Glad You Asked

To many practicing Catholics, terms like queer theology might seem overly academic or unhelpful. Does queer theology refer to theology done by and for people who are LGBTQ+? Is it focused primarily on arguing for inclusion of queer people and perspectives in the church? Or is it something arcane and academic, along the lines of queer theory? And why should people who don't identify as queer care what it means at all?

Some might also be uncomfortable with the idea of breaking theology up into specific groups. If we're all human relating to God, shouldn't plain old theology be good enough for everyone? Why worry about feminist theology, ecotheology, and liberation theology, when one could just talk about God?

On the opening episode of the fifth season of Glad You Asked, hosts Emily Sanna and Rebecca Bratten Weiss discuss the topic of queer theology with guest Shannon Kearns. Kearns is an ordained priest in the Old Catholic Church and the author of In the Margins: A Transgender Man's Journey With Scripture (Eerdmans). He also has three more books forthcoming, including No One Taught Me How To Be A Man: What A Trans Man's Experience Reveals About Masculinity (Broadleaf Books).

Kearns has also written multiple plays, and been awarded for his playwriting and screenwriting, including first place in the ScreenCraft Pitch competition and in the New Hope Film Festival.

You can read more of Shannon's writing and check out his podcasts on his website (https://www.shannontlkearns.com/) and learn more about queer theology in the links below: "Is queer theology compatible with Catholicism?" By Caleb Murray https://uscatholic.org/articles/202312/is-queer-theology-compatible-with-catholicism/

"Toward a theology of a queer God," By Ellyn Sanna https://uscatholic.org/articles/202312/is-queer-theology-compatible-with-catholicism/

"We were never meant to survive," By Shannon Kearns https://www.queertheology.com/we-were-never-meant-to-survive/

"Way of the cross is way of embodiment, something queer Catholics know well," By Maxwell Kuzma https://www.ncronline.org/spirituality/way-cross-way-embodiment-something-queer-catholics-know-well

Glad You Asked is sponsored by the Claretian Missionaries USA, an order of Catholic priests and brothers who live and work with the most vulnerable among us. To learn more, visit https://claretians.org and https://myclaret.org.

Over the past two years, the Glad You Asked podcast has answered more than 50 of your top questions about Catholic history, scripture, and theology. Things like: Do dogs go to heaven? Do angels really have wings? And did Jesus have to die on the cross?

Hosts Emily Sanna and Rebecca Bratten Weiss have spoken with dozens of teachers, theologians, activists, and other experts on these and others of the most-searched for queries about Catholicism.

Glad You Asked returns for its fifth season on October 4 with even more answers to your burning questions: What is Catholic nationalism? Should Catholics use AI? What is queer theology? And who can baptize a baby?

Tune in this season to hear experts answer these questions and more. Sign up for updates here, or subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Glad You Asked is sponsored by the Claretian Missionaries USA, an order of Catholic priests and brothers who live and work with the most vulnerable among us. To learn more, visit claretians.org.

These days, when Catholics talk about someone being a saint, this usually has nothing to do with signs or wonders, but with a life of heroic virtue. Further back in church history, however, stories of the saints are often filled with anecdotes about the miraculous. Some stories tell of miraculous healings or rescues; others tell of saints levitating or flying through the air.

"Yes, but those were just legends," people may say—but the Catholic Church does teach that miracles are real, and it still requires evidence of the miraculous as part of the process of canonization. So what are we to make of these older stories of saints levitating or performing miraculous or supernatural feats? Are the faithful required to believe these things happened?

On this episode of the podcast, guest Carlos Eire talks about the motif of levitation in Catholic hagiography. Eire is the T. Lawrason Riggs Professor of History and Religious Studies at Yale University, and a historian of late medieval and early modern Europe. His most recent book, They Flew: A History of the Impossible from Yale University Press, explores miraculous events such as levitation in the era of transition to modernity. He has also written a highly acclaimed memoir about his experience as a child escapee from the Castro regime in Cuba.

You can learn more about this topic, and read some of Eire's writing, in these links:

"Making sense of levitating saints," by Carlos Eire https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/saints-levitation-bilocation-eire-miracles-history

"Historian sets his eyes on levitating saints in book 'They Flew'," by Patrick J. Hayes https://www.ncronline.org/culture/book-reviews/historian-sets-his-eyes-levitating-saints-book-they-flew

"Your field guide to flying saints," by Kathleen M. Carroll https://www.franciscanmedia.org/franciscan-spirit-blog/your-field-guide-to-flying-saints/

"Why does the church require miracles for sainthood?" by Heidi Schlumpf https://uscatholic.org/articles/201112/why-does-the-church-require-miracles-for-sainthood/

Glad You Asked is sponsored by the Claretian Missionaries. https://www.claretians.org/

As co-founder of both the Catholic Worker newspaper and the movement of the same name, Dorothy Day is probably the most widely-known social justice Catholic in the modern American church. Even if you haven't read Day's writing, you've probably seen some of her more popular quotes reminding Catholics that living the gospel has a socio-political component. You may have read something from the newspaper she helped found, or even visited a Catholic Worker farm.

