Today's American Catholic

The Way of Saint Phoebe: A Conversation with Ellie Hidalgo of Discerning Deacons
2022-10-05 12:00 - 13:00 (America/New_York)
Our sincere thanks to Ellie Hidalgo, co-director of Discerning Deacons, for an informative and wide-ranging discussion on the history and mission of the organization and its active discernment about women in the diaconate. We looked at the role of deacons within parish communities, how women could uniquely contribute to the pastoral, practical, and spiritual aspects of diaconal ministry, and ways in which Discerning Deacons is advancing the work of synodality. Ellie also shared details of her recent pilgrimage to Mexico City and the Amazon, where she accompanied Catholic religious and lay women who are ministering to their small faith communities.
We’re pleased to present a recording of the presentation for those who were unable to attend. Links to items of interest and ways to get involved with Discerning Deacons are below.

Discerning Deacons website
Blog of Deacon William T. Ditewig
The Letter: A Message for Our Earth (documentary featuring Pope Francis)
Ellie’s reflection on her pilgrimage to the Amazon
Discerning Deacons Synod synthesis report

Deaconesses were a firm part of the tradition through the early centuries of the Church. The very fact that women are denied the privilege but men are not, now that the practice has been revived [since Vatican II], is indicative of a basic and primitive and non-Christian attitude toward women. Unlike the question of priestly ordination, where sincere concern for tradition is at least a plausible question, the role of deaconess is well established and simply denied. In view of the rising consciousness of women and their manifest and continuing commitment to the ministry of Jesus, no pastoral agenda is complete without this question.
– Joan Chittister, Women, Ministry and the Church (1983)

Hope in the Wilderness: A Conversation with Dr. Jessica Coblentz
2022-03-30 18:00 - 19:30 (America/New_York)
Our sincere thanks to Dr. Jessica Coblentz for an insightful and engaging presentation on her new book, Dust in the Blood: A Theology of Life with Depression on March 30, 2022. Dr. Coblentz spoke of how we should conceive of and understand depression, ways of accompanying depression sufferers individually and as a church community, and the concept of depression as a “wilderness experience” that resonates with scriptural resources. She also touched on the importance of the imagination in “holding a place” for people who have suffering in their lives and envisioning new images of hope. Note that the recording began just after our brief introduction, so Dr. Coblentz’s bio is below. We’ve also included links to items of interest discussed during the presentation.

Dust in the Blood: A Theology of Life with Depression (Liturgical Press, 2022)
“Doctors face a stigma against seeking mental health care” (Op-ed by Seema Jilani, New York Times, March 30, 2022)
NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness
Hagar’s first wilderness experience (Gen. 16:1–16)
Hagar’s second wilderness experience (Gen 21:1–21)

Jessica Coblentz is an assistant professor in the Department of Religious Studies and Theology at Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana, where her research and teaching focuses on Catholic systematic theology, feminist theologies, and mental health in theological perspective. She is a graduate of Santa Clara University and Harvard Divinity School, and received her PhD from Boston College. She was previously a resident scholar at the Collegeville Institute in Collegeville, Minnesota, and has taught at Saint Mary’s College in Moraga, California.
Image: Detail from Hagar in the Wilderness, Camille Corot, 1835. Metropolitan Museum of Art/Public Domain

A Synodal Church in a Plural World: A Conversation with Mark Guevarra
2022-01-12 18:00 - 19:30 (America/New_York)
Our sincere thanks to Mark Guevarra for joining us on January 12, 2022, to discuss the origins, processes, and possibilities of the 2023 synod on synodality. Mark’s presentation explored the history of synodality, Pope Francis’s vision for a synodal church, and some of the internal work we can all do in preparation for participation in the synod. We also discussed the synod as a prophetic sign of unity, communion, and fraternity so essential to our church and civic spaces today. We are pleased to share a recording for those who were unable to attend or who may wish to revisit the discussion. Links to other resources of interest—including Mark’s notes for the event, which he has graciously made available to us—are listed below. Note that the brief introduction to the event was unfortunately not recorded, so we’ve added Mark’s bio below for reference. Thank you also to the Democratic Socialists of America’s Catholic Subgroup, an affiliate of the DSA’s Religion & Socialism Working Group, for cosponsoring this event with us.

