The Just Word

Jane Schaberg’s "Illegitimacy of Jesus" with Tess Gallagher Clancy

Today Tess Gallagher Clancy invites us to explore the possibility of the illegitimate conception of Jesus, with the help of Catholic biblical scholar Jane Schaberg; engage the (lack of) traditional Catholic Social Teaching that liberates women, and use feminist interpretation to call for the liberation of Palestinians now; and contemplate Mary’s Song from the Bible as a song of thanks to God for lifting the least of us.

"This story of Jesus’s conception and birth could be the story of an illegitimate pregnancy, possible sexual violence, and a woman and child in one of the most precarious positions in a dangerous world. It’s impossible to know this for sure, but it makes the story of Jesus, from birth to death, one shot through with great pain, and great hope in what is possible for us all, and most especially, the lowest of the low."

Tess Gallagher Clancy was born and raised in western Montana on Salish land, in an Irish American family. She thinks a lot about land, place, belonging, and labor. She has a Master of Divinity in theology and social ethics. You can find more of her writing at https://substack.com/@leftcatholic.

Catholic Women Preach

"Called to be God-bearers" with Karen Sue Smith

Preaching for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Karen Sue Smith offers a reflection on our role - inspired by Mary - as bearers of God's promise:

"We believe that the promise/fulfillment process continues. God lives among us and within us here and now. Like Mary, we are called to be God-bearers, to make God’s compassion and justice real and present in our world. How? Answering that question requires discernment, as we discover what gifts God has given us and how best to use them. But all the basics--in the Sermon on the Mount or from Jesus’ own works of mercy, justice, and community-building – are clear enough. We need to consent and persist…."

Karen Sue Smith is a retired writer and editor with nearly 30 years of experience working in the Catholic press. She served in full time capacities as editorial director at America Magazine; editor of CHURCH Magazine from National Pastoral Life Center; and associate editor at Commonweal Magazine. She earned her Master of Divinity at Harvard University and a Master of Arts in Theology at the University of Notre Dame.

Catholic Women Preach

"Making Room" with Natalia Imperatori-Lee

Preaching for Christmas, Natalia Imperatori-Lee reflects on God's determination to "make room" and encourages us to do likewise:

January 23 at 7pm ET

How Everyday Americans (Don’t) Talk About Abortion with Tricia C. Bruce, Ph.D.

Using data from in-depth interviews with hundreds of everyday Americans, Sociologist Dr. Tricia Bruce underscores the imperative of productive conversations about abortion in a post Roe v. Wade era. Her research exposes the limitations of available labels, assumptions, and boundaries separating Americans' moral and legal views. Study insights help to forge pathways beyond polarization, making room for greater complexity, ambiguity, understanding, and cross-cutting collaborations.


Tricia C. Bruce, Ph.D. (University of California Santa Barbara) is a sociologist of religion with expertise in organizational, attitudinal, and generational change. Her award-winning books and reports include Parish and Place; Faithful Revolution; American Parishes; Polarization in the US Catholic Church; and How Americans Understand Abortion. Her writing has appeared in The Wall Street Journal; Time Magazine; Science Advances; Review of Religious Research; U.S. Catholic Historian; and more. She is President-Elect of the Association for the Sociology of Religion, Past-Chair of the American Sociological Association’s Sociology of Religion Section, and an affiliate of the University of Notre Dame’s Center for the Study of Religion and Society.

February 20 at 7pm ET

Co-Creating Beauty: Queer Bodies and Queer Loves Beyond the Anathemas with Craig Ford, Ph.D.

Dr. Ford's presentation, "Co-Creating Beauty: Queer Bodies and Queer Loves Beyond the Anathemas" explores how our roles as co-creators with God allows for new ways to understand the truth revealed by sexuality and gender identity beyond the boundaries of heteronormativity. Such redeployment of this theological status as co-creator, Ford argues, may provide a pathway beyond the impasse currently experienced at the level of official church teaching with respect to these topics.

Craig A. Ford, Jr., is Assistant Professor of Theology and Religious Studies at Saint Norbert College, where he teaches courses in Christian Ethics, Ecclesiology, and on Race, Gender and Sexuality while also serving as Co-Director for the Peace and Justice Interdisciplinary Minor. He is also on the faculty at the Institute for Black Catholic Studies—hosted at Xavier University of Louisiana, the nation’s only Catholic HBCU— where he teaches courses on Black Theology as well as on Topics in Moral Theology from a Black Perspective. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame, Yale Divinity School, and Boston College, Dr. Ford writes on topics at the intersection of queer theory, blac studies, and the Catholic moral tradition. His most recent book project, All of Us: The Future of Catholic Theology From the Perspectives of Queer Theologians of Color is a co-edited volume with Bryan Massingale and Miguel Diaz, drawing scholars and activists from North and South America, the Pacific Islands, Australia, and Europe who seek to chart new directions for Catholic theology when the oppressive realities of racism, heteronormativity, and sexism within church and world are engaged equally and fiercely. This volume is currently under contract with Fortress Press.

February 29 at 7pm ET

Lenten Fasting and Body Hatred: A Feminist Critique with Jessica Coblentz, Ph.D.

Join us as Jessica Coblentz presents on her article “Catholic Fasting Literature in a Context of Body Hatred: A Feminist Critique” in which she argues that the social conditions of misogynistic body hatred and the culture of fasting during Lent perpetuates disordered eating.

Jessica Coblentz, Ph.D. is an assistant professor in the Department of Religious Studies and Theology at Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana, where her research and teaching focuses on Catholic systematic theology, feminist theologies, and mental health in theological perspective. She is a graduate of Santa Clara University and Harvard Divinity School, and received her PhD from Boston College. She was previously a resident scholar at the Collegeville Institute in Collegeville, Minnesota, and has taught at Saint Mary’s College in Moraga, California.

March 28 at 7pm ET

Consent in the Context of the Annunciation with Megan McCabe, Ph.D.

Join us as Megan McCabe, Ph.D. discusses building a culture of consent in the context of the Feast of the Annunciation. Dr. McCabe will speak on her work on sexual justice and social sin in the United States with a special emphasis on consent in the context of the Assumption.

Megan K. McCabe, Ph.D. is assistant professor of religious studies at Gonzaga Univeristy. She works in the areas of Catholic moral theology, theological ethics, and feminist theologies. Her research and teaching respond to questions of human responsibility for suffering and the correlative duties to work for social transformation. She engages questions at the intersection of moral theology, social ethics, liberation and political theologies, feminist theologies and ethics, and issues of gender and sexuality. Her current research develops an understanding of “cultures of sin,” specifically in the context of an examination of the problem of the cultural foundation of sexual violence.