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Dr. Hosffman Ospino on Bridge-Building, Human Dignity, and Community

The Communion Project Podcast

What if healing polarization begins not with winning an argument, but with asking someone, “How are you?” In this episode, host Jonathan Lewis sits down with Dr. Hosffman Ospino, professor of theology at Boston College and a leading voice on Hispanic Catholic life, to explore how communion, bridgebuilding, and the ministry of presence can renew the Church. Drawing on his upbringing in Colombia and his experience of Catholicism in the United States, Dr. Ospino reflects on the Hispanic understanding of the Church as family, the difference between healthy disagreement and dehumanizing polarization, and the inseparable relationship between faith and public life. He describes Hispanic Catholics as gente puente—a bridge-building people whose experience of living between cultures can help the Church embrace a “both-and” vision rooted in the common good. Dr. Ospino also explains why synodality is simply what it means to be Church, how our shared baptismal dignity calls us to listen to one another, and why a meal or cup of coffee with someone who disagrees with us can become a ministry of healing.Episode Timestamps 00:10 — Welcome and introduction to Dr. Hosffman Ospino 00:22 — Growing up in Colombia and “breathing” Catholicism 01:54 — Experiencing Pentecost at Mass in St. Peter’s Square 03:37 — Communion through the Hispanic Catholic experience of family and community 04:50 — How polarization appears within Hispanic Catholic communities 05:38 — Healthy differences versus dehumanizing ideological polarization 10:55 — Recovering human dignity as the foundation of Catholic life 11:16 — Why faith and public life cannot be separated 14:35 — Public Catholicism and the need to choose communion intentionally 16:11 — Reconciliation, positive anthropology, and becoming instruments of healing 16:44 — Gente puente: Hispanic Catholics as people who live and build bridges 20:21 — “Both-and” thinking, community, the common good, and the American dream 22:34 — Synodality as walking and listening together 23:15 — Why synodality is simply about being Church 27:50 — Entrepreneurship, Pentecost, and recognizing the gifts of every baptized person 29:53 — Turning down polarization by affirming what Catholics hold in common 31:13 — What breaks Dr. Ospino’s heart—and what fills him with hope—about the Church 33:20 — Healing relationships through coffee, meals, presence, and the question “How are you?” 36:08 — Parish potlucks, salads, desserts, and the Catholic “both-and” 37:10 — St. Óscar Romero as a patron for rebuilding communion 39:12 — What newcomers should know about the beauty and mystery of Catholic initiation 40:47 — Closing thoughtsAbout the Guest Dr. Hosffman Ospino is a professor of theology and religious education at Boston College’s School of Theology and Ministry and a nationally recognized scholar of Hispanic Catholicism and ministry in the United States. Born in Colombia, he has lived most of his life in the United States and has spent nearly 25 years teaching theology. His work explores how the experiences and gifts of Hispanic Catholics are shaping the present and future of the Church.