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Loka O La La Loka mot is Welcome to Season ten of lok at Our Radio. I'm Viosa and I'm mala. Look at That Our Radio is a podcast dedicated to archiving our present and shifting the culture forward. You're tuning in to Capitulo Dorina to thirty.
Last time on lok a thought our Radio. What did we talk about last time on loc a thought our Radio?
We talked about the expectations and realities of our thirties.
That's part of it, too, is like it's not all figured out by the time you're thirty. No, it's a continuous process. It never ends. It never ends.
It's also never too late to pivot. No, I've never been less afraid to not have a plan. And I'm such a planner. But it's like, ooh, sometimes we pivot.
That's a good one. Go ahead and tune in, Leave us a comment, rate us, Share with a friend, share with an enemy, lok.
So today on climax and cry, let's discuss.
Let's discuss, let's talk about it.
How did you climax? How did you cry this week? Mother?
So, I would say a fabulous climax that I had this week that we actually enjoyed together. Yes, we climax at the same time. Maybe it was a really great meeting that we had in West Hollywood. And we used to take meetings in Weiho all the time. We were always in West Hollywood taking a meeting. It's much to ourtis may, yes, but always sitting down for a coffee for a drink, for a lunch to talk business because we're business ladies, and yesterday was no exception. And I
just feel really invigorated and inspired and motivated. And the person that we were sitting down with gave us, I think, some really cool ideas that had never crossed my mind before.
Yeah. Yeah, it's nice when you meet someone who is like, you know, willing to have coffee with you, willing to kind of like give you advice, give you some type of mentorship, you know, and like we do not take that for granted. We have been like mentored and guided over the years by a lot of incredible people. So I think that's why it was also really exciting.
Yeah, and uh, just more more to come, more to come, always more from us. And I don't know, I feel like a new sense of inspiration.
Yeah, yeah, I mean we are reaching almost a decade wow, you know, so it's yeah, it's time. It's time. We there's things that we have been wanting to put that have been in the works and we've been wanting to put in motion for a long time, and it feels like this is the year. Yeah, we're really setting our sits on lots of things. So yeah, that's exciting. Well I'm glad you climaxed in that way.
Thank you at the Little Sidewalk Cafe, How did you cry this week?
How did I greet you cry?
You know, I think it's just the end of the semester. So we're like in finals and there's just like final producing work that has to be done on the documentary that I worked on this semester. We have our screening coming up. I'm writing a research paper and you know, in film school there's really very little reading and writing. There's lots of storyboarding and shot listing, but reading and
writing is rare. So I'm buckling down and I'm just in my research phase and I got to write my three thousand pa word, not page, my three thousand word paper and it's ultimately going to be great, and I'm really excited about the subject matter. Maybe I'll share more in a future episode when I'm done with the paper. But that's my cry right now, is I'm in finals.
Yes, that's real.
How about you? What was your climax this week?
Well, my climax is that we actually have a new team member. Yes we do, so I have kind of kind of been teasing this out. I've been talking about my homegirl a little bit more of been name dropping her, if you will. So Jackie is now our operations assistant, yes, and it has also been helping us with social So if you follow us on social media, you may have noticed we're back. We have been posting a lot more.
She has been posting a lot more. She has just been helping us content batch and really is kind of is like our second brain right now, our third brain, if you will, And that has been really exciting. She and I have been friends for over twenty years and we've never worked together under this capacity for the business for Locatra, so this has been really exciting. And she is just she is a business girl.
Oh yeah, oh yeah.
She is a business lady like in ways that we are not, because we're creative's first, business lady second. But she's like, no, I'm a business lady. I'm a businesswoman, and she gets things done. So it's nice to have that kind of objective person come in and see maybe spots that maybe need to be filled, but also really acknowledge like what we've been able to do just us too, at least on the business side of things, so that I think has been like a really big so some climaxing for me this week.
I am so happy to hear that. I'm also very happy about Jackie. Yeah, Jackie's that also. I think she's giving us like a blood transfusion. Yes, in a way.
I told her I was a girl. You've kind of been a life raft. I'm not gonna lie, like, you know, not that we've been drowning per se. But it's like, you know, going back to what we were talking about during your climax, right, it's like there's things that we want to do, but there's only two of us, you know, and like we need a third person to kind of
help with like the business side of things. We have Stephanie for the audio specifically and producing, but to have someone on like operations really help us grow, I think is really exciting.
It's true to grow. You got to grow, Yes, So we got to grow the team to grow the project. And we look at some of the the other podcasts out there, they have a team of twenty people, yeah, working on the one show, and we've just been like plugging away, yeah, with our little tiny team, but we're still here even mighty mighty that's us so that's good. And how about your cry?
