The Gloria Purvis Podcast

In our polarized society today, the need for civil dialogue is great. So how do we approach that dialogue as Catholics? And what are some of the tools from our faith tradition that we can use in overcoming polarization?   This episode of “The Gloria Purvis Podcast” features a panel discussion between Cardinal Robert McElroy of San Diego, Bishop Robert Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minn., and Bishop Daniel Flores of Brownsville, Tex. The conversation includes reflections on their roles as shepherds and leaders in their dioceses and in the U.S. church, and on important topics such as the Synod on Synodality, a spirit of encounter and where to find hope amid polarization.  This conversation originally aired as a virtual event co-sponsored by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Catholic Charities USA, Glenmary Home Missioners and the Jesuit Conference. It's part of “Civilize It,” a U.S.C.C.B. initiative in response to Pope Francis' invitation to a better kind of politics, in which Catholics are called to seek the truth, build bridges and find solutions for the common good together.   Please consider supporting this podcast by getting a digital subscription to America Media at www.americamagazine.com/subscribe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ahead of the 2024 presidential election, we're releasing a mini-season that covers the importance of forming our consciences and voting, what to do when you don't feel you entirely belong to either party, polarization in the church, racial justice and recognition of human dignity in our society.  On this episode of “The Gloria Purvis Podcast,” Gloria speaks with Sam Sawyer, S.J., the editor in chief of America Magazine. In early September 2024, Pope Francis was asked what advice he would give to Catholics in the United States for the upcoming presidential election. Pope Francis responded with an assessment of both candidates, saying: “Both are against life: the one that throws out migrants and the one that kills children. Both are against life.” He added that Catholics have a duty to “vote, and one has to choose the lesser evil.” The pope refused to speculate about which was the lesser evil, saying, “Each person must think and decide according to their own conscience.” Gloria and Sam discuss the Catholic imperative to form and obey one's conscience, especially around two key voting issues: abortion and racism. Links:  Pope Francis told American Catholics to vote their conscience. What did he mean? Pope Francis: Trump and Harris are ‘both against life' but Catholics must vote and choose ‘lesser evil' Please consider supporting this podcast by getting a digital subscription to America Media at www.americamagazine.com/subscribe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What is a Christian understanding of forgiveness? And does it necessarily involve reconciliation or the abatement of anger?  On the final episode of this season, Gloria welcomes Reverend Matthew Ichihashi Potts on “The Gloria Purvis Podcast” to discuss the subject of forgiveness. Reverend Potts is an Episcopalian minister and professor of Christian Morals at Harvard University. He is also the author of the new book, Forgiveness: An Alternative Account, a probing study that draws upon theology, philosophy, social ethics and even literature to reexamine or rediscover forgiveness. The conversation centers primarily on whether forgiveness is possible especially with grave violations of human dignity, such as slavery, genocide, and mass shootings. Too often, Matthew says, we hurry to dress the wounds of trauma with the bandage of cheap forgiveness. We mistakenly believe that anger must fully subside in order for forgiveness to become possible. But is that what Jesus means when he urges us to forgive seven times seventy times?  Matthew offers an alternative definition of forgiveness, which is simply put, non-retaliation. However, choosing to forgive someone who has caused immense harm does not mean that the victims of violence must sweep feelings of anger under the rug or rush to reconciliation.   “If your question is where does our discomfort around anger come from?” says Matthew, “it comes from things like structural violence, like white supremacy. I think that if you are a person in power, it's really good if your victim is not angry anymore. Because if they're not angry anymore, then there's no wrong to fix. And so I think we should be suspicious of a white, European Christian theological tradition that has come to associate the abatement of anger with forgiveness, because who does that bear out on? It bears out on people who have traditionally been marginalized- women and people of color.” Please consider supporting this podcast by getting a digital subscription to America Media at www.americamagazine.com/subscribe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If there's one thing that pro-life and pro-choice advocates can agree upon, its that the cost of having a baby is significant, and often a deterrent for mothers carrying to term.  “So the average privately-insured person pays about $2,800 to give birth out of pocket,” says Kristen Day, the Executive Director of Democrats For Life of America. “And one in six new parents pay over $5,000. But those women without insurance pay thousands more, up to $20,000.” For the penultimate episode of the second season, Gloria is joined once more by Kristen Day, the Executive Director of Democrats For Life of America. Kristen is the author of the book “Democrats For Life: Pro-Life Politics and the Silenced Majority.” Recently, Kristen co-authored a paper “Make Birth Free” and the two discuss the merits of this cause, along with the challenges to making this vision a reality.  “I think from the pro-life side if you're serious about ending abortion this is one way that we need to do it.” says Kristen, “And from the pro-choice side, if you really are pro-choice, then we need to support choice. And alleviating the cost of childbirth, instead of funding abortion, should be a priority for both sides.” Related articles Elizabeth Bruenig's article “Make Birth Free” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gloria speaks with Dr. Laura Masur, an assistant professor in the department of anthropology at The Catholic University of America. Dr. Masur has been one of the archeologists excavating enslaved communities on former plantations owned by the Society of Jesus in Maryland. They ask if and how we can reconcile the early American missionary work, especially of the Jesuits, with the grave sin of slavery. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Conversations around sex and gender today are rife with acrimony and seemingly irreconcilable viewpoints. It can be hard to find places of agreement or even commonly held definitions. But Elizabeth Sweeny Block and Abigail Favale are two Catholic scholars who have modeled civil debate around sex and gender in the pages of America and do so again this week on “The Gloria Purvis Podcast.” Dr. Elizabeth Sweeny Block is an associate professor of Christian ethics at Saint Louis University, and Dr. Abigail Favale is a professor at the University of Notre Dame. Together, Elizabeth and Abigail co-authored two articles in America: “How should Catholics think about gender identity and transgender persons?” and “What Does God Reveal in Transgender Bodies?: A Conversation on Catholic Teaching and Gender.” Animating much of their conversation is Gloria's question, “How do we come to understand the truth of a person?” And, in light of that truth, how do we foster authentic human flourishing? For instance, what should we make of gender-affirming care, which may include taking cross-sex hormones and surgeries?  “There's not an objective physiological condition that is being treated by these medical interventions,” Abigail argues. “Instead, you have a healthy functioning, normally sexed, oftentimes fertile body that's being disrupted and sterilized. And I think that's at odds with human flourishing.”  Elizabeth counters that this understanding of a “perfectly healthy, functioning, fertile body” at odds with a person's interior psychology only reasserts a false dichotomy in which body and mind are separate. Instead, Elizabeth posits that “it's not a healthy functioning body if this person is in distress in this body, if this body is causing pain to this person.” While Abigail and Elizabeth offer differing perspectives on how to approach transgender medicalization and public policy around facilities like restrooms, they demonstrate great respect for the human person—body and soul—that is unshakeably Catholic.  Please consider supporting this podcast with a digital subscription to America Media at americamagazine.org/subscribe.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In honor of Black history month, Cornel West and Robert George join the Gloria Purvis Podcast to talk about what Black joy and resistance mean to them. West and George are currently touring the country to speak at various universities about the centrality of truth-seeking to higher education. They are both prolific intellectual giants, who require very little introduction, but whose friendship is an inspiration. Dr. Cornel West teaches on the works of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, as well as courses in Philosophy of Religion, African American Critical Thought, and a wide range of subjects at Union Theological Seminary. He has written 20 books and is best known for his classics, Race Matters and Democracy Matters, and for his memoir, Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud. His most recent book, Black Prophetic Fire, offers an unflinching look at nineteenth and twentieth-century African American leaders and their visionary legacies. Robert George is a professor of Jurisprudence and the Director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University, a program founded under his leadership in 2000. He has served as Chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom as well as a presidential appointee of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and the President's Council on Bioethics. In addition, Professor George has served as the U.S. member of UNESCO's World Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology. He was also a Judicial Fellow at the Supreme Court of the United States, and the author of several books.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When you think Mardi Gras, you might think king cake, colorful beads thrown from parades, and as much debauchery as one can manage before the Lenten season of repentance begins the following day. Maybe you've wondered whether Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, is even a Catholic holiday given the day's deluge of decadence.  Mardi Gras is not only Catholic, it's French, Creole, African-American, African and Native American. And there are layers to this ornate carnival that reveal a powerful history of Black joy, resistance and rebellion. So tells Nekisha Elise Williams, the author of Mardi Gras Indians, and today's guest on The Gloria Purvis Podcast.  “There are really two Mardi Gras,” says Nekisha, “and where Black people party and have Mardi Gras is not always the same as where white people party and have Mardi Gras.” For a long time, the segregation between white and Black Mardi Gras was policed by Jim Crow laws. And while there is growing curiosity about what happens at “Black Mardi Gras,” the impact of white supremacy culture still reinforces this historical segregation.  One vibrant and distinct tradition that white mainstream Mardi Gras often misses is that of the Mardi Gras Indians, otherwise known as the Black-Masking Indians. They have a fascinating history that dates back to the 1800s, when Native Americans provided a safe refuge for enslaved Africans who had escaped bondage. This friendship between formerly enslaved Africans and various Native American tribes of the lower Mississippi River Valley helped birth one of the most colorful and unique cultural expressions of Mardi Gras.  Nikesha has done extensive research on the Mardi Gras Indians and describes them as “a group of men, women, children, families, neighbors who at Carnival time in New Orleans mask Indian or mask as the Plains Indians, Native American indigenous people.”  Masking as indigenous has served at least two important purposes. It's a way to pay homage to their ancestors and their friendship with the Native American tribes that harbored them “while also paying tribute to the warrior culture of African tribes that were enslaved on the continent and brought over to the new world,” says Nikesha.  “It's not just a parade [...] to go out, get drunk, have fun, and like say, ‘Hey, Mister, throw me some beads,'” Nikesha says. “For some of them, it really is a spiritual and religious experience. And that goes down to the songs that they sing, the hand signals that they throw, the dances that they do, and how they operate within their communities as well.” To learn more about the colorful and defiant history of the Mardi Gras Indians, be sure to listen to this special Mardi Gras episode of The Gloria Purvis Podcast.  