Jesuitical

On Wednesday, Jan. 20, Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States, only the second Catholic ever to hold the office.

Zac and Ashley are joined by Matt Malone, S.J., to discuss their reactions to President Biden’s inauguration—including the prayers offered by other Jesuits throughout the day. Father Malone is the editor in chief of America, worked in politics before joining the Jesuits and brings a historical and personal eye to the events of the week.

We’re happy to report that Pope Francis, Pope Emeritus Benedict and guests at the Vatican’s homeless shelter all received a vaccine for Covid-19, even as the Catholic Church, like the rest of the world, continues to lose leaders to the virus.

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Links from the show: 

Pope Francis sends greeting to President Biden, contrasting with sharper message from head of U.S. bishops

Joe Biden begins Inauguration Day with Mass

Read: The Invocation at the Inauguration of President Joe Biden

Joe Biden knows the grief of losing family—and how our pain can have a purpose.

Watch: Matt Malone, SJ interviews Joe Biden

What’s on tap? 

Cape Codder: Vodka and cranberry juice.

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One of the most alarming aspects of the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of President Trump was the prevalence of Christian symbols and language. That the cross and the name of Jesus were used to justify a violent attack on our nation’s democratic institutions shows just how far the Christian community has fallen short, according to this week’s guest, the Rev. Bryan Massingale: “We’ve allowed Christianity, Christian symbols, Christian faith, Christian language to be hijacked in the cause of a human ideology of exclusion and division and division.”  

Father Massingale teaches theological and social ethics at Fordham University in New York and is the author of Racial Justice and the Catholic Church. We talk with him about the toxic mix of racism, idolatry and spiritual emptiness on display on Capitol Hill and how Christians should respond. 

In Signs of the Times, Pope Francis changed canon law this week to allow women to be officially installed as lectors and acolytes (i.e., those who do the readings, serve the altar and distribute Communion at Mass). Zac and Ashley discuss what this means for parishes and the place of women in the church.

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As always, thanks for listening. You can support the media ministry of America and unluck unlimited access to all our articles with a digital subscription for less than $1 per week. Subscribe here. And to receive bonus content and swag from Jesuitical, check out our Patreon community.

Links from the show:

Impeach. Convict. Now.

How Catholic Leaders Helped Give Rise to Violence at the U.S. Capitol

Pope Francis changes canon law: ministries of acolyte and lector open to women

Explainer: The history of women lectors and altar servers—and what Pope Francis has changed

The Racist Attack on Our Nation’s Capitol

What’s on tap?

Johnny Walker Black Label, with a twist

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We don’t have to tell you that 2020 has been a really tough year. And yet we know that God is still with us, and we are still celebrating the birth of our savior on Christmas morning. To mark the coming of our Lord, we wanted to do something a little different on Jesuitical. 

So, instead of covering the Catholic news of the week, we asked you, our listeners, to tell us where you found God in your life amid the loneliness, uncertainty and loss of the coronavirus pandemic. And Zac and Ashley share personal reflections about what Christmas means to them this year.

As always, we are grateful to everyone who listens to and supports the show. Have a blessed Christmas season—and we’ll see you next year. 

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We all need a laugh. 2020 has been an absolutely awful year (no citation needed). But is it O.K. for us to take a step back and laugh at it all? We bring on professional funny man and former professional Catholic, Greg Iwinksi, to discuss. Greg is an Emmy-nominated comedy writer and performer, and he currently writes for “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.” He’s previously written for “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” and worked with The Second City and iO theaters.

We talk to Greg about the pandemic, the difference between “church” funny and “actual” funny and Trump Jokes. Greg also reminds us that comedy is serious business, and above all about telling the truth. 

In Signs of the Times, we discuss the Vatican’s controversial Nativity and deliver a Jesuitical SOT-P.S.A. about the newly F.D.A.-approved Covid-19 vaccines.

This is our last regular episode of 2020, but there is still time for you to help with our special Christmas edition of Jesuitical. Email a 60-second-or-less voice memo to [email protected] describing a consolation from 2020. Get your consolation in by Monday, Dec. 21! 

What’s on tap? 

Hot Toddy

Links from the show: 

Greg’s Twitter Feed

Greg’s new Star Wars podcast

Why is Darth Vader in the Vatican’s Nativity scene?

U.S. Catholic bishops: Getting a COVID-19 vaccine is an ‘act of charity’

Waiting for a Covid test is more than just standing in line. It’s an act of mercy.

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“We’re all monks now” was an early refrain about life in coronavirus lockdown. Time slowed down as we kept to our houses and limited contact with family and friends. Of course, unlike monks, we also had Zoom calls and Netflix. Lots and lots of Netflix. So we wanted to talk to a monk and find out just how much our Covid quarantines resemble life in a monastery.

Dom Benedict Nivakoff, O.S.B., is the prior of the Monastery of San Benedetto in Monte in Norcia, Italy, the birthplace of St. Benedict, considered the father of Western monasticism. We ask Father Prior about living under St. Benedict’s Rule and what advice he has for those us struggling to accept the limitations of pandemic life.

And during Signs of the Times, Pope Francis has dedicated the next year to St. Joseph. Zac and Ashley share their takeaways from “Patris Corde,” the pope reflection on the foster father of Jesus. Next, the pope plans to visit Iraq in March, but can he do so without putting his and others’ health at risk? And you’ve heard of “Elf on the Shelf,” but what about “Mary on the Mantel”? The hosts debate the merits of a new Advent tradition.

Finally, we need your help! 2020 has been a year like no other. It has been filled with suffering and longing, for sure, but also moments of grace. And we want to hear about yours. Send a short voice memo to [email protected] describing a specific time in the last year when you found God working in your life. We hope to share your consolations in a special Christmas episode.

