In the United States, nativity scenes are part of the ordinary landscape of Christmas—even in secular spaces. You might see a blow-up nativity scene, all in garish colors, in front of a neighborhood store. Or in church, traditional statuary depicting European-looking characters. Some homes and religious organizations feature nativity scenes from around the world, with the holy family in diverse cultural garb. But no matter the aesthetic there are common elements in most nativity scenes: Baby Jesus in the manger, Mary and Joseph close by, a few placid animals, some devout shepherds and magi, with an angel hovering on high.

But how accurate are these scenes? Would the Holy Family really have been surrounded by animals? Did shepherds actually show up immediately after Jesus was born? And did Mary worry at all about the safety of putting a newborn infant in an animal’s feeding trough?

On this episode of the podcast, scholar Jaime Waters talks to the hosts about what the nativity was really like and who was there. Waters is an associate professor of Old Testament at Boston College School of Theology and Ministry. She is presently working on a commentary on the book of Jeremiah for the Wisdom Commentary Series from Liturgical Press, and a book on methods of biblical interpretation. She has written multiple articles for America magazine about the intersection of scripture and justice issues.

You can learn more about this topic and read some of Waters’ writing in these links:

“Who was really at the Nativity?”
By Emily Sanna
https://uscatholic.org/articles/201912/who-was-really-at-the-nativity/

“What are we missing in our depictions of the nativity?”
By Kelly Nikondeha
https://uscatholic.org/articles/202212/what-are-we-missing-in-our-depictions-of-the-nativity/

“A nativity collection shows different imaginings of Christmas”
By Jerry Bleem, O.F.M.
https://uscatholic.org/articles/201712/a-nativity-collection-shows-how-different-cultures-imagine-christmas/

“The journey of the magi is long and risky, but it ends with joy”
By Jaime Waters
https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2021/12/16/epiphany-scripture-reading-242059

“The loving dynamics in the Holy Family”
By Jaime Waters
https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2021/11/18/word-scripture-lectionary-liturgy-readings-mass-241843

Glad You Asked is sponsored by the Claretian Missionaries USA, an order of Catholic priests and brothers who live and work with the most vulnerable among us. To learn more, visit claretians.org.

It’s difficult to avoid artificial intelligence these days. When searching on Google or reading product reviews, there’s a good chance that you’ll be offered the option to read an AI-generated summary. Or maybe an AI tool will offer to write your work email for you. Savvy users are typically able to detect the errors in AI summaries, but even the most cautious and informed person might find it difficult to sort through what’s accurate and what isn’t. And while an ethical student wouldn’t want to entrust their carefully thought out ideas to an AI writing program, it might be a temptation for those less skilled at writing, or less concerned about morals.

These are just a few ways AI disrupts our already hectic human lives. There are also questions about AI taking human jobs, AI being used to spread disinformation, AI romantic partners, even AI contract killers. The ethical issues around AI are real. But does this mean AI itself is bad? Are there ethical ways of using it? On this episode of Glad You Asked, guest Brian Green talks to the hosts about what AI is, what the real ethical concerns are, and whether Catholics should use it at all.

Green is the director of technology ethics at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University. His work focuses on the impact of technology on human life, society, and religion. He has contributed to a number of books on AI and ethics and is the author of Space Ethics (Rowman & Littlefield). He’s been a lead contributor on three World Economic Forum case studies on ethical practices at Microsoft, Salesforce, and IBM and has worked with the Vatican’s Dicastery for Culture and Education.

Learn more about this topic in these links.

