Welcome to Jesuitical, a podcast for young Catholics hosted by two young, lay editors at America—Zac Davis and Ashley McKinless. Each episode features a guest w...
Catholic Charities USA Head: “We don’t have a choice to ignore the Gospel”
Joining Zac and Ashley on this week’s episode of “Jesuitical” is Kerry Robinson, the president and CEO of Catholic Charities USA, the domestic humanitarian arm of the Catholic Church in the United States. Kerry was recently awarded the Notre Dame’s Laetare Medal, the oldest and most prestigious honor bestowed exclusively on American Catholics.
Zac, Ashley and Kerry discuss:
- Kerry’s family history of serving the Catholic Church
- The importance of having more women in leadership positions in the church
- How Kerry has navigated challenging political opposition to Catholic Charities’ work with migrants and refugees
In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley discuss the Supreme Court’s likelihood to side with Catholic Charities in a religious-rights case; and a recent article in The Economist about Carlo Acutis, who is set to be made the first “millennial saint” on Apr. 27, 2025.
Links for further reading:
Kerry Alys Robinson, president and CEO of Catholic Charities USA, to receive 2025 Laetare Medal
Catholic Charities USA: Working to Reduce Poverty in America
Supreme Court seems likely to side with Catholic Charities in religious-rights case
The secret life of the first millennial saint
Zac’s NYC marathon Catholic Charities fundraiser
You can follow us on X and on Instagram @jesuiticalshow.
You can find us on Facebook at facebook.com/groups/jesuitical.
Please consider supporting Jesuitical by becoming a digital subscriber to America magazine at americamagazine.org/subscribe
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
--------
1:10:27
A deep dive into the (slightly creepy) world of Catholic relics
Joining Zac and Ashley on this episode of “Jesuitical” recorded in Douglaston, N.Y., is Msgr. Robert Sarno, a priest of the Diocese of Brooklyn and a former official of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints. With 38 years of experience in overseeing the process of canonization and beatification of saints, Monsignor Sarno offers a deep dive into the world of Catholic relics, including their history, hierarchy and controversy.
Zac, Ashley and Monsignor Sarno discuss:
- How the devotion to relics began in the early Catholic Church and evolved over time
- The distinction between first-class, second-class and third-class relics
- Contemporary issues with the misuse and trafficking of relics
Links for further reading:
Why every Catholic church altar has a relic inside it
How are saints made in the Catholic Church? Inside the long, complicated and expensive process
St. Thomas Aquinas’ skull went on tour. Here’s what the medieval saint would have said about its veneration
I’ve always loved relics. After my cancer diagnosis, they mean even more to me.
I wear a third-degree relic every day. It reminds me that all things are possible through God.
What to make of holy relics
You can follow us on X and on Instagram @jesuiticalshow.
You can find us on Facebook at facebook.com/groups/jesuitical.
Please consider supporting Jesuitical by becoming a digital subscriber to America Media at americamagazine.org/subscribe
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
--------
1:03:18
Indulgences 101: The history of a controversial Catholic practice
On this Jubilee Year of Hope-themed episode of “Jesuitical,” Zac and Ashley chat with Father Ramil Fajardo, a tribunal judge in the Archdiocese of Chicago, about indulgences: What are they? Where did they come from? And how are they practiced today?
Zac, Ashley and Father Ramil discuss:
- The evolution of indulgences, from the early church through the Protestant Reformation to today
- The four current grants of indulgences, which involve acts of faith, charity, penance and witness
- How to approach indulgences during the current Jubilee Year of Hope
In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley discuss a recent announcement from Buckingham Palace that King Charles II and Queen Camilla will be received in a Vatican audience by Pope Francis on April 8; and describe the busy lives of nuns working the Vatican switchboard to soothe anxious callers asking about Pope Francis’ health.
Jesuitical is coming to Philadelphia! Join the Jesuitical team in Philadelphia for a Holy & Happy Hour at the National Shrine of St. Rita of Cascia. OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!
Topic: How to talk to your friends about your faith
Date: Tuesday, March 25, 2025
Location: 1166 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19146
Time: 6 p.m. adoration of the Blessed Sacrament; 7 p.m. group faith sharing and happy hour (come to either or both!)
