Church Life Today

Leonard DeLorenzo is joined today by Dr. John Cavadini, Director of the McGrath Institute for Church Life and professor of theology at Notre Dame. He's here to talk with us about the tradition of Marian Processions and May Crownings, because he and the McGrath Institute are hosting one that you're invited to next Saturday, May 4th at 10:30 a.m. beginning at Notre Dame's Grotto. ------RESOURCESNotre Dame’s May Crowning information – www.mcgrath.nd.edu/maycrowning. ------Live: www.redeemerradio.comFollow Redeemer Radio on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram:@RedeemerRadioFollow McGrath Institute for Church Life on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram:@McGrathNDSubscribe to the Podcast:iTunes | Google Play | SoundCloudChurch Life Today is a partnership between the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame and OSV Podcasts from Our Sunday Visitor. Discover more ways to live, learn, and love your Catholic faith at osvpodcasts.com. Sharing stories, starting conversations.

Our guest today is Obianuju Ekeocha: founder and president of Culture of Life Africa, an initiative dedicated to the promotion and defense of the African values of the sanctity of life, beauty of marriage, blessings of motherhood and the dignity of family life. Ekeocha is the author of “Target Africa: Ideological Neo-colonialism of the Twenty-first Century.” She has spoken before the United Nations & the Canadian Parliament. She’s also appeared on the BBC’s “Focus on Africa.” A practicing biomedical scientist, Ekeocha holds a Masters degree in biomedical science from the University of East London and a Bachelors degree in microbiology from the University of Nigeria. In March 2019 she delivered the annual human dignity lecture for the Office of Life and Human Dignity in our own McGrath Institute for Church Life. The title “The Primacy of Reproductive Health and Rights and the Rise of Ideological Neo-colonialism.” You can find the video of that lecture at mcgrath.nd.edu/life.------RESOURCES2019 Human Dignit

As I mentioned several weeks ago on this show, each year, the McGrath Institute for Church Life hosts a lecture series that runs through Lent and Easter, which invites people everywhere to join in a communal reading of a spiritual work for the liturgical seasons. For this year’s series, we are focusing on C. S. Lewis’s beloved children’s stories, The Chronicles of Narnia. I’m so pleased to welcome today one of our lecturers to this series, Rev. Dr. Michael Ward, who is as of last year a Catholic priest and who comes to us from the University of Oxford, where he is senior research fellow in Blackfriars Hall and Associate Member of the Faculty of Theology and Religion. Fr. Ward is the author or editor of several books, including “Heresies and How to Avoid Them”, “The Cambridge Companion to C.S. Lewis”, and “The Narnia Code: C.S. Lewis and the Secret of the Seven Heavens”, which was made into a one-hour documentary by the BBC. But it was of another of his books that Walter Hooper, the esteemed literary adviser t

In late February, Pope Francis called the heads of the national conference of bishops from around the world to the Vatican to address the sexual abuse and leadership crisis wracking the church and the faithful. From this side of news reports, it is something hard to know what really happened and what comes next. So we invited someone who was there to join us today to help us learn more. Kim Daniels is the associate director of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life, at Georgetown University. She is also a Member of the Vatican Dicastery for Communication, to which she was appointed in 2016 by Pope Francis. She joins us today to talk about the meeting in February, about reform in the church and what we can look for in terms of next steps.------Live: www.redeemerradio.comFollow Redeemer Radio on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram:@RedeemerRadioFollow McGrath Institute for Church Life on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram:@McGrathNDSubscribe to the Podcast:iTunes | Google Play | SoundCloudChurch Life Today is

We welcome Sarah Shutrop, Director of Campus Ministry at Immaculate Heart Academy in Bergen County, New Jersey. Sarah is a graduate of Rutgers University, where she studies English and Political Science, and she holds a masters degree in Theology from The University of Notre Dame. While there she focused on moral and systematic theology, she is here with us today to talk about what she is seeing in the young people she works within the High School setting, and to reflect on her mission as a Catholic campus minister at a rather prestigious Catholic High School.------Live: www.redeemerradio.comFollow Redeemer Radio on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram:@RedeemerRadioFollow McGrath Institute for Church Life on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram:@McGrathNDSubscribe to the Podcast:iTunes | Google Play | SoundCloudChurch Life Today is a partnership between the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame and OSV Podcasts from Our Sunday Visitor. Discover more ways to live, learn, and love your Catholic faith a

