One of the most prominent features of the second Trump administration has been its bluntly racist actions and policymaking. 

Recent examples abound, from the suspension of asylum for migrants and refugees, the all-out war on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs in federal agencies and higher education, and the ongoing and increasingly militarized efforts at mass deportation, which have terrorized Latino, Haitian, and other communities across the country.  

This second episode in our series The Counterweight: Reclaiming Catholic Social Teaching in a Time of Crisis features Fr. Bryan Massingale. 

He’s a professor in Fordham University’s theology department and a priest of the archdiocese of Milwaukee. He joins Commonweal editor Dominic Preziosi to examine the ideology that in his view undergirds so many of the Trump administration’s actions: white Christian nationalism. 

Fr. Massingale’s remarks are followed by discussion between him and three other experts, Fordham’s Cristina Traina and Loyola Chicago’s Miguel Diaz and Hille Haker.