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themagnificast.bsky.social
The Magnificast
@themagnificast.bsky.social
930 followers 65 following 190 posts
A podcast about Christianity and leftist politics.

https://themagnificast.transistor.fm
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themagnificast.bsky.social
The Magnificast @themagnificast.bsky.social · Oct 14
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tinyurl.com/MagnificastP...
Enough is enough: degrowth, capitalism, and liberation theology
themagnificast.bsky.social
Good morning. You came from dust and, someday you'll be dust again!

But before that, you'll be bones!
Bones from Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini in Rome Bones from Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini in Rome
February 18, 2026 at 9:31 AM
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deandettloff.bsky.social
Bishop González Amador, president of the Cuban conference of Catholic bishops, calls for dialogue between the US and Cuba: "do not close your eyes, and much less your heart, to the suffering of the Cuban people. This is not the time. It is not the time to condemn."
The Pope’s words during the Angelus were very good, calling for a sincere, serious, and effective dialogue. I believe that is what we need right now – for everyone to sit down and talk, for spaces of listening to open within the country and also between the authorities of both countries, so that a path toward a solution can be found for the suffering of a people who cannot [endure] much more. Do you think this dialogue is possible? I believe it is possible. I believe it is possible and we cannot give up. Look, violence and confrontation always generate suffering. Dialogue always engenders hope, and that must be promoted. And the Church is willing to do it, and to take whatever risks it must take to do so. We cannot abandon that. I would tell you: we must look at Cuba. The world must look at Cuba and see its suffering, the suffering of its people, and get close enough to see it firsthand. When priests send me reports from their parishes, photographs of the charitable works of the parish Caritas, photos of the elderly, of the state of their homes, it is very painful. The world does not fully know this. On the other hand, it’s true that many years have been spent talking about the suffering of Cuba and the Cuban people, and perhaps the world is tired of hearing the same thing. But this is the moment to tell the world: do not close your eyes, and much less your heart, to the suffering of the Cuban people. This is not the time. It is not the time to condemn. It is not the time. It is the time for dialogue, and a dialogue that seeks effective solutions. As the Pope said.
February 17, 2026 at 4:00 PM
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nicoleteburbach.bsky.social
Online panel discussion on Christian Nationalism in the UK and US

Featuring @marika.bsky.social and more

13th March, 19.00-21.00

londonjesuitcentre.churchsuite.com/events/ywnqr...
Christian Nationalism and the Far Right (13-Mar-2026)
Event overview Christian Nationalism is a prominent movement within contemporary far right politics. Its influence is particularly clear in the US, where the Trump administration seeks to create a so...
londonjesuitcentre.churchsuite.com
February 16, 2026 at 4:05 PM
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deandettloff.bsky.social
A group of 18 Christian churches or organizations in the US have released a call to action for Cuba, directed to decision-makers and faith communities. Please share--and answer yourself!
pcusa.org/news-storyte...
A call to action We urge policymakers and leaders to pursue a course that reduces hardship for ordinary people and expands humanitarian space. We call for steps that: reduce barriers that prevent communities from accessing food, medicine, and basic necessities by lifting the embargo and removing US sanctions enable faith-based and humanitarian partners to provide assistance without fear, obstruction or unnecessary delay support sustained diplomatic engagement and practical cooperation that serves human life reject rhetoric and strategies that rely on escalation, destabilization or collective punishment. We call on communities of faith across the United States to respond with prayer, public witness and active solidarity. Speak about the suffering of the Cuban people in your congregations and communities. Share accurate information and resist rhetoric that treats hardship and instability as acceptable tools of policy. Contact your members of Congress and urge them to support a course of engagement that expands humanitarian access and rejects strategies that deepen deprivation in order to force political change.
February 11, 2026 at 3:23 PM
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deandettloff.bsky.social
As Cuba faces perhaps its most challenging period since the 1950s Christians need to step up our solidarity. @mattbernico.bsky.social and I made this zine a few years ago showing the long, diverse history of Christian solidarity with Cuba. Let's create more examples.
drive.google.com/file/d/1KdoT...
Christian Solidarity with Cuba.pdf
drive.google.com
February 6, 2026 at 4:56 PM
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mattbernico.bsky.social
Kelly Latimore's painting of The presentation of christ features Joseph with an @ufw.bsky.social shirt on.