Links from the show:

Pope Francis proclaims a year dedicated to St. Joseph

Patris Corde

Pope Francis plans to visit Iraq in March after getting a Covid vaccine

‘Mary on the Mantel’? Think ‘Elf on the Shelf,’ but Catholic

What’s on tap?

Birra Nursia Blonde Ale (You can order it here. A great Christmas gift for the beer lovers in your life!)

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This was bound to be an odd Advent. But as a lot of Catholics discovered during the odd Lent, Easter and Ordinary Time we experienced this year, there is also an invitation to develop new traditions and prayer practices. Our guest this week, Tsh Oxenreider, has been helping people connect in new ways and live more simply for a long time through her writing and podcasting. We talk to Tsh about her latest project, Shadow & Light: A Journey Into Advent, and her journey to make Advent meaningful for her family. 

During Signs of the Times, Ashley and Zac discuss the 13 new cardinals that Pope Francis recently elevated, and what they want to see out of the pope’s closest advisers. They also look at misinformation around Covid vaccines.  

What’s on tap? 

Advent calendar wine, from Zac’s mom.

Links from the show: 

Shadow & Light: A Journey Into Advent

tshoxenreider.com

Pope Francis has made Wilton Gregory the first African-American cardinal

U.S. bishops’ internal memo: Catholics can take Covid-19 vaccines

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There are good writers, there are Catholic writers and then there are the Catholic literary greats like Flannery O’Connor, Cormac McCarthy, and to the surprise of some, Toni Morison. But what exactly makes their stories distinctly Catholic? And how do themes of incarnation, death and resurrection show up even while the artist has lapsed in their religious practice?

Ashley and Zac settle in with the writer Nick Ripatrazone to talk about these literary giants and where the Catholic imagination comes alive in works of fiction. They also talk about Nick’s recently published book “Longing for an Absent God: Faith and Doubt in Great American Fiction.” 

Links from the show:

Longing for an Absent God

Nick Ripatrazone

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The release of the McCarrick report has once again brought the church’s sex abuse crisis back to the headlines—and once again Catholics are asking: What is the root cause? Clericalism, writes Sam Sawyer, S.J., a Jesuit priest and our colleague at America Media. While we may not know what drive any individual person to abuse, he believes the McCarrick report confirms that clericalism explains how Theodore McCarrick was able to rise through the ranks of the hierarchy despite persistent rumors of sexual misconduct. 

We ask Sam how clericalism plays both at the Vatican and in our own parishes, and what priests and laypeople alike can do to root it out. 

In Signs of the Times, we discuss the U.S. bishops’ general assembly and the creation of a new working group to address what Archbishop José Gomez called the “difficult and complex situation” they see in Joe Biden—the second Catholic president in U.S. history. How should the bishops engage the Biden administration on issues like abortion and religious liberty?

Links from the show:

U.S. bishops express concern over a having a Catholic president who is pro-choice

The McCarrick Report confirms it: Clericalism powered the sex abuse crisis.

What’s on tap?

Boulevardiers: 1 ½ ounces bourbon, ¾ ounce sweet vermouth, ¾ ounce Campari. Twist of orange peel, for garnish

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Choosing your health insurance, going to the doctor, paying unexpected medical bills: these are facts of life that no one would describe as fun. But on his podcast “An Arm and a Leg,” Dan Weissmann explores the U.S. health care system and its costs for consumers in an entertaining—and empowering—way. This week, we talk to Dan about how to hold your own when you are slapped with an exorbitant medical bill, and ask: Why is the health care system so confusing? 

In Signs of the Times, we briefly mark the occasion of the election of the second Catholic president in U.S. history (and celebrate the controversial song he quoted in his acceptance speech). Next, the Vatican published its much-anticipated report on the investigation into former cardinal Theodore McCarrick. We bring on Colleen Dulle of America’s “Inside the Vatican” podcast to breakdown the top takeaways from the report. Who knew what about McCarrick’s abuse—and should we trust an internal investigation, conducted by those with the most at stake?

Links from the show:

Joe Biden will be the second Catholic president. Here’s what you need to know about his faith.

“On Eagle’s Wings”: The simple origin of the song that makes the world cry

Top 5 Takeaways from the McCarrick Report

An Arm and a Leg podcast

What’s on tap?

Trappist-made wine from New Clairvaux Vineyard

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By the time you listen to this episode, we may already know who the 46th president of the United States will be. But whoever wins, there is one thing we can say with certainty now: We remain a divided country. So this week, we wanted to talk to someone who has been working across divisions for over a decade: Dr. Eboo Patel. In 2002, Eboo founded the Interfaith Youth Core, an organization that works with colleges, governments and social service agencies to increase interfaith cooperation. He also served on President Barack Obama’s inaugural Advisory Council on Faith-Based Neighborhood Partnerships.

Eboo believes that it is impossible to understand what is happening in our world—and in the 2020 election—without paying attention to and engaging with people’s diverse religious commitments. We ask Eboo what lessons he has learned from his interfaith work that might help us to heal the fractures of our body politic.

With the election results very much still up in the air at recording time, we decided it didn’t make a lot of sense to try to read the signs of the times this week. But stick around after the interview for our (non-election related) Consolations and Desolations.

A reminder that we are discussing Pope Francis’ latest encyclical, “Fratelli Tutti,” in reading groups (over drinks) with all members of our Patreon community throughout the month of November. Even if you missed the first meeting, there’s still time to sign up to support the show and guarantee a spot in the reading group. 

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