In Goodfaith

What might the Church look like if we took Mary Magdalene’s witness seriously? In our 50th(!!) episode of In Goodfaith, Maggie Smith and Stephanie Peddicord share the story behind the Magdalene Circle, Goodfaith’s intergenerational giving circle for women of faith. Stephanie takes us back to its founding in 2017 and shares how women came together to pool their giving, invest in young leaders, and build friendships rooted in faith and a commitment to justice.

Then writer, theologian, and founder of Mothering Spirit Laura Kelly Fanucci returns to the podcast to help us get to know the woman who inspired the Circle. We talk about how Mary Magdalene came to be remembered as a repentant sex worker, what the Gospels actually tell us about her, and what it means that Jesus entrusted her with the news of his resurrection. Laura reflects on Mary’s courage in staying close to Jesus through the crucifixion and what her example offers us when it’s hard to stay rooted in faith.

Laura also gives us a preview of this year’s Magdalene Circle retreat. We’ll make time to pray with Scripture, talk in small groups, and reflect on what Mary Magdalene’s story has to say to our own lives as we head into Advent.

Join us in Princeton. Laura will lead the Magdalene Circle’s annual retreat on Saturday, November 21, 2026, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Chauncey Conference Center in Princeton, New Jersey. If you’re new to the Circle, we’d love to see you there. Explore Magdalene Circle membership and retreat details. A limited number of tickets to the retreat with Laura Kelly Fanucci are available here!

Listen next. For more with Laura, look for Episode 33, Practicing Resurrection with Laura Kelly Fanucci, in the In Goodfaith feed. Listen on Apple Podcasts.

Until next time, friends, remember we walk together In Goodfaith.

Maggie and Tim welcome Katie Holler and Rita Houlihan of the Dorothea Project to explore the Catholic Social Teaching Voter Guide, a resource from Dorothea Project Action. Grounded in the seven themes of Catholic social teaching, the guide offers questions for evaluating candidates, examining our own priorities, and discerning how our votes can serve human dignity and the common good.

Together, we discuss why moral character matters alongside policy positions, what forming our consciences asks of us, and how to make thoughtful choices when every candidate is imperfect. Katie and Rita share practical ways to use the guide with friends, small groups, and parishes—and to hold elected officials accountable long after the ballots are counted.

With the midterms approaching, this conversation invites us to know our neighbors, seek the truth, protect vulnerable people, and approach faithful citizenship as an ongoing commitment.

Resources and ways to participate

•

Explore the Catholic Social Teaching Voter Guide, including resources for personal reflection and candidate assessment.

•

Share the USCCB Preaching Guide with your priest to encourage parish conversations about faithful citizenship.

•

Register for the Catholics in Communion Virtual Novena, November 1–9 at 7:30 p.m. Eastern, for prayer and election-related updates.

Share this episode and the voter guide with someone discerning how to vote this election season!

What does it mean to follow a call to ministry when that calling must coexist with family life, financial realities, and institutions that do not always support the people serving within them?

Maggie and Tim welcome Shannon Wimp Schmidt for a conversation tracing her journey from a parish-centered Catholic childhood to youth ministry, interfaith formation, writing, podcasting, and ecumenical leadership. Shannon reflects on the adults who accompanied her as a teenager, the experiences that helped her encounter Christ, and why effective ministry begins by recognizing young people as protagonists in their own lives—not problems to solve or numbers to count.

The conversation also explores the tensions lay ministers often carry: serving the Church while earning a sustainable living, responding faithfully to injustice without building a vocation around other people’s suffering, and balancing a desire to protect one’s children with the call to form them for courageous discipleship.

Shannon shares how the murder of George Floyd and the movement for racial justice expanded the reach of Plaid Skirts and Basic Black, the Black Catholic podcast she cohosts with Marcia Lane-McGee, and eventually led to writing, speaking, and ministry consulting. She also discusses her work compiling Praying with the Popes and the consistent thread of human dignity running through modern Catholic social teaching.

The episode closes with Shannon’s work at TENx10, an ecumenical collaboration helping churches practice relational discipleship radically focused on Jesus. Her experience offers a hopeful picture of Christian unity: not uniformity, but communion built slowly through humility, trust, honest disagreement, and a shared love for Jesus and young people.

About Shannon Wimp Schmidt

Shannon Wimp Schmidt is the content director of TENx10, cohost of the Plaid Skirts and Basic Black podcast, and coauthor of Fat Luther, Slim Pickin’s: A Black Catholic Celebration of Faith, Tradition, and Diversity. She also helped compile Praying with the Popes: Words of Hope and Peace from Leo XIII to Leo XIV.

