The Pope Tackles Climate Change and the Nun Who Went to Prison

Pope Says Our Planet is at a Breaking Point

“The Earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth,” writes Pope Francis in his bold new manifesto on climate change. His long-awaited encyclical is sometimes stern—”We are not God. The Earth was here before us” —and often poetic—“The poor and the Earth are crying out.” Our panel weighs in on how this might affect ecological policies around the world, and discusses a new poll that finds Americans Catholics divided on how much climate change matters. Featuring Fr. Thomas Reese, senior analyst for the National Catholic Reporter, Robert Royal, President of the Faith and Reason Institute, and  Jessica Martinez, research associate at the Pew Research Center.

Sister Megan Rice Reflects on Civil Disobedience

If you ask Sister Megan Rice why she and two companions cut through a barbed-wire fence to break into a nuclear storage facility three years ago, she makes no apologies. “We didn’t break the law,” she tells us. “We did what every citizen is responsible to do.” The 85-year-old nun and her partners in crime have just been released from federal prison, and this week, they explain why they believe non-violent activism has “infinite value” in the eyes of God.  Featuring Sister Megan Rice, anti-nuclear activist and Sister of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus and Greg Boertje-Obed and Michael Walli, members of Transform Now Plowshares.

The Polyphony Conservatory

There’s a music conservatory in Israel where Palestinian and Jewish students perform side by side. Together, they harmonize on some of the most challenging compositions in Western music: a sonata by Beethoven, a cello Suite by Bach, a piano quintet by Dvořák. But not far from their concert hall, Jews and Palestinians ride different buses, go to different schools, and shop in different stores. The group is called Polyphony, and its founder stops by with two of his young students to treat us to a violin duet. With Nabeel Abboud-Ashkar, founder of The Polyphony Foundation,  Feras Machour, an Arabic Christian student from Nazareth and Shir Chyat, a Jewish student from Neve Ilan.

Messiah Clause Leaves no Stone Unturned

There’s a belief in Judaism that one day, a Messiah will return to the land of Israel. If you’re a devout Jew, you’ll want a front-row seat. But what if you own an apartment in Jerusalem when the big day comes–and you’re stuck overseas? Enter the “Messiah Clause,” a bit of fine print in some Jerusalem rental contracts which states that if the anointed one does return, the renters must move out.  Jeff Moskowitz is our guest, who is a contributor to The Christian Science Monitor.


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