Absolutely losing my mind about this.
Kelly Latimore's painting of The presentation of christ.
February 2, 2026 at 4:51 PM
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jasonhickel.bsky.social
The US is gearing up to literally starve Cuba into submission. It is absolutely criminal and obscene. And this to a country that everyone knows poses *zero* threat to the US.

The people of Cuba need our full solidarity in resisting this onslaught.
February 1, 2026 at 6:39 PM
themagnificast.bsky.social
This is the kind of content you too could be getting in our discord community:
www.patreon.com/c/themagnifi...
Screenshot of a discord post that says "Helpful burrito rolling gif" above a still from aforementioned gif
January 28, 2026 at 5:29 PM
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mattbernico.bsky.social
Christians have to be careful at protests because God could dox you by writing your name in the lambs book of eternal life.
January 28, 2026 at 4:24 PM
themagnificast.bsky.social
Listen to our podcast instead and find out the latest on which saints have the best bones.
January 28, 2026 at 4:32 PM
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davidcldriedger.bsky.social
First podcast in the books! Much thanks to @themagnificast.bsky.social for their generous engagement of my book!!

podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/t...
Nothing Will Save Us w/ David C. L. Driedger
Podcast Episode · The Magnificast · 2026-01-27 · 56m
podcasts.apple.com
January 27, 2026 at 1:08 PM
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deandettloff.bsky.social
The Episcopal Church has put together a very impressive toolkit for protesting, including tips for clergy in particular. Truly inspiring. This is how Christians ought to be engaging the moment.
www.episcopalchurch.org/protesting-f...
A screenshot of a guide detailing items you should bring to a protest, including: cell phone (possible a burner) cash protest stole cell phone power bank sharpie (to write important info on your body) snacks water (for hydration and first aid) plastic bags for wet/sticky objects extra t-shirt backpack to carry everything first aid kit
January 28, 2026 at 3:59 PM
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deandettloff.bsky.social
Big liberation theology news: the ELN in Colombia is reporting that the remains of guerrilla priest Camilo Torres have been found and identified. They express hope that they'll be moved to the National University, where Torres founded the sociology department.
eln-voces.net/2026/01/23/c...
CAMILO SIEMPRE PRESENTE – ELN VOCES
eln-voces.net
January 24, 2026 at 8:05 PM
themagnificast.bsky.social
Love to see the thurible out at an ICE protest
cafastfoodunion.org California Fast Food Workers Union @cafastfoodunion.org · 25d
As thousands march through the streets of Los Angeles, clergy lead chants of #ICEOUT of LA!
January 24, 2026 at 5:42 AM
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cafastfoodunion.org
As thousands march through the streets of Los Angeles, clergy lead chants of #ICEOUT of LA!
January 23, 2026 at 9:33 PM
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sarahlazare.bsky.social
"Before this campaign fails, we'll all go down to jail. Everybody has the right to live."

The Minnesota shutdown and work stoppage against ICE is on. I'll be reporting here throughout the day.
“We’ll All Go Down to Jail”: January 23 Minnesota Shutdown Begins With Civil Disobedience
Some 100 faith leaders are braving freezing temperatures to block a key road outside of the Minneapolis–St. Paul Airport to protest ICE.
inthesetimes.com
January 23, 2026 at 5:22 PM
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jackjenkins.me
Here in Minneapolis, hundreds of clergy from all over the country have been deployed into the streets to participate in ICE/DHS watch.

The hail from a range of religious traditions, and have come from all over.

This particular group is in a heavily immigrant neighborhood.
January 22, 2026 at 5:41 PM
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mattbernico.bsky.social
Folks, the book @deandettloff.bsky.social and I wrote has gone to print!

You can pre-order the hottest liberation theology book of the summer here👇
tinyurl.com/MagnificastP...
Enough is enough: degrowth, capitalism, and liberation theology by Matt Bernico and Dean Dettloff
January 21, 2026 at 7:14 PM
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lfelizleon.bsky.social
Breaking: churches shut down for Jan. 23
Clergy Announce Hundreds of Minnesota Places of Worship to Participate in Jan. 23 Shutdown Denouncing ICE Surge SAINT PAUL, MINN. - On Tuesday, January 20, 2026, a delegation of clergy representing hundreds of faith leaders and places of worship in Minnesota will gather to announce their participation in A Day of Truth & Freedom, this Friday, January 23rd. A growing number of clergy across faiths, denominations, and places in Minnesota will stand alongside working families, businesses, immigrants, students, childcare workers, labor unions, and more to hold a statewide day of pause to call for an immediate end to ICE operations in Minnesota. As leaders in their community, clergy are bearing witness to the constitutional and human rights violations happening on a daily basis in our state and communities as a result of DHS operations. What: A press conference of faith leaders representing hundreds across the state to announce clergy participation in the large-scale Jan. 23 day of pause opposing ICE operations in MN. Who: A multifaith group of clergy and faith leaders When: Tuesday, January 20, 2026 • 11:30AM (CT) Where: Lutheran Church of the Redeemer (inside building), 285 Dale St. N Saint Paul, MN 55103
January 20, 2026 at 4:58 AM
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conradelliot.bsky.social
At mass yesterday I especially noticed who hadnt been able to attend the last few Sundays because of ICE. Including a young kid who acolytes most weeks. They're okay but were pulled from school & sports, too.

Brown families, regardless of citizenship, are no longer free here.

Lord have mercy. 🕯
January 19, 2026 at 1:03 PM
themagnificast.bsky.social
Bishop Hirschfeld: "I've asked them to get their affairs in order to make sure they have their wills written, because it may be that now is no longer the time for statements, but for us with our bodies to stand between the powers of this world and the most vulnerable."
www.npr.org/2026/01/18/n...
Amid ICE clashes, New Hampshire bishop urges clergy to prepare their wills
The Episcopal bishop of New Hampshire told priests protesting ICE to get their wills and affairs in order. Some praise the bishop, while other priests say they never signed up to be martyrs.
www.npr.org
January 18, 2026 at 10:35 AM
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mattbernico.bsky.social
If you follow @themagnificast.bsky.social , you'll know @deandettloff.bsky.social and I are really into catholic weirdness and relics.

So for Christmas, he sent me this little bit of cloth that was dipped in the water that collects on St. Nicolas' bones.

The wildest Christmas gift.
A bit of cloth dipped in the water that collects on St. nicolas' bones
January 4, 2026 at 7:33 PM
themagnificast.bsky.social
👀👀👀
January 17, 2026 at 9:47 PM
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deandettloff.bsky.social
A quick book preview: we talk about this trend to financialize and commodify nature in *Enough Is Enough.* As Leonardo Boff told us, "Green growth could be capitalism's final assault on nature." Creation shouldn't and doesn't have to be translated into a spreadsheet for us to care about it.
Our growth-oriented economies have created a world where creation cannot be a good in itself, good simply because it was made by God, who called creation good; it must be alchemically mutated into something else first, a commodity or a bearer of monetary value. Even our attempts to reckon with the climate crisis are drawing more and more of nature into the bizarre, symbolic illusion of capi- talism. “Green growth could be capitalism’s final assault on nature,” Boff warns. “It’s good to reforest degraded areas. But you can’t put a price on everything, as the green economy does. They want to profit from bees’ honey and they want to charge for their ability to pollinate. Everything becomes commerce.”
January 17, 2026 at 9:45 PM
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mattbernico.bsky.social
A statement of solidarity with those suffering in Venezuela from the World Communion of Reformed Churches

wcrc.eu/wcrc-calls-f...
Church leaders highlighted the ongoing need for prophetic witness and solidarity. WCRC President, the Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia Thompson, stressed that faith communities must counter disinformation and dehumanizing narratives, particularly when Venezuela is portrayed as a “dead country.” Such language, she said, communicates despair rather than hope and obscures the lived reality of communities who continue to resist, organize, and seek life amid hardship. “Standing in solidarity with Venezuelan siblings is both an act of compassion and a strategy for truth-telling, awareness, and action,” Thompson said.
January 3, 2026 at 8:23 PM