Shannon has served in youth ministry, adult faith formation, interfaith ministry, Catholic education, and diversity formation. She holds a bachelor’s degree in theology and Italian from the University of Notre Dame and a master’s degree in pastoral studies from Catholic Theological Union.

Episode highlights

00:05 — Welcome and introduction
Maggie and Tim welcome Shannon and begin with the hidden labor behind making a podcast.

01:44 — A Catholic childhood centered on parish life
Shannon describes growing up in suburban Chicago and how youth ministry transformed inherited faith into a personal call to discipleship.

05:17 — What meaningful accompaniment looks like
Retreats, service, sacraments, honest questions, and adults who consistently showed up helped Shannon recognize young people as essential members of the Church.

09:23 — Studying theology and discerning a vocation
Shannon recounts attending Notre Dame, discovering theology as a discipline, and choosing youth ministry.

13:16 — Ministry, parenthood, and the cost of answering a call
The group discusses practical concerns about ministry careers, the tension between courageous faith and parental protectiveness, and the realities facing lay ministers with families.

21:08 — When Church structures do not reflect Church teaching
A conversation about fair wages, benefits, parental leave, sustainable workloads, and the dignity of workers within Catholic institutions.

26:23 — Learning through interfaith ministry
Shannon shares how accompanying students from many religious traditions deepened her Catholic faith, expanded her understanding of religious freedom, and strengthened her solidarity with religious minorities.

34:59 — From direct ministry to equipping others
As family life changed, Shannon discerned a new call to “equip the saints for ministry” through adult formation, leadership, and content creation.

39:36 — Plaid Skirts and Basic Black
Shannon explains how a podcast with her best friend, Marcia Lane-McGee, grew into an important space for Black Catholic faith, culture, humor, and reflection.

40:48 — Racial justice, grief, and unexpected grace
The murder of George Floyd brought new listeners to the podcast and opened opportunities for writing and speaking—while creating difficult questions about doing meaningful work rooted in painful realities.

44:05 — Writing and praying with the popes
Shannon discusses Fat Luther, Slim Pickin’s, Praying with the Popes, her affection for Pope Leo XIV, and the enduring concern for human dignity found throughout Catholic social teaching.

49:18 — The human person at the heart of the Church
The group reflects on the Spirit’s guidance, the humanity of Church leaders, and the conviction that every person is an irreplaceable world created to be loved by God.

57:18 — Relational discipleship through TENx10
Shannon introduces TENx10’s work helping ministry leaders accompany young people and place relationships at the center of faith formation.

59:36 — Building communion across Christian traditions
What does ecumenical collaboration require in a polarized culture? Shannon describes a process grounded in shared commitments, humility, patience, and a willingness to remain at the table.

1:07:29 — Closing reflections and where to find Shannon
Shannon shares her podcast, books, social media, and a special discount for listeners.

Resources and connections

•

Meet Shannon and explore her books

•

Explore TENx10

•

Listen toPlaid Skirts and Basic Black

•

Fat Luther, Slim Pickin’s

•

Praying with the Popes

•

Follow Shannon on Instagram, TikTok, and Threads: @teamquarterblack

•

Use the code FATLUTHER20 at Ave Maria Press for 20% off Fat Luther, Slim Pickin’s

If this conversation encouraged you, share it with a youth minister, parish leader, parent, educator, or anyone discerning how to live their vocation faithfully and sustainably. Subscribe to In Goodfaith wherever you listen, and leave a review to help more people discover the show.

This week on In Goodfaith, Maggie and Tim welcome Ana López, Caitlin Stutzke, and returning guest Sherine Green for a conversation about Called to More, Catholic Volunteer Network’s new resource connecting faith, service, and social change.

Through six sessions combining videos, prayer, reflection, and discussion, Called to More introduces young people to communities putting Catholic social teaching into practice. The team shares how they created the resource with those same principles in mind: centering voices from the margins, respecting each writer’s perspective, paying collaborators fairly, and working with local filmmakers who know the communities whose stories they tell.

Together, we explore how service can lead us into deeper relationships and harder questions about the systems shaping our neighbors’ lives. A closer look at ALMA Backyard Farms reveals how care for creation connects with human dignity, belonging, and opportunities for people who have experienced incarceration. The conversation also offers practical ways teachers, youth ministers, volunteer programs, and young people themselves can use and adapt the resource.

In this episode

•

Why Catholic social teaching shouldn’t remain the Church’s “best-kept secret”

•

How storytelling helps young people connect faith with their own questions and experiences

•

What it means to practice Catholic social teaching while creating a resource about it

•

The importance of centering communities of color and voices often excluded

•

How prayer, visio divina, videos, and reflection work together in Called to More

•

Moving from meeting immediate needs to asking about root causes

•

Why relationships are essential to formation and service

•

The lasting influence of a year—or two—spent serving alongside a community

Episode chapters

00:11 — Meet the team behind Called to More
02:08 — Catholic Volunteer Network and the inspiration for the project
04:12 — Making Catholic social teaching accessible
08:56 — Sherine’s journey through service and ministry
11:43 — A collaborative process rooted in prayer and relationship
19:06 — Centering young people and voices from the margins
24:37 — Who the resource is for and how to use it
30:55 — The Catholic social teaching framework behind the sessions
36:08 — Inside a session: prayer, images, stories, and reflection
40:57 — ALMA Backyard Farms and a deeper vision of creation care
48:01 — The relationships that brought the project to life
53:15 — How service transformed our guests
1:03:47 — Where to find Called to More and connect with CVN

Resources and connections

•

ExploreCalled to More

•

Visit Catholic Volunteer Network and explore service opportunities

•

Meet CVN’s staff and board

What does climate justice have to do with Catholic faith? For Kayla Jacobs of Catholic Climate Covenant, the answer is simple: everything is connected.

Kayla joins Maggie and Tim to share how Catholic social teaching, the Sisters of Mercy, and a transformative encounter with the Eucharist led her into the Church—and ultimately into climate advocacy. She explains why the climate crisis intensifies poverty, hunger, displacement, and other injustices, and why caring for creation cannot be separated from caring for our neighbors.

The conversation also explores the remarkable leadership of young Catholics. Through Catholic Climate Covenant’s youth mobilization work, high school students receive formation in theology, climate science, advocacy, and practical action. Along the way, they discover something just as important: a community of peers who share their concerns and give them hope.

Kayla also offers practical ways for parishes, schools, ministers, and families to participate in the Season of Creation and make creation care part of Catholic life.

About Kayla Jacobs

Kayla Jacobs leads youth mobilization and advocacy work at Catholic Climate Covenant, helping young Catholics connect faith, climate action, and care for communities most affected by the climate crisis. A convert to Catholicism, Kayla first encountered Catholic social teaching through the Sisters of Mercy while attending Saint Xavier University. Her work has included immigration advocacy, prison reform, diocesan creation-care ministry, youth leadership development, and legislative advocacy.

Episode highlights

00:36 — Kayla’s journey into the Catholic Church
Kayla shares how her family, the Sisters of Mercy, Catholic social teaching, and an encounter with the Eucharist shaped her conversion.

06:38 — What Catholic Climate Covenant makes possible
An introduction to the organization’s work with parishes, schools, dioceses, religious communities, and Catholic institutions.

11:18 — Climate action and the institutional Church
Kayla discusses the Church’s growing engagement with creation care and the unique contributions Catholics can make.

17:37 — Catholic institutions moving toward net zero
The conversation turns to diocesan sustainability commitments and the collective impact of Catholic properties.

18:27 — Where a parish or diocese can begin
Build a team, draw on existing resources, and be courageous about acting on the Church’s teaching.

23:18 — The spirituality of creation care
Why addressing the climate crisis requires reverence, interior conversion, and recognition of creation’s inherent goodness.

26:03 — Young Catholics and climate leadership
Kayla introduces Catholic Climate Covenant’s youth program, including formation, regional summits, and advocacy.

35:09 — From isolation to community
Students frequently enter the program feeling alone in their concern for the climate—and leave with friendships, confidence, and a sense of belonging.

41:09 — How the youth program began
Kayla recounts the climate march, young activists, and ministry experiences that inspired her to create the program.

45:55 — How students and adult allies can participate
Opportunities for young people, teachers, ministers, parents, clergy, and religious communities to become involved.

51:38 — Celebrating the Season of Creation
A look at the annual ecumenical observance, its Catholic connections, and resources for prayer and action.

55:20 — “Creation Sings!”
Kayla shares Catholic Climate Covenant’s art initiative inviting young people to celebrate creation and the witness of St. Francis and St. Clare.

59:10 — What gives Kayla hope
The commitment, imagination, and leadership of young people assure Kayla that the future is in good hands.

