Jesuitical

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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This week on “Jesuitical,” Zac and Ashley speak with Mary Kate Polanin, the executive editor of The Good Newsroom, the digital news outlet of the Archdiocese of New York. They discuss the important and changing role of diocesan communications, Catholics in the digital space and New York’s new archbishop.

In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley discuss Pope Leo’s surprising and historic choice to lead the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication and dig into the advice “Magnifica Humanitas” offers to each of us when it comes to navigating our relationship with A.I. Plus: Pope Leo heads to Spain on Saturday—and Bad Bunny is hoping they cross paths. 

Links from the show:

Pope Leo appoints president of EWTN News as head of Vatican communications

America’s coverage of “Magnifica Humanitas”

Bad Bunny wants to meet Pope Leo XIV. In Madrid, a crossover event is in the works.

The Good Newsroom

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On this bonus episode of “Jesuitical,” Ashley and Zac speak with two digital evangelization experts who helped create the Vatican’s study group report on the digital environment as part of the Synod on Synodality. Kim Daniels directs the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown University, and José Manuel de Urquidi runs the Evangelization Lab. Both were synod delegates, along with then-Cardinal Robert Prevost (the future Pope Leo XIV), at the global sessions of the synod in Rome in 2023 and 2024. 

They discuss:

00:00 What are the Synod Study Groups?

7:10 How Pope Leo has shaped synodality

15:16 How influencers challenge church jurisdiction

28:30 Accompanying digital evangelizers

33:40 Converting to real communities

Links:

Study Group 3’s final report on the Digital Environment

The Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life

Evangelization Lab

Coverage of Pope Leo’s encyclical “Magnifica Humanitas”

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This week on Jesuitical: A feed drop of this week's special “Inside the Vatican” roundtable, a discussion of “Magnifica Humanitas,” Pope Leo’s groundbreaking first encyclical on protecting the human person in the age of artificial intelligence. Host Colleen Dulle sits down with her co-host and senior Vatican correspondent, Gerard O’Connell, as well as America’s president and editor in chief, Sam Sawyer, S.J.

They discuss the document’s key takeaways, how it is being received in Silicon Valley, Pope Leo’s challenge for every Catholic in the A.I. age and much more. 

Chapters:


0:00 Intro


1:11 Pope Leo present for the launch of his own encyclical


4:21 How the encyclical is being received by the tech community


8:43 Magnifica Humanitas on the growth of Catholic social teaching


13:16 Acknowledging the Church’s role in slavery


15:53 Exploring Pope Leo’s ecclesiology


22:30 Leo’s concrete recommendations for A.I.


32:30 How lay people can deal with A.I.


37:40 Outro

Links:


Read “Magnifica Humanitas”


Pope Leo’s first encyclical tackles A.I., power and human dignity


Pope Leo XIV makes historic apology for the Catholic Church’s role in legitimizing slavery


Why Pope Leo’s new encyclical quotes Gandalf: Literary images of hope and faith in ‘Magnifica Humanitas’


A capitalist (priest) reads ‘Magnifica Humanitas’

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