Episode Details

Could there ever be a female pope? Sarah Mullally was confirmed as the first female Archbishop of Canterbury in January 2026, making her the spiritual leader of the Church of England and the Anglican Communion. While Anglicanism allows women to hold top leadership roles like archbishops, the concept of a "female pope" is generally restricted to the legendary, likely fictional, 9th-century "Pope Joan" figure in Roman Catholic history. Dr. Tom Ryan, a Catholic theologian who has been instrumental in leading and developing the Loyola Institute of Ministry, joins Dave Cohen to discuss if the Catholic Church will ever have a female pope.