The Communion Project Podcast

In this Conversations in Communion episode, host Jonathan Lewis welcomes Catholic journalists Christopher White and Jonathan Liedl as Pope Leo prepares for his apostolic visit to South America and his homecoming in Peru. Drawing on their reporting in Rome, Peru, and around the world, Chris and Jonathan explore how Robert Prevost’s years as an Augustinian missionary formed the pope he is today.The conversation examines Pope Leo’s closeness to ordinary people, his respect for the Church’s traditions and institutions, and the influence of Augustinian community life on his leadership. Chris and Jonathan also discuss ideological silos in Catholic media, the dangers of algorithms that reward outrage, and why curiosity and conversation across differences are essential to Catholic journalism. Together, they offer a portrait of Pope Leo as a missionary, listener, and pastor animated by the Gospel rather than partisan ideology.About the GuestsChristopher White is associate director for strategic initiatives and a senior fellow at Georgetown University’s Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life. A former Vatican correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter and former reporter for Crux, he is the author of Pope Leo XIV: Inside the Conclave and the Dawn of a New Papacy.Jonathan Liedl is managing editor of the National Catholic Register and was named the Catholic Media Association’s 2024 Writer of the Year. He served as the on-the-ground reporter for the EWTN News documentary Pope Leo’s Peru, which explores how the future pope’s missionary ministry in South America shaped his faith and leadership.Episode Timestamps01:27 — Jonathan and Chris share the childhood experiences that shaped their global outlooks05:43 — Memorable liturgies and encountering the universality of the Church06:11 — Mass in Prague, the Ugandan martyrs, and a million-person pilgrimage08:59 — How attending Mass in Paris led Chris toward Catholicism10:15 — Traveling with Pope Francis and worshiping with most of East Timor12:54 — How the devotion of Catholics around the world challenges American complacency14:34 — What reporting on Pope Leo has revealed 18 months into his papacy16:02 — Following the future pope’s missionary path through Peru21:57 — Padre Roberto, parish life, and Pope Leo’s collaborative approach to leadership24:06 — Continuity with Pope Francis—and a different style of governance26:19 — How Pope Leo is making unity and communion practical priorities27:01 — Augustinian formation, community life, and leading people through change31:59 — Social fragmentation, ideological parishes, and algorithmic outrage33:33 — The responsibility of Catholic journalists to speak with people across the Church36:07 — Accompanying an audience without simply confirming its biases39:40 — Why Pope Leo cannot be understood through partisan categories40:08 — Catholic social teaching as the foundation of Pope Leo’s public witness41:27 — Pope Leo as a missionary and man of the Gospel44:15 — What to watch during the pope’s visit to South America and return to Peru46:23 — Argentina, Uruguay, evangelization, and a joyful homecoming48:23 — El Niño, Chiclayo, and Pope Leo’s devotion to St. Turibius of Mogrovejo51:16 — What fills—and breaks—the guests’ hearts about the Church today55:20 — St. Francis and St. Philip Neri as patrons of communion58:38 — Closing reflections on Catholic friendship and conversations across difference

Why is it easy to receive Jesus in the Eucharist on Sunday, yet treat members of the Body of Christ with suspicion the rest of the week?Host Jonathan Lewis welcomes Catholic author, speaker, and evangelization leader Julianne Stanz to discuss Christian unity, polarization in the Catholic Church, and the holy boldness required to love people across differences.Drawing on more than 20 years in Catholic ministry and her experience growing up amid religious and cultural divisions in Ireland, Julianne explains why evangelization begins with listening. She offers practical wisdom for difficult conversations, conflict resolution, prayer, discernment, and recognizing our own defensiveness. Jonathan and Julianne also explore social media division, missionary discipleship, the Eucharist, and what it means to remain one Body of Christ without demanding uniformity.ABOUT JULIANNE STANZJulianne Stanz is Director of Outreach for Evangelization and Discipleship at Loyola Press and a consultant to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Catechesis and Evangelization. The Irish-born author, retreat leader, and storyteller has served the Catholic Church at parish, diocesan, national, and international levels.Her books include Start with Jesus, Braving the Thin Places, Developing Disciples of Christ, and The Catholic Parent’s Survival Guide.IN THIS EPISODE• Catholic evangelization through listening and accompaniment• Navigating polarization and conflict in the Catholic Church• Approaching difficult conversations with curiosity• Christian unity without uniformity• Fraternal correction versus “tribal correction”• Praying for people and political leaders we dislike• Lessons about reconciliation from Northern Ireland• Recognizing personal and institutional defensiveness• Living an embodied Catholic faith in a digital world• Finding courage, hope, and belonging in the ChurchEPISODE CHAPTERS00:01 — Meet Julianne Stanz01:59 — The “milk-crate Mass” and communion across differences07:12 — Practicing communion within the Catholic Church09:19 — Unity, diversity, and healthy tension13:28 — Why conflict is not always negative16:18 — How Jesus approaches difficult conversations18:55 — Listening to people quietly leaving the Church23:43 — Christian communication and conflict online27:09 — Praying for people we dislike30:47 — Flexibility, strength, and spiritual rigidity34:06 — Discernment, curiosity, and disarming our words39:51 — Religious division and reconciliation in Ireland45:29 — Misneach: courage of the heart48:28 — Why missionary disciples cross borders50:08 — Embodied faith in a disembodied world52:15 — Julianne’s hopes and heartbreaks for the Church56:00 — Practical habits for building communion59:05 — St. Dymphna and a Church with room for everyoneRESOURCESJulianne Stanz and her books:https://www.loyolapress.com/authors/julianne-stanz/The Communion Project:https://communionproject.org/Ut Unum Sint: That They May Be One:https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_25051995_ut-unum-sint.htmlIf this conversation encouraged or challenged you, share it with someone seeking a more faithful way to navigate disagreement. Subscribe to The Communion Project Podcast and leave a review to help others discover the show.