Well, I cry a lot. And one way that I've cried this week is that I talk about this all the time, y'all, but I just cannot sit down and write. This has been my constant struggle for years. But I've started to unpack it in new ways because I have been undergoing a therapy assessment for us. Yes, I don't
want to talk about it just yet. I will once I have more information, But basically, I've just I'm been starting to understand myself in a different way based on like how my brain I literally operates, and so that has also given allowed me to give myself a lot more grace and more patience. Like it's not that you don't want to write, there's something deeper in there that is not allowing you to just sit down and do it.
And I kind of have. I have to force myself in so many ways to just do something that I really love and that I want to do. And it's like, well, then why don't you just do it? Well? My brain is not letting me.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's are you calling this writer's block or do you feel like it's something else?
It's definitely something else because the block I do not have. The ideas are there, it's just the physical act of doing it, you know.
The sitting down, opening up the computer.
Yes, and so that has been making me cry this week because I just like want to write, I can't do it. I can't do it. And so yes, more to come, self exploring, examining that, turning that inside out, and we'll report back when I know more.
And for our listeners, you tell us what is your climax of the week and what is your cry of the week. It could literally be an amazing orgasm that you had, tell us how you achieved it. Or it could be like a more metaphorical climax, something in your life that has just sent you over the moon, made you happy, or even just lifted your spirits a little bit. And then what made you cry? Is it the state
of the world? Is it the Trump administration? Is it the coming Olympics la and the catastrophe that it's sure to be like? Is it our impending apocalypse? Is it a breakup?
Like?
You tell us what's going on with you? And now let's transition into oye lokaz one of I mean I think consistently like one of my favorite segments because I love just hearing from the listeners, like what is on your mind?
Yeah, and just know that if you've submitted a question and it hasn't been answered yet, it will be answered. And this question was submitted to us via our Instagram channel.
You are now listening to.
Oh yes, this is the question. I know we're not in our party era, but can a hobby night be in the works, like a paint and sip or candle making, just bonding and joy.
I love that we do love hobbies. We do have our hobbies. Hobbies are very important. I think that they nourish the soul. And for our listeners who are in the Greater LA area, we will be hosting an event actually in June, and if your hobby is drinking, then you need to join us. More details to come. Everything is in the works, but we are getting back to in person events.
Yes, expect events this summer. We will be outside. We are planning them. They are coming for our June event. It is like part and it's not Party Girl, but it's like it's like party Light. It's a gathering. We're gathering. We're gathering. There will be beverages, but it's not a party. You will be home by seven pm. Yeah, you'll be okay. It's more of a meetup, Yes, a gathering, A gathering, a social.
A social. It's not quite a sore, but it's somewhere in between. Yeah, a mixer, mixer.
Yeah, we just want to hang with y'all. It's been a minute, and so that's our focus for the summer, in addition to producing obviously the podcast, but also being outside and being with y'all and hanging out and just reconnecting because it's been some time.
It has been some time. So if you're in interested, if you don't already follow us on socials, make sure you follow us. We're on TikTok, We're on Instagram at look at Underscore Radio. That's where we will be posting all meetup and event announcements all summer.
Lone, don't go anywhere, looka motives.
We'll be right back, and we're back with more of our episode.
All right, so let's get into today's subject matter.
Ooh, this is a doozy this.
You know, we have not really dedicated a full episode to Catholicism. We did talk about it a little bit during the launch of season nine, I believe when the Dodgers were honoring the Sister Nuns and there was like all that boycotting protest. So we did talk about the Catholic scent, but today we're talking about it in a different way, not necessarily in a positive way, but more so in a cultural way and the culture that we grew up in as Catholics.
Yes, and you can't spell culture without the word cult. So let's talk about Catholicism because for any Catholics out there, and I love this term, cradle Catholics, yes, meaning we were baptized as tiny babies. I wasn't even really sentient yet, you know, like I had no consciousness of myself as a being. I didn't know I had a name, I didn't know what was happening. But I was being baptized into the Catholic faith.
Yes, you were being baptized because all babies are born with original sin.
Oh, I was a very sinful baby.
Because Jesus died for us and our original sin. So everyone is born with sin and we're baptized to absolve us of this original sin. But before we get into the nitty gritty, I want to set the scene for what's been happening culturally and all the chatter that's been happening online about the cradle Catholics versus I don't want to say versus, but it's like cradle Catholics and convert. Yeah, and this is like the conversation that's happening, and really
what has sparked I think this conversation is the man jd. Vance.
