The Gloria Purvis Podcast

Latest Episodes:

This Catholic bishop is on a mission to rid the world of nuclear weapons. Feb 01, 2022

Show notes

Archbishop John Wester has just written a new pastoral letter, “Living in the Light of Christ’s Peace: A Conversation Toward Nuclear Disarmament”. He writes from his diocese in Sante Fe, New Mexico, which is also home to two of the three nuclear weapons laboratories in the United States. Archbishop Wester talks with Gloria about the impossibility of justifying nuclear war, or even possessing nuclear weapons, and how his perspective was made personal by a visit he made to Nagasaki and Hiroshima, Japan, where atomic bombs were dropped in 1945.

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Pastoral letter: Living in the Light of Christ’s Peace: A Conversation Toward Nuclear Disarmament

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What one Irish Catholic family gained (and lost) from white privilege Jan 25, 2022

Show notes

Gloria speaks to Maureen O'Connell, author of the new book Undoing the Knots: Five Generations of American Catholic Anti-Blackness, about becoming white in America and how it unfairly privileged her Irish-Catholic family, even as it cost them part of their unique identity and heritage.

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Undoing the Knots: Five Generations of American Catholic Anti-Blackness

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Why the pro-life movement struggles to reach Black people Jan 18, 2022

Show notes

When Cherilyn Holloway first learned how abortion was impacting the Black community, she was shocked. Why weren't more people concerned and doing something about it? She quickly discovered that the pro-life movement had an image problem: they only cared about the unborn.

So, Cherilyn founded Pro-Black Pro-Life, a movement seeking to engage black communities for action on the issue of life and to ultimately transform thought. Gloria and Cherilyn take a hard look at the pro-life movement in the U.S. today: its narrow focus on abortion, its tendency to tokenize Black people and its inability to have honest conversations about member's lived experiences. They also discuss racial stereotypes within the movement and its dangerous alignment with Republican politics.

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Learn more about Pro-Black Pro-Life and visit their YouTube channel.

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Can immigration policy in the United States be considered pro-life? Jan 11, 2022

Show notes

Sr. Norma Pimentel, M.J. spends her life serving migrants at the southern U.S. border. As a Christian, she doesn't see her work as optional. "It's a mandate from God," she says, "to look out for everybody."

Sr. Norma burst onto the national scene when she addressed Pope Francis during a virtual papal audience ahead of his official visit to the U.S. in 2015. The Pope personally thanked her for her ministry. Today, she is one of the most recognized Catholics in the country.

A tireless activist and advocate for migrants, Sr. Norma debunks some of the myths around migration and questions to what degree Americans can be described as "pro-life" amidst the suffering she witnesses daily at the border.

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Don’t turn away from suffering on border, urges Sister Norma Pimentel

Catholic bishops on the border have high hopes (and advice) for Joe Biden on immigration

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How faith leaders can help prevent the next insurrection Jan 04, 2022

Show notes

Over half of the insurrectionists arrested for breaking into the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 were business owners, doctors, lawyers and other white-collar workers. They came mostly from urban centers. These are two of the many significant findings from political scientist Dr. Robert Pape and his research team at the University of Chicago, who have spent the past year studying the insurrectionists.

"We're so used to thinking of extremists as being on the fringe–part of fringe militia groups or religious sects. What's striking about the insurrectionist sentiments in the U.S. today is that they are mainstream."

Gloria speaks with Dr. Pape about the role of religion within the insurrectionist movement and how faith leaders can challenge prevalent insurrectionist sentiments in local communities.

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New survey shows mainstream community support for violence to restore Trump remains strong

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Why an icon depicting Jesus as a Black man was stolen from a Catholic university Dec 21, 2021

Show notes

At the end of November and in honor of Black Catholic History month the Columbus School of Law at the Catholic University of America unveiled a new icon outside of its chapel. The image depicts Mary holding her dead son, Jesus. Both are dark-skinned. The artist, Kelly Latimore, said the icon was inspired by the murder of George Floyd. Soon after it was displayed, the university began receiving calls and letters alleging the image was blasphemous. A lobby began to remove the icon. Then, it was stolen. Then, a smaller version of the same icon was also stolen.

