Wide Open Spaces

Why can’t women be priests? Will the Catholic Church, can the Catholic Church change its teaching on this topic? Join me for a discussion with Catherine Renneberg, a master’s student of theology at Newman Theological College, as she makes a case for why women will not and cannot be Catholic priests. Be sure to check out the first episode in this set of episodes, a discussion with Reverend Marie-Louise Ternier, an Anglican female priest who left the Catholic Church after 50 years over the issue of female priesthood. 

Can - and should - women be priests? What is the experience of a woman who has been ordained outside of the Catholic Church? 

Reverend Marie-Louise Ternier - who, as a woman, is an ordained priest within the Anglican Church of Canada. Reverend Marie-Louise was born and raised Catholic but - through an extensive journey - left Catholicism and joined the Anglican Church of Canada in 2016, due to the Catholic teaching on female ordination.  In this episode we have a dialogue between her perspective as a former Catholic and Anglican priest and my perspective as a Catholic woman who enthusiastically agrees with the Catholic teaching on female priesthood. 

In November  2017, Reverend Marie-Louise was ordained as an Anglican priest at the age of 62. She currently lives in the rural Saskatchewan town of Humbodlt and serves as the priest and rector at All Saints Anglican Parish/Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, in Watrous, Saskatchewan. 

This is a two-part series. Watch for Part II, a conversation in defense of the Catholic teaching on priesthood. 

Note: I am a practicing Catholic and I agree with the Catholic teaching on why priesthood is a calling created solely for men and Reverend Marie-Louise is coming from a different theological perspective than myself. It is also worth mentioning that the basis of this podcast is dialogue - which is very much distinct from debate, so while we certainly go back and forth about our differing views and we do conversationally debate - I did not take a position of outright debating or arguing with Reverend Marie-Louise, although we still do nonetheless, disagree on several essential points, especially regarding the interpretation of Pope  John Paul II’s Theology of the Body and how it may connect to the women being ordained as priests.  The goal of this dialogue is to clearly hear someone’s story and to have clarity about what they believe and why they believe it and Reverend Marie-Louise is a gracious and open partner in this endeavor. 

Reverend Marie-Louise’s personal blog, which includes a more in-depth narration of her story and theological perspective:
https://graceatsixty.wordpress.com/

Pope John Paul II’s 1994 Letter Which States Why The Catholic Church Does Not Have the Authority To Ordain Women
https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/apost_letters/1994/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_19940522_ordinatio-sacerdotalis.htm

What are the highs and lows of our sex education experience? How can parents talk about sex with their kids in a way that doesn’t lead to awkward, irreverent associations with sex?

Join my sister Hannah and I as we have an open discussion about her work in sex education, the harms of over-spiritualizing sex education between parents and kids, when and how it is helpful to bring theology into sex education, our own highs and lows of how we were educated on sex in our formative years. 

We both grew up in a big, Catholic family of 8 kids and it was wonderful to compare with her our experience of sex education growing up, how it has impacted us as adults, and to share our musings on how parents could better talk about sex with their teenagers!

Was the Trucker's Convoy really about freedom? How does growing up in the Ottawa area impact your view of big government? What does it look like to host conversations between people who disagree on pandemic politics? Join myself and Rahil Khan, a longtime Ottawa resident and co-founder of the dialogue initiative Let's Talk Ottawa, as we talk about our differing views on the Convoy and practical approaches to hosting dialogue about issues that tend to tear people apart. 

How can adult children and parents have a relationship that honors one another? Join my Mom (Tracy Connelly) and me as we have a discussion about building our own relationship after some years of struggle, appropriate boundaries between adult children and parents, how your parent's marriage impacts you, how to avoid helicopter parenting, and the importance of laughter!

To support the Wide Open Spaces mission of healing division:
www.patreon.com/jennyconnelly?fan_landing=true

Email me your thoughts or critiques at:
[email protected]

How do we rebuild Canadian unity after the confusion, division, and political upheaval that was underlined by the famous Trucker's Convoy? Join myself and conservative staffer Dale Aalbers for a discussion on what he saw in downtown Ottawa during the Convoy protests, the danger of getting caught in a conservative social "bubble," the importance of forgiveness in the political realm, and the divide between Western and Eastern Canada. This is Part 1 of a short series on different perspectives on the convoy. 