Resources mentioned

•

Catholic Climate Covenant

•

Catholic Youth Mobilization

•

Wholemakers creation-care curriculum

•

2026 Season of Creation resources

•

“Creation Sings!” youth art competition

•

Catholic Energies

•

Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home

If this conversation encouraged you, share it with a teacher, campus minister, youth minister, parish leader, or anyone looking for a hopeful, faith-filled way to care for our common home. Subscribe to In Goodfaith wherever you listen, and leave a review to help more people discover the show.

What does faithful engagement with artificial intelligence look like?

Tim Wasem and Maggie Smith welcome theologian, spiritual director, and Good Faith board chair Cathy Johnson to discuss Pope Leo’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas. Together, they explore why the Church is paying close attention to AI—and what Catholic social doctrine can teach us about using technology responsibly.

The conversation examines the possibilities AI offers alongside its risks: exploitation, environmental harm, unequal access, misinformation, and the temptation to treat human beings as collections of data. Cathy emphasizes that technology must always serve people—not the other way around.

The group also considers discernment as an everyday practice. Instead of accepting or rejecting AI outright, we can ask whether its use supports human dignity, relationships, creativity, justice, and the common good.

The episode concludes with Pope Leo’s reflection on Mary and the Magnificat—a song of hope that calls us to lift up the lowly, feed the hungry, and bear witness to the grandeur of humanity.

About our guest

Cathy Johnson is a theologian, spiritual director, liturgy and worship leader, and chair of the Goodfaith board. She holds a Doctor of Ministry from Fordham University and brings extensive experience in pastoral ministry and Catholic social doctrine.

In this second conversation with Karen Bortvedt Estrada, somatic stress release practitioner and founder of Wish You Knew, Maggie and Tim explore what it means to help young people feel safer, more present, and more at home in their bodies.

The conversation begins with social media and smartphones: why we reach for them when we feel lonely, overwhelmed, or disconnected—and how a small pause can restore a sense of choice. Karen invites parents, educators, and ministers to approach technology with curiosity, recognizing that a phone or pair of headphones may sometimes be a young person’s source of connection, regulation, or safety.

From there, the group offers practical ways to create more body-aware spaces. They discuss naming emotions, engaging the senses, arranging rooms with safety in mind, allowing movement and different prayer postures, making participation optional, and offering anonymous ways to respond. Karen also explains co-regulation: how the energy an adult brings into a room can shape everyone else’s experience.

The conversation ultimately returns to a deeply incarnational truth: bodies are not obstacles to faith. God became human, the Eucharist is the Body of Christ, and our bodies carry wisdom worth listening to. Whether someone needs to rock, color, sit against a wall, keep their eyes open during prayer, or simply take a breath, there is room for them.

Karen’s encouragement for anyone accompanying young people is simple: You are doing the best you can with the resources you have. Begin with one small shift, stay curious, and remember that repair is always possible.

Practices mentioned in this episode

•

Pause and ask what need is underneath the impulse to reach for a phone.

•

Invite people to name an emotion, sensation, texture, or image that describes how they feel.

•

Use the five-senses countdown to return attention to the present.

•

Arrange seating so participants can see the room and have something solid behind them.

•

Place a hand over the heart or abdomen during prayer.

•

Allow rocking, coloring, stretching, floor seating, and other forms of movement.

•

Offer time for private reflection before asking anyone to share.

•

Make sharing optional and provide anonymous ways to participate.

•

Let people keep their eyes open, soften their gaze, or choose a comfortable prayer posture.

•

Regulate yourself before trying to help someone else regulate.

•

Approach repeated behavior with curiosity and the most generous interpretation available.

About Karen

Karen Bortvedt Estrada is the founder and lead facilitator of Wish You Knew, where she creates spaces for individual and group reflection and transformation. She is a certified somatic stress release practitioner whose work helps people engage the body’s natural stress-response cycle through movement, visualization, vocalization, gentle touch, and rest.

Links

•

Listen to Karen’s first In Goodfaith conversation, “Permission to Be Human”

•

Connect with Karen on LinkedIn

•

Listen and follow In Goodfaith

What does Catholic social teaching have to say about artificial intelligence, and what might the Church offer a culture increasingly shaped by screens, algorithms, and polarization?

Kim Daniels, director of Georgetown University’s Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life, joins Maggie and Stephanie to explore the Church’s role in safeguarding human dignity amid rapid technological change. Drawing on her work at Georgetown, her participation in the global Synod on Synodality, and Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, Kim offers a hopeful vision rooted in listening, dialogue, solidarity, and care for people who are poor and vulnerable.

The conversation also considers the promise and real-world harms of AI, from algorithmic bias and exploitative labor to the environmental costs of data centers. Kim reminds us that human beings are more than their productivity or cognitive ability—and that our limitations, relationships, and embodied lives are not problems to optimize away.

At a time of constant digital connection, even gathering for Mass becomes a countercultural witness: people coming together without devices to pray, celebrate the Eucharist, and encounter one another in an embodied community.

Episode timestamps

00:37 — Introducing Kim Daniels
04:23 — The origins and mission of Georgetown’s Initiative
05:34 — Kim’s journey from law to Catholic public life
12:46 — Discovering the depth of Catholic social teaching
20:34 — Pope Francis and the call to become a poor Church for the poor
24:45 — Dialogue and bridge-building in a polarized culture
28:38 — Lessons from the global Synod on Synodality
34:02 — Moving from listening to concrete action
35:54 — The Church’s mission in the digital environment
38:23 — Parenting and forming young people in a digital culture
47:05 — Pope Leo XIV’s vision for AI and human dignity
53:26 — The real-world justice implications of artificial intelligence
59:13 — Vulnerability, grief, joy, and the gift of being human
1:05:42 — Why Mass is countercultural in the age of AI
1:09:27 — Catholic social teaching as a source of hope
1:12:49 — What is giving Kim hope today

About Kim Daniels

Kim Daniels is the director of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown University and an adjunct professor in Georgetown’s Department of Theology and Religious Studies. She has served as a member of the Vatican Dicastery for Communication and participated in the 2021–2024 Synod on Synodality as an expert participant. She also coordinated the Synod study group examining the Church’s mission in the digital environment.

A graduate of Princeton University and the University of Chicago Law School, Kim has advised Catholic leaders and institutions on issues including religious liberty, immigration, human life and dignity, and care for creation.

Resources

•

Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life

•

Kim Daniels at Georgetown University

•

Magnifica Humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence

•

The Synod study group’s report on the Church’s mission in the digital environment

•

“What A.I. Has to Do With Poverty and Human Dignity” by Kim Daniels

•

“InMagnifica Humanitas, Pope Leo Delivers a People-First Vision for AI” by Kim Daniels

In this episode of In Goodfaith, Maggie and Stephanie sit down with researcher and ministry trainer Charlotte McCorquodale to explore what 25 years of research reveal about the changing realities of Catholic youth and young adult ministry.

Drawing on her longitudinal study, Illuminating Trends, Charlotte describes a field marked by expanding responsibilities, declining professional support, unequal compensation, and a growing leadership gap. Together, they examine why relational ministry is difficult to measure, how attendance-based metrics can obscure genuine transformation, and why accompaniment requires shared responsibility across the entire parish community.

Charlotte McCorquodale leads Ministry Training Source and has spent decades studying and supporting Catholic ministry leaders. Her newest resource translates the research into guided conversations about the pressure points facing ministers and the balancing actions churches can take in response. She encourages ministry leaders to assess their own realities, identify trusted allies, and use data to begin honest conversations that can lead to meaningful change.

•

0:00–6:15 Opening, guest introduction, and the story behind the research

•

Theme: how Charlotte’s doctoral work grew into a 25-year study of youth and young adult ministry

•

6:15–11:30 What has—and has not—changed

•

Declining formation budgets, limited benefits, role confusion, and the continual need for ministers to justify their work

•

11:30–19:10 Valuing those who accompany young people

•

The formation and expertise ministry requires; expanding job descriptions; research as a source of clarity and agency

•

19:10–29:30 Moving beyond “magical thinking”

•

Why old ministry models no longer work; cultural change, relational discipleship, and the limits of attendance as a measure of success

•

29:30–34:40 Measuring transformation and supporting accompaniment

•

Transactional versus transformational metrics; performance reviews, ministry structures, and using data to start conversations

•

34:40–40:30 The challenge of finding volunteers

•

“People power,” shared mission, pastor support, and inviting adults into meaningful relationships with young people

•

40:30–48:10 Reimagining youth and young adult ministry

•

Innovation, continuity through leadership transitions, young people as protagonists, and promising new ministry models

•

48:10–56:00 Building parishes of accompaniment

•

Relational work as productive work; knowing people by name; baptism, belonging, and the responsibility of the whole community

