more self-control than those who do not. The Catholic Memes Facebook group sparks controversy after posting a meme that many are describing as anti-Semitic. Finally, last month the Catholic Women’s Forum and the Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture sponsored a conference on the #MeToo movement. We discuss the conference, the church’s response and the effects of the sexual revolution on the movement. Make sure to check us out on Twitter @jesuiticalshow, and send us some feedback by emailing jesuitical@americamedia.org. You can support the show by joining our Patreon community. And we are also on Facebook. We love hearing from all of our listeners weekly, and we wanted to give you all the opportunity to not just continue talking with us but to get to know each other as well. If you haven’t joined yet, go do that. Links from the show: Pope Francis appeals to top energy executives to care for the poor and the environment Pope begins purge in Chile church over sex abuse scandal Conference asks: Is the Sexual Revolution to blame for #MeToo? Vanity Fair ad takes ‘#MeToo’ campaign to victims of religious violence Catholic Memes controversy Baltimore Catholics can now have that outdoor wedding they’ve dreamed of Study finds Catholic school correlates with student’s self-control What’s on tap? This week, we’re drinking some fancy Malbec wine, courtesy of my mom, Francisca Segura Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It was a curious Tweet that came across my timeline. Was A.C. Slater really getting baptized in the Jordan River? Got baptized in the same river Jesus did...#JordanRiver #Jesus #JohnTheBaptist pic.twitter.com/WIuPtqEk9b — Mario Lopez (@MarioLopezExtra) March 22, 2018 And there was another one—this time at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Annunciation: Angel Gabriel told the Virgin Mary she was going to be the mother Christ of here...#AnunciationCathedral #RomanCatholic #AngelGabriel #VirginMary pic.twitter.com/QVMEr9Gyf9 — Mario Lopez (@MarioLopezExtra) March 21, 2018 Mario Lopez is a TV host and actor. You might know him as A.C. Slater on “Saved by the Bell” or from “Dancing with the Stars.” He is currently one of the hosts of “Extra”—and a promoter of the Gospel. It’s one thing for celebrities to be privately religious; using their platforms for evangelization is quite another. This week we talk with Mario about his pilgrimage to the Holy Land, what it’s like to be faithful in Hollywood, and passing down faith to children. The Signs of the Times segment of the show comes with a cake motif: we discuss the Supreme Court’s recent decision in the Colorado “gay wedding cake” case and its impact on religion and culture; also, there was a life-sized Jesus cake—complete with icing stigmata wounds—that was maybe (or definitely) made in bad-taste. Outside of cake news, we talk about why the Vatican issued a new document on SPORTS!™; why a statue of Jesus was “too-Catholic” for one Baptist church; and how a former slave is going to be the first Catholic entombed in Denver’s Cathedral. Have you been thinking to yourself, “Friday is such a long time to wait for another episode, I wish I could listen to some of it early”? If so, I have great news for you: we’ve started posting videos of the full, uncut versions of weekly interviews to our Patreon page on Wednesdays. You can help keep us employed and get some bonus content. We also have our Facebook group—it’s a great way to meet and discuss Catholic things with other Jesuitical listeners. You can also follow us on Twitter @jesuiticalshow and send us feedback and cocktail recipes at jesuitical@americamedia.org. Links from the show: Pope Francis asks German bishops to set aside plan on Communion for non-Catholic spouses Vatican Sports on Sundays are O.K. (except when used to skip Mass) Baptist congregation votes Jesus statue out for being ‘too Catholic’ A life-sized Jesus cake with stigmata wounds is making Christians angry Supreme Court sides with baker who wouldn’t make cake for a same-sex couple Former slave, on possible path to sainthood, to be entombed in Denver cathedral Patreon Facebook What’s on tap? Chocolate Cake Martini: vanilla vodka, chocolate liqueur, half-and-half, whipped cream and a cookie wafer to garnish. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How do you change the mind of someone who thinks you don’t belong in this country because of your faith? Make them laugh, says Negin Farsad, Muslim-American comedian, actress, writer and filmmaker. And she does. Back in 2014, she took a troupe of Muslim comedians on tour in America’s heartland to talk (and joke) about Islamophobia for the documentary film “The Muslims Are Coming!” Today, she continues to work in what she calls “social justice comedy,” using humor to confront religious hatred and racism. We ask her how she walks the line between laughing with and laughing at the people she would like to convince. In Signs of the Times, the supporters of Ireland’s Eighth Amendment suffered a resounding defeat in the May 25 referendum, opening the door to abortion on demand. We talk about the future of the church and the pro-life movement in light of this setback. Plus: an archbishop in Australia faces jail time for failing to report sexual abuse; an ecumenical group of faith leaders takes on racism in Minnesota; and a new poll shows only 50 percent of Catholics support welcoming refugees to the United States. What gives? When you’re done listening, you can hop on over to our Facebook group and let us know what you think! Follow us on Twitter @jesuiticalshow and send us feedback and cocktail recipes at jesuitical@americamedia.org. And if you haven’t yet, please consider leaving us a review on Apple podcasts—it’s a great way to help other people find the show. Links from the show: Catholics who voted Yes should consider confession, says Bishop Catholic archbishop convicted in Australia of concealing child sex abuse New Minnesota faith alliance takes on racism Only 50% of U.S. Catholics believe the U.S. Should Accept Refugees What’s on tap? Brooklyn Brewery Lager hand delivered by Patron Emilee Hunter-Maguire Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices