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U.S. culture has a contempt problem

March 12, 2026 · 1 h 7 min

Show notes

This week on “Jesuitical,” Ashley and Zac speak with Timothy Shriver, chairman of Special Olympics and founder of the nonprofit UNITE, which incubated the Dignity Index, a language evaluation tool that aims to bring greater dignity to our public discourse.

0:00 Welcome back Zac Davis!

2:35 A new papal nuncio to the U.S.A.

6:27 Cardinals respond to Iran war

9:04 Synod report on women released

10:27 Tim Shriver's holy family

13:04 What is the dignity index?

18:57 Contempt is the problem

24:00 What's your dignity score?

30:52 What dignity really means

38:20 Responding to contempt with dignity

46:00 How to do it

51:48 Is the Catholic Church a model?

54:32 Influence of Pope Leo XIV

58:50 Updates and faith sharing

 Links for further reading: 

Pope Leo appoints Archbishop Caccia as nuncio to the United States

Iran’s Cardinal Mathieu evacuated to Rome

Pope Leo expresses ‘deep sorrow’ for Lebanese Maronite Catholic priest killed by Israeli tank fire

Final synod report on women’s leadership does not address female diaconate

The Dignity Index

Need a Lift? With Tim Shriver

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