•

56:00–1:03:15 A leadership gap in Catholic ministry

•

Compensation, benefits, generational expectations, work-life balance, and why younger ministers are planning shorter tenures

•

1:03:15–1:15:30 Gender inequity and sustainable ministry

•

The persistent pay gap, changing expectations among women and younger generations, family life, leave policies, and intergenerational support

•

1:15:30–1:22:55 Practical next steps and a new conversation resource

•

Assessing ministry realities, finding allies, practicing difficult conversations, and addressing pressure points with balancing actions

•

1:22:55–1:26:26 Sources of hope and closing reflections

•

The joy of accompanying young people, the commitment of ministry leaders, and an invitation to share and support the podcast

In this episode of In Goodfaith, Maggie and Stephanie sit down with Sister Nancy Usselmann, FSP, a Catholic media educator and advocate for AI literacy, to explore how Catholic social teaching speaks to artificial intelligence today.

They discuss what AI is, how the Church has engaged with AI ethics, and practical steps pastors, educators, and families can take to navigate a world where technology increasingly shapes work, education, and relationships. The conversation anchors itself in Pope Leo’s encyclical and CST, calling for human-centered discernment, subsidiarity, and the dignity of the human person as central guides.

Sister Nancy Usselmann, FSP, is a Daughter of Saint Paul and director of Pauline Media Studies. She teaches AI literacy and media mindfulness, speaks nationwide on AI ethics, and helps Catholic communities think critically about how to use technology for mission and evangelization. She also references the Catholic faithai.com platform, which offers formation guides and an AI mindfulness wheel for virtue-centered use of AI.

- 0:00–4:50 Opening and guest introduction
- Theme: setting the frame for AI ethics through CST and human dignity
- 4:50–12:00 What AI is and why it matters to Catholics
- Clarifications: machine learning, large language models, prompts, and the non-neutral character of AI
- 12:00–15:25 The Church’s engagement with AI
- Rome Calls for AI ethics; Vatican and CST as ethical voices in tech
- 15:25–21:00 Practical formation and resources
- Catholic Faith AI platform; AI mindfulness wheel; guidance for parishes, catechists, and educators
- 21:00–28:10 Real-world implications: education, work, environment
- Data centers, water use, subsidiarity, and implications for jobs and learning
- 28:10–33:50 Discernment and practical guidance
- Augmenting thinking vs outsourcing; empowerment vs dependence; CST in daily tech decisions
- 33:50–40:00 AI in church life: liturgy, catechesis, youth ministry
- The human witness remains central; accompany with AI tools thoughtfully
- 40:00–49:55 Big-picture hope and what excites Sister Nancy
- Positive apps for catechesis, accessible teaching, and mission-driven use
- 50:00–54:43 Closing reflections and calls to action - Summaries, prayers, and where to find resources

In this episode, Maggie and Stephanie sit down with Dr. Guilherme Lopes just days after his CTU graduation to talk about how Catholic social teaching shaped his life long before it became his academic focus. Guilherme shares his story as a Brazilian immigrant raised in the Bronx, formed by the Salesians of Don Bosco through a tuition exchange at Holy Rosary parish, and how that early experience of being fed, clothed, and welcomed by a religious community planted the seeds for a career spent at the intersection of faith, justice, and youth ministry.

The conversation moves through his unlikely path: a criminal justice degree born out of grief after losing his best friend to a drunk-driving accident, a hard stretch as a juvenile probation officer, and the moment at a Thursday art program for detained teens that redirected him toward ministry. From there, Guilherme traces his work revising the Salesians' Gospel Roads immersion program, his pivot away from "flashy," consumer-style youth ministry programming toward authentic, justice-oriented service experiences, and his eventual move to Newman University, where he now directs campus ministry and teaches theology.

Maggie and Stephanie connect his story to Goodfaith's own immersion work, comparing notes on snack-cabinet rules, DoorDash bans, four-minute showers, and what it means to form a generation raised on curated, on-demand experiences.

Two social media posts started a movement. Less than a year later, the Dorothea Project counts more than 1,100 Catholic women across 75 dioceses.

We sit down with founder Katie Holler and project leader Krista Varney to talk about how a grassroots network of Catholic women grew out of one mom's refusal to stay silent. Katie, a social worker in Steubenville, started the Dorothea Project after the second Trump administration's immigration enforcement hit her during her postpartum maternity leave. She made two Facebook posts asking if anyone else felt the same. Dozens of women answered, most of them saying some version of "I thought I was the only one."