Can a time of crisis become a time of hope? Can we cultivate joy, not just after, but even in the midst of scandal? Can friendship teach us how to be authentically Christian, authentically human? Beginning from a place that we may not expect - a seminary. Joining us today to talk about a vision of education and formation of seminary that led to a new collaborative conference, is Dr. Eric Mabry. Maybry is an Assistant Professor of Systematic Theology, and department chair of Christ the King Seminary, in the Diocese of Buffalo. ------RESOURCESChrist the King Seminary - https://www.cks.edu/faculty-mabry------Live: www.redeemerradio.comFollow Redeemer Radio on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram:@RedeemerRadioFollow McGrath Institute for Church Life on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram:@McGrathNDSubscribe to the Podcast:iTunes | Google Play | SoundCloudChurch Life Today is a partnership between the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame and OSV Podcasts from Our Sunday Visitor. Discover more ways to li

Each year the McGrath Institute for Church Life hosts a lecture series that runs through Lent and Easter. Which invites people from everywhere to join in a communal reading of a spiritual work for the liturgical season. Two years ago, we focused on Donte’s Divine comedy, last year it was the book of Exodus, and this year it will be C.S. Lewis’ beloved children’s stories the Chronicles of Narnia.As with Dante and the book of Exodus, the Chronicles of Narnia can become an occasion for making a spiritual journey through these seasons. Allowing your imagination, and really your kids’ imaginations, to move in a land where renunciation and trust, belief and bravery, hope and longing, are all prime themes surrounding characters that we come to know and love.Practically speaking these books work well because if you begin reading the first book of the series in the week of Ash Wednesday, and read one book every two weeks, you’re going to finish the last book by Pentecost. So, it is really from Lent through Easter. Thi

We welcome John Carr, Director of the initiative on Catholic Social thought and public life at Georgetown University. He also serves as the Washington correspondent for America Magazine, and as an adjunct professor in Georgetown's Theology Department. For 20 years Mr. Carr was the Director of the Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Late last year Mr. Carr wrote an article in America names "Eight lessons to help us move forward from the sex abuse crisis". As the heads of all the Bishops' conferences from around the world meet at the Vatican soon to confront this crisis, we invited Mr. Carr to join us and offer us his insights, both about this crisis and in relation to its broader work in his initiative at Georgetown.------RESOURCESJohn Carr - Georgetown University - https://catholicsocialthought.georgetown.edu/people/john-carrJohn Carr - America Magazine - https://www.americamagazine.org/voices/john-carrEight lessons to hel

Samantha Povlock doesn't believe you have to choose between being Catholic and being a feminist. She's even got a popular blog to prove it. After earning degrees in In Theology and Business and now as a full-time working mom, Samantha launched FemCatholic. FemCatholic has been not so modest mission of working to promote truth about women in the Church and in the world. She'll talk with us her own vocation, her inspiration, her work, and her message. ------RESOURCESFemCatholic - http://www.femcatholic.com/------Live: www.redeemerradio.comFollow Redeemer Radio on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram:@RedeemerRadioFollow McGrath Institute for Church Life on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram:@McGrathNDSubscribe to the Podcast:iTunes | Google Play | SoundCloudChurch Life Today is a partnership between the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame and OSV Podcasts from Our Sunday Visitor. Discover more ways to live, learn, and love your Catholic faith at osvpodcasts.com. Sharing stories, start

It was Fyodor Dostoevsky who famously said "Beauty will save the world", but do we take time to notice beauty? Will we create beauty? Will we seek it? Our guest is deeply invested in seeing, creating and pursuing beauty. Joy Clarkson is a doctoral candidate in Theology and the arts at the University of St Andrews in the United Kingdom. She hosts a fantastic podcast called 'Speaking with Joy', and her first book, which she co-wrote with her mom and her sister, is due out soon. It is called 'Girls Club: cultivating lasting friendship in a lonely world'.------RESOURCESSpeaking with Joy podcast - https://joyclarkson.com/podcast/Girls Club: Cultivating Lasting Friendship in a Lonely World - https://www.amazon.com/dp/1496432150/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_I-WsCbETTVF0K ------Live: www.redeemerradio.comFollow Redeemer Radio on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram:@RedeemerRadioFollow McGrath Institute for Church Life on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram:@McGrathNDSubscribe to the Podcast:iTunes | Google Play