To support the Wide Open Spaces mission of healing division:
www.patreon.com/jennyconnelly?fan_landing=true

Is Canada attacking itself? How powerful are universities in changing the trajectory of Canadian culture? 

Join me on Episode 47 as I speak with lawyer, award-winning author, and former President of the University of Saskatchewan Dr. Peter MacKinnon, who offers his over 50 years of experience in university education and public policy as we discuss some of the troubles that Canada is facing as a nation. 

We talk about the idea of “ritualistic denunciation” in university classrooms, how to have immigration that is both compassionate and open towards newcomers and  considerate of national security, whether or not having “open borders” could actually work, provincial equalization payments, and Justin Trudeau’s famous statement that Canadian “diversity is our strength.”

To support the Wide Open Spaces mission of healing division:
www.patreon.com/jennyconnelly?fan_landing=true

For Dr. Peter MacKinnon’s latest book:
https://utorontopress.com/9781487543143/canada-in-question/

For the new podcast Jenny is hosting, Upfront With The Archbishop:
https://caedm.ca/upfront/

Join me for Part Two of our series on climate change, and the interaction between climate change and economics. This series is like a personal investigation, where I have sought to learn - from experts - about the science of climate change, how we know what information is scientifically sound and what information is filtered through political objectives and whether it is possible for us to care for human economic needs while also caring for our planet. 

Today's episode is with Dr. Sherilee Harper from the Climate Change and Global Health Research Group. We talk about whether climate activism can become anti-human, Dr. Harper’s perspective on how urgent climate should be perceived, how measurable temperature changes in the environment are impacting especially rural Indigenous communities, about how to practically measure whether or not a climate change-related policy is actually working, and much more.  

Click here for Part I of our series on climate change, with Microbiologist Dr. Brian Lanoil:
https://www.wideopenspacespodcast.com/brian-lanoil

 The Climate Change And Global Health Research Group:
https://www.climatechangeandglobalhealth.com/

To support the Wide Open Spaces mission of healing division:
www.patreon.com/jennyconnelly?fan_landing=tru

Megachurch pastors. Pronouns for God. Patriarchy. A problem to be solved or a structure to be revitalized? Join me as I speak with Catholic speaker and author Shannon Evans as we dialogue about patriarchy, the divine feminine and the divine masculine, the focus on power-sharing in different Christian churches,  the idea of the women as Catholic priests, the differences between Evangelical fundamentalist Christianity and the Catholic Church, how to speak to kids about God, and much more. 

To support the Wide Open Spaces mission of healing division for a cup of coffee:
www.patreon.com/jennyconnelly?fan_landing=true

Shannon’s article on Julian of Norwich and referring to God as a “she:”
https://www.todaysamericancatholic.org/2021/06/can-we-call-god-mother-julian-of-norwich-says-yes/

Shannon’s website, including links to her bestselling book, Rewilding Motherhood:
https://www.shannonkevans.com/

Ever been frustrated with how politicized climate change is? 

Ever realized that there are big decisions being made about the climate but you don't actually understand the science? 

Join me for the first episode of a 3 (or 4) part series on different perspectives on climate change and the differences between climate change science and climate change politics. I’ll be talking with Ph.D. scientists and policy experts to hear their stories and learn about the research that informs their different opinions about how serious climate change is and how we should respond to it. 

Today I speak with Dr. Brian Lanoil, who is a professor and microbiologist from the University of Alberta in Edmonton Alberta. He shares his first-hand research on the impact of climate change on the Arctic regions of the world and why this matters to the rest of us. We also talk about whether or not we can trust the global organizations (such as the  IPCC) that recommend different political policies in response to climate science and the difference between how scientists and politicians approach climate change. 

To support the Wide Open Spaces mission of healing division for $4:
www.patreon.com/jennyconnelly?fan_landing=true

For more information on Dr. Brian Lanoil:
https://apps.ualberta.ca/directory/person/lanoil