Named for Dorothy Day and Sister Thea Bowman, the Dorothea Project educates Catholics on Catholic social teaching and moves them to act in defense of vulnerable people. The conversation digs into why CST stays the so-called "best kept secret of the Church", what happens when you start treating your bishop like a constituent who needs to hear from you, and why building a movement means getting comfortable with tension instead of waiting for everyone to agree on everything.

We get into the work of organizing at both the national and local level, the new CST-based voter guide the group is building ahead of the midterms, and why the laity coming to know their own power might be the real shift the Church needs.

Tim joins Maggie in the host seat for a rich conversation with Karen Bortvedt Estrada, a somatic stress release practitioner and founder of Wish You Knew. Karen helps us notice the things we override all day, the clenched jaw, the tensed shoulders, and makes the case for "humaning" instead of performing.

The three get honest about the cost of caregiving work, and the scripts (capitalism, perfectionism, "your reward will be great in heaven") that keep ministers, teachers, and nonprofit folks running until they collapse. Karen's reframe is freeing: you are not broken, you're feeling the symptoms of a broken system, and naming that is where healing begins.

The episode closes on the church itself, with Karen sharing what she wishes faith communities understood about the body, intuition, and letting their people be human, messy, and rested rather than endlessly productive.

Rosie Chinea Shawver didn't embrace faith until college. She grew up in a Puerto Rican and Cuban household where faith was present but not personal, like a piece of furniture. It took a persistent friend, a cute guy in the choir, and a priest who took her out for froyo to change all of that. Now, nearly 20 years into campus ministry and serving as Executive Director of the Catholic Campus Ministry Association (CCMA), Rosie has given her life to making sure young people have the same kind of encounter she did.

In this conversation, we talk with Rosie about what it really takes to accompany young adults in faith and why that slow, deeply human work is exactly what the church needs more of right now.

One year ago, white smoke rose over the Sistine Chapel and the world met Pope Leo XIV — the first American pontiff in the 2,000-year history of the Catholic Church. A lot has happened since then.

To mark the anniversary, we're joined again by Colleen Dulle. Colleen is the Vatican correspondent for America Magazine, co-host of the Inside the Vatican podcast, and author of Struck Down, Not Destroyed: Keeping the Faith as a Vatican Reporter. Colleen reported live from Rome during the Conclave and has been tracking Leo's papacy ever since. She joins us from the middle of an international move with her young family, and we are so grateful for her time.

Colleen's Links:

Struck Down, Not Destroyed on Bookshop.org

Inside the Vatican Podcast

Instagram

X (Twitter)

What does it look like to walk alongside young Latino Catholics at this particular moment in the life of the Church — and in the life of the United States? That's the heart of today's conversation with Juan Escarfuller and Elisabeth Roman from Instituto Fe y Vida, a Lasallian ministry founded in 1994 to form young Latinos as servant leaders in the Church and society.

From WhatsApp groups that outlast retreats to banner-making retreats that reunite teens with their parents, Juan and Ellie paint a vivid picture of what formation rooted in community, culture, and faith actually looks like on the ground. They also speak candidly about the fear, grief, and resilience spreading through Latino parishes in the current political climate, and what they witnessed firsthand when a delegation of over 90 migrants was received by Pope Leo at the Vatican.

In our newest installment of our parenting series The Confessional, Maggie and Stephanie sit down with Kate and Anthony, a Philadelphia couple raising three daughters while doing deeply meaningful, demanding work in Catholic higher education and climate justice. From meeting at the National Catholic Youth Conference at age 17 to building an intentional family life rooted in faith, justice, and community, this conversation is warm and deeply real.

Kate is the Director of the Center for Common Good at Villanova University. Anthony co-founded Taproot, a climate justice nonprofit working on issues of self-determination and climate reparations. Together they're basketball teams, navigating the Catholic Church's complicated moment, and trying to raise kids who understand why their faith compels them to care about the world.

Join the conversation:

We want to hear from you! What questions or challenges are you facing as a parent or caregiver trying to nurture faith in your family? Share your thoughts and help shape the series by submitting questions through the link or on social media.

Stay tuned for more episodes of the Parent Series!

In Goodfaith Podcast Topic Submissions

One year after the death of Pope Francis, Maggie and Stephanie welcome back John Grosso, digital editor of the National Catholic Reporter — this time calling in from paternity leave with a two-week-old at home.

