Further reading:<ul><li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/What-Happened-at-Vatican-II/dp/0674047494/?tag=firstthings20-20" rel="noopener noreferrer">What Happened at Vatican II</a> by John W. O'Malley</li><li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Work-Progress-Confessions-dishwasher-corporate/dp/0062694480/?tag=firstthings20-20" rel="noopener noreferrer">Work in Progress: Confessions of a busboy, dishwasher, caddy, usher, factory worker, bank teller, corporate tool, and priest – A Funny, Wise, and Inspiring Spiritual Memoir</a>, by James Martin</li></ul>

On today's episode, writer Fr. James Martin joins Virginia and Germán. As a Catholic, growing up online meant that the dividing line between “conservative” and “liberal” Catholics was an ever-present reality. Name-calling, accusations of schism, and moral grandstanding were—and still are—common. The general presumption was that the opposite side was arguing in bad faith, and sometimes, some of them were. The factions seemed to be embedded in Catholic culture, dividing themselves among parishes and religious groups. Matters of disagreement determined where, and how, you lived your faith.

Ironically enough, the person who is healing this seemingly insurmountable divide is an American: Pope Leo XIV. Young people tire of encountering a divided church, and his year as pope, Leo XIV has famously—and cleverly—eluded classification as either liberal or a conservative, helping bridge the gap that the post–Vatican II debates have caused and that has defined American Catholicism for sixty years.

Pope Leo's Unified Church (ft. Fr. James Martin)

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