Third Space Podcast

Today I’m resharing the second of a two-part series from the first season of Third Space. This is a conversation I had with Dr. Marcus Mescher about liberation theology and what it means to have a preferential option for survivors. I think what Marcus presents here can help us understand some of Pope Leo’s background and vision for the Church. Also, I wanted to share that I have a new self-paced o...

Today I’m resharing the first of a two-part series from the first season of Third Space. This is a conversation I had with Dr. Marcus Mescher about liberation theology and what it means to have a preferential option for survivors. I think what Marcus presents here can help us understand some of Pope Leo’s background and vision for the Church. Also, I wanted to share that I have a new self-paced on...

It was a lot of fun last night talking with Sarah Carter and Ricardo Simmonds about Pope Leo’s new encyclical on safeguarding humanity during the age of AI, Magnifica Humanitas . We discussed why we think the encyclical is getting as much attention as it’s getting, if technology is neutral, what is means for the Church to dialogue with the world, and more! Sarah and I hope to keep hosting these li...

Today I’m resharing an episode from February of 2025, in the first season of Third Space. This is a conversation I had with Esther Harber. Esther Harber is a devoted Catholic living with her husband and daughters in Ohio. She is a convert from a fundamentalist Protestant denomination, and was blessed to enter the Catholic Church in 2006. The Lord placed a passion in her heart for sharing the faith...

Follow Sarah at Recovering Catholic and Pope Leo Weekly . Become a paid subscriber to Third Space here: https://www.catholicthirdspace.com/subscribe Subscribe to Pope Leo Weekly here: https://popeleoweekly.substack.com/subscribe “As we approach the documents of Vatican Council II and rediscover their prophetic and contemporary relevance, we welcome the rich tradition of the life of the Church and,...

In this episode, I had a great conversation with Dr. David Lantigua about the Latin American roots of Pope Leo’s theology. We specifically talked about how Latin American theology is present in Leo’s exhortation Dilexi Te . We also discussed how the Latin American rereading of Vatican II is Leo’s hermeneutic of the Council, and how it cuts through the progressive vs. traditionalist paradigm that h...

As we approach the anniversary of Pope Leo’s election, I spoke with Sr. Carino Hodder about his first year as the Supreme Pontiff. We talked about how Leo’s Augustian background may be shaping his governing style, as well as how we see him as the “Catechist Pope.” We also discuss some of the ways Leo has addressed abuse in the Church and some of our hopes and expectations for how he will continue....

Last time I had Shaun on, we discussed St. John Henry Newman becoming a doctor of the Church. In this episode, we followed up that conversation to talk about Newman’s thoughts on personal conscience and the sensus fidei , and what that means for Pope Francis, and now Pope Leo’s, vision of a synodal Church. All of that led to a question about how a Catholic can navigate a conviction of their consci...

It was great last night talking with Sarah Carter and Shaun Blanchard about Pope Leo’s ongoing catechesis on the documents of Vatican II Highlights included discussion about the senses fidei (what does it mean and is universal consensus even possible?), the baptismal priesthood, how we have misunderstood the meaning of “hierarchy,” a question about the Church’s perspective on ordaining gay men to...

** This episode was recorded on March 25, a week before the Supreme Court ruled 8-1 against the Colorado law banning therapists from practicing conversion therapy on minors Dr. Julia Sadusky graciously joined me again on the podcast, this time to discuss the bad psychology and bad theology that underpins conversion therapy. Last year, Julia, along with a group of other Christian mental health prof...

 In the work I do with people who have experienced harm and abuse in the Church, a question that often comes up is: Why are you still Catholic? Every person responds to that question in their own way. Maybe the most common response I hear is that it’s the sacraments, the Eucharist, that’s the thing that people feel keeps them connected to Catholicism. But my answer to that question isn’t the Eucha...

It was a joy yesterday meeting with Sarah Carter and Sr Carino Hodder OP to talk about Pope Leo’s ongoing catechesis on the documents of Vatican II. Highlights included discussion about what it means for Scripture to be read in and for the Church; the Church as mystery and sacrament; the human and divine aspects of the Church; and the unity and diversity of the People of God. (It also seems worthy...