Links for further reading:
Vatican norms for Jubilee indulgence include pilgrimage, penance, service
The Key Of Heaven: A Prayer Book for Catholics
Manual of Indulgences
The Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius
Breaking: Pope Francis will receive King Charles III and Queen Camilla in audience in the Vatican on April 8
At the Vatican switchboard, nuns soothe anxious callers about Pope Francis
You can follow us on X and on Instagram @jesuiticalshow.
You can find us on Facebook at facebook.com/groups/jesuitical.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
--------
51:50
A Catholic neuroscientist explains your brain on religion
On “Jesuitical” this week, Zac and Ashley chat with Sofia Carozza, a developmental neuroscientist working in research and a co-host of “The Pilgrim Soul,” a Catholic podcast about the journey of faith in the modern world. Sofia is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Human Network Initiative at Harvard Medical School, where she uses computational modelling to study the role of the early-life environment in the development of the human brain.
Zac, Ashley and Sofia discuss:
- The brain as a “relational organ” linking body and spirit
- The neuroscientific response to the question, “What does it mean to be human?”
- Sofia’s experience as a person of faith in a “secular field”
- Digital technology’s effects on our brains (and faith)
In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley give an update on Pope Francis’ health after doctors lifted their “guarded prognosis,” meaning they no longer believe the pope is in imminent danger; next they discuss the lowering the standard age for confirmation in the Archdiocese of Baltimore to 9.
Jesuitical is coming to Philadelphia! Join the Jesuitical team in Philadelphia for a Holy & Happy Hour at the National Shrine of St. Rita of Cascia. OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!
Topic: How to talk to your friends about your faith
Date: Tuesday, March 25, 2025
Location: 1166 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19146
Time: 6:00pm adoration of the Blessed Sacrament; 7:00pm group faith sharing and happy hour
Links for further reading:
“The Pilgrim Soul: A Catholic Podcast”
“An Appraisal of the Neuroscientific Revolution’s Promise of New Theological Horizons” by Sofia Carozza
The Religious Sense by Luigi Giussani
“The Faith of Fr. Luigi Giussani”
Chest X-ray confirms improvements in Pope Francis’ condition
Pope Francis is out of imminent danger. What’s next?
Confirmation age lowered to 9 years old in Archdiocese of Baltimore
You can follow us on X and on Instagram @jesuiticalshow.
You can find us on Facebook at facebook.com/groups/jesuitical.
Please consider supporting Jesuitical by becoming a digital subscriber to America Media at americamagazine.org/subscribe
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
--------
59:53
Trump’s clashes with the Catholic Church, Pope health update and history of the Lenten Rice Bowl
On “Jesuitical” this week, Zac and Ashley chat with Kim Daniels, the director of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown University. Kim is a member of the Vatican Dicastery for Communication, and served in the 2021-24 Synod on Synodality as an expert participant, as a member of the Synod Communications Commission, and as the coordinator of one of the 10 major Synod study groups, which focused on the church’s mission in the digital environment.
Zac, Ashley and Kim discuss:
- How the Catholic Church is responding to the Trump administration’s cuts to USAID
- Kim’s vision for implementing Catholic social teaching in the digital age
- How the church and government partner to serve communities, including some myth-busting about where funds go and how they’re used
In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley are joined by Bill O’Keefe, the executive vice president for mission, mobilization and advocacy at Catholic Relief Services, to discuss the 50th anniversary of C.R.S. Rice Bowl—an ecumenical response to the problem of world hunger. Plus: an update on Pope Francis’ health, and the Trump administration terminates the U.S. bishops’ refugee resettlement contract.
Links for further reading:
Trump administration terminates US bishops’ refugee resettlement contract
I led Catholic Relief Services. I’ve seen USAID projects change lives.
Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life
Pope Francis’ hospitalization: The complex picture, three weeks in
Former USCCB spokesperson Kim Daniels appointed to Vatican commission
The interfaith history of the C.R.S. Rice Bowl
The Mission of C.R.S. Rice Bowl
You can follow us on X and on Instagram @jesuiticalshow.
You can find us on Facebook at facebook.com/groups/jesuitical.
Please consider supporting Jesuitical by becoming a digital subscriber to America Media at americamagazine.org/subscribe
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Welcome to Jesuitical, a podcast for young Catholics hosted by two young, lay editors at America—Zac Davis and Ashley McKinless. Each episode features a guest who offers a unique perspective on faith, culture or current events. We also bring you some of the top (and maybe more obscure) Catholic news of the week. And we'll ask: Where do we find God in all this?
Ireland