John shares where he was when Francis died (at his desk in a bathrobe at 3am), reflects on how Francis's legacy is still being fought over, and makes the case that Pope Leo XIV is building on that foundation.

Then we get into the current moment: Trump's attack on Pope Leo XIV, JD Vance challenging the Pope on Just War Theory while standing in the homeland of St. Augustine, the American cardinals on 60 Minutes, and a USCCB slowly finding its footing. We end with the bigger question underneath all of it: what this moment is really asking of American Catholics, and what it means to choose the gospel over your politics.

Also: a baby who may owe her potty training breakthrough to Pope Francis, and John's promise to review JD Vance's book the moment he's back from leave.

Follow John Grosso online:

• National Catholic Reporter
• Threads
• BlueSky
• LinkedIn

In this episode of In Goodfaith, Maggie and Stephanie sit down with writer, theologian, and speaker Laura Kelly Fanucci for a conversation about faith, grief, parenting, and hope in uncertain times. Drawing from her life as a mother of five, her experience navigating crisis in her community, and her new book Living Easter: 50 Days to Practice Resurrection, Laura reflects on how faith takes shape in the middle of real life.

Together, they explore what it looks like to raise compassionate kids in a complicated world, how community becomes a lifeline in times of fear and division, and how the Resurrection provides a path through suffering

About the Guest

Laura Kelly Fanucci is a writer, speaker, and theologian whose work focuses on faith in everyday life. She is the author of several books, including Living Easter: 50 Days to Practice Resurrection. Laura lives in Minnesota with her husband and five sons, where she writes and shares reflections on faith, grief, and hope.

Links

•

Living Easter: 50 Days to Practice Resurrection by Laura Kelly Fanucci

•

Follow Laura (@thismessygrace) for daily reflections and Gospel-based insights

In this episode of In Goodfaith, we sit down with Meghan Hatcher, Senior Director of Ministry Strategies at the Ministry Leadership Center, to explore a question that has shaped years of shared work between our organizations: What does real transformation actually look like in the life of a church?

Together, we unpack the difference between transactional ministry (focused on numbers, attendance, and outputs) and transformational ministry, which centers on belonging, encounter, and lived change in people’s lives.

Drawing from Meghan’s experience in church planting, pastoral leadership, and congregational strategy, we reflect on the moments that revealed the limits of traditional metrics, as well as the deeper stories of grace, healing, and community that often go unseen.

We also introduce the Transformational Ministry Assessment, an innovative new tool developed in partnership between Goodfaith and the Ministry Leadership Center, designed to help leaders name, measure, and grow the kind of transformation that actually reflects the heart of the Gospel.

This conversation is for anyone who has felt the tension between what’s counted and what truly counts—and who believes the Church is still becoming something new.

Key Themes & Takeaways

1. The problem with “success metrics” in ministry

Many churches rely on attendance, giving, and growth as primary indicators of health—but those measures often miss the deeper movement of the Spirit in people’s lives.

2. Transformation vs. transaction

Transformation is about real change—how people think, feel, act, and relate. Transactional ministry focuses on participation and outputs. Both exist, but only one reflects the fullness of discipleship.

3. A defining story: when a church was “failing”… but lives were changing

Meghan shares a powerful story of a church plant that was shut down for not meeting financial and attendance benchmarks—even as people were experiencing belonging, healing, and faith for the first time.

4. We are resurrection people—but often tell Good Friday stories

Much of church culture focuses on decline and survival. But the Gospel calls us to notice where new life is already breaking through.

5. The Church is people, not a place

The early Christian idea of ecclesia points to a gathered people, not a building. Transformation often happens beyond the walls—on playgrounds, in homes, and in relationships.

6. What people are actually longing for

Belonging. Being known. Being accompanied. Not programs.

7. A new imagination for ministry

Across the country, leaders are rethinking what church can look like—partnering with communities, listening first, and creating spaces that respond to real human needs.

About the Transformational Ministry Assessment

Developed through years of shared research and practice, the Transformational Ministry Assessment helps ministry leaders:

•

Reflect on where transformation is already happening

•

Identify gaps between intention and impact

•

Shift from transactional to transformational focus

•

Engage stakeholders in meaningful conversation

•

Reimagine ministry through the lens of the Gospel

It explores transformation across four dimensions:

•

Head (thinking)

•

Heart (feeling)

•

Hands (action)

•

Community (relationships)

This tools enables churches to see more clearly, name what matters, and move forward with intention.

👉 Learn more: https://wearegoodfaith.org/transformational-ministry-assessment/