To support this podcast, please consider getting a digital subscription to America Media at www.americamagazine.org/subscribe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There's an intellectual movement afoot called “Catholic Integralism.” It's being discussed in academic colloquia, twitter, and lots of pockets of the church. But how should we understand this movement? On the Gloria Purvis Podcast, Gloria speaks with Dr. Jason Blakely, a political scholar and professor at Pepperdine University, about this burgeoning trend of Catholic integralism.  Integralism rejects liberalism in the broad sense as “an ideological tradition that holds that individual rights are the basis for the organization of political life,” explains Jason. In place of liberalism, integralism seeks to check individual licentiousness and advance a social order in which political powers are subordinate to the church.   Jason shares Gloria's skepticism with Catholic integralism, drawing from St. Augustine, who cautioned against uniting the church and state because it almost inevitably leads to a lust for domination and fratricide.   Please consider supporting this podcast by getting a subscription to America Media at www.americamag.org/subscribe  Related links: A better way to think about the debate about church, state and integralism Jason Blakely's article for Commonweal and Chronicle of Higher Education  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Meg Chisolm is no stranger to mental illness. She's suffered from several serious bouts of depression that brought her close to taking her own life. She was fortunate to get the help she needed and then went on to become a psychiatrist and professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Meg is an author of a psychiatric textbook and a book on psychiatric illness for patients and families, From Survive to Thrive: Living Your Best Life with Mental Illness. In her conversation with Gloria, Dr. Meg outlines temperament and personality, along with different kinds of mental illness. While there is a disconcerting stigma still associated with “mental illness,” Dr. Meg says its best understood as “any time when the mind has gone awry, when there's been a problem, developed in your thoughts or in your behaviors, your actions or in your emotions, in your feelings [...] when mental life doesn't go as planned, when it goes awry.” Dr. Meg provides an insightful mapping not only of a mind gone awry, but she also outlines the key factors in human flourishing, and what role religion can play in our happiness. Please consider supporting this podcast by getting a subscription to America Media at www.americamag.org/subscribe  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Super Bowl is one the largest sporting events in the country. Tens of thousands will flock to the stadium and millions will watch from home. However, at events like these, it is essential we not only keep track of the game, but also, the potential victims of human trafficking that are most vulnerable at these large gatherings. In fact, every year 50 million people are trafficked somewhere in the world for either labor or sex. Joining Gloria on “The Gloria Purvis Podcast” is Sr. Anne Victory, a board member at U.S. Catholic Sisters Against Human Trafficking who has led efforts against human trafficking for over a decade. According to the U.S. Sisters Against Human trafficking, this crime, “occurs when a trafficker uses force, fraud or coercion to control another person for the purpose of engaging in commercial sex acts or soliciting labor or services against his/her will.” Sr. Anne describes the most common circumstances in which people get trafficked, profiles of traffickers, and what to look out for. If you suspect someone is being trafficked, please call (888) 373-7888. Even if you're not certain, Sr. Anne encourages you to report what you see and leave the investigation with local law enforcement who are specially trained for these cases: “just know that they'd rather have you report it and save someone's life than be wrong.” While the topic of human trafficking is dark, Sr. Anne continues to find hope in her work to end it. “I think one of the ways that I keep the faith is I've seen the difference since when we started fifteen years ago working on this. And now people are a little more aware,” says Sr. Anne, “Even becoming educated about it is doing something, becoming involved in fair trade and understanding what fair trade is and how our purchases make a difference, or how the stock we hold makes a difference.”   Links: U.S. Catholic Sisters Against Human Trafficking www.slaveryfootprint.org America's interview with Pope Francis Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In July 1974, sixteen members of the Carmel of Compiegne, France, were executed under the guillotine in the final days of the French Revolution's “Reign of Terror.” They are called venerated martyrs in the Catholic Church, who sang “Salve Regina” and other hymns all the way to their deaths. Their story of faith and perseverance has inspired a novella, movies, and now an opera, Francis Poulenc's “Dialogues des Carmélites,” drawn from John Dexter's classic 1977 production. Gloria interviews soprano Christine Goerke, who plays the Carmeltine prioress Madame Lidoine. They talk about Christine's own faith journey and preparation for this powerful role, along with Gloria's spiritual connection as a third-order Carmelite.  The Metropolitan Opera is showcasing Dialogues des Carmélites through January 28, 2023.  Please consider supporting this show by becoming a digital subscriber to America at www.americamagazine.org/subscribe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The first March for Life began in the year following the Roe v. Wade Decision (1973). Now that Roe has been overturned by the Supreme Court, what will happen to the March of Life and the pro-life movement more broadly? Today, Gloria speaks with Jeanne Mancini, the President of the national March for Life since the fall of 2012. In this capacity, she proudly directs the small non-profit organization committed to restoring a culture of life in the United States, most notably through the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C., held on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Gloria and Jeanne discuss why the march continues to be relevant, misconceptions about the pro-life movement and the co-opting of the movement by extremists. Support The Gloria Purvis Podcast by becoming a digital subscriber to America Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Do you squirm every time you listen to a reading from one of St. Paul's letters calling women to be submissive to their husbands or to remain silent in church? In this episode of the Gloria Purvis Podcast, Gloria digs into the sticky “household codes” that St. Paul outlines in the New Testament with historian Beth Allison Barr, author of the bestselling book, The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth. Gloria and Beth discuss the Christian Evangelical concept of complementarianism, which is distinguished from the Catholic notion of complimentarity found most especially in Pope John Paul II's writings. While both terms speak to the differences between the sexes and posits these features as complimentary to one another, complementarianism reinforces a hierarchy of male headship and female submission that “ is simply historic patriarchy,” according to Barr.  