Tomorrow's American Catholic Podcast

Mary Fontana is an author, essayist, and award-winning poet whose prose and poems have appeared in The Sun, America, BorderLore, Prairie Schooner, and other publications. Her book Strangers in the Province of Joy: Practicing Radical Hospitality on the US-Mexico Border was released in May by Orbis Books. This narrative history of Annunciation House, a house of hospitality for migrants and refugees in El Paso, Texas, where Mary has volunteered for two decades, draws on her personal experience and extensive interviews to tell the story of migration across the US-Mexico border over the past fifty years.In addition to her literary output, Mary has a PhD in Immunology & Pathogenesis from the University of California–Berkeley and did infectious disease research for a decade, all the while volunteering part-time with Annunciation House. She lives in Seattle with her husband and two children.In this episode, Mary shares the history and mission of Annunciation House and its culture rooted in personalism, liberation theology, and “doing small things with great love.” We look at how US immigration policies have changed over time, and how the lack of legal pathways in our current system ultimately endangers migrants’ lives. Mary also explains the importance of “humanizing people and seeing them as worthy of our compassion” and elaborates on the core goal of her book as helping readers “really come to know specific stories of immigrants, migrants, refugees, so that they can feel more of a kinship with them, more of an understanding of why they come.”See also:Mary Fontana’s official websiteStrangers in the Province of Joy at Orbis Books“Rio Grande Roulette,” essay at The Lemonwood QuarterlyAwareness by Anthony De Mello, a formative influence on Mary’s spirituality Get full access to Tomorrow's American Catholic at www.tomorrowsamericancatholic.org/subscribe

Michele Dunne is a professed Secular Franciscan and the executive director of the Franciscan Action Network, a collective Franciscan voice seeking to transform United States public policy related to peace making, care for creation, poverty, and human rights. Before coming to her current position, Michele’s career focused on the Middle East and US foreign policy. From 2006 until 2021, she headed programs focused on peace, human rights, and democracy in the Middle East at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Atlantic Council. Prior to that, she served for nearly 20 years in the US Department of State, including assignments in Jerusalem and Cairo. She holds a PhD from Georgetown University and currently lives in Washington, DC with her husband.In this episode, Michele shares with us her spiritual journey and the gradual revelation of her Franciscan vocation—what she describes as “the greatest gift that God ever gave me, and also the most challenging and most humbling”—and explores those elements of the “life-giving and life-affirming” Franciscan Rule that have enriched and encouraged her along the way. We take a close look at the work of the Franciscan Action Network and its mission to “inform, inspire, and mobilize” its collective membership of religious communities, local affinity groups, and thousands of individual members across the country. Michele also touches on the relationship between Franciscan spirituality and activism and explains how the Network supports its members in discerning and carrying out their own unique calling. Get full access to Tomorrow's American Catholic at www.tomorrowsamericancatholic.org/subscribe

Matthew Fox is a spiritual theologian, Episcopal priest, and activist for gender justice and eco-justice. He holds a doctorate in the history and theology of spirituality from the Institut Catholique de Paris. To date he has written over 40 books, including Original Blessing, The Coming of the Cosmic Christ, Creation Spirituality: Liberating Gifts for the Peoples of the Earth, and A Way to God: Thomas Merton’s Creation Spirituality Journey. Though he was silenced by the Vatican in the early 1990s, the influence of his work in the field of Creation Spirituality reemerged a generation later in documents such as Laudato Si’—in fact, one of Fox’s former students, Fr. Sean McDonagh, served as an advisor in the drafting of that encyclical.Seeking to establish a new pedagogy for learning spirituality melding the ancient Western wisdom tradition with contemporary scientists and modern mystics, Fox founded the Institute in Culture and Creation Spirituality in 1976. After pressure from the Vatican’s Congregation of Doctrine and Faith, the institute closed in the early 1990s. Fox went on to establish the University of Creation Spirituality, or UCS, in California in 1996. On the UCS faculty were persons from Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Sufi, Native American, and Hindu traditions, as well as scientists and ecological and social justice activists and artists. Fox has since taught at Stanford University, Vancouver School of Theology, and the California Institute of Integral Studies, among other places.Fox is recipient of the Abbey Courage of Conscience Peace Award, the Gandhi King Ikeda Award, the Tikkun National Ethics Award, and other awards. He is currently a visiting scholar at the Academy of the Love of Learning in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and conducts numerous workshops each year.Our wide-ranging conversation looked at Matthew’s early life and the influence of Dominican theologian M. D. Chenu on the formulation of Creation Spirituality; explored the fourfold path of the spiritual journey, with a particular focus on the via creativa that links art and meditation; and related the importance of interspirituality or “deep ecumenism” for the future of the planet. Matthew also shares why he feels “human beings need ritual to survive” and how ritual sustains community by “bringing people together to rejoice, to grieve, to commune, to be nourished, and to be strong to return to serve.” See also:The core tenets of Creation SpiritualityAn overview of the Cosmic MassAn overview of the “four mystical paths” of Creation SpiritualityDaily Meditations with Matthew Fox“Continuous Creation”: Our report on Matthew Fox’s presentation for the Association of Pittsburgh Priests on August 6, 2025 Get full access to Tomorrow's American Catholic at www.tomorrowsamericancatholic.org/subscribe

