Pope Leo on same-sex blessings; and is Easter harder than Lent?

Jesuitical

America Media

News, News Commentary, Religion & Spirituality, Spirituality, Christianity

4.7 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 30 April 2026

⏱️ 53 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This week on “Jesuitical,” Ashley and Zac talk to Laura Kelly Fanucci, author of Living Easter: 50 Days to Practice Resurrection. Together, they discuss the tendency among Christians to overlook the 50-day Easter season, as well as Laura’s personal experiences and struggles practicing resurrection. In Signs of the Times, Ashley and Zac speak with James Martin, S.J., editor at large for America, to unpack Pope Leo’s recent comments about blessings for same-sex couples and the church’s teaching on sexual morality. And in As One Friend Speaks to Another, Ashley shares her experience taking on a new role at America and the graces that it has brought her. 00:00 Is Easter harder than Lent? 2:05 German bishops to bless same-sex couples 6:00 How Pope Leo responded 9:20 Church unity and sexual morality 12:43 Is the church at an impasse? 15:20 Is the Easter season too long? 18:34 How to practice Easter-ing 26:29 Resurrection stories to learn from 30:57 Resurrecting Pentecost 34:52 Uniting suffering to Christ 41:13 Grief, scars and resurrection in Minneapolis 48:20 Faith sharing Links Order Laura’s new book, Living Easter: 50 Days to Practice Resurrection Pope Leo speaks on same-sex blessings, migration and more on plane back to Rome Remarks on sexual ethics highlight Pope Leo’s pastoral priorities You can follow us on X and on Instagram @jesuiticalshow. You can find us on Facebook at facebook.com/groups/jesuitical. Please consider supporting Jesuitical by becoming a digital subscriber to America magazine at americamagazine.org/subscribe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Head to the coast in Abercrombie's latest summer drop.
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0:18.0	Dress like you're on holiday.
0:19.7	Shop Abercrombie in the app, online, and in stores.
0:42.1	Hello and welcome to Jesuitical, a podcast from America Media for Saints and Sinners.
0:46.7	You can join us each week for honest conversations about the Catholic Church and our world today,
0:48.0	sometimes over drinks.
0:50.5	I'm Ashley McKinless, and I'm joined by Zach Davis.
0:51.4	It's great to be with you, Ashley.
0:52.2	How you feeling?
0:52.8	Good.
0:55.3	I find myself getting, as I get older,
1:02.5	maybe not wiser, but I'm at least paying attention to flowers and trees blooming more than I used to. And see, I just thought you were watching the NBA finals. I am watching that. The finals haven't
1:07.5	happened yet. The playoffs are happening. My calves are battling our producer, Sebastian's Raptors in the first round. But no, I'm taking, I went out and saw the cherry blossoms in Brooklyn with my wife and daughter. I help trying to get in the Easter season, you know, to practice resurrection, so to speak. Oh yeah. That's, that's something we'll get into in our main interview for today. But first, in signs of the times,
1:27.6	we're talking to our colleague, Father James Martin, about some comments from Pope Leo on his flight
1:33.0	back from Africa to Rome in response to a question about same-sex blessings that have generated
1:39.0	a lot of headlines. And Father Martin brings some much-needed context and nuance to that story.
1:46.0	Yeah, that's right.
1:46.3	And then we're talking to Laura Kelly Funucci, who's got a new book out called Living Easter, 50 Days to Practice Resurrection.
1:53.1	I really appreciate this because I have always felt like Catholics are really good at Lent.
	...

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