Yes. And also this on the heels of the death of Pope Francis.
Yes, rip, and it even I mean it predates his death, right, So just like, let's kind of I said, don't want a wuman of what's been going on. So jd. Vance the man that he is, in case you're not familiar, he is our current vice president. He's a Catholic convert. He became Catholic I think in like twenty twenty two or twenty twenty three.
I'm sorry, so strange, strange. I'm sorry, it's strange.
So Vance. Jd. Vance started this fight basically with the Pope and with the broader Catholics because in an interview he was basically criticizing US bishops who were resisting ice raids. As we all know, churches have historically been sanctuary places. So he has. He was criticizing US bishops for resisting ice raids on Catholic churches and schools and basically called upon this concept, this early church concept called urdo amoris, which is in Latin rightly ordered love. And well, what
did Pope Francis do when he was still alive? He responded to JD. Vance and he also wrote an open letter to US bishops and asked them to continue to support migrants refugees despite the call for mass deportations. And he in his letter he even referred like I said to ordo amooris and corrects JD. Evans and says, Christian love is not a concentric expansion of interest the little
by little extent to other persons and group. The true amoris that must be promoted is that which we discover by meditating constantly on the parable of the good Samaritan, that is, by meditating on the love that builds a fraternity open to all without exception. Basically, be a good person,
help your fellow neighbor out is what he's saying. And worrying about personal community or national identity apart from these considerations easily introduces an ideological criterion that distored social life and imposes the will of the strongest as the criterion of the truth. Basically, Pope Francis versus jade Evans, that's what was happening.
Wow, what a title fight.
And as a Catholic listen, the Pope is close to God, next to God like basically, and the way we look at things, it's like priest, deacons, bishops, cardinals, Pope like that is the highest ranking.
Yeah you know.
And so to piss off Pope Francis to be publicly called called out and told like, actually, you're interpreting that teaching wrong. Hello, Yes, that would scare me.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah. How would I say in Spanish? Yes, jd Vance.
Yes, it was a scolding, it was a school was a scolding.
It was a exactly. But this is my thing too about some of the Catholic converts. No offense, I'm just saying there's this weird like like when people convert into Catholicism as adults, there's this weird like ultra conservative opus day Old Testament.
Thing, traditionalist.
Yes, so odd. Yes, it's so strange in us that we're born into it. We went to Catholic school by the time where adults were like yes, okay, like relax everybody please, And I.
Think that's that's part of the conversation as to like, well, that's what Jadvance is missing, and you know, rest in peace. Pope Francis died on April twenty. First, I want to add, though, I want to note that on Easter Sunday, the day before he died, Jadvance met with Pope Francis for about fifteen minutes and Pope Francis allegedly said that he prays for him every day and said God bless you and sent him with a blessing. The next day, Pope Francis died. Now JD.
Vans killed Pope Francis.
That's what the internet streets are saying. Me as a cradle Catholic, as a recovering Catholic, if I met with the Pope and he told me I'm praying for you, because he did not say, oh, i'm praying for you, you know that there was a connotation with I'm praying for you.
I'm praying for your your your soul that is bound for eternal damnation.
Yes, that's exactly what he met. I would not be okay, I would think I killed the pope absolutely.
I mean the order of events, the sequence of events. Yeah, has met a lot of people, Yes, a lot of people. He's been to a lot of places.
Yeah, I mean and Pope Francis, you know, as folks may or may not know, he has been viewed as the more progressive pope. He's the first from Latin America, from Atrigentina. He was a Jesuit scholar, and this is important because Jesuits are the scholarly like Catholics, and they live their life and their their theology is like to live as close as possible as Jesus. He took about poverty. He was constantly calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, and
he called to protect the most vulnerable. And so there's like a collective morning. I feel that's happening right now with the passing of Pope Francis. And I think that that's also why even like the recovering Catholics that no longer practicing Catholics are kind of coming out to be like, wait a minute, this is not how we do things. Absolutely, we do not proselytize.
We don't that's not our thing.
We're not traditionalists, no, no, because we've been hearing about it for so long.
