Take me to Church!
As Filipino Americans, most of us were raised Catholic. With over 80% of the people in the Philippines identifying as Catholic, it’s no surprise that those of us in the TFAL crew grew up going to church every weekend, observing religious holidays, and some even going to Catholic school.
On this TFAL episode, we talk about Catholicism, how we practice or not practice the religion. We have a candid conversation with our special guest, Father Radmar Jao, S.J. He is a Jesuit priest and currently serves as the Campus Minister at Boise State University. He’s also the son of Filipina actress, Tessie Agana. He himself has worked as an actor and a singer on stage in Hollywood before joining the Jesuit order. He even has an IMDB profile!
We only begin to scratch the surface as we delve into questions about Father Radmar’s choice of joining the priesthood, his thoughts on Church policies and politics, and how to approach religious leaders and priests we disagree with.
Find out who among us pondered being in the religious ministry, enjoy a story about how one “must repent,” and spend some moments listening to Father Radmar talk about the faith the TFAL crew grew up with, be critical about, and watch develop over time.
Listen through the embedded player below, download directly here or subscribe to us on iTunes here!
For more info on the Caritas retreat where Ryan met Father Radmar, go to this link: http://www.christusministries.org/#welcome-home.
Ah yes, Catholicism! A practice that I’ve only brushed shoulders with, but not much else. It’s a long story, but in a nutshell, I was baptized Catholic, but I didn’t practice Catholicism. While there was a brief period where I was interested in exploring it, it didn’t really go anywhere. Catholicism has been more of a drug in my extended family; being used as a way to manipulate people and as an excuse for hypocrisy. Yes, it’s not exactly the funny stories you guys shared during the episode, but needless to say I’m content at being agnostic.