Thank you, Max and Emma, for this wonderful episode. It gave me so much to think about, though the center of what your conversation brought up for me was the Theology of the Body. I'm not familiar with the original lectures, nor the reactions to them. But some of what comes up for me when thinking about this includes the long-time and current focus on controlling bodies, especially those of marginalized groups, as a means of bending people to the will of the powerful. Also, the essential and immediate nature of caring for our own and others bodies--how AIDS ripped through communities and killed so many before the disease was publicly addressed because it was believed to be ~only~ affecting gay men, juxtaposed with the intimate stories and images of queer people caring for their beloved ones who had HIV or AIDS. (There's an image that stands out in my memory of people holding a sign at a 1980s pride in Iowa City that reads "WE'RE ALIVE IN '85.") 'Theology of the Body' makes me think of the personal and individual nature of our bodies and the autonomy we should all have in our own bodies. How our bodies are "pure" because they were God and belong to us and no one else. It also makes me think of the collective - together, we all make up the body of the Church. "One bread, one body...we are one body in this one Lord."
I am one of the folks who watched Conclave for the first time after the passing of Pope Francis. After watching it, I'm thrilled that so many are watching it now. From the film, "The Church is not tradition, the Church is not the past, the Church is what WE do next."
Thank you, Max and Emma, for this wonderful episode. It gave me so much to think about, though the center of what your conversation brought up for me was the Theology of the Body. I'm not familiar with the original lectures, nor the reactions to them. But some of what comes up for me when thinking about this includes the long-time and current focus on controlling bodies, especially those of marginalized groups, as a means of bending people to the will of the powerful. Also, the essential and immediate nature of caring for our own and others bodies--how AIDS ripped through communities and killed so many before the disease was publicly addressed because it was believed to be ~only~ affecting gay men, juxtaposed with the intimate stories and images of queer people caring for their beloved ones who had HIV or AIDS. (There's an image that stands out in my memory of people holding a sign at a 1980s pride in Iowa City that reads "WE'RE ALIVE IN '85.") 'Theology of the Body' makes me think of the personal and individual nature of our bodies and the autonomy we should all have in our own bodies. How our bodies are "pure" because they were God and belong to us and no one else. It also makes me think of the collective - together, we all make up the body of the Church. "One bread, one body...we are one body in this one Lord."
I am one of the folks who watched Conclave for the first time after the passing of Pope Francis. After watching it, I'm thrilled that so many are watching it now. From the film, "The Church is not tradition, the Church is not the past, the Church is what WE do next."
So well said, thank you for sharing this Kate!