For so long, and we've we've read the Bible, we've studied the Bible, We've done the Catechism and Confirmation. And I think that within Catholic communities and within the Catholic Church, and this is going to vary church by church, right like, but I think that there is a healthy amount of dialogue, there's a healthy amount of debate. I don't think that it's such a severe, hardline religion, maybe that like it once was, or like it appears to be. And Pope
Francis is somebody who I was watching on ABC. They were doing this whole piece, this whole special on Pope Francis and his travels and the conversations that he had with people from all over the world, and conversations about how Pope Francis made it possible for trans people to be god parents in the Catholic Church, and a conversation that he had with young women about like masturbation, and Pope Francis talking about how our catechism has not always
been the most mature catechism. And so I think that instead of being like a defense guarded pope who's like gatekeeping, you know, the religion. He I think was really open.
Yeah, and aware, instead of being so insular, instead of keeping people out of the church, we're bringing people in. And I think that that is why. That's what he was doing.
Yeah, I think that's what he was doing. And so it's just, uh, I hope that our next pope, you know, is like carrying on that spirit and that tradition, you know. I hope that the new pope doesn't reflect our presidential administration and those values.
Yeah.
I hope that the pope continues to be like somebody who is supposed to be like a light, yes, you know, and not an oppressive force.
Right. And when this episode drops is actually the day that the conclave starts.
Oh goodness, yes. And the conclave what a mysterious what a mysterious process.
Nobody knows. I mean, there is a fil home now about what we assume happens during a conclave, but it's very like hush hush, nobody knows, closed doors, nobody's allowed to leave during the conclave, so it's very secretive, right, nobody knows.
Right, it sounds like like what it must be like partying with Beyonce.
NDAs everywhere.
NDA's everywhere, only the very select few are invited or know it's going on. It's like the same.
Yes, I think you're right. I think that's a good comparison. Don't go anywhere, Locomotives.
We'll be right back, and we're back with more of our episode.
Going back to the cradle. Catholic being raised, being raised Catholic. Yes, I think I wanted us to kind of sit in like how did this shape who we are as people? Both the positive and the negat Yeah, you know, like how did that shape who we are?
You know, I have been reflecting so much on this recently because in the past year I've gone to in the past two years, I've gone to a lot of funerals and they have all been Catholic services, and for at least two of those deaths, we also hosted, you know, rosaries nolvanas, and to be able to gather in with your family, with your community and like basically like sit Shiva and pray the Rosary in Spanish. There is something
really beautiful about it. There's a tradition there that feels like we're all putting our minds and our hearts together and we're like basically in this process of group incantation and praying over and over and over again to send our loved one off with the strongest possible prayers that we could muster. And it's just something that I was grateful to be able to participate in, to know the prayers,
to have experience praying the Rosary. It felt like kind of an honor and a privilege to be able to do that for loved ones who have passed. And then I think about even like Catholic funerals and being in the church and the whole thing. It just for someone that you love so much, it feels like the appropriate amount of pomp and circumstance. And I think for some things you want grandeur, you want pomp and circumstance, you want ceremony. You know, you want that process to allow
you to grieve, like those physical manifestations. So maybe that's not something I appreciated when I was younger. I wasn't attending a ton of funerals when I was younger, But as we get older, people die, and to be able to have that kind of send off, I think is just so appropriate. You know, different cultures and different religions have their own way of doing things. I've never been to a funeral of another faiths as I'm thinking about it.
I have And I told you that I went to a funeral that was not Catholic, it was Christian, and I was really shocked by some of the things that I was hearing, and I like texted my like, okay,
wait a second. Never did I think I'd be like, where's the Catholic funeral, Like where's the pomp and circumstance, where is the homily of the In this case, a priest talking about how wonderful this person was and how everyone was grieving right whereas I was hearing a lot of different things from this other leader, and it was shocking to me. And I didn't realize like, oh, I've only been to Catholic funerals or I've only been to Catholic masses, and I'm like, who am I to miss
the Catholic Church? What the hell?
I know? I know, sorry, but it's a tough thing that I also it comes with experience in age and charity.
And I think that's kind of like the case that like, wait, being Catholic is a culture even if you're not practicing anymore, because I don't know if you consider yourself practicing. I know you've been going to church a little more with your mom.
I did, I see my mom still teaches at a Catholic school. Yeah, and so they are required to. I mean she would go anyway, she would go anyways. But when you are a student and a teacher at a Catholic school, there's an expectation that you're in church twice a week. Yep. Once at the school, yes, once in the middle of the week as part of.
Your school day, and then Sunday Mass.
And Sunday Mass. And it was Palm Sunday. You had to go to Palm Scars got to go to Palm Sunday.
Any time you go to church, it's during Lent season. Yes, not us, but that that is what general.
I think that's really the only time of year. Like if I'm really going to go to Mass. It's not Christmas. We've never been Christmas Mass people, but Palm Sunday, Yes, it's something.