“How should Christians respond to the challenges of AI?”
By Kate Ott
https://uscatholic.org/articles/202307/how-should-christians-respond-to-the-challenges-of-ai/

“AI isn’t all doom and gloom, says this theologian”
A U.S. Catholic interview
https://uscatholic.org/articles/202307/ai-isnt-all-doom-and-gloom-says-this-theologian/

“‘Oppenheimer’ offers a sober lesson in the era of AI”
By Danny Duncan Collum
https://uscatholic.org/articles/202311/oppenheimer-offers-a-sober-lesson-in-the-era-of-ai/

“Futuristic fiction asks important ethical questions about AI”
By Jeannine Pitas
https://uscatholic.org/articles/202308/futuristic-fiction-asks-important-ethical-questions-about-ai/

Journal of Moral Theology, Special Issue on AI
https://www.academyforlife.va/content/dam/pav/documenti%20pdf/2022/AI/Spring%202022%20Special%20Issue%20AI.pdf

Glad You Asked is sponsored by the Claretian Missionaries USA, an order of Catholic priests and brothers who live and work with the most vulnerable among us. To learn more, visit claretians.org.

Even 700 years after his death, St. Thomas Aquinas is still one of most influential theologians in the history of the Catholic Church. The Dominican friar, philosopher, and theologian wrote extensively about morals, liturgy, the sacraments, humanity, and the nature of God. He drew on multiple non-Christian and pre-Christian traditions to articulate the relationship between natural reason and revealed truth.

Today, Aquinas’ ideas remain central to Catholic thought. But not all his ideas have aged well. And this can pose a problem, especially when people treat him as an authority on the level of the magisterium. Some of the ideas from Aquinas that self-described Thomists like to reiterate not only aren’t church teaching—they’re also incorrect.

But would Thomas Aquinas be a Thomist? What would the saint think about popular takes on his ideas today? And why is this academic quibble politically significant? On this episode of Glad You Asked, journalist Heidi Schlumpf, who recently wrote about this topic for U.S. Catholic, joins the hosts to talk about why conservative influencers love Aquinas and why disputes about his thought are relevant for the public square.

Schlumpf is a senior correspondent for and former executive editor of the National Catholic Reporter. She previously served as the managing editor of U.S. Catholic and has reported extensively on religion, spirituality, social justice, and women's issues. She is the author of Elizabeth A. Johnson: Questing for God (Liturgical Press).

You can read more about this topic and read some of Schlumpf’s writing in these links.

“Would Thomas Aquinas be a Thomist?”
By Heidi Schlumpf
https://uscatholic.org/articles/202406/would-thomas-aquinas-be-a-thomist/

“Why ‘trads’ seek to root the church’s future in the past”
By Angela Denker
https://uscatholic.org/articles/202207/why-trads-seek-to-root-the-churchs-future-in-the-past/

“Two very different parishes point to divisions in the church”
By Peter Feuerherd
https://uscatholic.org/articles/202105/parish-differences-show-division-in-church/

“J.D. Vance’s Catholicism. Theological profile of Trump’s heir apparent”
By Massimo Faggioli
https://international.la-croix.com/opinions/jd-vances-catholicism-theological-profile-of-trumps-heir-apparent

Glad You Asked is sponsored by the Claretian Missionaries USA, an order of Catholic priests and brothers who live and work with the most vulnerable among us. To learn more, visit claretians.org.

Religious nationalism is on the rise, both in the United States and globally. While this poses multiple challenges to justice work, it also raises theoretical questions for Christians, including the question of how Catholics should understand the relationship between church and political powers. For centuries, when monarchy was the default, Catholics argued about this. Should the pope control the king, or vice versa? Can kings appoint religious institutional leaders? What if a pope excommunicates a monarch?

Somewhere along the line, a political idea called integralism developed. Integralism proposes a much closer relationship between political and religious authorities than most Americans are comfortable with. But despite our longstanding embrace of the separation of church and state, this seemingly obscure idea has entered our public discourse, associated with some right-wing influencers and political figures—including Vice President-Elect JD Vance.

So what is integralism? Is it the same as nationalism, and does it threaten our constitutional ideas about religious liberty? On this episode of the podcast, scholar Nicholas Hayes-Mota talks to the hosts about what integralism is and how it relates to the current political climate.

Hayes-Mota is a social ethicist and public theologian whose research interests include the theology of community organizing, Catholic social thought, contemporary virtue ethics, democratic theory, and AI ethics. He is a professor in the Department of Religious Studies at Santa Clara University’s College of Arts and Sciences.

You can learn more about this topic and read some of Hayes-Mota’s work in these links.

