April 28, 2022 — AMDG, our weekly podcast on spirituality, culture and social justice, features conversations with Jesuits and friends. We highlight some of our recent episodes below, and you can find all the episodes at soundcloud.com/jesuitconference.
Could Women Be Deacons in the Catholic Church? With Casey Stanton
Casey Stanton is the founding co-director of a new initiative called Discerning Deacons, which is engaging Catholics from all over the world around the question of ordaining women to the permanent diaconate in our church.
Listen to Casey for just a few minutes and you’ll see that she embodies the “diaconal” spirit: she is an expert speaker and preacher; she is utterly devoted to the communal prayer of the church; she is a practitioner of Gospel-centered social justice. She just can’t train to be ordained a Catholic deacon — yet — because she’s a woman. Her perspective is equal parts frustrating, inspiring, and hope-filled.
How to Cultivate a “Spirituality of Synodality” with Fr. James Hanvey, SJ
As you might have heard, the Catholic Church is in the middle of a long, global consultation process on the theme of “synodality,” a fancy-sounding theological word that means “on the way together.” One of the Jesuits helping the church think about how synodality is lived out is Fr. James Hanvey, SJ, a theologian who serves as the Secretary for the Service of Faith at the Jesuit Curia in Rome. He’s also on a couple of Vatican committees supporting the work of the synod, including one examining the spirituality of synodality.
On this episode, he talks about this work and how Ignatian spirituality might contribute to our building a synodal church together.
Welcoming Ukrainian Refugees to Poland with Fr. Damian Czerniak, SJ
On a given day, Fr. Damian Czerniak, SJ, faces a laundry list of responsibilities: finding Ukrainian refugees temporary housing, providing psychosocial support, assisting with paperwork, distributing funding and maintaining contact with two Jesuit houses in Ukraine. Alongside Jesuit Refugee Service, Fr. Czerniak is coordinating the Jesuit response to Ukrainian refugees in Poland.
On this episode, Fr. Czerniak talks about this work with refugees and how vocation and faith have guided him across his life, from teaching French at Creighton Prep here in the U.S. to responding to a refugee crisis.
Why We’re Called to Settle Into Grief with Kathy Powell
Kathy Powell is currently the creative director, working with Becky Eldredge, LLC | Ignatian Ministries. But ever since the loss of her first child, Francis, through miscarriage, Kathy has dedicated a great deal of time and energy to walking with families who have had to lay their babies to rest all too soon.
On this episode, we hear Kathy’s story. We learn from her how to walk with others. And this is important because there’s a good chance you know someone whose pregnancy has ended in a loss. Maybe you’re that person. And if so, this episode is for you.