My dad is a a midnight Christmas Mass person. Not with me though, I don't go, but he would go. He would go. That was his thing. He would do it. But yes, growing up like Lent when we were going all the time, but like especially during Lent, that's like the time that.
You go yeah, and you know, I going back, it does there is a it's like it's just a time to sit and reflect and like be quiet and listen and say some prayers. And I mean there's like nothing wrong with saying prayers, right. We need girl, we need prayer.
We need so much prayer, so much per Yeah. I really struggle with that where it's like this need for there is a need for community, there's need for prayer, there's need for hope, especially right now. But then on the flip side, we have this like rise of Christian nationalism where I like don't really know how to hold space for both. Where I'm like, Okay, I'm seeing I'm seeing you know what I'm seeing. Get ready with me to go to church? Yes, get ready with me to
go to Sunday Mass. They're not Catholic masses that I've seen, more so like Christian churches. And I've just kind of been noticing more and more. I don't have the numbers of statistics. Are people turning to Christianity in waves? I don't know, but I am seeing content wise like being made and when I see it come up on my algorithm. I'm like, how dare you?
How dare what do you think?
You're not interested scroll the algorithm?
What is wrong with the algorithm?
Yeah? But you know, so I am seeing more of that. So I'm wondering do we just all grow up and go back to the church.
It's a it's a thing. I think you also see that sort of arc of like uh ho phase, party girl phase and now I'm back in church.
Yeah, that's fine. Don't be a fucking puritan. No, don't be proselytizing. Please, Lord, don't be telling me I can't be gay. Like, no, say your prayer, say your prayer, be a good person, and keep it moving, keep it moving. The same people that are saying their prayers as Sunday Mass are going to go out and be telling people to go back to their countries. Like it's that that is the pipeline that I'm like, hold up, is that what we're doing?
Yeah?
Or are we going to church and we're listening to the homily and we're going to go and be good people? But actual good people? Because I think that's like that is what you learn in Catholic school what it means to be a good person, like what it means to this is all subjective, of course, but like learning right from wrong? What is a venial sin? What is a moral sin? What is the fable of the good Samaritan?
Yeah, like mind you the Samaritans were so awful that one of them did a nice thing. Yes, it's like wow, finally, yes, yes one Okay, this is like, uh, triggering so many things in my brain. Yeah. Catholics, notably, we don't go out. We're not preach. We're not a preaching religion.
We're not standing on the side like handing out pamphlets. M and I say we not. We but the Catholic Yeah, but we're not. We're not. We're not.
We're not.
We're not Catholics are compared to the Catholics or us, We're not.
And you know what, Okay, on campus at USC twice, now.
Right, you did share this.
I have had two separate experiences and it was so sneaky and underhanded, and I did not like this. I was at Trader Joe's at the USC village and a Latina, like a young woman approaches me out of nowhere. I didn't even see her coming. I'm like looking, I'm in the meat section. I'm looking at proteins and she's like, oh my god, I love your earrings, and of course me a compliment, you know, now I'm your best friend.
Yeah, thriving.
I'm thriving, like, oh my god, thank you so much. And then she's like where did you get them? I don't remember. And then she's like, oh, I host a prayer group. Do you want to attend? Do you want to come with me? No? No, thank you? And I told her, no, thank you. I'm a Catholic, and so I think she was probably be praying for my soul after that. And a second time, I'm on campus proper, the actual campus, like behind the gates, and two like young white women, Oh my god, I love your sunglasses.
Where did you get them? There you go, oh, we're hosting a prayer group. Do you want to come with us? No, I don't want to go to your prayer group. Like it's I don't know. And there was something about it being students, or at least I think they're students, or maybe they're not.
Maybe they're not.
I don't know who they are. But there was something about the like, oh, this is a strategy that they've been taught and coached and instructed, go out compliment someone someone who looks vain, someone who looks like they love, someone who needs, someone who needs the Lord, and try and get them to come to prayer group. Is just so far out of like what I know. And I'm just like, don't try and recruit me right now, like
with these like really weird underhanded tactics. It was so off putting and I did not like it, but you just reminded me. I once attended a mega church Easter Sunday when I was studying abroad in London. Okay, because I was there junior year. I was in London at University College London UCL for two semesters, so my entire
junior year. So Easter Sunday. I had some friends there who were well, at least one tough student who was is a Christian, and so she invited a bunch of us like, oh, do you want to come to Sunday Mass with me for Easter Sunday. I've been going to this church here in London, so I'm like, yeah, sure, I'm down to experience anything, you know, like at once at least, so I went, and it was a straight up mega church. It felt like a big concert, like a you know, like at any of our at Sofi Stadium,
like it was. It was huge, and it was like fog machines and laser and like a full band and like lots of music, really loud, like there's people speaking in tongues and they're hopping up and down and it was wild. And you know, we're very Catholics, are very demure.