In this episode, host Jonathan Lewis sits down with theologian, preacher, author, and conflict mediator Dr. Ann Garrido to explore how Christians can engage disagreement without damaging their relationships. Ann explains why healthy communities are not free from conflict, how to separate another person’s intentions from the impact of their actions, and why genuine dialogue begins with curiosity rather than persuasion.The conversation also explores truthfulness in an age of misinformation, the limitations of social media, and the Church’s responsibility to model better ways of handling conflict. Ann shares how her experience of living with brain cancer has deepened her understanding of communion, vulnerability, and preaching—not only through words, but through the witness of one’s life.Episode Timestamps00:57 — Growing up in a large Catholic family in St. Louis01:42 — The preaching that shaped Ann’s faith as a child03:36 — Encountering Scripture throughout the week—not only at Sunday Mass04:19 — Discovering a lifelong vocation to preaching and teaching05:14 — Thirty years of forming preachers, priests, and deacons07:33 — What it means to redeem conflict10:19 — Why conflict avoidance is not the same as peace12:21 — Healthy relationships require conflict—and the skills to repair them13:02 — Why people often leave the Church quietly14:27 — A practical skill for difficult conversations: separating intention from impact17:55 — “The story I’m telling myself”: questioning our assumptions about others18:41 — Closing the gap between our internal and external voices20:49 — Christian habits for communicating online25:36 — Misinformation, gossip, and our moral responsibility to verify what we share26:26 — Thomas Aquinas and the difference between honesty and truthfulness29:06 — Why truth is something we continually seek—not something we possess32:49 — Dialogue as a spiritual practice of entering more deeply into mystery33:16 — If you have no questions, you may not be ready for the conversation34:33 — The bishop who transformed a crisis by coming to listen38:03 — Living with brain cancer and experiencing communion through prayer and vulnerability43:08 — Preaching through one’s life when words are no longer enough44:49 — What gives Ann hope about the Church today47:59 — Offering the sign of peace across profound differences50:32 — Why the departure of justice-minded Catholics breaks her heart52:59 — Communion as seeking truth, speaking truthfully, and being true to one another55:08 — Three practices for building communion in families, parishes, and online57:27 — St. Thecla, Catholic agency, and refusing to wait for someone else to build communion58:27 — The Catholic Church as the biggest umbrella in the rainstorm of lifeAbout the GuestDr. Ann Garrido is associate professor of homiletics and pastoral theology at Aquinas Institute of Theology, where she also directs the Aquinas Children’s Worship Partnership. Her teaching, research, and consulting focus on Catholic preaching, Christian conflict management, leadership, administration, and ministry formation.Ann is the author of ten books, including Redeeming Conflict, Redeeming Administration, Redeeming Power, Let’s Talk About Truth, and #Rules_of_Engagement. She holds a Master of Divinity and a Doctor of Ministry in Preaching from Aquinas Institute and has worked extensively with dioceses, seminaries, ministry organizations, and leaders navigating difficult conversations.

