On “Jesuitical” this week, Zac and Ashley chat with Kelly Ryan, the president of Jesuit Refugee Service USA, about her 30 years of experience working with refugees, asylum seekers and migrants in light of a second Trump administration. A two-time U.S. presidential political appointee, Kelly has also worked extensively with faith-based organizations, including the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Holy See. 

Zac, Ashley and Kelly discuss: 

- The origins of Jesuit Refugee Service, from its founding in 1980 by Pedro Arrupe, S.J., to assist refugees, especially those fleeing the Vietnam War

- Challenges at the U.S. southern border, including the dangerous journeys many migrants make and the difficulties in processing their asylum claims

- Concern about potential changes to refugee admissions and deportation policies under the incoming Trump administration

In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley discuss Pope Francis’ autobiography Hope, which features critical reflections about his rowdy youth and staunch defenses of his most controversial moves; plus they chat about the 2025 College Football National Championship between the University of Notre Dame and Ohio State University, including some words on Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame’s current coach, a Catholic convert—and a former Buckeye. 

Links for further reading: 

Opening doors at Advent and all year long: How J.R.S. responds to the plight of refugees 

Pope Francis acknowledges mistakes and defends most controversial decisions in new autobiography

Notre Dame story 

Father Pedro Arrupe: a controversial Jesuit’s bumpy path to sainthood

A Jesuit border priest on Trump and the plight of migrants

109th World Day of Refugees and Migrants Message from Pope Francis

Jesuit Refugee Service

JRS is on Instagram: @jrs_usa

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On Jan. 6, Pope Francis announced that Cardinal Robert McElroy will be the next archbishop of Washington, D.C. Cardinal McElroy, currently the bishop of San Diego, spoke with Zac and Ashley on the “Jesuitical” podcast back in 2023, and this week, they’re revisiting that conversation. In it, Cardinal McElroy embraces the synodal vision and pastoral approach of Pope Francis and calls upon the church to dismantle the “structures and cultures of exclusion” that alienate some Catholics, including women, the poor, divorced-and-remarried couples and L.G.B.T. Catholics.

 Zac, Ashley and Cardinal McElroy discuss: 

- Cardinal McElroy’s 2023 article in America on the Eucharist and radical inclusion for L.G.B.T. people, women and others

- Why synodality is the connective tissue of the Catholic faith that enables us to work through disagreements in communion 

- How to handle polarization in the church on issues like sexuality, marriage, racism and poverty

In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley discuss President Joe Biden’s decision to commute the death sentences of 37 of the 40 prisoners on federal death row to a sentence of life in prison without parole; Pope Francis’ appointment of Italian missionary nun Sister Simona Brambilla as the first woman to lead a major Vatican dicastery; and the exciting news that a soccer-loving Catholic nun from Brazil is officially the oldest living person at nearly 117. 

Links for further reading: 

Cardinal McElroy to lead D.C. archdiocese, Vatican announces

Cardinal McElroy on ‘radical inclusion’ for L.G.B.T. people, women and others in the Catholic Church

Biden commutes 37 death row sentences before Trump can resume executions

A woman leads a Vatican office for the first time ever. Why now?

Historic first: Pope Francis appoints woman as prefect of Vatican dicastery

A soccer-loving nun from Brazil is world’s oldest living person at nearly 117

Zac’s New Year’s recommendation: What if you're already on top of things?

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On “Jesuitical” this week, Zac and Ashley chat with Colleen Dulle, an associate editor at America and co-host of the “Inside the Vatican” podcast, about how realistically the new film “Conclave” portrays the process of selecting a new pope. They praise the film’s historical accuracy but raise eyebrows over the complex theological implications around the film’s twist ending. Warning: This episode contains major spoilers. 