“What is Catholic integralism?”
By Steven P. Millies
https://uscatholic.org/articles/201910/what-is-catholic-integralism/

“The Integralist Argument Is Wrong, Even If You’re Catholic”
By Kevin Augustyn
https://www.discoursemagazine.com/p/the-integralist-argument-is-wrong-even-if-youre-catholic

“The strange world of Catholic 'integralism'—and Christian nationalism”
By Jack Jenkins
https://www.ncronline.org/news/strange-world-catholic-integralism-and-christian-nationalism

“The not-so-Catholic candidacy of J. D. Vance”
By Jason L. Miller and Rebecca Bratten Weiss
https://uscatholic.org/articles/202407/the-not-so-catholic-candidacy-of-j-d-vance/

“Faith at the expense of freedom”
By Rebecca Bratten Weiss
https://www.christiancentury.org/features/faith-expense-freedom

“We need to reclaim the legacy of Christian nonviolence”
By Nicholas Hayes-Mota
https://uscatholic.org/articles/202405/we-need-to-reclaim-the-legacy-of-christian-nonviolence/

Glad You Asked is sponsored by the Claretian Missionaries USA, an order of Catholic priests and brothers who live and work with the most vulnerable among us. To learn more, visit claretians.org.

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). This verse, sometimes called the Great Commission, includes a mandate to perform baptisms. But does that mean Jesus was telling everyone to go out and baptize? In the gospel passage, Jesus is speaking only to the eleven men who were closest to him, sometimes called the apostles. Traditionally, Catholics have believed that those eleven men were the first priests, and that this is why the mandate to baptize was directed at them.

But does that mean only priests can perform baptisms? And does it mean that a person who is able to baptize should do so any time they get a chance, even if the person hasn’t asked for baptism, doesn’t want it, or is too young to make the decision? What about if a person was adamant about rejecting baptism, but is now unconscious, and dying? Should a good Catholic try to get them baptized anyway?

On this episode of Glad You Asked, Claretian Father Paul Keller talks to the hosts about the church’s rules around baptism: who can baptize, who can be baptized, and what makes a baptism valid. Keller is the provincial superior for the USA-Canada Chapter of the Claretian Missionaries and a frequent contributor to U.S. Catholic on issues relating to pastoral ministry, public policy, theology, and ethics.

You can learn more about this topic, and read some of Keller’s writing, in these links.

“Baptism, not piety, is what makes us Catholic”
By Don Clemmer
https://uscatholic.org/articles/202307/baptism-not-piety-is-what-makes-us-catholic/

“3 things Catholics should remember about baptism”
By John Kyler
https://uscatholic.org/articles/202211/3-things-catholics-should-remember-about-baptism/

“Why does baptism have to be so wet?”
By Victoria M. Tufano
https://uscatholic.org/articles/201603/why-does-baptism-have-to-be-so-wet/

“Should confirmation be for adults only?”
By Father Paul Keller, C.M.F.
https://uscatholic.org/articles/202206/should-confirmation-be-for-adults-only/

“Can a priest withhold communion from a Catholic?”
By Father Paul Keller, C.M.F.
https://uscatholic.org/articles/202109/can-a-priest-withhold-communion-from-a-catholic/

Glad You Asked is sponsored by the Claretian Missionaries USA, an order of Catholic priests and brothers who live and work with the most vulnerable among us. To learn more, visit claretians.org.

In times of difficulty and strife, it’s easy to feel hopeless. Sometimes it’s personal loss or tragedy, sometimes it’s climate catastrophe. Sometimes it’s the injustice meted out by authoritarian, extremist regimes. Sometimes it’s the weight of depression, anxiety, and trauma. Christian mandates to rejoice and be glad can feel ridiculous, even insulting, to those who see no cause for joy. When the weight of the world’s woes gets heavy, simply getting out of bed in the morning can be a chore. Hopelessness may seem like the most logical, realistic response to the state of humanity.