Sergio Lopez is a husband, father, educator, and Catholic organizer from Southern California. He serves as the National Director for Mission and Leadership Formation for Catholics in Communion, where he accompanies Catholic leaders, parishes, and organizations working to build a more just, compassionate, and faithful church. He previously served in leadership formation with Catholic Relief Services, helping Catholics deepen their commitment to global solidarity and social justice. Sergio also teaches pastoral leadership at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. As a Latino Catholic leader, he is passionate about forming communities of faith that respond to the struggles of our time with hope, courage, and a deep commitment to human dignity.In this episode, we speak with Sergio about his awakening to faith as a son of Mexican immigrants, his transition from seminary to the vocation of parish ministry and community organizing, and how recent cuts to US foreign aid impacted the mission of Catholic Relief Services and other international development organizations. Sergio shares how Catholics in Communion arose in response to a “pastoral emergency of hope,” especially around issues of anti-immigrant violence, and gives us an overview of their Season of Faithful Witness initiative and ways that people can get involved—“Catholics being Catholic in the public space,” as he explains, “coordinating love, organizing hope.” Our conversation also touches on the opportunity to “speak as one church” in the era of Pope Leo XIV by reinvigorating social teaching and developing a “shared language around what it means to be Catholic.” Listeners are encouraged to read the accompanying article, “A Season of Faithful Witness: Catholics Are Learning to Walk Together Again,” published in tandem with this episode in Tomorrow’s American Catholic. Get full access to Tomorrow's American Catholic at www.tomorrowsamericancatholic.org/subscribe

Janet McKenzie was born in Brooklyn and raised in and around New York City. She studied at the Fashion Institute of Technology and the Art Students League, and was the recipient of the Edward McDowell Traveling Scholarship. For many years she has lived and worked in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont.In the mid-nineties, Ms. McKenzie began to incorporate diversity, children, and symbolic imagery into her work portraying women. She is well known for her internationally acclaimed painting Jesus of the People, which was the first-place winner of the National Catholic Reporter’s global competition, “Jesus 2000.” She was invited to be the 2013 William Belden Noble Lecturer at Harvard University’s Memorial Church. In 2017, Memorial Church commissioned The Divine Journey—Companions of Love and Hope, a new painting which honors diversity and Radcliffe/Harvard women past and present.Ms. McKenzie’s work is included in numerous collections throughout the US. The Basilica of Saint Mary in Minneapolis holds 17 of her paintings in their collection. Her painting Sanctuary was displayed on the pulpit for the funerals of assassinated Minnesota state representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman, in June 2025. She states, “As an artist I work to be a voice for inclusion and positive change. My art comes from that sacred place within each of us where we exist beyond gender, race, and perceived differences.”Our conversation with Ms. McKenzie touched on her early life and studies, painting as a weekly practice and the “transition” she makes between her home and studio, and art as a form of sacred activism that can embolden people emotionally and spiritually. She also shared how she approaches working with models, why it is important for her to create compositions that people of all backgrounds can see themselves in, and the ways she prayerfully attunes herself to the evolution of each painting as “one thing builds after the next.”We could say McKenzie’s famous painting Jesus of the People (2000) took up Millais’ mantle, showing Jesus as truly “one of us” in a contemporary context. In her powerful painting Woman Offered #5, McKenzie asks the viewer to take the next theological step.Here McKenzie paints in her impeccably skilled manner a person both dignified and suffering. She need not add a halo or give a religious name to the woman she depicts. She simply portrays a Black woman in a cruciform position, in a stark silhouette of black and white.Can this woman image Christ to us? Must this woman be an image of Christ for us to care? Can she not just be herself, in all her unique specificity—a particular Black woman with her particular hardships and struggles? Would that be enough to stir our hearts and minds? And what is she “offered” for, as the title of the painting proposes? Is she offered for our sins? Is she offered for our selfishness and greed? Is she offered for our failures to see all people as made “in [God’s] image, according to [God’s] likeness”? (Gen. 1:26–27).— John Christman, U.S. Catholic, February 23, 2023Additional Resources:Official website of Janet McKenzieThe Divine Journey: A Painter’s Mission (documentary on the commission for Harvard University’s Memorial Church) Art That Surrounds Us (video on the acquisition of the painting Sanctuary by the Basilica of St. Mary, Minneapolis)HOPE (video presentation of Ms. McKenzie’s work in the world of vigils and protests)The Way of the Cross: The Path to New Life (collaboration with Sr. Joan Chittister) Get full access to Tomorrow's American Catholic at www.tomorrowsamericancatholic.org/subscribe