In this episode, I had a wonderful conversation with Anne Carpenter about Hans Urs von Balthasar, power, and vulnerability. Back in January, Anne had an essay in Commonweal titled, Raising the Bastions: Why the American Catholic right turned against Balthasar . In it, she was able to name the root sickness that I’ve seen and experienced in conservative Catholic spaces in the US, as well as in the...

In this episode, I had a wonderful discussion with Dr. Julia Sadusky about the importance, difficulties, and challenges of talking with your kids about sex. More specifically, we talked about the harm caused by sexual shame, how to avoid passing shame onto our kids, and how to talk about sexuality in a way that honors dignity and conscience. Dr. Julia Sadusky is an author, speaker, and licensed ps...

Sarah Carter and I had a great conversation last night about Pope Leo’s ongoing catechesis on the documents of Vatican II. We talked about God’s desires for us: to become human, to speak in our language, and to make us his friends. We also discussed the development of doctrine and how to interpret scripture. Our hope is to host live discussions following this catechesis every month. So keep an eye...

In this episode, I spoke with Rhonda Miska, a lay minister working at a parish in the Twin Cities. A couple of weeks ago, I received an email from Rhonda introducing herself, thanking me for the podcast, and sharing with me some of her experiences working as a lay minister in the Twin Cities right now. She shared how on her to-do list was to promote the Lenten fish fry, and another was to help a m...

I spoke with Jenn Morson about her recent article titled, “His Name is Liam.” which juxtaposed the March for Life in Washington DC with the way so many pro-life Catholics are defending the horrific violations of human dignity happening by ICE in Minnesota. We held space for each other, and hopefully for listeners, in the feelings of betrayal and isolation we’re feeling watching people in the pro-l...

A monologue where I end up reading large passages from Martin Luther King’s Letter from the Birmingham Jail . “But the judgment of God is upon the church as never before. If the church of today does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authentic ring, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentie...

In this throwback episode from a year ago, I talked with my good friend and mentor, Monica Pope, about hope. We began by talking about the role of the catechist before launching into a catechesis about hope in light of the theme of the 2025 Jubilee Year, “Pilgrims of Hope.” All of that set up a more personal discussion about what hope actually looks like in our concrete lives. We proposed that hop...

In this episode, I talked with Dr. Shaun Blanchard about Pope Leo declaring St. John Henry Newman to be a doctor of the Church. We discuss Shaun’s role in that official process. We also discuss Newman’s theology of development and how it’s important for the Church today. Shaun Blanchard is Lecturer in Theology at the University of Notre Dame Australia on the Fremantle campus in Western Australia....

In this throwback episode from 2023, Paul and Dominic have a conversation with Shaun Blanchard about Vatican II and the development of doctrine. Shaun offers a brief history of the Church’s understanding about how doctrine develops over the past few centuries and how that culminated at Vatican II. Then we discuss how the Church’s teaching is not rigid or static but that the Church is always in a p...

I’m excited to share a conversation I had with Amy Grey over on her Youtube channel, Into the Grey , where she interviewed me about the Church’s understanding of conscience. We discuss abuse of conscience as well as the interplay between personal conscience and the Church’s teaching authority. Amy Grey lives in the midwest with her husband Thomas and four children. She was raised in a rich Mennoni...

Sarah Carter and I hosted a livestream conversation on Substack last week about Pope Leo’s Apostolic Exhortation, Dilexi Te. This was a pretty freewheeling conversation that ranged from giving an overview of the document, sharing our personal reactions to it, and taking listener questions. I had a lot of fun being a part of this and I hope you enjoy listening! Sarah Carter lives in St. Paul MN wit...

This week I spoke with Sr. Danielle Victoria Lussier and Sr. Theresa Aletheia Noble from the Sisters of the Little Way of Beauty, Truth, and Goodness. We discussed their new audio documentary, Descent Into Light , about adult abuse in the Church. Sr. Theresa and Sr. Danielle have been real sources of consolation for me over the past couple of years, and it’s such an honor to have them on the podca...

Sarah Carter and I went into this conversation ready to talk about her excellent article, “ The Evangelization Mistake I Made For Years: Missionary discipleship isn’t supposed to feel like this.” And then we spent the first half of our time discussing deconstruction and Henri de Lubac! Sarah is insightful and vulnerable, it was a joy to have this conversation with her. I hope you enjoy it. Sarah C...