Zac, Ashley and Colleen discuss: 

- The challenges of translating the complexities of the Catholic Church to a mainstream audience through a cinematic lens

- Varying reactions to “Conclave” from Catholics, including Bishop Robert Barron’s critique of the film

- The role and representation of women, including nuns, in the Catholic Church as depicted in the film

In Signs of the Times, Zac, Ashley and Colleen discuss Pope Francis’ new autobiography Hope, which reveals two assassination attempts on his life during his trip to Iraq in 2021; and a recent liturgical debate sparked by Cardinal Blase Cupich’s guidance to parishioners in the Archdiocese of Chicago that discouraged kneeling to receive Communion.

Links for further reading: 

‘Conclave’ explainer: Could that twist ending really happen?

Your Take: Is ‘Conclave’ worth seeing for Catholics?

‘Conclave’ hits theaters. What really happens when a new pope is elected?

Pope Francis reveals he survived two assassination attempts during visit to Iraq

Hope: The Autobiography by Pope Francis 

Should you stand or kneel to receive communion? Cardinal Cupich stirs debate after weighing in

What’s on tap?

French 75s

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On this week’s episode of “Jesuitical,” Zac and Ashley interview bestselling Irish author John Connell on how embracing the farm life preserved by his family for generations brought him closer to God and greater inner peace. John’s new book, The Lambing Season, explores the rhythms and realities of raising livestock, as well as the profound spiritual guidance John gleaned from a simple flock of sheep. 

Zac, Ashley and John discuss: 

- How John’s spiritual awakening on a Camino de Santiago pilgrimage in Spain led to his transformation from journalist and world traveler to shepherd on his family’s farm 

- John’s discovery of the spiritual and therapeutic power of lambing season in Ireland

- The contrast and balance between rural and urban life, and the need for citydwellers to “make appointments with nature”

In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley discuss the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris after a fire in 2019, Pope Francis’ latest consistory that created 21 new cardinals on Saturday, Dec. 7, and how the Loyola Chicago Ramblers recovered after (seemingly) snubbing their very own Sister Jean from a celebratory fist bump after their win against Eastern Michigan. 

Links for further reading: 

The Lambing Season: Stories of Life on an Irish Family Farm

The Cow Book: A Story of Life on an Irish Family Farm

Pomp and presidents at the reopening of Notre Dame in Paris

Podcast: Pope Francis creates 21 cardinals, calls for an end to U.S. death penalty

Read: Pope Francis’ homily and message to new cardinals

A busy weekend for Pope Francis: The Immaculate Conception, a consistory and prayers for death row inmates in the United States

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On this week’s episode of “Jesuitical,” Ashley and Zac are joined by Madeleine Kearns, an associate editor at The Free Press, and the author of a recently reported article, “The Young Catholic Women Bringing Back Veils.” Maddy shares how the veil boom evokes a “lost type of Catholicism” that satisfies the desire for reverence challenged by the reforms of Vatican II. 

They discuss: 

- The motivations of young women who veil—from personal expressions of piety and nostalgia to political posturing

- Whether individual practices of worship impact communal worship in the church 

- How young people engage with the “sacred space” of Mass today

In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley discuss a Brooklyn priest wrapped up in scandals involving a federal corruption investigation, New York City’s Mayor Eric Adams and pop star Sabrina Carpenter. Plus: Environmentalists in Italy try (and fail) to stop Pope Francis from cutting down a Christmas tree to decorate St. Peter’s Square.

Links for further reading: 

The Young Catholic Women Bringing Back Veils

NYC priest who allowed Sabrina Carpenter to shoot a music video in church further stripped of duties

The Priest, the Power Broker and the Pop Star

Local group protests cutting down 200-year-old tree for Vatican’s Christmas

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In this special Jesuitical episode to kickstart the Advent season, Ashley speaks with her colleague, Maggi Van Dorn, the host and creator of America's podcast, "Hark! The Stories Behind Our Favorite Christmas Carols." Maggi previews an all new season of "Hark!" launching today, November 29, and reveals what she uncovered about the Magi and the star of Bethlehem while working on the classic carol, "We Three Kings."