We welcome Chris White, national correspondent for Crux and The Tablet. In addition to his regular writing for those publications, Chris' work has also appeared in places like the Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, First Things and Forbes. As someone who covers news and trends in the Catholic Church, especially here in the United States, there have been many hard and troubling things that have become the focus of Chris' reporting. While it might seem inevitable for a reporter to continue to look at the darkest things in his coverage area, the articles that Chris publishes do show a wider verity. He has written recently on such topics as religious liberty in Australia, the 300 year Catholic history or New Orleans, and the importance of Art in the church. Show host, Leonard DeLorenzo, says that because today's conversation is going to focus on some of the more trying and troubling matters in the Church today, including Chris' three-part series on the less than amicable resignation of

"Morning Glory" is getting revamped so that it can be focused on more serious topics and less on the news. Then Lenny and Gloria chat about social justice in the church. Today’s guest, Gloria Purvis, has been working in the arena of social justice for many years and is currently co-host of Morning Glory on EWTN and a member of the Commission of Social Justice for the Black Catholic Congress. Today she and Lenny chat about racism, social justice, and the Catholic Church.------Live: www.redeemerradio.comFollow Redeemer Radio on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram:@RedeemerRadioFollow McGrath Institute for Church Life on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram:@McGrathNDSubscribe to the Podcast:iTunes | Google Play | SoundCloudChurch Life Today is a partnership between the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame and OSV Podcasts from Our Sunday Visitor. Discover more ways to live, learn, and love your Catholic faith at osvpodcasts.com. Sharing stories, starting conversations.

What is the mission of the laity in the Church and the world? How ought lay Catholics to be formed for that mission?These are questions for the whole church. Today’s guest, Fr. Michael Sweeney, has been working for decades to push these questions to the forefront. But, rather then just advocating for their importance, or merely thinking about them, he’s been doing things. Lots of things, including founding a new lay mission project in the Diocese of Sacramento. You may know Father Sweeney as the co-founder of the Catherine of Siena Institute, or President of the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, Where he served from 2004 – 2015.He joins show host, Leonard DeLorenzo, as part of a swing through the Midwest where he is traveling to give talks related to the laity and rebuilding the Church in a time of crisis. ------Live: www.redeemerradio.comFollow Redeemer Radio on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram:@RedeemerRadioFollow McGrath Institute for Church Life on Facebo

We need more leaders in the church. In fact we need the best leadership for The Church, but where will these leaders be found? And how will we prepare them for giving a creditable witness to the Gospel? These kind of questions are not foreign to Elise Italiano, Who serves as Executive Director ofThe Given Institute. Host, Leonard DeLorenzo talks with her about leadership in the Church, and the mission of her institute, which is dedicated to activating the gifts of young women for the Church and for the world. ------Resources: The Given Institute - https://giveninstitute.com/------Live: www.redeemerradio.comFollow Redeemer Radio on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram:@RedeemerRadioFollow McGrath Institute for Church Life on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram:@McGrathNDSubscribe to the Podcast:iTunes | Google Play | SoundCloudChurch Life Today is a partnership between the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame and OSV Podcasts from Our Sunday Visitor. Discover more ways to live, learn, and love your C

Does Jesus know us? Do we know Him? That is the provocative and somewhat disturbing title of a short book by the 20th Century swish theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar. We won't talk about that book today, nor will we talk about that theologian. But we will talk about Jesus. About knowing Him, about Him knowing us, and about the crisis of forgetting Jesus, and the urgency of rediscovering Him in the Church and for the world today. Host, Leonard DeLorenzo talks with Father Robert Imbelli. Father Imbelli is a priest of the Archdiocese of New York, he studied in Rome during the years of the Second Vatican Council, and was ordained there in 1965. He received degrees from the Gregorian University in Rome, and his PhD in systematic theology from Yale. He has taught Theology at the New York Archdiocesan seminary and at the Marnier school of Theology. From 1986 to 2015 Father Imbelli taught systematic theology at Boston College and is currently Associate Professor of Theology Emeritus from there. He was visiting s

