Background Briefing: May 8, 2025
The 267th Pope is an American and a Peruvian Citizen Who Spent 2 Decades in Peru as a Missionary
We begin with the 267th pope elected today, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost who has taken the name of Pope Leo XIV and is an American although also a Peruvian citizen having spent two decades in Peru as a missionary. Joining us to discuss who this new pope is and the direction he is likely to take the 1.4 billion Roman Catholics in is Massimo Faggioli, a professor of theology and religious studies at Villanova University. He is the author of a number of books including Vatican II: The Battle for Meaning, The Rising Laity: Ecclesial Movements since Vatican II, The Liminal Papacy of Pope Francis, and Global Catholicism: Between Disruption and Encounter.
A Roman Catholic Woman Priest on The Men-Only Cardinal’s Choice of Pope Leo XIV
Then with 133 men-only Cardinals having elected the new American pope who has been a cardinal for less than two years, we will get an appraisal of Pope Leo XIV from a woman priest in a Church that has yet to officially ordain women. Joining us is Bishop Jane Via, who after several years of teaching Religious Studies at a Catholic college and university, served as an attorney at County Counsel in San Diego, CA and a county attorney with the District Attorney’s office in San Diego for a combined 26 years. Jane is the Bishop of the Region of Holy Margins and a Roman Catholic woman priest.
Is It Safe To Fly After Musk Gutted the FAA and a Reality TV President Chose a Reality TV Secretary of Transportation?
Then finally, following the loss of air traffic communication at one of America’s busiest airports, we determine whether it is safe to fly now that Musk has gutted the FAA and the Reality TV star Trump has chosen a former Reality TV actor as Secretary of Transportation. We speak with Jeff Wise, a science journalist specializing in aviation and psychology. A licensed pilot of gliders and light airplanes, he has served as an on-camera aviation analyst on CNN, Fox News and MSNBC and is the author of The Taking of MH370 and has a new podcast “Finding MH370.com”