Hark! is available everywhere. Listen on Apple or Spotify or your podcast app.

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This week’s episode of “Jesuitical” features a conversation with Brian Strassburger, S.J., a Jesuit priest who serves as the director of Del Camino Jesuit Border Ministries in the Diocese of Brownsville, Tex., and a co-host of the Jesuit Border Podcast. In his ministry, Brian not only celebrates Mass in migrant shelters and camps at the U.S.-Mexico border, but he and his team also provide basic orientation and advocacy for migrants navigating the complex U.S. immigration system.

Zac, Ashley and Brian discuss: 

- What the election of Donald J. Trump might mean for migrants and his border ministry

- How Brian talks to Catholics who are concerned about chaos at the border and want to see greater immigration restrictions

- Brian’s vision of heaven: one where the poor and migrants are welcomed and honored, rather than dismissed and betrayed

Links for further reading: 

The Betrayal of American Border Policy 

The Jesuit Border Podcast 

Del Camino Jesuit Border Ministries 

Donald Trump’s election has brought new fear to immigrant communities

As U.S. Catholic bishops meet, Trump looms over their work on abortion and immigration

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On this week’s episode of “Jesuitical,” Ashley and Zac are joined by Sister Laura Vicuña Pereira Manso, an Indigenous activist fighting to protect the Amazon rainforest and serve its people. As the current vice president of the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon region (known as CEAMA) and a 2019 auditor of the Synod for the Pan-Amazon Region, Sister Laura has met with Pope Francis to make the case for women’s ministries, including restoring women deacons.

They discuss: 

- Sister Laura’s experience at Amazon Synod, and whether synodality “works”

- What a typical day looks like when you are ministering to Indigenous communities in the Amazon and struggling against powerful (and violent) corporations.

- What she would say to those who criticize women deacons as a “Western obsession”

Links for further reading: 

A Franciscan sister joins the fight for Indigenous rights in Brazil

A nun makes the case for women deacons to Pope Francis

What you need to know about the 2019 Synod on the Amazon

Brazilian Cardinal talks restoring women deacons, ordaining married men at synod press briefing

Synod Diary: Women deacons are not a ‘Western’ obsession

We’d like to give a special thanks to our translators, America O’Hare fellow Leilani Fuentes and Ellie Hidalgo of Discerning Deacons, who helped with the translations for this episode. 

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On this week’s episode of “Jesuitical,” Ashley and Zac are joined by America magazine’s editor in chief, Sam Sawyer, S.J., to discuss the results of the 2024 presidential election, in which Donald Trump defeated the sitting vice president, Kamala Harris.

They discuss: 

Please consider supporting Jesuitical by becoming a digital subscriber to America Media at americamagazine.org/subscribe

Links for further reading: 

The day after Trump’s victory: searching for mercy, justice and God’s providence

Five political takeaways from the 2024 election

Voters in 3 states reject abortion ballot measures, defying trend around country

Trump courted white Catholics—and they helped him win the White House again

Donald Trump won: 5 Catholic takeaways

Donald Trump defeats Kamala Harris to become the 47th president of the United States

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At the end of the second session of the Synod on Synodality, Jesuitical’s co-host Zac Davis and producer Sebastian Gomes spoke with Cardinal Joseph Tobin, the archbishop of Newark, about the synod’s final document, which kept open the question of women’s access to the diaconate. The cardinal also spoke to the urgent need for initiating processes of communal decision-taking in parishes and for greater accountability to synodality among U.S. bishops.

Thank you for following Jesuitical’s coverage of the Synod on Synodality. It was sponsored in part by the Jesuit School of Theology at Santa Clara University.

Please consider supporting Jesuitical by becoming a digital subscriber to America Magazine and stay up to date on Catholic news and analysis.

Links:

Synodality—and ‘controversial’ issues—are here to stay: Takeaways from the Synod’s final document

Pope Francis says he will not write his own exhortation on synod, publishes members’ final document

Women Deacons and the Catholic Church: A Video Explainer

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