Cardinal Czerny on migrants, martyrs, and working for justice

About this episode

How can Catholics stand alongside people on the margins? On this week’s episode of “The Spiritual Life”, James Martin, S.J., speaks with Cardinal Michael Czerny about working for justice and facing life’s realities without losing hope. Cardinal Czerny, whose ministry as a Jesuit and now as a Cardinal has always focused on listening and ministering to the marginalized, was made an archbishop and cardinal by Pope Francis in 2019. In 2022, he was appointed prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, and in May 2026, Cardinal Czerny helped establish a special Vatican Commission on Artificial Intelligence. As a cardinal, he participated in the conclave that elected Pope Leo XIV. In this conversation, Cardinal Michael recalls ministering in El Salvador during the civil war, responding to the AIDS crisis in Sub-Saharan Africa, and advocating for migrants and refugees around the globe. Chapters: 00:00 Who is Cardinal Michael Czerny? 5:25 Jesuits martyred in El Salvador 10:10 The African AIDS epidemic and facing reality 14:38 Being a refugee; welcome refugees 19:03 God is always close 22:30 Cardinal Michael's daily spiritual practice 23:42 Migrat