The Gloria Purvis Podcast

Latest Episodes:

In the movements for racial justice, Martin Luther King Jr.'s daughter is asking, "where is the church?" Nov 16, 2021

Show notes

Dr. Bernice A. King–the youngest daughter of civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr.–knows the temperature of the United States is high. But she's convinced that racial justice and equality will not come about through anger and bitterness.

Dr. King and Gloria discuss the response of Christian churches to the murder of George Floyd and the BLM movement, what MLK meant by "colorblindness" and why social justice work has to change hearts as well as structures.

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Learn more about Dr. Bernice A. King and The King Center

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Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone is concerned about Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi’s souls Nov 09, 2021

Show notes

Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco has concerns about President Joe Biden and Speaker Nancy Pelosi's souls–two prominent pro-choice Catholics.

In a wide-ranging interview, Gloria and the Archbishop also discuss the president's recent meeting with Pope Francis, when denying the Eucharist to Catholics is appropriate and how abortion–a preeminent issue–fits into the wider body of Catholic teachings on racism and immigration.

Read this interview in print and comment here!

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Benedict XVI Institute's Requiem Mass For The Homeless.

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Catholics: we need to talk about our bad experiences in Confession Nov 02, 2021

Show notes

If you've had a bad experience going to Confession, you're not alone. Catholics recently took to social media in response to a post from a woman who had been questioned inappropriately by a priest after confessing a sexual sin.

One of the responses came from Fr. Jim McDermott, SJ, an associate editor at America, who authored Sex and Confession: 5 helpful guidelines. He and Gloria share their own past negative experiences in the confessional, discuss the formation of priests who hear confessions and the rights of the penitent. They also reflect on why the seal of confession should never be broken, no matter what the sin, and make the case for not giving up on the sacrament.

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Link: Sex and Confession: 5 helpful guidelines

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For women to be free, they must be free to be women. Oct 26, 2021

Show notes

The struggle for women's rights has been long and hard fought. The goal was freedom. But what does freedom mean and how has it changed from the time of the 19th century feminists through various women's movements? Lawyer and author Erika Bachiochi joins Gloria to clarify concepts and shine a light on the early feminists who fought for more than an abstract, autonomous individualism–a notion created by men. From voting to sex, women can only be free when they are free to be women.

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Links:

The Rights of Women: Reclaiming a Lost Vision

The Equality Act’s implications for abortion would be devastating for pregnant women in the workplace

What I will teach my children about Ruth Bader Ginsburg

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Vaccine conspiracy theories and anti-semitism in Catholic communities Oct 19, 2021

Show notes

The debate over masking and vaccine mandates has led some critics to make an egregious comparison to Nazism. But make no mistake, writes Jenn Morson in a recent article in America, "there is no comparison between being asked to wear a mask in stores and schools and being forced to wear a yellow Star of David in Nazi Germany."

Morson, a practicing Catholic who is ethnically Jewish, explains why appropriating the Holocaust to make a political point is both unacceptable and ineffective. It's used out of ignorance or as a tactic to end dialogue rather than engage constructively. Morson speaks with Gloria about a growing sub-culture of conspiracy theories and anti-semitism in Catholic communities.

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Stop comparing vaccine mandates to the Holocaust by Jenn Morson

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Activists changed a historically racist street name in Atchison, Kansas. Why didn't local Catholics support it? Oct 12, 2021

Show notes

Division Street ran through Atchison, Kansas. It divided the community along racial lines until a local advocacy group, Atchison United, lobbied to change it. But some Catholics in the city resisted the effort.

Kevin Hill, an attorney and member of Atchison United, speaks with Gloria about how racism has become politicized in the United States, including in small cities like Atchison with sizable Catholic populations. Kevin and Gloria recount the story of George Johnson, a Black man from Atchison who was lynched by a white mob in 1870, and make the case that racism is a fundamental life issue for Catholics.

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The political categories of "right" and "left" don't belong in the Catholic Church Oct 05, 2021

Show notes

American politics have infiltrated the Catholic Church and are wreaking havoc. When Catholics adopt the prevailing secular categories of "right" and "left" they marginalize a central tenet of the faith: that truth is a person, not a thing. Fr. Matt Malone, SJ, President and Editor-in-Chief of America Media, joins Gloria for a frank conversation on the constructive and destructive power of media in the Catholic Church today, and why the goal of Christian discipleship is not about being right–it's about being holy.

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Links:

Matt Malone, S.J., president and editor in chief of America Media, to step down in 2022

A Big Heart Open to God: An interview with Pope Francis

Everything I Can Do: Living with Down syndrome

Learning to Pray: A Guide for Everyone by Fr. James Martin, SJ

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How to criticize the Pope and remain Catholic Sep 28, 2021

Show notes

During a conversation with Jesuits on his recent visit to Slovakia, Pope Francis called out a large Catholic media network for relentlessly attacking him in his role as pope. That network is the U.S. based Eternal Word Television Network, founded by Mother Angelica. What does Pope Francis' comment mean for Catholics, particularly Catholics in the media? Do his words and actions as pope require correction? What is an appropriate way to criticize the pope?

Fr. Aquinas Guilbeau, a Dominican Friar and moral theologian, joins Gloria to bring some clarity to the story. Pope Francis doesn't take offense when people criticize him personally or the prudential decisions he makes, says Fr. Aquinas. But when that criticism turns against his exercise of the papacy and threatens the unity of the church, the church itself comes under attack.

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Links:

Pope Francis responds to attacks from EWTN, other church critics: ‘They are the work of the devil.’

Why don’t the U.S. bishops defend Pope Francis from American media attacks?

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Why the classic texts of the ancient world are polarizing us today Sep 21, 2021

Show notes

Stepping outside of our own particular worldview to encounter another person's story can be scary. That's where the classics come in. They are a collection of texts from the ancient world that cross cultural borders and reveal our common humanity. Frederick Douglas, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcom X, James Baldwin, Toni Morrison and other great African-American figures were steeped in the classics. Today, however, the classics are polarizing, often claimed or misrepresented as primarily a history of white, European identity and accomplishment. Dr. Anika Prather of Howard University pushes back on this prevailing narrative, arguing that the classics teach us about many diverse cultural heritages.

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Links:

In defense of a classical education

Dr. Anika Prather's classics reading list

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Texas' abortion ban and systemic sexism against women Sep 14, 2021

Show notes

It's common for pregnant women to experience a sense of dread, panic or agony: not because they don't want the child, but because the economic and social systems do not support women as they should. It's these systemic failures that have led to broad acceptance of abortion, says Helen Alvaré of the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University.

Gloria and Helen discuss what justice looks like for women in the context of Texas' recent SB8 law, which bans abortions after six weeks of pregnancy in the state. For the pro-life movement, it was a major victory. But the panic it created may harden people's hearts against future laws restricting abortion, and ultimately hurt the pro-life cause.

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Read more from America:

The Machiavellian tactics of the Texas abortion law that pro-lifers may come to regret

A challenge to Planned Parenthood in Texas: Don’t shut down. Support women with life-affirming prenatal care.

Pro-life Catholics: You can’t end abortion without taking on the patriarchy.

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