Fr. Thomas J. Reese is a Jesuit priest and currently a senior analyst for Religion News Service. He has previously been a columnist at the National Catholic Reporter as well as an associate editor and editor in chief at America magazine.Fr. Tom entered the Jesuits in 1962 and was ordained in 1974. He was educated at St. Louis University, the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley, and at the University of California Berkeley, where he received a Ph.D. in political science. He was a senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center from 1985 to 1998 and 2006 to 2013. While at Woodstock, he wrote his trilogy on the organization and politics of the church: Archbishop: Inside the Power Structure of the American Catholic Church, A Flock of Shepherds: The National Conference of Catholic Bishops, and Inside the Vatican: The Politics and Organization of the Catholic Church.In 2014, Fr. Tom was appointed by President Barack Obama to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, an independent, bipartisan U.S. federal government commission that reviews the facts and circumstances of religious freedom violations and makes policy recommendations to the president, the secretary of state, and Congress. He was reappointed to another two-year term in May 2016, and he was elected to a one-year term as chair of the commission in June 2016.In this episode, we speak with Fr. Tom about the origins of his vocation as both a Jesuit and a journalist, his take on the state of Catholic media today, and the historical roots of political polarization we see within the church and society. Fr. Tom also shares his impressions of Pope Leo XIV’s first year, reflects on the perennial question of how the US church should relate to the public square, and offers the practice he feels is essential for “tomorrow’s American Catholic.” Get full access to Tomorrow's American Catholic at www.tomorrowsamericancatholic.org/subscribe

It’s been four months since we relaunched Tomorrow’s American Catholic along with this podcast. Between January and April, we released 14 episodes with over 2,600 downloads, and we have many more cued up for release and scheduled to record. As we concluded this initial cycle, we thought it might be fruitful to pause and reflect with our podcast co-facilitators, Patrick Carolan, Barbara Mariconda, and Michael Centore, about how the process is unfolding. In our mission statement when we launched our new website, we spoke of trying to create a “sustained and multimodal conversation.” This episode is really just an extension of that: we’ve come up with a few guiding questions to help us think through what we’ve been learning, where we’re finding hope, and how our understanding of the church is evolving through these podcast encounters. We’re also seeing this episode as part and parcel of our seasonal survey, inviting our listeners and readers to reflect with us as we develop our animating question: Who is tomorrow’s American Catholic, and how is their understanding of themselves, their faith, and their church evolving in time? Get full access to Tomorrow's American Catholic at www.tomorrowsamericancatholic.org/subscribe