But what does it mean to be a Catholic Worker? What's the nature and structure of the movement, and what does a person have to do, if they want to join up? And does the institutional Catholic Church have any jurisdiction over the movement, the newspaper, or the Catholic Worker communities?

On this episode of the podcast, Renée Roden talks about the history of the movement, and what it means to be a Catholic Worker today. Roden is a journalist and Catholic Worker based in Pennsylvania, and a frequent contributor to U.S. Catholic.

You can learn more about this topic, and read some of Roden's writing, in these links.

"How the Catholic Worker movement stays grassroots online," by Renée Roden https://uscatholic.org/articles/202402/how-the-catholic-worker-movement-stays-grassroots-online/

"House work: Catholic Worker houses of today," by Karen Kirkwood https://uscatholic.org/articles/201109/house-work-catholic-worker-houses-of-today/

"A Catholic worker devotes energy to environmental activism," by Jeannine M. Pitas https://uscatholic.org/articles/201909/a-catholic-worker-devotes-her-energy-to-environmental-activism/

"Dorothy Day inspires a new meaning of 'saint,'" by Brian Terrell https://uscatholic.org/articles/202311/dorothy-day-inspires-a-new-meaning-of-saint/

"All in a Day's work: The legacy of Dorothy Day," by Robert Ellsberg https://uscatholic.org/articles/201003/all-in-a-days-work/

Glad You Asked is sponsored by the Claretian Missionaries. https://www.claretians.org/

When Catholics argue about the more controversial teachings of the church, it's not unusual for someone to try to shut the conversation down by reminding everyone that debate is pointless since the church never changes. If you don't like a specific doctrine, well, too bad, since it's not going anywhere. The Catholic Church is the living repository of revealed truth so it's always been right and isn't going to change—or so the argument goes. So, for instance, when it comes to something gravely evil like slavery, the church must have always opposed this practice—right?

But what to do about those passages in scripture, from doctors of the church like Thomas Aquinas, or even from earlier official documents, that seem to support slavery? Did the church actually condone slavery at some earlier point, then change its teaching later?

Our guest on today's episode is going to talk about the history of the Catholic Church's stance on slavery. Alessandra Harris is a novelist, essayist, and racial justice advocate. Her fiction books include Blaming the Wind, Everything She Lost, and Last Place Seen (all from Red Adept Publishing). In 2023, she published her first nonfiction book, In the Shadow of Freedom: The Enduring Call for Racial Justice (Orbis Books). Harris has contributed extensively to U.S. Catholic, as well as to Black Catholic Messenger, America Magazine, The Revealer, Grotto Network, Critical Theology Journal, Catholic Worker, and National Catholic Reporter.

Learn more about this topic and read some of Harris' writing in these links:

"When did the church condemn slavery?" by Jacob Kohlhaas https://uscatholic.org/articles/202311/when-did-the-church-condemn-slavery/

"How the U.S. Catholic Church profited from slavery," a U.S. Catholic interview https://uscatholic.org/articles/202308/how-the-u-s-catholic-church-profited-from-slavery/

"The Role of Forgiveness When Confronting Racism," by Alessandra Harris https://www.grottonetwork.com/stories/reflective-narrative-about-racial-reconciliation

"The death penalty in the US is modern-day lynching," by Alessandra Harris https://www.ncronline.org/opinion/guest-voices/death-penalty-us-modern-day-lynching

Glad You Asked is sponsored by the Claretian Missionaries. https://www.claretians.org/

The apostle Paul was a busy man. As well as traveling, preaching, arguing, getting imprisoned, and surviving shipwreck, he also wrote a lot of letters. Over half the books in the Christian scriptures are commonly attributed to him, and anyone involved in an argument over matters of Catholic teaching is likely, at some point, to quote Paul.

This can make things complicated, since some statements attributed to Paul appear to contradict each other. For instance, one passage from 1 Timothy says that women should not exercise authority over men. But elsewhere Paul commends women deacons and leaders, such as Phoebe and Prisca. This raises all kinds of questions, including questions about the origins of these books. Did Paul really write all the letters in the Bible that have been attributed to him—the letters to the Romans, to the Hebrews, to the people of Corinth, and so on?