One of the many dangers of a theology that centers men is evident in the sexual abuse crisis, where, “the emphasis is on protecting the male leaders instead of protecting the people they harm,” says Beth, and that “the sexual abuse coverup, which went on for decades, was concentrated in churches that lean towards more complementarian understandings.” There's also a connection between patriarchy and racism. Gloria notes Jordan Peterson's “open hostility toward diversity, equity and inclusion” and Beth adds, “Once you buy into a theory of oppression, it is much easier to buy into other theories of oppression. Once you accept the idea that there is something innate about the way some people are born, that makes them able to hold leadership in a way that other people cannot, it makes it much more easy for you to argue even further that not only does it have to do with sex, but maybe it also has to do with skin color.” Please consider supporting the Gloria Purvis by getting a digital subscription to America Media at www.americamagazine.org/subscribe Links from show:  Beth's book: The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth John Piper on the submission of a wife to an abusive husband: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OkUPc2NLrM Ravi Zacharias story at Roys report: https://julieroys.com/investigation-finds-ravi-zacharias-reportedly-raped-a-massage-therapist-sexually-molested-others/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While claiming a Christian and pro-life worldview, Kanye West–now known as Ye–has steeped himself in scandal over blatant anti-Black and antisemitic remarks. In October, he donned a “White Lives Matter” t-shirt with an image of Pope St. John Paul II on the front. Missing from his highly controversial remarks and actions has been any recognition of the harm done to Jews and Black people. That's an important omission, according to Binta Niambi Brown, a talent manager in the music and entertainment industry. Binta speaks with Gloria about the cognitive dissonance that people can experience when a beloved and influential artist speaks and acts immorally. At times, Christians in the United States can have an anemic understanding of human dignity, they argue, on the one hand praising Ye for promoting the dignity of the unborn, while ignoring his anti-Black and antisemitic rhetoric. They also discuss the importance of holding pop cultural figures with large platforms accountable. Finally, Gloria and Binta discuss why music is a profound form of spiritual expression, and offer a word of encouragement to Black Catholics in the United States who consider leaving the church. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most Catholics only hear the Bible interpreted by men–priests and deacons–in the context of Sunday Mass. Jaime Waters, Associate Professor of Old Testament at the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry, believes that's a disadvantage for the whole church. For the past three years, she's written "The Word" column at America Media. She joins Gloria Purvis to discuss the importance of Bible scholarship and interpretation from women's perspectives. Looking to Advent, they discuss the "O Antiphons," seven short verses inspired by Scripture and sung in the church during Advent from December 17-23. The antiphons give voice to a people's longing for the coming Jesus into the world in a very special way. Dr. Waters argues that while reading and analyzing a text is important, singing in a prayerful state can be even more impactful on the believer and community. Links: Why we sing the ‘O Antiphons' in the lead-up to Christmas (and not before) The ‘O Antiphons,' Reimagined Follow "The Word" column at America Media Exclusive Interview with America Media: Pope Francis discusses Ukraine, U.S. bishops and more Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Nov. 22, 2022, five representatives of America Media, including Gloria Purvis, interviewed Pope Francis at his residence at Santa Marta at the Vatican. They discussed a wide range of topics with the pope, including polarization in the U.S. church, the role of bishops, racism, the war in Ukraine, the Vatican's relations with China and church teaching on the ordination of women. Matt Malone, S.J., who is departing as editor in chief after ten years of leading America Media, was also present in the interview. He joins Gloria to break down what the Holy Father said about and to the church in the U.S., how the pope models servant leadership in the Jesuit spirit. They also discuss Father Malone's tenure at America Media, his vocation story, and how the Jesuit charism is incarnated in America's media ministry. Read America's interview with Pope Francis here: Pope Francis discusses Ukraine, U.S. bishops and more Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Exclusive: Pope Francis denounces polarization, talks women's ordination, the U.S. bishops and more in a new interview with America Media! It's an exciting time for America Media! We've transformed the organization under the leadership of Matt Malone, S.J. into a modern media entity that leads the conversation on faith and culture. There is no doubt that this transformation will continue at America under the leadership of Traug Keller, president and Father Sam Sawyer, SJ, 15th editor in chief.  We're especially grateful to our digital subscribers, who can access all of our award-winning content. But subscriptions alone do not cover the cost to produce our magazine, videos and podcasts, so we are really dependent on fundraising to bridge that gap. With Giving Tuesday upon us, we hope you will consider a tax-deductible gift of any size to support America Media. Visit our website and click the “Donate Now” button to join our media ministry, which enables us to continue producing The Gloria Purvis Podcast. We truly could not continue to bring you these episodes without your support, so thank you, so much, for your consideration. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on “The Gloria Purvis Podcast,” Gloria speaks with the Rev. Thomas Burke, the pastor of St. Benedict the Moor Catholic Church in Pittsburgh, Pa., about the importance of establishing personal parishes for Black Catholics.  