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JesuiticalSeptember 20, 2024
Jai Agnish, Zac Davis, Bishop Kevin Sweeney, Ashley McKinless and Sebastian Gomes at a live recording of Jesuitical at the Diocese of Paterson’s Paul Inside the Walls evangelization center in Madison, N.J. (Credit: Joe Gigli/Diocese of Paterson)

This week on a live recording of “Jesuitical,” Zac and Ashley chat with Bishop Kevin Sweeney, the eighth bishop of the Diocese of Paterson, N.J. (and a “Jesuitical” superfan!), about his spiritual journey as a young priest on Sept. 11, 2001, and becoming a bishop during the Covid-19 pandemic. Bishop Sweeney cites his knowledge gained in hard times as the catalyst for his pastoral approach to fostering community in an evolving church.

They discuss:

  • Bishop Sweeney’s own vocational journey, from considering professional baseball to embracing the priesthood and, later, the episcopacy
  • How modern vocations of both men and women emphasize the radical Gospel call to co-responsibility among the laity in the life of the church
  • Tangible ways that the church can help navigate the upcoming U.S. presidential election with a spirit of unity and respect

In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley discuss Pope Francis’ recent advice to Catholics voting in the 2024 U.S. presidential election, where he called both major candidates “against life” and framed the election as a vote for the “lesser evil”; and curious stories about incorruptibility—the divine intervention that allows the bodies of certain saints to completely or partially avoid decomposition after death as a sign of their holiness.

Links from the show:

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