Jesuitical

On this week’s “Jesuitical,” Zac and Ashley are honored to welcome Rachel Goldberg, the mother of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, one of the hostages taken into Gaza following Hamas’s massacre at the Nova music festival in Southern Israel on Oct. 7. In the weeks since Hersh and 240 other hostages were brutally kidnapped, Rachel has met with a host of people, including the pope and the president, to share her son’s story. She was gracious enough to bring that story to “Jesuitical,” and she and the hosts shared a moving conversation.They discuss: Rachel’s family life and Hersh’s passion for reading and adventure The last time Rachel saw Hersh on Oct. 6 and her experience learning about the massacre on Oct. 7 Rachel’s meeting with Pope Francis and the power of dialogue in sustaining hope How Rachel’s Jewish faith has been challenged and served as a source of strength in the wake of unthinkable tragedy Support Jesuitical on Patreon or become a digital subscriber to America Media. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Even though Pope Francis recently canceled his trip to Dubai for COP28 on doctor’s orders, the meeting still represents a huge initiative in Francis’ papacy; in “Laudate Deum,” Francis writes that the meeting has the potential to be “a historic event that honors and ennobles us as human beings” (“Laudate Deum,” No. 59). So Ashley and Zac welcomed Jose Aguto, the executive director of Catholic Climate Covenant, on this week’s episode of “Jesuitical” to discuss Catholic climate advocacy at this pivotal moment.They discuss: Pope Francis’ commitment to climate justice throughout his papacy How Catholics should understand climate change as both a systemic and spiritual issue, and where we can find hope The history and current state of climate action in the U.S. church In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley check in with Maggi Van Dorn, host of the “Hark!” podcast, which explores the meaning and making of our favorite Christmas carols. The first episode of season three, which came out on Sunday, dives into “O Holy Night” and features Greg Boyle, S.J. Maggi takes the “Jesuitical” team behind the scenes of “Hark!” production and helps to usher in the Advent season.Links from the show: ‘Our ecological crisis is fundamentally a moral one’: Catholic Climate Covenant’s new executive director hopes to inspire care for creation Jose Aguto, Catholic Climate Covenant Global Climate Change: A Plea for Dialogue Prudence and the Common Good Laudate Deum Laudato Si’ The abolitionist history of ‘O Holy Night’ “Hark!” Podcast What’s on tap?(knock-off) Chartreuse Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ten years ago, Pope Francis released his first papal document, “Evangelii Gaudium,” which lays out his vision for the church in the 21st century. To help break down this inaugural document of Francis’ papacy, Zac and Ashley welcome Rafael Luciani, an associate professor of practice at the School of Theology and Ministry at Boston College.They discuss: Pope Francis’ call to “pastoral conversion” and “missionary discipleship” How Pope Francis’ Latin American roots guide his vision for the church The foundation for a synodal church put forth in “Evangelii Gaudium” Links from the show:Evangelii GaudiumWhat’s on tap?Wine from Mendoza, Argentina Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Jesuitical, Zac and Ashley welcome Lee C. Camp, a professor of theology and ethics at Lipscomb University, the author of Scandalous Witness: A Little Political Manifesto for Christians and the host of “No Small Endeavor,” a podcast that explores what it means to live a good life.They discuss: Lee’s upbringing as a Protestant Christian in Alabama, and how his studies at the University of Notre Dame changed his views on the Catholic world Moral theology and the value of asking, “What does it mean to live a good life?” The importance of good, wholesome arguments in religious tradition In Signs of the Times, Ashley and Zac talk about Pope Francis’ controversial decision to remove Bishop Joseph Strickland from his duties overseeing the diocese of Tyler, Tex. They then discuss the U.S. bishops more broadly, focusing on this week’s U.S.C.C.B. meeting in Baltimore and the conflicting assessments of the U.S. church put forth by various leaders.Links from the show: Pope Francis removes Bishop Strickland of Diocese of Tyler, Texas Archbishop Broglio and Cardinal Pierre offer competing visions of synodality at bishops’ meeting Zac and Ashley’s appearance on “No Small Endeavor”  What’s on tap?Chimay Trappist ale Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How does a 25-year-old woman from Salt Lake City end up facilitating peace negotiations during a civil war in South Sudan? This week on “Jesuitical,” Zac and Ashley are joined by Elizabeth Boyle, an International Relations Officer in the Community of Sant’Egidio, a lay social movement of the Catholic Church whose mission focuses on three “P”s: “prayer, peace, and the poor.”Zac and Ashley talk to Elizabeth about: The journey that brought Elizabeth to peacebuilding and the work she’s doing with the Community of Sant’Egidio in Rome What her work in South Sudan reveals about the challenges and possibilities of peacemaking How Catholics (and the church) can integrate peace into their spirituality In Signs of the Times, Ashley and Zac discuss Pope Francis’ recent announcement that he would travel to Dubai to attend COP28. Then, they get into a most pressing issue facing the church: Sabrina Carpenter’s “Feather” music video, which caused an uproar after being filmed in