Church Meets World: The America Magazine Podcast

We have an exciting new podcast from America Media to share with you. It’s called “Preach: The Catholic Homilies Podcast.” On each episode listeners will first hear an inspiring homily, especially delivered for the podcast, and then take a privileged peek into the heart and mind of the preacher in a conversation with the host, Jesuit priest and America’s associate editor, Ricardo da Silva, S.J. Whether you’re a preacher looking for inspiration or a Catholic in the pews, who believes like Pope Francis, that Catholic homilies could use some work, I hope you’ll check out the Preach podcast! To give you a taste of the show, we’re sharing this week’s episode of Preach, featuring America’s editor in chief, Sam Sawyer, S.J. Listen to more episodes of Preach.

After the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan in 2021, thousands of Afghan refugees have been seeking a permanent home in the United States. This is the intimate family portrait of Ali, a child refugee since eleven years old, and his American foster parents, Mary and Mark Kaech. The episode is based on an article written for America Magazine by J.D. Long-García called Thousands of Afghan refugees fled to America in search of a new home. Too many are still waiting. Learn more about the Afghan Adjustment Act

Church Meets World is proud to share the latest podcast in the America Media family: Hark! The stories behind our favorite Christmas carols. Subscribe to the entire Hark! podcast series online, on apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. It is hard to imagine a midnight Mass on Christmas Eve without Silent Night. Musicians may treat it differently—singing it a cappella, with spare chords on the organ in the background, or to the gentle picking of a guitar as its creators intended—but it is universally cherished. Its basic three-chord structure makes it a cinch to play and its lilting rhythm is perfect to soothe a congregation and lull a baby to sleep—even to sing to a president breathing his last. But it has also been usurped for evil. Join host Maggi Van Dorn on this final episode of “Hark!” as she plumbs the historical and emotional depths of this Austria-born classic with Jesuit priest Ed Schmidt and Rusty McDermott, the songbird mother of another Jesuit. To pull apart the chords and arpeggios of Silent Night, we invited back Colin Britt, the composer and conductor we spoke to in episode three about “Hark! the herald angels sing.” Special thanks to the Liturgy Arts Group at Boston College, One Hope Project, Harpa Dei, Portsmouth Cathedral Choir; Portsmouth Grammar School Chamber Choir, Convivium Records and the Ignatian Schola for allowing us to play their recordings of Silent Night. To support the production of “Hark!” and to access other great Advent reflections from America Magazine staff, please subscribe at americamagazine.org/subscribe. Related articles: Ed Schmidt, S.J. : Is ‘Silent Night’ the greatest Christmas song ever?

What does it mean to be ruined for life? Join America’s summer intern Amelia Jarecke, as she follows three young women who have spent the last year serving in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. They wrestle with lots of challenges, like: How do you live on a $100 month? Can you live simply and gluten-free without breaking the bank? How do you reconcile being Catholic and bisexual? What happens when your prayer life dries up? And what does it mean to take the Pedro Arrupe prayer seriously- and let your love for the world define everything? Related links: Jesuit Volunteers Corps

Three years ago, a Pennsylvania Grand Jury report described in graphic detail the abuse of over 1,000 minors at the hands of more than 300 priests. Then, Theodare McCarrick, an influential cardinal in the American Church, was found credibly accused of abusing minors and adult seminarians. For survivors, the news was painful, yet validating. How did this second wave of scandal–the news of both abuse and cover up–affect the Catholic faithful more broadly? What do they believe caused the crisis? Did the Grand Jury report and news about McCarrick impact their faith and affiliation with the Catholic Church? Maggi Van Dorn, the host of the Deliver Us podcast, unpacks a new and ground-breaking survey conducted by America magazine and CARA in the latest episode of the “Church Meets World” podcast. *Audio correction: Only 33 percent of respondents said their parish actually helped them process the sex abuse crisis. The word “percent” was mistakenly omitted from the original file. Related articles: Editorial: How you see the sexual abuse crisis Three years after the 2018 ‘summer of shame,’ what do American Catholics think about the sex abuse crisis? AWAKE Milwaukee Related episodes from the Deliver Us podcast: Episode 2: How’s Your Celibate Life Going? What is the cause of the sexual abuse crisis? Does it happen more in the Catholic church than other institutions? Episode 4: Are the reforms working? How has the Catholic Church dealt with the abuse crisis?