When Bishop David Zubik first announced this personal parish there was a negative response from some white Catholics, who didn't understand the need for a liturgy and community that reflected the unique cultural legacy of Black Catholics.  To those critical of the parish, Father Burke says: “Go check it out and see why it's Catholic. It's not so much going on the bandwagon of wokeness, of separating the Blacks from the whites in creating a personal parish.”  Instead, it is about recognizing the richness that Black Catholics bring to the liturgy, he adds  “the atmosphere, the welcomingness, the music, the family aspect of it and to celebrate the culture, I think is a learning lesson.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gloria speaks with Greg Hillis, Professor of Theology & Religious Studies at Bellarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky. In the last few years Prof. Hillis has turned his attention to the life and writings of Thomas Merton, the famous Trappist monk from Kentucky whose literary estate is housed at the Merton Center at Bellarmine University. In addition to his book on Thomas Merton - "Man of Dialogue": Thomas Merton's Catholic Vision - Prof. Hillis is currently working on a book-length biography of Fr. August Thompson, an oppressed Black Catholic priest who was friends with Merton, who shared his life experiences of personal and systemic racism, and who helped inform Merton's later work “The Black Revolution: Letters to a White Liberal” on racial injustice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Archbishop Cordileone returns to the podcast to discuss his opposition to the death penalty. Archbishop Cordileone: It is past time to strike down the death penalty Support this podcast by purchasing a digital subscription to America Magazine here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Bible has been invoked in defense of slavery and to overthrow it. Some saints have confronted slavery, while others have turned a blind eye, or worse, developed theological arguments to support it. The Catholic church has a mixed history, especially when it comes to chattel slavery, and its one we should know about.  This week, Gloria interviews Chris Kellerman, SJ. about his new book,  All Oppression Shall Cease: A History of Slavery, Abolitionism and The Catholic Church.   Chris brings an eye-opening knowledge of history and a faith that wrestles deeply with the horrors of slavery.   “For every saint that we find out was a slaveholder, for every pope that we find out, you know, did something crazy, there's another person who was fighting against it” says Chris. “There's a great sense of that hope that there was a change. And a lot of that change came through people speaking up and good Catholics speaking up and saying, based on my faith I know this isn't right.”   Chris Kellerman is a Jesuit and serves as Assistant for Justice and Ecology of the Central and Southern Province of the Jesuits. Support this podcast by getting a digital subscript at americamagazine.org/subscribe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Did you know that Black women are more likely to die from preventable childbirth complications than white women? Or that Black women make up less than 2 percent of psychiatrists? This week on “The Gloria Purvis Podcast,” Gloria speaks with Dr. Amanda Joy Calhoun about the deep vestiges of racism in our medical institutions and the strategies she is using to challenge and correct them in her own practice. Dr. Calhoun is an adult and child psychiatry resident at the Yale School of Medicine. She is an expert at exposing racism in the medical system and mitigating the effects of racism on Black Americans. Dr. Calhoun firmly believes that all doctors should be activists and is a fellowship coach of The Oped Project. Dr. Calhoun shares disturbing accounts of how she's witnessed racism in the hospital setting, among both white patients and staff.   “It has little to do with the psychiatric illness. Mental illness is used as a scapegoat for racism,” Dr. Calhoun says of white patients who have lashed out with hate speech at Black patients. “But oftentimes these kids that are saying these N-words, they're about to leave the hospital, they're stable. This is just the word they use to describe people. It's not that they're in this episode where they don't know what they're saying.” Just as troubling, is the preference white staff shows to white patients:  “Anecdotally, I had been looking at the fact that it seemed that predominantly white staff, which is medicine, were much quicker to put my Black patients in restraints, than white patients.” There is no standard training or treatment for dealing with racism in hospitals, but Dr. Calhoun is quick to provide her expert recommendation: “I use the word racist. I think we need to own it.”  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode, Gloria speaks with Professor Jessica Hooten Wilson, author of several books including The Scandal of Holiness, Reading for the Love of God, and Giving the Devil his Due: Flannery O'Connor and The Brothers Karamazov, which received a 2018 Christianity Today Book of the Year Award in the Culture & the Arts. Gloria and Jessica dive deep into the Catholic imagination–exploring writers like Toni Morrison and the medieval mystic Julian of Norwich. She also believes in reclaiming the practice of reading, especially for children growing up today: “I try to tell this to parents: it's not really about making sure that your kid recites all the history or knows all the facts,” says Jessica, “ It's just recognizing that they're being shaped by a worldview in which the story began before them.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To help us kick off October's “Respect Life” month, Gloria is speaking with Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy about how a Catholic vision of restorative justice must guide our advocacy against the death penalty. Krisanne is the executive director of Catholic Mobilizing Network, a national organization that mobilizes Catholics and all people of goodwill to value life over death, to end the use of the death penalty, to transform the U.S. criminal justice system from punitive to restorative, and to build capacity in U.S. society to engage in restorative practices. In this episode, Krisanne explains the differences between a retributive and restorative model of justice and what each looks like in practice.  “Restorative justice is not about no consequences,” says Krisanne, “You know, fundamental to restorative justice is an accountability. When people actually get to the point that they can admit that they've created a harm or they've harmed another, when they can get to that point where they're repentant. I mean, that's transformative. That's a different kind of justice." Gloria and Krisanne review the history of Catholic teaching on capital punishment, papal condemnations of the practice, and how it finally became impermissable according the the catechism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gloria muses on some of the arguments emerging from the anti-woke brigade. She challenges the idea that wokism, or a commitment to racial justice, emerged from philosophies of German philosophers like Karl Marx and Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel . Tracing the roots of woke culture and intersectionality, Gloria makes clear that these social movements are grounded in the Black experience and that they provide the necessary framework for pursuing justice in the church and society. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Whether you love reading the Bible or could use a refresher, Fr. Josh Johnson has you covered in his new book, On Earth as It Is in Heaven: Restoring God's Vision of Race and Discipleship. Fr. Josh and Gloria talk about how our Christian discipleship must involve actively bridging racial divides, so that our lives on earth might more closely reflect God's heavenly vision as described in holy Scripture. Their conversation is full of powerful stories that exemplify how this ministry of authentic relationship and reconciliation is already being put to action, and what becomes possible when “we get out of our little holy huddles.” To support the "The Gloria Purvis Podcast", please share this episode with a friend, and get a digital subscription to America! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gloria Purvis muses on the role of privacy in the confessional, how the church can better safeguard data on its parishioners, and what we all can do to protect our privacy and that of our family on social media. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to the second season of the Gloria Purvis Podcast! On this episode, Gloria speaks to Bishop Andrew Cozzens, who was appointed by Pope Francis to be bishop of the Diocese of Crookston, Minnesota in 2021. Bishop Cozzens is the chair of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis where on behalf of the bishops he is leading a three-year National Eucharistic Revival that began this past June. Gloria and Bishop Cozzens discuss the meaning of the Eucharist, the plans for the Eucharistic Revival and the modern complexities of dealing with political controversies and communion. Bishop Cozzens also shares the importance of continuing transparency and pastoral leadership amid the sexual abuse crisis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thank you! That's what Gloria and her team wants to say to you, our listeners, as we close a year-long first season of The Gloria Purvis Podcast. We'll be back in the fall with all new episodes! Thank you for journeying with us! Lastly, if you would like to share some feedback with us, please fill out this brief Listener Survey! To follow Gloria over the summer, please subscribe to AmericaMagazine.org Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When it comes to social justice issues “the church can show up as moral first responders or as funeral directors,” says Cornell Brooks. Professor Brooks joins “The Gloria Purvis Podcast” with an impressive pedigree as the former president and chief executive officer of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, a civil rights attorney, a professor of public leadership and social justice at the Harvard Kennedy School, and an ordained minister in the African Methodist Episocopal church. Gloria and Professor Brooks discuss several issues that threaten Black lives, most notably racial profiling, police violence and voter suppression. “You are more likely to see the Easter bunny standing next to Santa Claus at the voting booth than to encounter an actual instance of voter fraud,” Professor Brooks says. In reality, it is politicians who are committing the overwhelming amount of voter fraud, not the citizens whose voting rights are being suppressed. Abortion-related episodes: What would a post-Roe world look like? Pro-choice advocates often appeal to reproductive freedom. But freedom without real choice is coercion. Texas' abortion ban and systemic sexism against women For women to be free, they must be free to be women. Lastly, if you've been enjoying the Gloria Purvis Podcast please consider sharing some feedback in this brief Listener Survey! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“My job is to get in the car and drive to every far flung, criss-cross part of Alabama, talking to people about what our hopes are for the future.” Dana Sweeney is the statewide organizer at the Alabama Appleseed Center for Law & Justice. He joins Gloria this week to discuss mass incarceration, economic and racial justice, and government accountability in Alabama.  Lastly, if you've been enjoying the Gloria Purvis Podcast please consider sharing some feedback in this brief Listener Survey! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gwen Ifill famously coined the expression “missing white woman syndrome” to describe our national obsession with a small subset of missing persons–largely white and female– to the exclusion of many other victims, especially persons of color.  This week Gloria talks to Natalie Wilson, co-founder of The Black and Missing Foundation, Inc., a Maryland-based non-profit dedicated to searching for missing people of color when police and the media fall short. Their work is also the subject of the award-winning 4-part HBO documentary series, Black and Missing, produced by Geeta Gandbhir and Soledad O'Brien.  For Catholics, this should be a pro-life issue, and one that we examine seriously.  Forty percent of the about 600,000 people who went missing in 2019 were people of color — most of them Black. And Black people's cases take four times longer to resolve.  Gloria and Natalie also discuss how the Black Lives Matter movement encompasses more than police violence; it extends to the issue of police neglect to investigate cases of Black persons gone missing. Lastly, if you've been enjoying the Gloria Purvis Podcast please consider sharing some feedback in this brief Listener Survey! Links: The Black and Missing Foundation   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New medical research is revealing the detrimental effects of being sedated or placed in a medically induced coma for an extended period of time. And with the surge of Covid patients in ICU's, the rates of brain disease, including dementia, have only increased.  