As Catholics, it can be tempting to focus on the church’s negatives: the scandals, the boring homilies, the lackluster music. This week, on Jesuitical, Zac and Ashley are doing something a little different.

Colleen and Gerry analyze a letter Pope Francis sent to Israeli Jews. Why did the pope choose to address a religious group within Israel, rather than the entire nation?

When asked by host Ricardo da Silva, S.J., why he chose the message of “Welcome Home” and not to preach “in a heavier way,” to emphasize the penitential nature of the season, Cardinal Arthur Roche replies: “Well, because I think, really, that’s what Lent is all about.

This week on “Jesuitical,” Zac and Ashley are joined by Matthew Cressler, creator of “Bad Catholics, Good Trouble,” a webcomic series about anti-racism and struggles for justice across U.S. Catholic history.

Colleen and Gerry explore the appointment of three new bishops and the approval of a new diocese in China, actions that indicate rapid developments in the Vatican’s complex relationship with China.

New Testament scholar Amy-Jill Levine joins the “Jesuitical” podcast to explain why Christians must understand Jesus within his Jewish context.