Father Vincent Pizzuto, PhD, is a professor of New Testament and Christian Mysticism in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the (Jesuit) University of San Francisco. Committed to linking ancient Christian tradition with contemporary faith, his courses explore the relationship between historical-critical exegesis, Christian mysticism, and theology both ancient and modern.In addition to his professorship, Fr. Vincent is an Episcopal priest who serves as vicar of St. Columba’s Episcopal Church and Retreat House in Inverness, California, where he founded a Christian Contemplative Center dedicated to the advancement of contemplative Christianity. Since his arrival in 2017, the St. Columba’s community has grown exponentially and now offers a series of programs, both in-person and online, to enrich participants’ spiritual lives and contemplative practice.Fr. Vincent has published and presented internationally for a variety of churches, theological societies, and other organizations. His book Contemplating Christ: The Gospels and the Interior Life, published by Liturgical Press, appeared in a Spanish translation in 2022 and will be published in Chinese later this year. His current research explores near-death experiences in dialogue with medical science, philosophy of mind, epistemology, and theology.In this episode, we speak with Fr. Vincent about the origins of his spiritual journey and discernment of the distinction between “contemplative” and “monastic” vocations, his vision for St. Columba’s as a kind of “contemplative leaven” for the larger church, and the links between the Eucharistic liturgy and the Christian approach to social justice. Along the way, we explore the importance of learning “how to maneuver in the landscape of Scripture,” consider the image of the body of Christ as a means of integrating our various ministries and vocations, and find in the concept of “catholicity” a framework for thinking with, and about, the universal church.See also:St. Columba’s Episcopal Church and Retreat HouseContemplating Christ: The Gospels and the Interior Life The Crucifixion: Understanding the Death of Jesus Christ by Fleming Rutledge“This Retreat Center Brings Monasticism to the Entire Church,” U.S. Catholic profile of St. Columba’s by Michael Centore, November 2025 Get full access to Tomorrow's American Catholic at www.tomorrowsamericancatholic.org/subscribe

The Rt. Rev. Br. Mark D’Alessio is a Franciscan friar and the founder of the interfaith community of the Companions of Francis and Clare. He is also a spiritual director, Christian bishop and priest, ordained lay Buddhist minister, chaplain, retreat leader, author, crisis counselor for the homeless, and past president and executive director of the Psychotherapy & Spirituality Institute, which draws together the inspiration of the church with the wisdom of psychological care.In addition, Br. Mark is a faculty member at All Faiths Seminary International for the training of interfaith ministers. He’s ordained into multiple spiritual lineages, both East (Zen Buddhist, Thich Nhat Hanh’s Order of Interbeing) and West (Christian/Franciscan, the Companions of Francis and Clare). As a long-time seeker and practitioner of spiritual wisdom, he does his best to affirm the Christian Wisdom tradition within a wider inter-spiritual framework. He has taught, lectured, and led retreats in the US and abroad.Br. Mark is especially committed to serving those who are sidelined and at risk. Moving to Long Island, he founded the Franciscan Circle, a diverse interfaith gathering of clergy and lay people who seek to journey in mind and heart with the witness and wisdom of the saints of Assisi, Francis, and Clare.In this episode, we speak with Br. Mark about the turning points in his spiritual journey, including the moment when he realized it was permitted to “ask any question you want of God”; his interfaith ministry and experience of Buddhism in a Christian context as “a different practice for the same spiritual muscle”; and the origins of the Franciscan Circle and Companions of Francis and Clare. Along the way, Br. Mark shares insights into how “God works through invitation,” the relationship between conversion and compassion (and how compassion is the ultimate sign of personal transformation), the distinction between joy and happiness, and other stages in “the mission of understanding the mystery.” Get full access to Tomorrow's American Catholic at www.tomorrowsamericancatholic.org/subscribe

Sean Forrest is a musician, presenter, author, youth minister, and missionary who has used his gifts and talents to make an impact on many fronts. He is the co-founder of Haiti180, an organization that nurtures leaders of faith, provides love-filled childhoods, and extends God’s care through education, medical aid, and housing for Haiti’s poorest. To date, Haiti180 has built an orphanage, a school serving over 350 students, elderly housing and care, and a state-of-the-art medical facility—all initiatives that are deeply rooted in faith, hope, and love.In this episode, we speak with Sean about his early religious upbringing and journey to the Catholic Church, his background as a musician and author and how these creative pursuits have shaped his faith and works of service, and the transformative experiences in Haiti that inspired him to start his organization. Along the way, we touch on the relationship between justice and charity, embracing ourselves as “broken vessels,” and how “entering into the suffering” of others is the cost of discipleship. Listeners can discover more about Haiti180 and ways to support the work of Sean and his team at their website here. Get full access to Tomorrow's American Catholic at www.tomorrowsamericancatholic.org/subscribe