As the world went into lockdown, the residents at Terence Cardinal Cooke–a Catholic nursing home and rehabilitation center run by the Archdiocese of New York–did too. Many seniors required long-term care while others had only expected to stay for a short period of recovery. The pandemic changed everyone’s experience. Ricardo da Silva, S.J., an associate editor at America, takes us through the center to hear from the residents who not only survived Covid but persevered through a year of extreme isolation from family, friends and loved ones. Hear their stories and where they were able to find what their chaplain, Juan Toro, calls “the memory of God.”

In a time when so much has been lost, what does it mean to grieve well? In this episode, America’s audio producer, Maggi Van Dorn, turns the mic on herself to capture a more intimate side of a subject that is already pretty personal- the experience of grief. To help her unpack this strange and unpredictable force, she turns to friends and people whose lives have also been visited by grief. Support this podcast by subscribing to America! Related Links: Ben Perry: Crying as a spiritual discipline may change how you see the world Liz Hauck: Home Made: A Story of Grief, Groceries, Showing Up & What We Make When We Make Dinner. Britt Luby: I felt alone after my miscarriage. Then other women (like Meghan Markle) began sharing their stories. How to celebrate with the graduate in your life who is grieving the loss of a loved one Fr. Richard Leonard, S.J.: Where the Hell Is God?

In 1838, to save itself from financial ruin, the Jesuits at Georgetown University sold 272 enslaved persons. It’s a shameful piece of history and one that the Jesuits are reckoning with like many other communities and institutions today. But the bill of sale that has been recently recovered has enabled thousands of descendants to discover their ancestry and reunite for a better future. And the Jesuits have pledged $100 million to a partnership with those descendants called, the Descendants Truth & Reconciliation Foundation. And while this marks one of the largest collaborations of its kind - that is between a group of descendants and a religious institution - it’s not just about the money. It’s about reconciliation and transformation- much deeper work. This episode is based on an article written by J.D. Long Garcia called The Jesuits have pledged to raise $100 million to advance racial healing. But reconciliation is about more than money. Georgetown University’s Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life is offering an online dialogue, Owning Slavery, Pursuing Justice, Seeking Reconciliation: Lessons from Georgetown and the U.S. Jesuits on Thursday, April 29, 2021 at 12:30 p.m. EDT. You can RSVP to join or watch the recording here.

Should college athletes get paid? That’s the question we’re exploring in today’s episode of Church Meets World. It was written, produced and narrated by Kevin Jackson and based on a feature he wrote last year called, “Should colleges pay their athletes? What Catholic social teaching has to say.” This episode of Church Meets World is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus. Sign up for The Great Courses Plus and get an entire month of unlimited access to thousands of video and audio courses from the world’s best professors by visiting http://thegreatcoursesplus.com/cmw

America's poetry editor Joe Hoover S.J. sits down with Ohio's first poet laureate Amit Majmudar to talk about his poem "Year of the Rat." They discuss the unforgettable year that was 2020, writing during Covid, and mystical parallels between Catholicism and Hinduism. Read 'The Year of the Rat' here.

Riana decided to run away from home after getting into an argument with her mother for missing curfew. It was cold and nighttime. She had nowhere to go. Looking for help, she reached out to an older man who had given her his phone number earlier that day... Isabelle Senechal narrates the harrowing story of Riana, a young woman who was manipulated and coerced by a violent sex trafficker. The booming industry is largely hidden, but some faith-based anti-trafficking initiatives are making progress by tracking the digital footprints of traffickers using the most advanced data science to recommend policy solutions. Links from the show: How some researchers are using data science to fight sex trafficking Learn more about America's Joseph A. O’Hare, S.J., Postgraduate Media Fellowship

On January 6th, 2021, a violent mob, incited by President Trump, stormed the US Capitol. They were there to disrupt Congress as it was certifying the election of Joe Biden. The mob overwhelmed the capitol police and made their way into the offices and chambers, as elected officials ran for safety. In conversation with Fr. Matt Malone, America’s Editor in Chief, Fr. Bryan Massingale says the insurrection was a direct result of four years of lies from Donald Trump. This interview first aired as a video on America Media’s YouTube channel and has been reformatted for podcast with additional commentary from Sebastian Gomes and Maggi Van Dorn. Support this podcast by subscribing at Americamagazine.org/subscribe. Links from the show: Fr. Bryan Massingale’s article: The Racist Attack on Our Nation’s Capitol America’s Editorial: After the storming of the Capitol: We need accountability, repentance and a reckoning Watch Fr. Matt Malone, S.J. in conversation with Fr. Bryan Massingale: How to make spiritual sense of the attack on the Capitol