Very demure. We have our songs are hymns, our hymns, and that's that's it, and that's it.
Maybe there's a piano and there's a children's choir, yes, you know, but other than that, maybe some Gregorian chant, yes, But we're sitting, we're quiet. We wait until like we're instructed and invited to like repeat prayers or to sing along in the hymnal. So that's what I'm used to. Like. Catholic services are so quiet. They are.
They are quiet, and you even like develop like your little favorite.
Hymns, Yes you do.
My mom has one she has on eagles wing.
That's a really good one. I love on eagles wigs.
She has instructed that to be played at her funeral. Now, that's one of her favorite hymns.
Honey, the big cute shine like sun.
And on TikTok. I saw this cradle Catholic if you will, But it was this man replying to this comment where this I guess convert Catholic didn't know the song and they're like, you don't know this song, this hymn.
It's a banger.
It is it really is a banger banger. Yeah, yes, we do things we I guess we am including myself in this. We do baptized, we are unbaptized baptized. I was never confirmed, as I've shared my story of confirmation, so yeah, I was never really confirmed.
I was.
I was still blessed.
That was your active resistance. It was my actor and I respect it.
Thank you, Thank you. Your story about the Christians trying to bring you to church or bring you to their study group reminded me of this. My sophomore year of undergrad at UC Santa Barbara, I lived with three women, two of them were practicing Christian. When I had my little interview with them to be their roommate, we were just talking about interests. I don't remember exactly what was said, but I was like, well I do have a girlfriend. Because I was like I'm not about to live with
homophobic Christians. They were so fucking cool. They were so nice, not homophobic, like not like how we imagine Christians to be now or even then. And they were really cool and they like would have their people over and they would do their Bible study. But they never tried to like bring me in. They were never trying to like recruit me.
You know.
They would introduce me to their friends when they would come around, and they would have their stuff, and they would invite me to things, but they were never trying to recruit me. They were like, well I was so they were like no, but useless. But they never like made me feel like I was unwelcome or like, you know, even when my girlfriend would spend the night, they were never weird, you know, So it was it was fine.
That's good. And I'm sure that like most Christians are probably like that.
I mean, I would hope, but girl, I don't know anymore. I don't know anymore.
It's severe out there.
It's really severe where like moving far further right collectively policy wise, yep, you know. And I do feel like it's up to these like religious leaders to not move their congregations, their churches their their masses, yeah to the right, you know, And so that is why I think like someone like Pope Francis was really important and it was like kind of keeping keeping things in line in that way. And again it is church by church is absolutely church by church.
You know.
This is not to say all Catholic churches are progressive. We know that it's not true.
A church can change. Yes, So the Catholic school that I went to in Alhambra, after me and my friends in our little like generation graduated and moved on, since then, the school has like literally I've used the term Opus Day before, but they are like literally an Opus day campus now and after a while, like they required head coverings in Mass for women, and they've done a lot of other things at the school, Like I don't think
that they have singing anymore. I think that they've implemented a lot of Latin, like they've really become it's I don't remember that it's like Vatican one Vatican two, you know, the different eras and the way that the Mass is conducted and the language that it's spoken in. They've sort of reverted back, and it's been a very intentional move based on church leadership and that that little community was never like that. Like it was a very fun little school to go to. We had a g eight time.
The priests were like very kind. It was like a very like kind hearted, like open place in a way like I just have such positive memories of Catholic school. It was never like I mean, you know, there's there was things here and there with gender and of course like about like abstinence and the human sexuality stuff was really not on point. But it's not on point in public schools either. I mean, let's be so for real,
like our sex education across the board is abysmal. It's not only the religious institutions, but it was kind of like like a little bit of like a paradise for us as kids. You know, I just have a lot of positive memories, and the church has changed a lot, and so like I have to imagine that also has an impact on the student body. Apparently they don't have a computer class or computer labs anymore. Oh wow, like they've really like yes, buckled down in an unfortunate way.
So yeah, it's very much church by church, and a church based on leadership can change and the whole congregation will go with the change or leave. Yes, you know, and there are people who have left. I mean we left right right, other drama on the other very unfortunate side of Catholicism, because we're also not going to sit. We've criticized Catholicism for ten much. Yeah, on the show. On the show, go back and listen privately. In Downey.
