Jesuitical

On this week’s episode of “Jesuitical,” Zac Davis and Sebastian Gomes speak with America’s President and Editor in Chief, Sam Sawyer, S.J. to discuss the impact that U.S. bishops are having on politics, AI, and more. Bishops are speaking out against war, mass deportations, the death penalty and racism, and their voices are breaking through. In this episode, Zac, Sebastian and Sam talk about why they’re having a moment, the influence of Pope Leo, and the opportunities for shaping the future of A.I.

Chapters:

00:00 Growing influence of Bishops on US politics

04:35 Opposing mass deportation

10:30 Engaging with the Trump Administration

14:05 Bishops are finding new ways to talk about issues

18:00 The influence of Pope Leo

22:43 Where Bishops stand on A.I.

29:54 How U.S. Bishops can implement Magnifica humanitas

32:55 Opportunities around A.I.

Links:

The U.S. bishops are speaking out forcefully on politics—and finally being heard

Top US bishop writes letter to Trump urging end to mass deportations of Haitians

Why are there so few African American bishops? ‘The short answer is racism’ says Bishop Boxie

Bishop Olson on racism

US bishops form new task force over AI concerns, meet with tech leaders

Pope Francis to U.S. Catholic bishops: Oppose mass deportations

Analysis: The U.S. bishops showed their unity on behalf of immigrants—and may have repaired their relationship to Rome

Artificial Intelligence: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

USCCB Positions on Artificial Intelligence

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Schisms don’t happen often in the Catholic Church. Which makes Pope Leo’s recent excommunication of the Society of Saint Pius X big news. This week on Jesuitical, hosts Zac and Ashley speak to Shaun Blanchard, Senior Lecturer in Theology at the University of Notre Dame Australia, about the history of the SSPX, their illicit decision to ordain new bishops, and what their excommunication means for more traditional groups within the Catholic Church.

Chapters:

00:00 Why we're talking about the SSPX

01:42 Why the SSPX was excommunicated

04:55 Why Archbishop Lefebvre rejected Vatican II

9:38 Lefebvre's problem with religious liberty

14:20 Was this a debate over liturgy?

18:00 Ordaining bishops crosses a line

21:33 How 17th c. Jansenism illuminates the crisis

28:45 Restricting the traditional Latin Mass

35:05 How excommunication works

38:52 Implications for the traditional Latin Mass

47:16 There's no going back on Vatican II

49:48 Learning to appreciate Vatican II

Links:

Vatican declares excommunicated SSPX bishops, warns priests and lay faithful of schism

Analysis: SSPX excommunications show what Pope Leo means by church ‘unity’

After SSPX excommunications, traditionalist Catholics face a difficult choice

5 years after Pope Francis’ Latin Mass restrictions, traditionalist Catholics reflect on ‘Traditionis Custodes’

After SSPX schism, some Catholics urge greater access to the older Latin Mass

Latin Mass, schism and cardinals in the media: The liturgy wars are back (and never really left)

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When President Trump took to Truth Social earlier this year and attacked Pope Leo for being “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy,” most Catholics were understandably shocked. But a clash between a secular leader and the bishop of Rome is hardly without precedent. This week on “Jesuitical,” hosts Zac Davis and Ashley McKinless talk with Miles Pattendens, an expert on popes and papal conclaves, about the long and quirky history of feuds between popes and politicians.

In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley discuss the Vatican rejection of a request from the German bishops to allow lay people to preach the homily at Mass. Plus, a look ahead at Pope Leo’s summer plans.

And in As One Friends Speak to Another, America Media’s O’Hare fellows—Brigid McCabe, Ed Desciak and Will Gualitiere—share some spiritual insights from a year working at the intersection of the church and the world.

Jesuitical listener survey

00:00 Context
2:47 Vatican says "no" to women preaching
12:07 Pope Leo's summer schedule
16:05 History of Catholic authority
19:46 The investiture controversy
26:03 Pastoral concern or power grabs?
34:27 Henry VIII vs. Popes
39:20 How the church lost power
43:10 Moral authority on the global stage
52:00 Donald Trump's attacks on Pope Leo
1:00:10 Fill out our listener survey! https://forms.gle/yggZcBKeXYKbWYpM7
1:01:12 Faith sharing with our Fellows!