What if disagreement with the people we love isn’t the enemy of communion, but a path toward it?In this episode, host Jonathan Lewis sits down with moral theologian and bioethicist Dr. Charlie Camosy to explore how Catholics can resist the red-versus-blue binary and follow the principles of their faith wherever they lead. Drawing on his upbringing in a family that disagreed vigorously while remaining rooted in love, Charlie explains how a consistent ethic of life challenges every political tribe and offers a bold alternative to polarization.Charlie also reflects on rebuilding trust among young people, the Catholic Church’s opportunity to shape the conversation about artificial intelligence, and the surprising relationships that become possible when we engage disagreement with humility and friendship. Throughout the conversation, he returns to one essential practice: always reserving the right to change your mind—about an issue, an argument, or another person.Episode Timestamps01:10 — Growing up Catholic in rural Wisconsin and being formed by his mother’s faith03:16 — Meaningful experiences of the Mass, from his wedding at Oxford to being seen by Cardinal Dolan05:55 — How a family shaped by love—and political disagreement—prepared Charlie’s vocation08:42 — Why healthy disagreement so easily hardens into division11:31 — The principles of a consistent ethic of life13:37 — Following an ethical principle wherever it leads15:45 — Why Catholic faith should make us uncomfortable with every political camp17:12 — Questioning the categories of “Republican” and “Democrat”19:43 — The Americans who don’t fit neatly into a left-right binary22:15 — Gen Z, declining trust, and signs of religious revival26:05 — Artificial intelligence as an opportunity for Catholic engagement26:28 — What a friendship with Peter Singer unexpectedly made possible29:41 — Why we should always reserve the right to change our minds33:40 — The Magenta series and a bold alternative to red-versus-blue Catholicism37:32 — What breaks Charlie’s heart—and what fills it—about the Church today39:46 — A practical exercise: remember when you changed your mind about another person43:38 — Mary, Undoer of Knots, as a patron for difficult dialogue44:32 — What Charlie wants newcomers to know about the Church’s intellectual traditionAbout the GuestDr. Charlie Camosy is an associate professor of moral theology and ethics at The Catholic University of America, where he teaches moral theology and bioethics. His work focuses on bioethics, moral anthropology, Catholic social teaching, transhumanism, and the dignity of vulnerable human life.Charlie is the author of nine books, including Resisting Throwaway Culture, One Church, and Living and Dying Well. He is also the founding editor of Focolare Media’s Magenta series, which publishes bold Christian perspectives that resist polarized ideological categories.

What if uniting ourselves closer to Christ means caring less about our own liturgical preferences and more about our brothers and sisters?Dr. John Cavadini, theologian and longtime director of the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame, reflects on the deep connection between Eucharistic communion and our communion with one another.Drawing on the wisdom of St. Augustine, Dr. Cavadini explains why the Church must “become what she is,” how belief in Christ’s real presence can reshape the way we see difficult or inconvenient people, and why unity is first a gift before it becomes a task. He also reflects on the beauty and brokenness of the Church, the hidden wisdom of ordinary believers, and the practices that can help Catholics grow in gratitude, patience, and love.Episode Timestamps01:04 — Growing up Catholic and attending early Sunday Mass with his grandparents02:19 — Memorable liturgies, personal taste, and the danger of judging the Mass by aesthetics06:09 — Do we really believe Christ is present in the Eucharist?11:10 — Responding generously to distracting music, preaching, readers, and crying children15:38 — Pope Leo XIV, St. Augustine, and the meaning of “In the One, we are one”19:27 — The Church’s unity as both a gift and something we must grow into22:25 — “Become what you are”: what Israel’s journey from slavery teaches us about communion27:59 — Digital culture, self-righteousness, and learning to bear one another’s burdens28:03 — Bishop Daniel Flores, Eucharistic adoration, and recognizing Christ in an inconvenient neighbor31:52 — Why defending human dignity can never become an either-or choice32:40 — Building unity at Notre Dame by beginning with the beauty of the faith37:05 — Mystical experience, popular devotion, and the quiet faith of ordinary Catholics40:25 — What fills Dr. Cavadini’s heart—and what breaks it—about the Church today42:58 — Two practices for building communion: weekday Mass and faithful daily prayer46:55 — Servant of God Julia Greeley and St. Joseph as patrons of communion52:18 — What every person curious about the Catholic Church should knowAbout the GuestDr. John C. Cavadini is a professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame and the former McGrath-Cavadini Director of the McGrath Institute for Church Life, which he led from 2000 to 2026. A member of Notre Dame’s faculty since 1990, he specializes in patristic and early medieval theology, the theology of St. Augustine, and the history of biblical and patristic interpretation.