On this episode of the podcast, guest Ferdinand Okorie, C.M.F. talks about the authorship of the Pauline epistles. Okorie is editor-in-chief of U.S. Catholic, a member of the Claretian Missionaries, and vice president and academic dean at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, where he is also an assistant professor of New Testament studies. He is the author of Favor and Gratitude. Reading Galatians in Its Greco-Roman Context (Fortress Press, 2020), as well as numerous scholarly articles.

You can learn more about Paul, and read some of Okorie's writing, in these links.

"What church leaders can learn from St. Paul about race and diversity," by Ferdinand Okorie, C.M.F. https://uscatholic.org/articles/202006/what-church-leaders-can-learn-from-st-paul-about-race-and-diversity/

"Paul through the eyes of a classicist," a U.S. Catholic interview https://uscatholic.org/articles/201204/putting-paul-in-his-place-examining-the-apostle-through-the-eyes-of-a-classicist/

"What future did Paul see for his letters?" by Joel Schorn https://uscatholic.org/articles/200908/what-future-did-paul-see-for-his-letters/

"Getting to know Paul," a U.S. Catholic interview https://uscatholic.org/articles/200807/getting-to-know-paul/

"Who decided what books are in the Bible?" by Alice Camille https://uscatholic.org/articles/201809/who-decided-what-books-are-in-the-bible/

Glad You Asked is sponsored by the Claretian Missionaries. https://www.claretians.org/

A thousand or so years ago, there lived an Irish archbishop named Malachy. And this archbishop supposedly had a series of visions about popes—past, present and future. According to the revelations in these visions, recorded in a document that was supposedly discovered around 1590, there would be only 112 popes between Malachy's time and the day of the final judgment. Today, some people think that the prophecy refers to our times, and that Pope Francis is that 112th pope, cryptically designated in the prophecy as "Peter the Roman."

But who was St. Malachy? Did he really have these visions and really record these prophecies? And why are some so fixated on the idea that Malachy's prophecy, also known as the "Prophecy of the Popes," refers to Pope Francis?

On this episode of the podcast, guest Joëlle Rollo-Koster talks about the origins and historical context of this prophecy, and whether it's something that Catholics should take seriously. Rollo-Koster is professor of Medieval history at the University of Rhode Island, College of Arts and Sciences. She received her undergraduate degree and master's degree in history from the University of Nice, in France, and later earned her PhD at SUNY Binghamton. She has done extensive scholarly research on the papal city of Avignon.

You can learn more about this topic, and read some of Rollo-Koster's writing, in these links.

"What is the prophecy of St. Malachy?" by Joseph McHugh https://uscatholic.org/articles/201309/what-is-the-prophecy-of-st-malachy/

"What lies beneath all the criticism of Pope Francis?" by Kevin Clarke https://uscatholic.org/articles/201912/what-lies-beneath-all-the-criticism-of-pope-francis/

"10 years after Pope Francis' election, a look back at his papacy," by J. Peter Nixon https://uscatholic.org/articles/202303/10-years-after-pope-francis-election-a-look-back-at-his-papacy/

"Medieval Europe was far from democratic, but that didn't mean tyrants got a free pass," by Joëlle Rollo-Koster https://theconversation.com/medieval-europe-was-far-from-democratic-but-that-didnt-mean-tyrants-got-a-free-pass-227214

Glad You Asked is sponsored by the Claretian Missionaries. https://www.claretians.org/

The rosary is probably the most well-known of all Catholic prayer practices. Many Catholics grew up praying it as part of their family or community devotions. And the physical rosary itself, a string of beads or knots with a crucifix attached and sometimes a medal, is immediately recognizable as a Catholic object. Catholics might carry rosaries, wear them, drape them over statues, or dangle them on their rearview mirrors. In films and television, a rosary immediately signals "Catholic," and popular artists such as Madonna and Lady Gaga have used rosaries in their music videos, to the consternation of some of the pious.

But where did the tradition of the rosary, and those prayers associated with it, come from? On this episode of the podcast, guest Damian Costello talks about the origins of the rosary, both the physical item and the prayers Catholics use.

Costello is the director of postgraduate studies at NAIITS: An Indigenous Learning Community and the author of Black Elk: Colonialism and Lakota Catholicism. He has written extensively about Catholic devotional practices and the intersection of Catholic theology with indigenous spiritual traditions.

You can learn more about this topic and read some of Costello's work in these links.