Kelly Latimore joins Gloria to discuss his inspiration for the icon and how it has been celebrated and ridiculed across the Catholic community.

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Kelly Latimore Icons

After racist comments, Catholic University replaces stolen icon depicting Black Mary and Jesus

Second ‘George Floyd’ Pietà icon stolen from Catholic University

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Catholics should be worried about where the Democratic party is headed Dec 14, 2021

Show notes

All eyes were on the Vatican when the United States' second Catholic President, Joe Biden, visited Pope Francis. Political pundits across the Atlantic dissected the visit, looking for any word or gesture that could reveal Pope Francis' political leanings towards Democrats or Republicans. But Dan Lipinski–who served eight terms as the U.S. Representative for Illinois’ Third Congressional District from 2005 to 2021–pushed back, arguing that the pope is not a supporter of either party.

Lipinski, who identifies as a "pro-life Catholic Democrat" and was marginalized by his own party, speaks with Gloria about the growing trend toward extreme political positions in politics and what Catholics engaged in politics can do about it. They also discuss the impact of the election of the country's first black president, Barack Obama, on the Catholic Church and the Republican party.

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Read: Confessions of a pro-life Catholic Democrat in a divided nation by Dan Lipinski

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Young people struggle with Catholic teachings–and that's ok. Dec 07, 2021

Show notes

There is a generational chasm in Catholic communities. Older Catholics struggle to understand the minds and hearts of younger people. Young people are uninspired by a typical parish community or reluctant to attend programs designed to bring them in or back to church. That doesn't mean they're unreligious or disinterested in Catholicism.

Ashley McKinless and Zac Davis recognized this back in 2017 and started a podcast community to create a space for young adults to talk about their spirituality, questions and even their struggles with Catholic teachings. To celebrate Jesuitical's 200th episode, Gloria welcomes Ashley and Zac for an honest and entertaining conversation about young people and the Church today.

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These Black Catholics were spurned by the church–now they're on the path to sainthood Nov 30, 2021

Show notes

No Black Catholics in the United States have been declared saints by the Catholic Church. But that could change. Six individuals who lived between 1766 and 1990 are officially on the path, each with a unique story of faith and struggle. After fleeing slavery in Missouri, Augustus Tolton wanted to be a priest but was rejected by Catholic seminaries. Mary Elizabeth Lange provided free schooling to children of color when it was illegal to do so.

Michael Heinlein, editor of "Black Catholics on the Road to Sainthood," joins Gloria to discuss the heroic lives of these six Catholics who, through acts of charity, defied systems of injustice in society and in the church. "They had to fight just to be able to show love and mercy," says Heinlein.

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Advocates urge Pope Francis to canonize 6 Black U.S. Catholics: ‘If not now, when?’

Black Catholics on the Road to Sainthood by Michael Heinlein

Black Catholics on the Road to Sainthood: A study guide

Video: Sr. Thea Bowman's address to the U.S. Bishops in 1989

Video: Who will be the first Black Catholic saint in the United States?

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Do Catholic hospitals turn away women in crisis pregnancies? Nov 23, 2021

Show notes

"Health Care Denied" was the headline of a report issued by the American Civil Liberties Union on how Catholic hospitals threaten the health and lives of women. It is a common accusation leveled by civil rights groups on issues of women's reproductive health and crisis pregnancies. Catholic hospitals follow guidelines based on beliefs about the human person and the common good which prevent medical staff from providing a range of reproductive health services, including contraception, abortion and sterilization.

Are Catholic hospitals denying women care, turning them away and by doing so threatening their lives? That is absolutely not true, says Fr. Charles Bouchard, O.P., a moral theologian and the Senior Director of Theology and Ethics at the Catholic Health Association. Fr. Charlie speaks to Gloria about why groups like the ACLU and others are targeting Catholic hospitals, despite the high quality of care offered and many shared advocacy priorities around the common good, immigration, voting rights, criminal justice and more.

At some point in the conversation around reproductive health, says Fr. Charlie, belief in human dignity and the common good morphed into a radical autonomy; free choice became an end in itself. Ultimately, this debate is about fundamental moral principles–is a dialogue possible?

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