But aren’t Christians supposed to be hopeful? Technically, hope is a theological virtue. Hope is connected with faith and charity. So some Christians assume that hopelessness must be a sin, or at least a religious failure. It doesn’t help that some Catholics try to turn mental health issues into spiritual ones, even going so far as to claim that depression is caused by evil spirits.

So, what’s the difference between the virtue of hope, having hope for the future, and feeling “in a hopeful mood”? Are Christians required to be hopeful even in dire times? Is it a sin to be hopeless?

On this episode of Glad You Asked, Christine Valters Paintner discusses what it means to be hopeful in a world fraught with suffering. Paintner is a Benedictine oblate and the online abbess at abbeyofthearts.com, a virtual monastery integrating contemplative practice and creative expression. She is a poet and the author of more than 20 books on the spiritual life. Her newest book is A Midwinter God: Encountering the Divine in Seasons of Darkness (Ave Maria Press).

You can learn more about this topic, and read some of Paintner’s writing, in these links:

“Biblical figures struggled with mental health, too”
By Alice Camille
https://uscatholic.org/articles/202402/biblical-figures-struggled-with-mental-health-too/

“How your parish can help those suffering from depression”
By Jessie Bazan
https://uscatholic.org/articles/201804/how-your-parish-can-help-those-suffering-from-depression/

“No one can avoid suffering, but Jesus points a way to healing”
By Kevin Considine
https://uscatholic.org/articles/202309/no-one-can-avoid-suffering-but-jesus-points-a-way-to-healing/

“It's OK to despair and swear at God”
By Michael Leech
https://www.ncronline.org/blogs/soul-seeing/its-ok-despair-and-swear-god

“Learn to take your troubles to the Black Madonna”
By Christine Valters Paintner
https://uscatholic.org/articles/202204/learn-to-take-your-troubles-to-the-black-madonna/

“Exile is at the heart of the human experience”
By Christine Valters Paintner
https://uscatholic.org/articles/202308/exile-is-at-the-heart-of-the-human-experience/

Glad You Asked is sponsored by the Claretian Missionaries USA, an order of Catholic priests and brothers who live and work with the most vulnerable among us. To learn more, visit claretians.org.

Historically, nationalism has often turned out to be a bad idea. The most obvious examples of nationalism leading to atrocities include the Nazi regime in Germany and Benito Mussolini’s fascist dictatorship in Italy, but today’s geopolitical scene involves a variety of problematic nationalistic movements, including in India, Turkey, Brazil, and Hungary.

Even though nationalism frequently leads to violence or even genocide, people keep trying it. Perhaps the logic is something like “As great as MY nation is, maybe this time it will work!”

Here in the United States, nationalism has usually come with a particularly Christian flavor. Aside from the usual concerns associated with nationalism, this pairing of politics and religion poses unique challenges. Does it even make sense to combine a political ideology like nationalism with a religion like Christianity (especially Catholic Christianity, which is all about universality and solidarity across borders)?

On this episode of Glad You Asked, theologian and activist Jim Wallis discusses the nature of Christian nationalism, whether nationalism can ever be truly Christian, and how people of faith should respond to the resurgence of Christian nationalism in the United States today. Wallis is the founder of Sojourners and the author of 12 books, including America’s Original Sin: Racism, White Privilege, and the Bridge to a New America (Brazos). He is the inaugural chair and founding director of the Georgetown University Center on Faith and Justice.

You can learn more about this topic in these links.

“Any religion allied with nationalism is dangerous,” by Stephen Schneck
https://uscatholic.org/articles/202304/any-religion-allied-with-nationalism-is-dangerous/

“Christian nationalism distorts the faith, says Lexington Bishop John Stowe,” by Heidi Schlumpf
https://www.ncronline.org/news/christian-nationalism-distorts-faith-says-lexington-bishop-john-stowe

“How one evangelical leader uses the Bible to expose the ‘False White Gospel,’” by John Blake
https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/28/us/evangelical-christianity-false-white-gospel-wallis-cec/index.html

Glad You Asked is sponsored by the Claretian Missionaries USA, an order of Catholic priests and brothers who live and work with the most vulnerable among us. To learn more, visit claretians.org.