Pope Leo in Lebanon and Catholics in the Middle East
This week on “Jesuitical,” Ashley and Zac chat with Daniel Corrou, S.J. Father Corrou is a Jesuit priest from the USA East Province who is currently the regional director of Jesuit Refugee Service Middle East & North Africa. Father Corrou lives and works in Lebanon, where Pope Leo XIV will visit from November 30 to December 2, 2025.
Ashley, Zac and Father Corrou talk about:
- The significance of Pope Leo choosing Lebanon for one of his first papal visits
- Lebanon’s complex socio-political and religious context
- How the region has been affected by U.S. foreign aid cuts
In Signs of the Times, Ashley and Zac discuss the biggest news to come out of the U.S.C.C.B. fall meeting, held last week in Baltimore: the election of a new president and a “special message” on immigration.
In As One Friend Speaks to Another, Ashley and Zac try to find God in a board meeting.
Links for further reading:
- Support Father Corrou’s work at the Jesuit Refugee Service
- Analysis: The U.S. bishops showed their unity on behalf of immigrants—and may have repaired their relationship to Rome
- U.S. bishops release rare message on Trump’s immigration crackdown in show of ‘fundamental unity
- New USCCB president Coakley talks immigration, Viganò criticism and Pope Leo
- Archbishop Coakley, Bishop Flores elected president and vice president of USCCB
- Pope Leo backs U.S. bishops in opposing Trump’s immigration crackdown
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These Catholic Sisters are on a mission to serve spiritual abuse survivors
This week on an interview-only episode of “Jesuitical,” Ashley and Zac speak with Sister Theresa Aletheia and Sister Danielle Victoria, founding members of the Sisters of the Little Way, a private association of the faithful intending to become a religious institute, who live a mission of listening and solidarity with people who have been hurt by the church.
Ashley, Zac and the sisters talk about:
- The ins and outs of starting a religious order
- The important and complicated mission of helping abuse survivors
- Crises of faith from abuse and how to overcome them
Links for further reading:
Sisters of the Little Way website
Descent Into Light Podcast
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Meet John Henry Newman, the church's newest doctor
This week on “Jesuitical,” Ashley and Zac chat with Chris Cimorelli. Chris is the director of the National Institute for Newman Studies and the editor of the Newman Studies Journal, and an expert on St. John Henry Cardinal Newman, the newest doctor of the church.
Ashley, Zac and Chris talk about:
- Newman’s journey from Anglicanism to the Church of Rome
- Newman’s many (and lasting) contributions to Catholic thought
- Why Catholics of every theological stripe love Newman
In Signs of the Times, Ashley and Zac discuss Pope Leo’s recent comments on the importance of providing pastoral care to migrants being held in detention centers throughout the United States. They also look at Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia basilica becoming the world’s tallest church last week.
Finally, they unpack the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith’s new document on the proper titles for the Virgin Mary.
In As One Friend Speaks to Another, Ashley and Zac speak to Simcha Fischer about her recent article for America: “JD Vance’s immigration comments are an insult to our Catholic faith.”
Links for further reading:
National Institute for Newman Studies
Pope Leo’s homily declaring St. John Henry Newman a doctor of the church
St. John Henry Newman’s unique approach to conscience
Pope Leo declares St. John Henry Newman a doctor of the church and co-patron of Catholic education
National Institute for Newman Studies
Pope Leo says ICE should allow ‘pastoral workers’ to bring detained migrants Communion
Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia becomes the world’s tallest church
Vatican officially says no to controversial titles for Mary: ‘Co-redemptrix’ and ‘Mediatrix of all Graces’
JD Vance’s immigration comments are an insult to our Catholic faith
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1:14:35
Dragons, plagues and Christ's return: The Book of Revelation, explained
This week on a special Halloween episode of “Jesuitical,” Ashley and Zac speak with Micah Kiel, a professor of New Testament at Saint John’s School of Theology and Seminary in Collegeville, Minn., where he teaches a class called “Apocalypse-mania.” Micah is also the author of Apocalyptic Ecology: The Book of Revelation, the Earth, and the Future.
Ashley, Zac and Micah discuss:
- How Catholics should read the Book of Revelation
- Where our obsession with the apocalypse comes from
- Revelation’s (violent) critique of empire
In Signs of the Times, Ashley and Zac discuss King Charles’s monumental visit to the Vatican, Cardinal Burke saying the Latin liturgy in St. Peter’s Basilica and Pete Hegseth’s decision to retain awards for soldiers who massacred hundreds of Indigenous civilians at Wounded Knee in the late 19th century.
In “As One Friend Speaks to Another,” Ashley and Zac speak to Jackson Goodman, strategic program manager at America, about his and Zac’s upcoming participation in the New York City Marathon.
Links for further reading:
Pope Leo and King Charles make history with first-ever joint prayer service in Sistine Chapel
Cardinal Burke celebrates traditional Latin Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica
Analysis: Why is Pope Leo letting Cardinal Burke say the Latin Mass at the Vatican?
Bishop, Jesuits reject Hegseth decision to honor soldiers who massacred Lakota at Wounded Knee
Support Cristo Rey New York High School
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You can find us on Facebook at facebook.com/groups/jesuitical
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Catholics vs. ICE’s immigration crackdown
This week on “Jesuitical,” Ashley and Zac talk to Brendan Curran, O.P., a Dominican priest who leads interfaith partnerships at the Resurrection Project and serves on the International Dominican Commission for Justice and Peace.
Links for further reading:
The International Dominican Commission for Justice and Peace website
The Resurrection Project website
Chicago Catholics confront ICE, fear and protests to protect migrants’ dignity, religious rights
1,200-year-old loaf of bread with image of Christ unearthed in astonishing find
After altar wine becomes popular in bars, Kenya's Catholic bishops order proprietary brand
Archbishop Broglio: Army’s cancellation of religious support contracts harms Catholics
U.S. Army says religious support contracts to be ‘reexamined’ after Archbishop Broglio objects to their cancellation
You can follow us on X and on Instagram @jesuiticalshow.
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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