Yes, the school that I went to obviously was attached to a church in Downey. Our Lady of Perpetual Help can't believe I'm talking about this.
I'm screaming.
Yes, but you know, this was a school that I went to that definitely had its issues. I felt very more like peace safe haven in my Catholic high school. But the school that I went to, and then the in turn, the church that I grew up going to, recently made headlines because a newer priest, Ariaga Pedrosa, was charged with one felony count of assault with intent to commit loot acts upon a child and I fell an accounts of lude acts upon a child aged fourteen or fifteen.
And he was a priest at my church, at the church that I grew up going to. Right, I'm no longer an active member of that church, but that was a church that I grew up going to and it made local headlines.
Yeah, I saw the headlines, I saw the news.
Yes, I learned to be a good person through the teachings of Catholic school. Yes, But this is the same church that hosts like anti choice protests outside of a clinic in Downey. I've like run by it, these active protests and I'm like, get the fuck out of my way,
and so like this, this is the same congregation. So if you can kind of get a hint as to the type of leadership that is there and the type of things that are encouraged, you know, at this church, at this congregation, which is why I'm no longer one of the reasons I'm no longer a member or practicing, but I mean, yeah, it is the type of leadership that is involved and what can really make break your experience.
Yeah, and I think that for the most part, like Catholics are pretty obedient, Yeah, especially if they.
Are We're taught to be obedient.
It's part of it.
It's part of it.
You can't spell culture without cult.
I mean we're taught to be obedient and used to be hit you know, not us, but like you know, that is like part of the Catholic school experience if you went to school back in the day.
Yeah, yeah, you have to fall in line, and you have to follow the rules, and you have to obey, and that's part of I think Catholics take pride. Devout Catholics take pride in like following the rules, yes, you know, and doing what a good Catholic would do. If your pastor, the head priest who's like in charge of all the priests and the spiritual life of the church, if you're a devout Catholic, you're gonna listen to what the pastor says. Yes,
you're gonna You're gonna follow suit, because that's the whole deal. Yes, you know, that's the participation. And if you don't agree, it's like, well you got to leave the church and find a new one.
Yes, And this is why the Pope Francis is of the world. Yeah, Archbishop Romero, yes, right, who's a saint? Who is a saint? Right? That is why, like and I would talked about this at the beginning of the season. I'm like, oh, I'm being called to read his theology and being called to read upon this. I'm like the state of the world is making me return to the church, and I fucking hate it.
That's how bad things are.
That's how bad things are.
That's how you know apocalypse is mynes And it's not even in this like devout way.
It's just like out of spite. I gotta go back, yes, because what the fuck?
Yeah, some guidance, there's got to be some teaching somewhere going back to Catholicism being having a cultural aspect. Yes, I'll never forget. I took this religion class when like a world religion's class at Tufts in Massachusetts, when I was an undergrad and one of our units, in addition to studying Buddhism and you know whatever, this, that and the third, all these world religions and all these case studies from all across the globe, we had a specific
unit on Mexican American Catholics in La Oh. Interesting, Yes, with specific literature and research. And it was its own unit. You know. It's like, Okay, we're studying Judaism, we're studying Buddhism, and now we're going to study this community of Mexican Americans who are Catholics in Los Angeles. And it gave me so much perspective on myself and my own community and where I came from. That at this liberal arts college, these white ladies, these professors designed a curriculum and included
us because we have our own thing going on. Yes, we're a distinct religious, cultural, ethnic enclave with enough that is unique about us and that distinguishes us from others that we can be studied and spoken about as a unique community. And it gave me more appreciation for where I came from and for who we are and the
way that we participate at different levels. But you know, it's like there's a lot of cultural aspects of I think being Mexican American that are so tied in with the Catholic Church intrinsically that even if you don't go to Mass, there are Catholic bones, you know, underneath the other muertos. I mean, it's it's a Catholic celebration.
It's like an indigenous celebration, but also tied.
To Catholicism the way that we celebrate it here in la at least like Spanish speaking likely Mespisol Catholic communities. It's a result of syncretism. It's not the original indigenous iteration. Anymore.
Right, the like components of like the sampasulcila is definitely like an indigenous practice, Yes.
But the version that we have now and the altars at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery and at Grand Park and such and such, it's syncretic. And so we don't know. I don't know a version, and I don't know that the Mexican American community really knows a version without Catholicism.
Yeah, I mean, and that goes to like one of the really hard truths of being Latino and Catholic is that it's it is a result of colonization, right, and so you can't talk about one without talking about the other. It is why so many of us are raised to be Catholic, grow up in the church by design.