Is your relationship with work undermining all the other goods in your life? If so, you might have what Jonathan Malesic calls a “demonic work ethic.” He’s not alone in saying so. After years of academic burnout, Jonathan made a trip to the Christ in the Desert monastery, where the Benedictine monks helped him rediscover the sacred rhythms of work and rest. Everyone from Thomas Aquinas to Annie Dillard has written about the importance of leisure, and yet, Catholic Ethicist Conor Kelly says that for most of us, our fast-paced, capitalist culture makes free time an afterthought. And we certainly don’t have federal laws like family leave or paid time off to support an ethic of leisure. So how do we make the most of our time? What’s the best recreation for your soul? And why must we see free time not as a luxury, but a necessity for the Christian moral life? Links from the show: The streaming era ruined our free time. Is it too late to reclaim it? Why we need a new theology of work

On January 20, 2021, President-elect Joe Biden will make history in several ways: He received over 74 million votes, surpassing any presidential candidate in history. Biden is the oldest person and only the second Catholic to become president. And his running mate, Kamala Harris, is the first woman and first woman of color to hold the office of the Vice President. But beyond the polls, numbers and issues, Biden’s Catholic faith has become a subject of great interest. So we’re sharing an interview from 2015 that America Media’s editor-in-chief Fr. Matt Malone did with then Vice President Joe Biden. It was conducted just before Biden and President Obama hosted Pope Francis at the White House. It’s an intimate conversation about Biden’s faith, family and how tragic life experiences have shaped him personally. For ongoing coverage of politics and the presidential election visit americamag.org.

Just ahead of the election we're sharing the Voting Catholic podcast. To hear the full series, just search "Voting Catholic" wherever you get your podcasts! Voting Catholic Episode 1: "What Happened to the Catholic Vote?" A survey of the evolution of the Catholic vote from the election of JFK in 1960 to the election of Donald Trump. Show links: 8 facts about Catholics and politics in the U.S. US Bishops teaching document on the political responsibility of Catholics: "Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship" Stay up-to-date with America Media's coverage of the 2020 election: www.americamagazine.org/newsletters You can support this media ministry at www.americamagazine.org/donate

On the anniversary of Emmitt Till’s murder on August 28, 1955, we reflect on the present day killing of George Floyd and the litany of Black Americans who have been crucified by racial injustice. In both, we witness how Floyd’s cry for his mama and Mamie Till Mobley’s public outcry at her son’s murder, turns private suffering into a public sin and catalyst for justice. This episode was adapted from an America Magazine article written by Abraham Nussbaum, which you can read at: https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2020/08/06/emmett-till-george-floyd-black-deaths-racism Thanks to Oregon Catholic Press for the use of John Becker’s “Litany of the Saints.” Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 2010, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. All rights reserved.

Written and narrated by one of America's executive editors, Kerry Weber, the following coronavirus prayer is a reminder of God’s healing presence in a time of great fear and anxiety. Please pray along with us in the language of your choice: A Coronavirus Prayer - In English A Printable Version of "A Coronavirus Prayer" in English Una Oracion por el Coronavirus - En Español Une priere pour le coronavirus - En Francais Una Preghiera per il Coronavirus - In Italiano

In "Plague" journalist Michael O'Loughlin investigates stories of the AIDS epidemic and the Catholic Church. Mike is America’s national correspondent and he’s covered Catholicism for more than a decade. Mike is also gay and Catholic—and he’s curious how others manage this sometimes complex identity. No time in modern history has been more volatile for gay Catholics than the height of the AIDS epidemic. So he spent the last few years interviewing people who were right in the middle of it. People who fought, worked and grieved through it. Episode 1 will be available on World AIDS Day, December 1, wherever you get your podcasts. Find out more at www.americamag.org/plague

America This Week This is the series finale of "America This Week." Our guest is John W. Miller. We discuss his article "The opioid crisis demands a new solution. Churches are hoping to be part of it." We also discuss these articles: Social media reinforces clean divisions, but reality is messy. The threat of a climate catastrophe is here. Will U.S. Catholics heed the call? Detroit Catholic schools and parishes to stop all sports on Sunday

This week's guest is Anna Keating. We discuss her article “Why Evangelical megachurches are embracing (some) Catholic traditions.” We also discuss these articles: Pope Francis tells women religious church cannot alter revelation on women’s diaconate Pope Francis’ almsgiver restores power (illegally) to homeless shelter in Italy How Mary can be a bridge between Christians and Muslims Can Christianity in northern Iraq survive after ISIS?