A Bacik Conversation

Fr Bacik and Brad Reiger discuss Dorothy Day: Dorothy Day (1897-1980) journalist, social activist, founder of the Catholic Worker Movement who encourages us to engage in concrete actions to serve the poor and promote peace.

Thomas Merton (1915-1968) Catholic priest, Trappist monk, author of best-selling autobiography, The Seven Storey Mountain, who reminds us that personal prayer should inspire us to work for justice and peace.

Father Bacik and Brad Reiger discuss Richard Gaillardetz (1958-2023), Outstanding American ecclesiologist who wrote profound reflections on his 18-month battle with pancreatic cancer now published as While I Breathe I Hope, a great addition to the spirituality of death and dying.

Father Bacik and Brad Reiger discuss Elizabeth Johnson, CSJ (1941- ), Premier American Catholic feminist theologian who proposed reimaging God in feminine language (Lady Wisdom and Mother) as a way of overcoming the sexism and patriarchy supported by traditional male images of God (Father and Son).

Karl Rahner (1904-1984) German Jesuit theologian, considered one of the five most influential theologians in the history of the church who encourages us to find the gracious God in our ordinary experiences of life including our work and leisure, and our joys and sorrows.

Bernard Lonergan (1904-1984) Canadian Jesuit philosopher and theologian, professor at Gregorian University in Rome and Harvard who developed a theological method that guides a process of conversion in various dimensions of our lives: intellectual, moral, affective and religious.

Brad and Fr Bacik discuss John Courtney Murray on today's episode. John Courtney Murray (1904-1967) American Jesuit theologian, who played a crucial role at the Second Vatican Council in passing the Declaration on Religious Liberty that affirmed the right of citizens to follow their conscious in religious matters.

Brad and Fr Bacik discuss Reinhold Niebuhr on today's episode. Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971) American, reformed, very influential theologian who developed an approach known as “Christian Realism” that emphasizes the ill-effects of original sin and calls Christians to work for “proximate justice” while avoiding the illusion that we can establish the kingdom of God on earth.

Fr Bacik and Brad Reiger discuss Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968) Baptist minister, social activist and apostle of non-violence, who led the movement to desegregate southern states and pass federal legislation to secure voting rights for African-Americans.

Fr Bacik and Brad Rieger discuss Mohandas Gandhi. Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948) the “Mahatma,” the “great souled” Indian holy man who challenges us to seek self-realization and become more aware of our true self.