Bishop John Stowe is originally from Amherst, Ohio. After a year of community college, he joined the formation program for the Conventual Franciscan Province of Our Lady of Consolation at St. Bonaventure Friary in St. Louis, Missouri. He began studies in philosophy and history at St. Louis University and completed a bachelor of arts degree in each in 1990. He subsequently earned a master of divinity and a licentiate in church history from the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, California.Bishop Stowe professed his solemn vows to the Conventual Franciscans in 1992 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1995. He has served in Texas as a pastor, moderator of the curia, and eventually as chancellor for the Diocese of El Paso. In 2010, he was elected vicar provincial of the Province of Our Lady of Consolation and became pastor and rector of the Basilica and National Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation in Carey, Ohio. In 2015, Pope Francis named him the third Bishop of the Diocese of Lexington, Kentucky. Bishop Stowe currently serves as Bishop-President of Pax Christi USA, and the episcopal moderator of the Catholic Committee of Appalachia and of the Federaciones de Institutos Pastorales (FIP).In this episode, we speak with Bishop Stowe about the influence of Franciscan and Jesuit spirituality on his early religious upbringing and approach to episcopal leadership, the relationship between faith and political life that is oriented toward the “common good,” and how the church can use the tools of community organizing to build coalitions of mutual interest and empowerment. We also discuss the need to move from discernment to action around the Synod, and Bishop Stowe shares at length about his “formative experience” on the border in El Paso and how the people of the region taught him “the importance of solidarity as a virtue.” In tandem with this episode, Bishop Stowe and Pax Christi USA have kindly let us reproduce the text of the bishop’s reflection shared at a prayer vigil outside the headquarters of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, March 24. Further resources mentioned in the episode are available below.See also:Overview of Diocese of Lexington’s net-zero commitment and synodal initiativesPax Christi USASeason of Faithful Witness proposalIndustrial Areas Foundation (IAF)Tepeyac Institute (Formation Center for the Diocese of El Paso) Get full access to Tomorrow's American Catholic at www.tomorrowsamericancatholic.org/subscribe

Mike Matteuzzi is the founder of Contemporary Spirituality, an organization dedicated to connecting sincere seekers with the wisdom teachings of the world’s religions. Contemporary Spirituality offers “something more for sincere seekers” through in-person and online programming. It seeks to build a supportive community that emphasizes commitment to a regular contemplative practice while assisting participants in discerning their unique call.Mike’s spiritual journey has taken him to conferences at the Center for Action and Contemplation, silent retreats at St. Benedict’s in Snowmass, Colorado, several years organizing and promoting retreats in Missouri and Kansas for Trappist Fr. William Meninger, time on Sr. Ilia Delio’s board of directors for her Omega Center, and participation in two multi-year spirituality programs: Richard Rohr’s Living School and Ronald Rolheiser’s Forest Dwelling: Spirituality for Our Wisdom Years.In this episode, we speak with Mike about his background and early experience in an intentional Christian community, his awakening to the “spaciousness” of contemplative spirituality, and how he lives out the calling of “entering the cosmic dance” in his day-to-day life and work with his organization. We also look at how his understanding of the church has evolved throughout his journey, the limitations and invitations of “cultural Catholicism,” and the ways in which the role of the church “is to embrace so as to redeem and not to exclude so as to purify.” Get full access to Tomorrow's American Catholic at www.tomorrowsamericancatholic.org/subscribe