the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Brooklyn.Links from the show: Interview: Pope Francis’ presence at COP28 climate conference in Dubai is ‘without precedence’ Brooklyn bishop ‘appalled’ over music video shot in Catholic church, will investigate Podcast: When Catholic doctrine can change—and when it can’t The Community of Sant'Egidio What’s on tap?Lambrusco Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this special crossover episode of Jesuitical and Inside the Vatican, Zac Davis speaks with his colleagues Gerard O’Connell, Sam Sawyer, S.J., and synod member James Martin, S.J., about the concluding document of the recent synod on synodality in Rome. They discuss: The open debate about women’s ordination to the diaconate Why reference to L.G.B.T. Catholics was not included in the synthesis document What the synthesis document is and how it can be read and used widely Was this really a synod of bishops? Plus, new paths for appointing bishops and performance reviews Links: Father James Martin: What happened at the Synod on Synodality Cardinal Cupich on the synod, women deacons, giving bishops job reviews and why ‘LGBTQ’ was left out of the final doc Synod publishes final report and votes: Calls for more discussion on synodality, women deacons and more Full text: Pope Francis’ homily closing the 2023 Synod on Synodality Support Jesuitical and Inside the Vatican by becoming a digital subscriber to America! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on “Jesuitical,” Zac and Ashley discuss a, if not the, big question hanging over the synod: Can it change church teaching? They unpack the place of authority, doctrinal development and the synod with Richard Gaillardetz, the Joseph Professor of Catholic Systematic Theology at Boston College and the author of a foundational text on the levels of church teaching: By What Authority?: A Primer on Scripture, the Magisterium, and the Sense of the Faithful.They ask Dr. Gaillardetz: What’s the difference between a dogma, doctrine and teaching? What do I need to believe to be Catholic? Is it O.K. to disagree with church teaching? How has church teaching developed throughout history? In Signs of the Times, the synod enters its final week with discussion on the synthesis report, and an Australian theologian addresses concerns some synod delegates have about tradition and the development of doctrine.Links from the show:  Purchase By What Authority? Foundations for Understanding Authority in the Church, by Richard Gaillardetz Synod: Fr Ormond Rush's theological reflection on Synthesis Report Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As a young adult, José Manuel de Urquidi had a lot of questions about faith but couldn’t find satisfying answers. He went to law school, opened a craft brewery and started a family, but it wasn’t until he started podcasting that he found his purpose as a digital missionary.José is a voting member in the synod on synodality at the Vatican this month and his advocacy for evangelizing–or rather listening–in digital spaces is turning heads. Leading up to the synod, he worked closely with the synod secretariat to get the word out on dozens of digital platforms. The result is the digital synod “continental” document, which centers previously unheard voices of those who are or feel excluded from the traditional structures of the Church.In Signs of the Times, Ashley and Zac break open the final thematic module of the synod that’s currently being discussed: Participation, governance and authority. LinksSynod Diary: Will the synod change its members?Synod cardinal from Brazil: In the Amazon ‘everyone votes, except the bishop’The digital synod continental documentWhat’s on Tap?Lokita Mezcal Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on “Jesuitical,” Zac and Ashley turn their attention to the Middle East. Their guest is Olivier Poquillon, O.P., a French Dominican priest who, until recently, served as the pastor of a Catholic Church in Mosul, Iraq. That church was almost completely destroyed by ISIS in 2014 when the terrorist group took over one of the few remaining religiously diverse communities in the country. After ISIS was driven from the city, Father Poquillon returned to oversee the reconstruction of the church. He was recently named the director of the École Biblique in Jerusalem—the oldest biblical and archaeological research center in the Holy Land—and is on the commission for methodology for the Synod on Synodality here in Rome.Zac and Ashley talk to Father Poquillon about: The history of religious diversity and violence in Mesopotamia, the birthplace of the Abrahamic faiths What Pope Francis’ 2021 visit to Iraq meant to the people of Mosul What he heard from the Catholics living in the Middle East during their local synodal sessions In Signs of the Times, the hosts discuss the latest Catholic developments related to the war between Israel and Hamas, including the news that Pope Francis might know one of the Argentine victims of the Oct. 7 massacre. Next, they talk about the pope’s new apostolic exhortation on St. Thérèse of Lisieux, “the Little Flower.”Links from the show: Pope Francis: My friend could be a victim of Hamas attack Jerusalem cardinal offers himself in exchange for Israeli hostages Pope Francis publishes new apostolic exhortation on St. Thérèse of Lisieux What’s on tap?Chianti Classico Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The hosts discuss Vatican's media strategy for the synod on Synodality, including the possibility of applying the Pontifical Secret. They also talk about the media guidelines for synod delegates and the expectation for honest and attentive coverage.