Here to talk with Gloria is Dr. Wes Ely, professor of medicine at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine whose research has focused on improving the care and outcomes of critically ill patients with ICU-acquired brain disease. Dr. Ely is the author of the book Every Deep-Drawn Breath, which shares his quest to return humanity to doctoring by tending to patients' emotional and spiritual needs, as well as his effort to end a practice in hospital ICUs that leaves patients suffering from long-term brain problems. The title of his book is taken from John Steinbeck's East of Eden, which reads "The skin tastes the air, and every deep-drawn breath is sweet."  Gloria and Dr. Ely discuss the dangers of prolonged sedation and how to advocate for your loved one when they are receiving critical care. “This is an entire person. This is not just a set of lungs on a ventilator,” Dr Ely says. “It's an entire person of inestimable work. This is a priceless human being.”  Over the course of his long and storied medical practice, Dr. Ely had the honor of caring for the poet Maya Angelou in advance of her reading at President Bill Clinton's inauguration. Dr. Ely was originally inspired to become a physician, in part, because of Maya Angelou's writing. “I write from the Black perspective,” Ms. Angelou told her son, “but I aim for the human heart.” Upon hearing these words. Dr. Ely has made them a personal mantra or his own life and medical practice. He aims always for the human heart.  To support the work of America Media, please consider purchasing a digital subscription. Related links: Every Deep Drawn Breath: Dr. Ely is donating all his net proceeds from this book to a fund at the CIBS Center established to help ICU survivors and their families. The Christopher Awards Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Saturday May 14, 2022, motivated by the evils of racism and white supremacy, an 18 year old man drove 200 miles with an AR-15 rifle with the intention to seek out and kill Black people. He shot and killed ten people at Tops grocery store. And then, only a week and a half later, on May 24, we witnessed another mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas. This time at Robb Elementary school. Nineteen children and two teachers were killed.  Gloria welcomes Sr. Josephine Garrett back to the show. Sr. Josephine is a Sister of the Holy Family of Nazareth and a licensed counselor specializing in trauma.  This conversation was recorded after the racialized killing of people in Buffalo, but before the tragic shooting in Uvalde. Gloria and Sr. Josephine discuss how racially motivated violence takes a toll on our mental health and why its important for our bishops to name the sin of white supremacy. They also talk about how to protect your mental health, while fostering real empathy and understanding.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gloria interviews the Archbishop of San Francisco, Salvatore Cordileone, about a statement he just released restricting the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, from receiving the Sacrament of the Holy Communion. Speaker Pelosi is a Catholic, who represents the congressional district of San Francisco. In his statement, the Archbishop laments that Speaker Pelosi's position on abortion has become more extreme over the years. He says that he's made numerous attempts to speak with her to help her understand this grave evil, but to no avail. He states, “I have determined that the point has come in which I must make a public declaration that she is not to be admitted to Holy Communion unless and until she publicly repudiate her support for abortion “rights” and confess and receive absolution for her cooperation in this evil in the sacrament of Penance. I have accordingly sent her a Notification to this effect, which I have now made public.” Gloria speaks with Archbishop Cordileone about his decision, how it came to be and what consequences it will have on an already polarized political climate in the country, and in the Catholic Church. To support the work of America Media, please consider purchasing a digital subscription. Related Links: Notification to the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States Congress Nancy Pelosi Archbishop bars Nancy Pelosi from Communion in her home diocese, citing ‘aggressive' defense of abortion rights Interview transcript  Video interview on America's YouTube channel Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Catholic church is facing increasing divisions and tensions that are also reflected in the country at large. Those divisions once again made headlines a few weeks ago when Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene spoke with Michael Voris of Church Militant about a range of topics. In the interview, both Voris and Greene were critical of the U.S. bishops welcome of immigrants. They also weaponized the scandal of the sexual abuse crisis to argue that the bishops had lost their moral authority.  Here to discuss this interview and what it says about polemics in the Catholic church is Bill McCormick, S.J., a contributing editor at America and a visiting assistant professor at Saint Louis University in the departments of political science and philosophy. “I think my primary impression was that this is a discourse of fear.” says McCormick, “There's a fear that if we try to help other people, we can't help ourselves, the fear that we can barely take care of our own families so how could we possibly take care of other families?”  These fears and scarcity mentality are driving much of the conversation, but McCormick adds, “That's not the gospel. You know, one of the most common lines in the gospel is have no fear.” Related Links: Marjorie Taylor Greene showed that the most brutal anti-Catholicism can come from Catholics Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last week, there was a leaked draft of a Supreme Court opinion overturning Roe v. Wade, raising myriad questions across the country and the political spectrum. “The Gloria Purvis Podcast” welcomes Kristen Day, the Executive Director of Democrats For Life of America and the author of “Democrats For Life: Pro-Life Politics and the Silenced Majority.” Gloria and Kristen discuss what will and won't change should Roe v. Wade be overturned. They also look at what historical precedent exists for overturning established law and why, as a legal matter, Roe v. Wade was on rocky ground from the start. “The flawed reasoning behind Roe v. Wade,” Gloria says, “is that they used bad history. They couldn't actually tie it to the constitution. And then the opinion itself was crafted more like legislation rather than an opinion.” Amidst all the political disagreements, there are competing claims to what women really want. At the center of this debate are those most vulnerable to abortion, who Gloria says are still being exploited: “Often the poor, Black woman is used as the mascot for why Roe V. Wade should not be overturned without really delving into the messaging behind that.” Related links:  Reproductive freedom doesn't give marginalized women a real choice to determine their future A better abortion debate is possible. Here's where we can start. I support overturning Roe. But pro-lifers need to understand why so many Americans fear this decision. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In December 2021, California established a Council for the Future of Abortion. It's goal: to improve access to abortion and to protect reproductive freedom, as several states are passing more restrictive abortion legislation.  But for Catholics, this is not merely a question of freedom, but of authentic choice. Do vulnerable women, especially poor women of color, have the same choices available to them when determining their future and that of their unborn children?  On this week's episode of the “Gloria Purvis Podcast” we hear from Gina Vides, the associate director for parish and community leadership at the Office of Life, Justice and Peace in the Los Angeles Archdiocese. And Gina says that the idea of these women having a choice is met with the demoralizing realities of poverty, lack of affordable housing and domestic violence. Additionally, they are saddled with the responsibility of providing for their other children. “Sixty percent of the women that have abortions in California are already moms,” says Gina. The L.A. Archdiocese is working around the clock to connect vulnerable moms to programs with wraparound services, including medical care, food, rent assistance and a community of support to help them carry their babies to term. However, California's Future of Abortion Council is dedicating $61 million to provide gas, lodging, transportation, childcare, food, lost wages, and doula support for women seeking an abortion.  “When you have this asymmetrical emphasis and funding and marketing toward abortion,” Gloria says, “that's not freedom to me. That's coercion.”  Related links: Gina Vides' article in the San Diego Union-Tribune, “Opinion: California might expand abortion funding. What about help for mothers who carry to term?” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on “The Gloria Purvis Podcast,” we hear from Pamela Ferrell, a pioneer and advocate in the natural hair care field. When Pamela was only 18, she was fired from her job for wearing braids. So she started Cornrows & Co., a hair braiding salon that has passed along a centuries-old tradition in the African American community.  “The history of hair for Africans in America has been one of control,” Pamela says. It can be traced through the restrictive Tignon Laws of 1786 that forced Black women to cover their natural hair, up to the present, where African hair is still policed by schools and employers across the nation. “Slavery is about ownership of your body,” Pamela says, “and so while we are no longer enslaved, those are the remnants of it.” For over 40 years, Pamela has been a passionate voice for natural hair care causes and a key contributor in efforts to get states to change outdated laws that impose unfair policies and fines on hair braiding salons. In 2014, the U.S. Army and Navy asked Pamela to advise the military on hairstyle policies. There she shared her discovery of what she calls “circle hair.” “I was combing out a client's hair after shampooing it and there were perfect circles on the floor.” Pamela began collecting samples, measuring them and ultimately using them as a scientific way to describe all hair types by their shape—circle or line hair. “Hair became a visual argument for me,” she says, to unpack the nefarious forms of racism that persist in our institutions and policies but to do so from the perspective of science.” Pamela also talks to Gloria about how she overcame punitive policies from the Board of Cosmetology and what language we need, in the Crown Act and in society, to better describe African hair.    Related Links: The Crown Act Cornrows & Co.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On May 13, 2022, Rev. Jacque Fabre will be ordained and installed as the new bishop of Charleston, South Carolina. His predecessor, Most Rev. Robert E Guglielmone, submitted his retirement to Pope Francis, as is custom at 75 years of age.  This is a historic appointment for many reasons. Bishop-elect Fabre will be the 14th bishop, but the first Black bishop, of the diocese of Charleston, which extends throughout the entire state of South Carolina. He will be one of a handful Black bishops in the United States. And an immigrant from Haiti.  But these are all labels Bishop-elect Fabre is weary of. “First Haitian, first black, what does that mean?” he says, “It might put you in a box and I hate to be in [a box.]” Although he concedes this is an important historical moment, “Yes. To have a person from a different country, different language, being part of the hierarchy of the states. It's a huge progress.”  “It's a sign that the church in the south,” Gloria says, “which has this tangled up history with Blackness, with Black people,” can realize, “Black is beautiful. Black is holy. Black is beloved by God.” Bishop-elect Fabre is a member of the religious order the Missionaries of St. Charles, or Scalabrinian Fathers. He has served in many places — such as Cuba, Colombia, Rome and the Dominican Republic — and in a variety of roles. He speaks five languages including English, Spanish, Italian, French and Creole. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on “The Gloria Purvis Podcast,” Gloria speaks with Danielle Conway, Dean of Penn State Dickinson Law. Dean Conway is a leading voice on creating an anti-racist approach to legal education and has helped those who work in law schools around the country, including at Penn Law, develop better approaches for designing inclusive experiences. With Gloria she discusses the historic bipartisan confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, the key questions raised during the Senate hearings, and the personal significance of witnessing Judge Jackson's family going “from segregation to the Supreme Court in just one generation.” Support The Gloria Purvis Podcast by subscribing to America! Helpful terms: Due Process  Reconstruction Amendments (13th, 14th, 15th Amendments)  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices