Religion and Justice

Holy Troublemaker: The Jesuit Pope Who Challenged the Status Quo with Fr. Bruce Morrill

Religion and Justice

Show Notes

This episode was recorded in May 2025. We'll have Fr. Bruce back on the pod to discuss our new pope in the coming months! What makes a pope "Marxist"? Is challenging capitalism equivalent to embracing communism? Father Bruce Morrill, Jesuit priest and theological scholar, joins us for a fascinating exploration of Pope Francis's complex legacy and the radical vision that defined his papacy. We begin with the surprising history of the Jesuits—known as the "Pope's Marines" and sometimes e...

More from Religion and Justice

Aug 5, 2026

In this episode, host Gabby Lisi talks with doctoral candidate and theologian Charlotte Jacobs about her new co-edited volume, Queering Theology, the erasure of reproductive labor in Christian narratives, and why queer theology must inherently be liberation theology. Jacobs challenges the mainstream German theological discourse that often reduces queer theology to a harmless plea for inclusion, pushing back against the idea that it is acceptable to be queer only as long as you fit neatly into...

Jul 15, 2026

In this episode, host Gabby Lisi talks with theologian Joerg Rieger and environmental historian Jason W. Moore about the Capitalocene—a way of understanding the climate crisis not as the fault of “humanity” in general, but as the result of capitalism, empire, extraction, and the cheapening of human and non-human life. Moore challenges the familiar idea of the Anthropocene, or “age of humans,” arguing that it hides the role of capitalism and imperial power in shaping the ecological crisis. Rie...

Jun 1, 2026

In this episode, host Gabby Lisi talks with author, speaker, content creator, and public theologian Damon Garcia about vocation, purpose, alienation, work, capitalism, and the liberating power of interdependence. Garcia challenges the idea that each of us simply needs to “find our calling” and pursue it harder. Instead, he asks what happens when our gifts, dreams, and sense of purpose are shaped by systems that require us to work in order to survive. Drawing from liberation theology, Marxist ...

Apr 16, 2026

In this powerful discussion, hosts George Schmidt and Gabriella Lisi speak with John and Samuel Munayer about their new book, The Cross and the Olive Tree: Cultivating Palestinian Theology Amid Gaza. The conversation delves into the indigeneity of Palestinian Christianity, the metaphor of the olive tree as a framework for theology, and the importance of staying in the "long silence" of Holy Saturday during times of genocide and suffering. Key Discussion Points: Theology as Resistance: Definin...

Mar 15, 2026

Deep solidarity is not a warm sentiment or a “let’s all get along” slogan. It’s the kind of collective connection that makes the powerful nervous because it turns everyday shared pressure into organized power. We sit down with Professor Joerg Rieger to unpack what he means by deep solidarity and why it emerged for him out of Occupy Wall Street and the claim “we are the 99%.” Along the way, we draw a bright line between solidarity that liberates and solidarity that traps. We talk about conser...

See all episodes →