"Lakota Catholic tradition gives new meaning to the rosary," by Damian Costello https://uscatholic.org/articles/202104/lakota-catholic-tradition-gives-new-meaning-to-the-rosary/

"Can praying a weekly rosary salvage fraying family ties?" by Molly Jo Rose https://uscatholic.org/articles/202109/can-praying-a-weekly-rosary-salvage-fraying-family-ties/

"The blue rosary," by Brian Doyle https://uscatholic.org/articles/201805/the-blue-rosary-by-brian-doyle/

"Bring back the rosary," by Father Daniel Berrigan https://uscatholic.org/articles/197810/35-years-ago-in-u-s-catholic-bring-back-the-rosary/

"Rosary origins," by Father Johann Roten, S.M. https://udayton.edu/imri/mary/r/rosary-origins.php

Glad You Asked is sponsored by the Claretian Missionaries. https://www.claretians.org/

There are certain core beliefs that every Christian denomination shares: the Trinity. The divinity of Jesus. Jesus' death and resurrection. Some Protestants have little in common with Catholics beyond these and a few other core beliefs, but other denominations seem closely related to Catholicism. The Episcopal Church, for instance, has a lot in common with the Catholic Church, in terms of belief and liturgical practice. Both denominations have priests and bishops, and both recognize the sacraments. So what distinguishes the Catholic faith from Episcopal faith? What are the significant differences between these two Christian faith traditions?

On this episode of the podcast, guest Bryan Cones discusses the origins of the Episcopal Church, how Episcopal practices differ from Catholic ones, what the two denominations have in common, and how to understand the different traditions within the Episcopal Church.

Cones is an Episcopal priest and the pastor at Trinity Episcopal Church in Highland Park, Illinois. He has a doctorate in liturgy and practical theology from Pilgrim Theological College-University of Divinity in Melbourne, Australia and has published seven books and more than a hundred articles on Christian spirituality. He is also a former managing editor at U.S. Catholic.

You can learn more about this topic, and read some of Cones' writings, in these links.

"How similar are Catholics and Anglicans?" by Bryan Cones https://uscatholic.org/articles/200912/how-similar-are-catholics-and-anglicans/

"A Catholic picks up the Anglican Book of Common Prayer," by Jeffrey Essmann https://uscatholic.org/articles/201602/a-catholic-picks-up-the-anglican-book-of-common-prayer/

"How I met your Father: Married Episcopalians becoming Catholic priests," by Katharine Saunders https://uscatholic.org/articles/201207/how-i-met-your-father-married-episcopalians-becoming-catholic-priests/

"A more perfect communion," by Bryan Cones https://uscatholic.org/articles/200901/a-more-perfect-communion/

Some of the most popular and well-known Catholic pilgrimage sites are places where Mary the Mother of Jesus is believed to have appeared to people. Every year, millions travel to Fatima in Portugal and Lourdes in France. The Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe near Mexico City sees around 20 million pilgrims a year. And the site of the claimed apparitions at Medjugorje, though controversial, still attracts huge numbers of visitors.

These, however, are only a few out of hundreds of cases of claimed apparitions. Of these hundreds, some are approved by the church and others aren't. But what does that mean? Are Catholics obliged to believe an approved apparition actually happened, if the church approved it? If there is a message associated with an approved apparition, do Catholics have to assent to it? And, if an apparition is not approved, does that mean Catholics aren't allowed to believe in it?

These questions invoke another, larger question: What's the point of Marian apparitions anyway? Why do people flock to these pilgrimage sites? And on the level of popular devotion, what do Marian apparitions have to offer to those seeking meaning or comfort in an uncertain world?

On this episode of the podcast, guest Jeanette Rodriguez talks about whether Catholics are obliged to believe in Marian apparitions, the role of these devotions in Catholics' faith lives, and why they continue to be so popular over the ages. Rodriguez is a professor at Seattle University and teaches in both the department of theology and religious studies, and the couples and family therapy program. She serves as director of the Institute for Catholic Thought and Culture and has written on U.S. Hispanic theology, women's spirituality, liberation theology, and Our Lady of Guadalupe.

You can read more about this topic in these links. "Why do Catholics venerate Mary?" by Kevin Considine https://uscatholic.org/articles/201405/why-do-catholics-venerate-mary/

"The gift of Guadalupe," a U.S. Catholic interview https://uscatholic.org/articles/201112/the-gift-of-guadalupe/

"Our Lady of Guadalupe is a missionary of mercy," by Timothy Matovina https://uscatholic.org/articles/201612/our-lady-of-guadalupe-is-a-missionary-of-mercy/

"A 7-year-old's pilgrimage to Fatima," by Molly Jo Rose https://uscatholic.org/articles/201705/a-7-year-olds-pilgrimage-to-fatima/

"Keeping up appearances," by Mary Catt https://uscatholic.org/articles/200807/keeping-up-appearances/

Glad You Asked is sponsored by the Claretian Missionaries. https://www.claretians.org/