Learn about America Magazine's Joseph A. O’Hare, S.J., Postgraduate Media Fellowship: https://www.americamagazine.org/ohare-fellows

Jesuitical listener survey: https://forms.gle/yggZcBKeXYKbWYpM7

Links:

Vatican to German bishops: No lay people preaching homilies at Mass

Extraordinary consistory signals Pope Leo’s push to work with cardinals on global challenges

Pope Leo speaks out on SSPX ordinations and U.S.-Iran deal

Pope Leo to accept Liberty Medal and address Americans on July 3

Electing the Pope in Early Modern Italy, 1450-1700

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This week on “Jesuitical,” Zac and Ashley sit down with Luke Burgis, the director of the Cluny Institute at The Catholic University of America and the author of The One and the Ninety-Nine: Forging Identity in the Age of Social Contagion. They discuss why we join and leave tribes, how to form a “solid” self and what healthy group identity looks like.

In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley discuss Vice President JD Vance’s new memoir on converting to Catholicism, the consecration of the United States to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and new statutes for the Vatican’s commission for the protection of minors. Plus, Pope Leo wraps up his successful trip to Spain on the Canary Islands—but has some trouble getting off them.

And in As One Friend Speaks to Another, Zac shares what he’s thinking about going into his very first Father’s Day.

0:00 Intro
3:30 J.D. Vance’s new book “Communion”
9:36 U.S. bishops meet for annual meeting in Orlando
19:44 Pope Leo finishes Spain trip
21:39 Papal plane trouble
24:25 Interview with Luke Burgis
25:52 The parable of the lost sheep
31:16 The age of social contagion
33:56 What Luke learned in seminary
38:05 Is your community good for you?
42:27 People respond to aesthetics
46:30 The importance of distance
48:46 The Catholic Church is unique as a community
57:20 What is the Cluny Institute?
1:02:25 What about AI?
1:05:24 Canonization
1:08:07 As One Friend Speaks to Another

Links:

The One and the Ninety-Nine: Forging Identity in the Age of Social Contagion

Learn more about the Cluny Institute

JD Vance writes about his journey to Catholicism in his new book, ‘Communion’

Consecration 101: What the bishops’ upcoming consecration of the US to the Sacred Heart means

Pope Leo XIV approves new statutes for child protection commission

Pope Leo ends visit to Spain with a call to repent

What’s on tap?

Sancerre

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This week on “Jesuitical”, Ashley McKinless and Zac Davis talk to Dianne Bergant, C.S.A., who taught Scripture at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago for 44 years. She also served as America’s Word columnist from 2002 to 2005. During her time at CTU, Sr. Dianne had one very famous student, Robert Prevost—the future Pope Leo XIV. With Sr. Dianne, Zac and Ashley discuss what it’s like to be the teacher of a future pope and how approaches to teaching Scripture have evolved over time.

During Signs of the Times, Ashley and Zac unpack Pope Leo’s trip to Spain and a new Sagrada Familia Lego Set, and they talk sports with Catholic perspectives on the World Cup and NBA Finals—featuring some words from O’Hare Fellow Ed Desciak.

In “As One Friend Speaks to Another,” Ashley shares an exciting announcement.

Links from the show:

Pope Leo defends the unborn and migrants in historic speech to Spanish parliament

More than one million attend Pope Leo’s Mass and procession in the heart of Madrid

Pope Leo meets Bad Bunny in Madrid

In Spain, Pope Leo denounces polarization and hails commitment to multilateralism

Lego announces new set designed after Spain’s Sagrada Família basilica

Oligarchs can’t ruin the World Cup

Celebrating faith and FIFA: Italian-American community welcomes soccer legends

Your Catholic Guide to the 2026 N.B.A. Finals: Spurs Sisters vs. Villanova Knicks

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