Fr. Reginald Norman was born in Durham, North Carolina, and raised in Connecticut. He converted to Catholicism in 1990 at St. James Roman Catholic Church in Stratford, Connecticut, and pursued a career in business before answering the call to priesthood. Ordained a priest for the Diocese of Bridgeport, he has served as pastor and administrator at multiple parishes and is presently the vicar of the Apostolate of Black Catholics, pastor of St. Mark Church in Stratford, Connecticut, and dean of the Seat of Wisdom Deanery. Fr. Reginald holds leadership roles in national Black Catholic organizations, including president of the National Association of Black Catholic Administrators and vice president of the National Black Catholic Congress. He also serves on numerous diocesan committees, lectures on faith and social issues, and is actively involved in Catholic Charities and community organizations. He is the recipient of the D.A.R. Good Citizens Award, the Congressman Medal of Honor, and other awards recognizing his service to the community. A dedicated mentor and speaker, he is passionate about men’s spirituality, family dynamics, and uplifting both youth and the elderly.In this episode, we speak with Fr. Reginald about his background in the Baptist tradition and entrance into the Catholic Church, forms of systemic racism that are still present in diocesan structures, and his perspective on the state of the Black Catholic movement in the church today. Fr. Reginald also shares with us the importance of surrender on the spiritual path, the difference between “dictating and disappearing” and “acting and assisting” in living out the church’s mission, and how “recognition of injustice is power, not punishment.”In tandem with this episode, Fr. Reginald has kindly let us reproduce the text of his keynote speech given at the Stratford Interfaith Service honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. this past January. Get full access to Tomorrow's American Catholic at www.tomorrowsamericancatholic.org/subscribe

Pastor Christine Pelfrey attended Catholic schools from kindergarten through high school. She first felt a call to ordained ministry as a child preparing to receive her First Communion. But without a clear path forward in the Roman Catholic tradition, she pushed aside the call for many years.In 2014, when the pestering of the Holy Spirit made it clear that the call to ministry was not to be pushed aside, Christine went back to college. She earned a bachelor of arts in theology and religious studies, magna cum laude, from Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut, in December 2019. She graduated from United Lutheran Seminary in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in May 2025 with a master of divinity degree, and completed her candidacy through the Slovak Zion Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). During her formation, Christine served her field education year at Trinity Lutheran in New Haven, Connecticut, and her internship as a vicar at Emanuel Lutheran in Hartford, Connecticut. She also completed chaplaincy training at Norwalk Hospital in Norwalk, Connecticut. She was ordained to the Ministry of Word and Sacrament in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in December 2025, and currently serves as pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Vernon, Connecticut.In this episode, we speak with Pastor Christine about the lifelong process of her vocational discernment, how her Catholic background continues to influence her personal spirituality and pastoral ministry, and what a synodal Catholic Church might learn from Lutheran governance structures. We also look at the selection process of bishops and clergy within the Lutheran church and some of the ways that Pastor Christine is growing and sustaining a gospel-aligned community. Get full access to Tomorrow's American Catholic at www.tomorrowsamericancatholic.org/subscribe

Colette Lafia is an award-winning writer, retreat leader, and spiritual director who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. A graduate of the Spiritual Directors’ Institute at Mercy Center in Burlingame, California, she also completed the Living School program in the Christian contemplative and mystical traditions. She is the author of The Divine Heart: Seven Ways to Live in God’s Love, which received a 2022 Nautilus Book Award, as well as Seeking Surrender: How My Friendship with a Trappist Monk Taught Me to Trust and Embrace Life, and Comfort and Joy: Simple Ways to Care for Ourselves and Others, named one of the best spiritual books of the year by Spirituality & Practice. As a contemplative teacher, Colette regularly gives retreats and workshops to an international audience both online and in person, and is a regular contributor to Gratefulness.org. In this episode, we speak with Colette about her latest book, Leaving the Shore: Experiencing Poetry as Prayer, out now from Monkfish Book Publishing. As we explore the relationship between reading and writing poetry and contemplative practice, Colette shares poems from the book along with prompts for guided mediation. We also discuss Colette’s work as a retreat leader and spiritual director, and the ways in which spiritual direction (or “accompaniment”) is emerging as a new ministerial form. See also:Colette’s website with information on books, workshops, and retreatsLeaving the Shore: Experiencing Poetry as Prayer at Monkfish Book Publishing Get full access to Tomorrow's American Catholic at www.tomorrowsamericancatholic.org/subscribe