Shortly after the close of the second Vatican council, a young theologian, who had been influential at the council, was invited to give a series of lectures at the University of Tubigidan, partially as a way to begin to interpret and receive the work of the council. That theologian’s name was Joseph Ratzinger. Who would become, as we know, Pope Benedict XVI nearly four decades later. The series of lectures that he delivered were collected into a book published under the title: “Introduction to Christianity” in 1968. By one unscientific estimation, the way to deem if a book is indeed a classic if it is still in print and widely read 50 years after its publication. At a recent conference of the McGrath Institute for Church Life, we observed the 50th anniversary of this text. Today I talk with the key-note presenter from the conference, Fr. Richard Schenk. Father Schenk is a Dominican Priest, who is currently honorary professor of the philosophy of religion at the theological faculty of the Albert-Ludwigs-Univer

Dorothy Day was a lot of things, but is she a Saint? By her own words, we should save her from the honor. She once bluntly said, 'don't call me a Saint!'. Maybe to spite her own wishes, Dr. John Cavadini, Director of the McGrath Institute for Church Life, is delivering a public lecture on the co-founder of the Catholic Worker movement, Dorothy Day, as part of our Institute's Saturdays with the Saints Series. So we want to talk to him about that to find out what Dorthy Day meant, what the Saint mean, how we miss the Saints, how we can learn to see and love the Saints better, and how the Church needs Saints today.In addition to serving for two decades as the Director of the Institute, Dr. Cavadini is also Professor of Theology and former chair of the Department of Theology at the University of Notre Dame. On top of lots of other initiatives, and preparing this very lecture on Dorothy Day, he is also hosting conference marking the 50th anniversary of Pope Benedict XVI, that is Joseph Ratzinge

Dr. Chris Baglow, directs the science and religion initative in our Institute, and he also teaches in our department of theology. He is the author of a textbook on science and religion, entitled “Faith Science and Reason: Theology on the cutting edge”. Dr. Baglow holds a BA from Franciscan University of Steubenville, an MA from the University of Dallas, and Ph.D. in Theology from Duquesne University------Resources: Faith, Science, and Reason Theology on the Cutting Edge - http://a.co/d/65LZSoiChurch Life Today with Dr. Stephen Barr - https://soundcloud.com/user-178289668/2018-july-28Science & Religion Seminars - https://mcgrath.nd.edu/conferences/summer-institute/science-religion-seminar/------Live: www.redeemerradio.comFollow Redeemer Radio on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram:@RedeemerRadioFollow McGrath Institute for Church Life on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram:@McGrathNDSubscribe to the Podcast:iTunes | Google Play | SoundCloudChurch Life Today is a partnership between the McGrath Institute for Church Life at t

Especially with the Synod of Bishops focusing on young people, the faith, and vocational discernment, there is an increasing focus on what is going on in the lives of young people today, personally and culturally. If the church is asking about vocational discernment for our young people, we are really thinking about their freedom to hear and respond to God’s call to take on the responsibility and joy of discipleship. Our show today is dedicated to trying to get a better sense of what is actually marking the lives of young people, what is their situation? What are their burdens? What are their possibilities? To help us think more deeply, we are talking with someone who examined the millennial generation, from a very broad, cultural perspective. Malcolm Harris is a freelance writer and editor at The New Inquiry. His work has appeared in the New Republic, Book Forum, The Village Voice, and n+1 and the New York Times Magazine. He hails from Philadelphia. In his recently published book, ‘Kids These Days: Human cap

In his 2018 World Communications address, Pope Francis spoke to the importance and dignity of journalism, and the now widespread much talked about the problem of fake news. Against that backdrop, the Holy Father recalled the promise of Jesus that the truth will set us free. Wouldn’t we all like a little more truth in the world? Over our airwaves? And online? But, how do we find the truth that we seek? That search must begin with prayer. And so Pope Francis offered a new version of an old, beloved prayer, popularly attributed to his namesake- Saint Francis of Assisi. Pope Francis concluded his message by asking that the lord, make us instruments of His peace, and then when line by line, through the Saint’s prayer to mold it to the needs of our time. For good, reliable, personal and true communication. Our guest today was so taken by this message of Pope Francis, and his renewed Franciscan prayer, that he wrote a book about it. Bill Schmitt, is a long time journalist, and communications specialist. Who also hap