The America Magazine Podcast

Filmmaker Martin Doblmeier discusses “The Power of Forgiveness,” his new documentary for PBS. The film tells stories of both individual and group forgiveness, and reports on forgiveness studies, a blossoming field of scientific inquiry. Doblmeier talks about his trip to still-segregated Northern Ireland, where experts are trying to integrate the lessons of forgiveness into the curriculum, and recounts the heated reaction to the proposal to build a “garden of forgiveness” at the Ground Zero memorial in New York City. To see when the film will be playing in your city click here. You can order the film, and “The Power of Forgiveness” book, on the Journey Films Web site.

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March 24 marks the 28th anniversary of the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador. Michael E. Lee, a professor of theology and Latin American studies at Fordham University, discusses the life of Archbishop Romero, and the status of his cause for canonization. Among the issues addressed is whether Romero in fact experienced a “conversion” shortly after his appointment as archbishop.

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Roger Haight, S.J., visiting professor at Union Theological Seminary and author of a three-volume work on ecclesiology, Christian Community in History, discusses the extraordinary flowering of Catholic Theology since Vatican II. Among the figures he reflects upon are Karl Rahner, Johannes B. Metz and Elizabeth Johnson. According to Fr. Haight, the “expanded territory covered by the theologians of our era bears comparison to the transition from the monastery to the university in the high middle ages.” Fr. Haight’s article on Catholic theology since Vatican II from the March 17 issue of America is available here.

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Catholic poet Angela O’Donnell talks about her work, including her “saint” series of poems, which includes odes to such unconventional “saints” as Herman Melville and Vincent van Gogh. Features readings of two of her poems published in America.

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Fr. Jim Martin, associate editor of America, and Bill McGarvey, editor-in-chief of Busted Halo, discuss this year’s Best Picture nominees. Covered this week: “There Will Be Blood” and “Atonement,” plus our Oscar picks. Part 2 of a two-part series.

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Fr. Jim Martin, associate editor of America, and Bill McGarvey, editor-in-chief of Busted Halo, discuss this year’s Best Picture nominees. Covered this week: “Michael Clayton,” “No Country for Old Men” and “Juno.” Part 1 of a two-part series.

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Peter Schineller, S.J., a new associate editor at America, discusses his years in Nigeria, and the difficulty adjusting to American culture after such an extended time abroad. Read Fr. Schineller’s article on the tragic plane crash that killed 60 of his students. Also available: his 1991 article on “Culture Shock on Returning to America.”

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Psychologist and author Sidney Callahan discusses evolutionary thought, feminist theology and C.S. Lewis in a wide-ranging interview about her new book, Created for Joy: A Christian View of Suffering.

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James T. Keane, S.J., discusses his article “Vocation and Crisis,” (America, 2/4/08) about his decision to enter the Jesuits during the height of the sexual abuse crisis.

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Fr. John Paris, an ethicist at Boston College, describes two recent cases that pit doctors against caregivers over the best course of treatment for a non-responsive patient. Fr. Paris also discusses his work with Catholic couples facing the tragic choice of what to do with a baby with lethal abnormalities.

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