Official Synod 2021–2023 website
“Synodality in the Life and Mission of the Church,” a 2018 study by the International Theological Commission
Synod resources and information from Voice of the Faithful
Mark’s notes for the event with additional resources

Mark Guevarra (he/him) was born in Vancouver, Canada. He was raised in a devout Catholic family and attended Catholic schools through the 12th grade. He has served as an educator, college instructor, and pastoral associate with a special focus on LGBTQ+ ministry. He is currently completing his doctoral studies at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California, where he is completing a dissertation on synodality. He is a member of Call to Action’s 2020 Re/Generation Cohort.

"Fratelli Tutti" and the Culture of Encounter: A Conversation with Marcus Mescher
2021-10-06 12:30 - 13:30 (America/New_York)
Our sincere thanks to Dr. Marcus Mescher for an informative, engaging discussion of Fratelli Tutti and its messages of compassion, mercy, and solidarity on October 6. Marcus helped us unpack various aspects of the document, from its historical and social context, to its use of the parable of the Good Samaritan as an interpretative key, to practical ways we can begin building the “culture of encounter” Pope Francis envisions. We’re pleased to share a video recording for those who were unable to attend or who may wish to revisit the discussion. Links to books, articles, and other references of interest are below.

Complete text of Fratelli Tutti
The Ethics of Encounter by Marcus Mescher
The Study Guide to Fratelli Tutti by Marcus Mescher
“A year after ‘Fratelli Tutti,’ it’s time for the church to move from dreaming to doing” (National Catholic Reporter, October 4, 2021)
The New Rhetoric: a Treatise on Argumentation by Chaïm Perelman and Lucie Olbrechts-Tyteca (on the “rhetorical notion of presence“)
“Joseph Prabhu’s Anatomy of Wisdom” (Profile by Ruth Broyde Sharone, The Interfaith Observer, December 15, 2016); TAC essays by Dr. Prabhu here and here

The Case for Commitment: A Conversation with Pete Davis and Elias Crim
2021-09-01 19:00 - 20:30 (America/New_York)
Our sincere thanks to Pete Davis and Elias Crim for the wonderful conversation on September 1! We took a look at Pete’s new book, Dedicated: The Case for Commitment in an Age of Infinite Browsing, and some of the ways that its themes of rootedness, “long-haul” commitments to particular causes, and robust civic participation correspond with our faith tradition. We’re pleased to share a video recording for those who were unable to attend or who may wish to revisit the discussion. Links to some of the organizations referenced throughout the evening are below.

Solidarity Hall
The Democracy Policy Network
Nuns and Nones
Michael Martin and the Center for Sophiological Studies
Mutualism by Sara Horowitz
Strong Towns
The Economy of Francesco
The Ekklesia Project

Presentation by James Carroll
2021-04-08 19:30 - 21:00 (America/Halifax)
We would like to thank everyone who attended our Zoom presentation with James Carroll on April 8. It was an engaging and inspiring discussion, and left us all with much to pray on, act on, and hope for.
We have received a lot of positive feedback on the event and are now pleased to share a recording for those who may wish to revisit it. Please note that the recording begins a few minutes into the presentation as James is discussing theologian Hans Küng. (The text of the brief introduction that was not recorded is available here.) Also note that the video moves from speaker to gallery view at around the 21-minute mark, though this does not impact the audio. An audio-only recording is available upon request.
Special thanks to everyone who helped put this together, especially Beverly Brazauskas for her quick thinking in hitting the record button and James Carroll for sharing his time and insight, and for honoring each of our questions or comments in a unique and individual way.