Fr. Tom Lynch served as pastor of Saint James parish in Stratford, Connecticut, for 31 years. Committed to issues of social justice and living the radical demands of the gospel, Saint James earned a reputation for bringing discipleship to life. Under Fr. Tom’s leadership, this vital, engaged community of faith was named one of the top 100 Excellent Catholic Parishes in the United States.Fr. Tom has served as Family Life Representative for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, and served as a Dean within the Diocese of Bridgeport. An experienced family and marriage counselor, he brings together a deep understanding of the spiritual and emotional components that empower the open, honest, and loving conversations loved ones need to have as they walk together.With our podcast co-facilitator Barbara Mariconda, Fr. Tom founded the Journey of the Soul Ministry in 2011, and the two of them collaborated on a book, After the Diagnosis . . . A Guide for Living: The Transformative Power of Love During Sickness Dying and Death, which published in 2018.In this episode, we speak with Fr. Tom about his experiences in the antiwar movement of the 1960s, his vision of the nature of the priesthood, and how he shepherded the parish of Saint James to grow to include some 3,000 families. As he tells us at one point, “It’s really all about relationships, about getting out of our own way, about vulnerability, forgiveness, healing, and letting ourselves be loved by our God.” Get full access to Tomorrow's American Catholic at www.tomorrowsamericancatholic.org/subscribe

Sr. Leonida Katunge is a St. Joseph Sister from the region of Mombasa, Kenya. She is a theologian and a civil lawyer with extensive experience in academia, pastoral ministry, and human rights advocacy. She holds a Ph.D. and a master’s degree in sacred liturgy from the Pontifical Athenaeum of St. Anslem in Rome, a bachelor’s degree in theology, a Master of Laws, a Bachelor of Laws, and a diploma in civil law. She has served for over a decade as a professor of sacred liturgy at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa and currently teaches at Ancilla College and Marian University in Indiana.In this episode, we speak with Sr. Leonida along with her colleagues from the Pan-African Catholic Theology and Pastoral Network (PACTPAN)—Sr. Miriam Chise of Zambia, Justin Giningakpio of South Sudan, and Fr. Cornelius Uchenna Okeke of the Archdiocese of Detroit—about the work they are doing individually and collectively to end the scourge of human trafficking. Our conversation was recorded a few days in advance of the International Day of Prayer and Awareness against Human Trafficking on February 8, the feast day of the Sudanese Canossian sister St. Josephine Bakhita. Our guests shared what has drawn them to this issue, the importance of remembering St. Josephine’s story, and details about PACTPAN’s upcoming event, “Digital Evangelization for Human Dignity: Ending Trafficking in Africa” (details below). Guests also shared personal accounts of working with trafficked persons, the many structural factors that drive this “dark market,” and how human trafficking is part of a larger moral failure to see the image of God in others.See also:Pan-African Catholic Theology and Pastoral Network (PACTPAN)Link to join PACTPAN’s Feast of St. Josephine Bakhita event on February 6 and 7 International Day of Prayer and Awareness against Human TraffickingInternational Day of Prayer and Awareness against Human Trafficking (Integral Human Development site)International Day of Prayer and Awareness against Human Trafficking (USCCB site)“Liturgy, Synodality, and Sacramentality in the African Church” (Sr. Leonida’s interview in Tomorrow’s American Catholic, January 8, 2026)“‘Uno Caro’: Why is the Vatican still getting Africa wrong on marriage?” (Sr. Leonida’s article in National Catholic Reporter, January 27, 2026)“From Mission Fields to Mission Partners: Reciprocal Mission and the Exchange of Gifts in a Changing World Church” (Fr. Cornelius’s essay in Tomorrow’s American Catholic, January 29, 2026)The Dark Side of Chocolate (documentary film)2026 St. Josephine Bakhita Prayer Resource from SSND Shalom North America Get full access to Tomorrow's American Catholic at www.tomorrowsamericancatholic.org/subscribe

Therese Lefever has spent a lifetime in the service of others: as a mom, an educator, in parish ministry, religious education, and as a social activist. She is program director at the Burroughs Community Center in Bridgeport, Connecticut, where she leads programs such as Our Woven Community. Our Woven Community provides local resettled refugee women the opportunity to become self-sufficient leaders, empowering them with entrepreneurial skills and economic opportunity.In this episode, we speak with Therese about the evolution of her Catholicism throughout the years, her lifelong work of providing care and support for others, the history and mission of the Burroughs Community center, and how her faith helps her balance her many roles and deepen her calling of bringing joy to others. Get full access to Tomorrow's American Catholic at www.tomorrowsamericancatholic.org/subscribe

Kurt Johnson is an internationally renowned scientist, social activist, author, and former monastic. He is also a pioneer in the field of interspirituality, the discovery of a universal spirituality within the world’s religions. His latest project is the two-volume set Interspirituality (Light on Light Press), a compendium of writings on the heritage and future of the interspiritual movement with contributions from 120 religious and spiritual thought-leaders from all over the world. His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama captures the essence of the volumes in his opening message: “Without a community, one single individual cannot survive. So we must develop a reality where the entire world of human beings are one human community—we are brothers and sisters—one humanity!”In this episode, we speak with Kurt about his (inter)spiritual background, the history and current state of the interspiritual movement, Catholic and Christian contributions to a “deep ecumenism,” and how we might “pilot out of a place of deeper assets” to build a better world.See also:The Interspiritual NetworkThe two-volume Interspirituality set from Light on Light PressUnity Earth Symposium 2026The Heart of the Christian-Hindu Dialogue with Wayne Teasdale (video)Exploring the Hindu-Christian Dialogue with Fr. Bede Griffiths (video) Get full access to Tomorrow's American Catholic at www.tomorrowsamericancatholic.org/subscribe

Robert Nicastro, Ph.D., is a theologian, teacher, and writer whose research explores the convergence of religion, science, and artificial intelligence. His work focuses on how emerging technologies are reshaping human identity, planetary consciousness, and the future of religious thought. His doctoral dissertation, The Future as Sole Support: Metaphysics, Hyperphysics, and the Theology of Teilhard de Chardin, offers a reinterpretation of Teilhard’s cosmic vision as a compelling metaphysical framework for addressing the complex challenges of the twenty-first century. He currently serves as executive director of the Center for Christogenesis, an organization dedicated to deepening the integration of science and religion and reflecting on the human person as an integral member of the cosmic whole.In this episode, Patrick Carolan and Michael Centore speak with Robert about evolutionary theology, the integration of faith and science, deepening rather than discarding orthodoxy, and human participation in the “divine milieu.” With his ability to explain and elucidate complex theological concepts and his commitment to widening the horizons of our understanding of the church, Robert was an ideal "keynote interview" for the Tomorrow’s American Catholic podcast.See also:The Center for Christogenesis"Ever Ancient, Ever New: Recovering God in an Unfolding Universe" by Robert Nicastro (The Mount, Benedictine Sisters of Erie, Winter 2025)"Robert Nicastro on Teilhard de Chardin" by Ted Peters (Patheos, April 7, 2025) Get full access to Tomorrow's American Catholic at www.tomorrowsamericancatholic.org/subscribe

In this inaugural episode, podcast co-facilitators Patrick Carolan, Michael Centore, and Barbara Mariconda introduce themselves and their hopes for the podcast, and speak a bit about their vision of “tomorrow’s American Catholic.”Patrick Carolan is a Catholic activist, organizer, and writer. He served as the executive director of the Franciscan Action Network for ten years and co-founded the Global Catholic Climate Movement and Catholics Vote Common Good. His writing and activism are centered on his understanding and belief through Franciscan spirituality of the connectedness of all creation and God.Michael Centore is the editor of Tomorrow’s American Catholic. His essays, poems, and reviews have appeared in the National Catholic Reporter, U.S. Catholic, Religious Socialism, the Amethyst Review, the Merton Seasonal, and other publications.Barbara Mariconda is a life-long educator with expertise in instructional design as well as an award-winning author of dozens of books for adults, young adults, and children. She is a co-founder of Journey of the Soul Ministry, an organization committed to empowering others toward a higher level of consciousness, deepening their faith, and leading them toward the insights necessary for inner transformation. An accomplished pianist and singer, Barbara served as director of Music and Liturgy at St. James Parish in Stratford, Connecticut, for over fifteen years, and received the St. Augustine Medal of Service Award for leading the community closer to God through song. Get full access to Tomorrow's American Catholic at www.tomorrowsamericancatholic.org/subscribe