Absolutely absolutely so. Also shout out Pope John Paul the Second. Everyone's favorite pope.
Not mine, girl, he was evil.
I know, evil Signoras love John Paul the Second. My grandma still has a painting in her living room of John Paul the Second, like genuflecting to the Virgin Mary, to the Virgin of Guadalupe. I think that he still has this like icon status amongst older.
Yes, they don't want to acknowledge some of the dark side of the church sense why they would still admire him, see him as like, I mean, the pope is like the highest highest rank.
Yeah. And even with Pope Francis, there was in that news special that I saw after his death, but before his funeral, conversations about how he had to have his own reckoning and sort of come to Jesus moment when it came to being supportive of cardinals who were involved in sexual abuse scandals.
Yea.
And basically there was an interview with him where a journalist was asking like, why did you appoint this questionable cardinal to this position or why did you recommend that this questionable bishop become a cardinal when he has this like sordid past, and Pope Francis was like, well he told me it wasn't true, Like why would he lie to me? You know, just so much faith in this person. And then later Pope Francis then was like, okay, like
give me more information. What are the investigations finding, and then he backtracked, right, And so I would say that like at least Pope Francis was willing to do that.
Yeah, because I think with from what I've read like with Pope John Pope God, this is so fucking niche.
Let's go, let's talk about it, my God.
With Pope Jump Paul the Second, I think all of the accusations came after his death, so you know, this person is also no longer here to defend themselves. But there was like a documentary about how he was involved in like hiding sexual abuse cases.
Oh and like Cardinal Mahoney and all that back era.
Yes, and then the pope that came after John Paul the Second was like Pope Benedict, who was also very questionable. So I do think that is all of that context is why I think Pope Francis was like revered in this way, a stand out, a standout because of like his politics, the way he chose to live his life even as a pope. Again, like we this is take this all with a grain of salt. These are still
like fig of a church. We are not co signing these people, but what they represent I think was very impactful. It's from the sexual abuse allegations, the cover ups, the boarding schools, the Native Americans were placed in, Like this is all like a built up right, We're not sitting here and being like the Catholic Church is perfect, think
more so we're making it. At least I'm making an argument that as a cultural Catholic, you're taught to be a good person, to look out for each other, to not turn the migrant refugee away, to make space for them because they need help, they need it. And I think that that at its core, the Church and the Bible can teach you those things. It's the way we don't allow nuance, the way we then weaponize Bible versus.
We take things out of context and we collective we write where then we use it to oppress other people. That's what the issue is.
And also I think that a lot of religious leaders are banking on the fact when quoting the Bible, you should do this because the Bible says, banking on the fact that most people have not read the Bible and don't know what's in it. No, I was listening to on Spotify. I was listening to a Joan Rivers comedy album Okay, and she has this joke where she's like, no, I don't cook for my husband. Show me in the Bible word says I have to cook for my husband.
It's not in there. Anywhere, show me the verse, you know, and it was so funny. I don't know if it says that or not, who knows, but it just made me think, like, we're told do it because the Bible says the Bible tells me so, But like, are we really going line by line and investigating and are we really interpreting in a way that makes sense for our modern context?
Right exactly? Yeah? And I think there are people that spend their time kind of contesting these like, Okay, the Bible says this, are you going to do that?
You know exactly?
Are you kind of flipping it? Okay? Well it says this, are you doing this?
Are we stoning people?
Yeah? Like are we going to take your word for word? Okay?
Are we cutting off hands? Be yeah? Are we gouging out eyes? Is that what we're doing? I don't think so. I hope not. I pray. Well.
This has been our cradle Catholic episode.
As you can see, we're still recovering, We're still quite damaged, we're.
Still recovering, we're still insane, we're still making peace with it. But you know, it's sometimes it takes the fucking JD Vances of the world for me to come out swinging.
That's how bad it is here.
I'm defending the Catholics.
That's how bad it is. Yeah, yeah, how dare you JD Vans that you've brought us to this place? You killed the pope, you're making us go to church? Like what? Pray for us?
Pray for us, Pray for our sins.
Pray for our our everlasting souls.
All right, this has been enough. Yeah today, Thank you so much for listening to another episode of Loka Dora Radio. Take everything we say with a grain of salt, but this is our experience as the recovering Catholics that we are as cradle Catholics. If anyone can critique the Church and Catholicism, it's us.
We've paid so much tuition money we have.
That's another conversation, but we'll save that for another day. Thank you for listening, locomotives. We will catch you next time.
Besitos.
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