Talking Catholic

We’re back on the road this week as Kari Janisse and Mike Walsh sit down with the volunteers who have kept the parish carnival of Our Lady of Peace Parish in Williamstown, NJ, up and running for nearly 50 years. We chat with the volunteers on the benefits to the parish, both in terms of funds raised and community activity, as well as what it takes to pull off a week-long event like this featuring...

This week, Marianela Nuñez and Jen Mauro sit down with Dr. Lee DelleMonache, Director of Religious Education for the Diocese of Camden. Lee supports parishes and Catholic schools in the faith formation of catechists, children, youth and adults on their journey of missionary discipleship. Lee brings nearly 30 years of experience working for educational and service organizations, with more than 25 o...

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishop’s has established July 22-29 as Religious Freedom Week in the United States. Religious freedom allows the Church, and all religious communities, to live out their faith in public and to serve the good of all. As Catholics, we are encouraged to pray, reflect, and act to promote religious freedom. Joining hosts Jen Mauro and Mike Walsh this week is Fat...

On this feast of Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, Talking Saints hosts Laurie and Pete shared the life of this 16th and 17th century Italian Jesuit and patron of youth, whose spiritual awakening at age 7 caused him to renounce the royal courts and military prestige around him, for a higher calling.  As well, the hosts discuss his rigorous prayer life, and how much asceticism is too much asceticism?   Saint...

Believe it or not, we’re less than halfway through the global Synod process. So to give us an update, we asked Donna M. Ottaviano-Britt, director of the Diocese of Camden’s Office of Discipleship and Leadership, and facilitator of the diocesan Synod process to join us this week. Donna notes the process has already begun to bear fruit on the parish level and has given her a great deal of hope for t...

All across the State of New Jersey, school graduations and advancements are taking place. Our own South Jersey Catholic Schools are no different, so it was time to have our annual State of the Catholic Schools episode with our beloved Dr. Bill Watson, Superintendent of the Diocese of Camden’s Office of Catholic Schools. During the episode, hosts Marianela Nunez and Mike Walsh chat with Bill about...

Later this month, on the Feast of Corpus Christi, all the dioceses in the United States will begin a multi-year revival focused on the Eucharist, the source and summit of our Catholic faith. The first year will be focused at the diocesan level and the following year at the parish level. Joining us on this episode to discuss what is planned in the Diocese of Camden and why it is an important opport...

For years, Mater Dei Prep High School in Middletown, N.J., has been preparing students to be advocates for peace and justice through its Global Leaders Institute.   Led by educator George S. Anthony, the program has offered young people the opportunity to address world dignitaries, present a student-produced video combatting hate, and offer a workshop on effective and respectful communication – al...

As the Catholic Church celebrates the feast of the “Apostle of England,” Laurie and Pete discuss Saint Augustine of Canterbury in the latest show.  Learn how this 6th Century Roman monk became a model of evangelization and reconciliation in the faith, and how his life proves that good deeds can bear fruit long after they are performed. Saint Augustine of Canterbury, pray for us! Listen to Talking...

While many of us watch the Russian invasion of Ukraine unfold from afar, Dina Brick, senior technical adviser for food security and markets for Catholic Relief Services, has seen the crisis firsthand. On the latest episode of Talking Catholic, Brick describes seeing families torn apart and those struggling to make ends meet during her time on the ground in neighboring Moldova. She discusses the im...

At a time where Americans’ mental health rating is at a 21-year low, Talking Catholic invites two experts in the field to discuss what we can do as individuals and a society to help our friends, family – and even ourselves.   Sylvia Loumeau, MSW, LCSW, director of clinical services and social work for Catholic Charities of South Jersey, and her coworker, Breigha Dale, MSW, intensive case manager f...

On today’s episode, hosts Jen Mauro, Marianela Nunez and Mike Walsh do a news round-up of Catholic interests, including the SCOTUS leak, the restructuring of the Catholic New Service, the upcoming priest ordinations, and graduations. Then, Marianela and Mike chat with Fr. Tim Byerley and Kathy O’Callaghan, pastor of Saint Peter’s Parish and principal of St. Peter’s Elementary School in Merchantvil...

May is the month for Brain Cancer awareness. The color ribbon is gray and on this episode hosts Mike Walsh and Kari Janisse “go Gray in May” with a beautiful guest, Diana Butkus, speaking about childhood cancer awareness and the life of her son Jaxson. Diana shares beautifully how she and her family bravely and gracefully journeyed through Jaxson’s battle with ATRT Brain Cancer. She talks about ho...

“Nothing great is ever achieved without much enduring.”   Mystic, author, church reformer, and Doctor of the Church, Saint Catherine of Siena is the focus of this month’s Talking Saints on her Feast Day today.  Hosts Laurie and Pete unpack the life of this 14th century woman who remains a model today of discipleship, devotion to the Church, and love for the marginalized.

Saint Catherine of Siena,...

Looking to put your faith in action? This week, we get an in-depth look at how Catholic Relief Services helps communities on a local, national and global level – and how you can be a voice of change! First, CRS Community Engagement Manager Thomas Hollywood gives a firsthand account of how local funds help provide housing, clean water, schooling opportunities and more in areas such as Africa, Ecuad...

Yes, our guest this episode is Mark Wahlberg. Really. And since his movie about a priest comes out this week, we’re putting out the podcast a few days early. Our hard-working host Jen Mauro was able to sit down with him one-on-one for 12 minutes while he was in Philadelphia on a press tour for his new movie “Father Stu” (https://www.fatherstumovie.com/), which follows the life of Father Stuart Lon...

This episode is a special treat as hosts Jen Mauro and Mike Walsh welcome Fr. Jason Rocks, Chancellor of the Diocese of Camden, to the show. The trio discuss Holy Week and the many opportunities it provides for Catholics to become closer to Christ by walking with Him on His journey from Palm Sunday to Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter. We also discuss the uniqueness of the Chrism Mass and the...

This week we travel to one of our favorite locations, Hammonton, NJ, to chat with Fr. David Rivera, pastor of Saint Mary of Mount Carmel Parish, as well as Lisa-Maria Lorusso and Susan Davidow, about the parish’s new initiatives, a Montessori school and their parish youth organization. The Catholic Montessori school will be the first of its kind in South Jersey, blending unique learning experience...

One of our favorite guests is back on the show this week! The hardworking and delightful Katie Comerford-Rivera joins us to chat about her recent promotion, the status of the Diocese of Camden’s annual fundraising campaign - the House of Charity - and we even do a little Marvel Cinematic Universe talk to end the show. Katie is always a blast to chat with and our hosts Jen Maura and Mike Walsh love...

Who is the “Pearl of York,” the 16th century English mother, martyr, and defender of the faith who courageously refused to compromise her Catholic ideals, and in the process evangelized not only her family, but the community around her?  In this month’s Talking Saints, hosts Laurie and Pete unpack the life of Saint Margaret Clitherow, whose bones were broken, but not her spirit.  As well, Laurie s...

As we’re midway through the Lenten season, our hosts Marianela Nunez and Mike Walsh thought it was a good time to see how religion classes are experiencing Lent during the school day. They chat with two great religion teachers in South Jersey Catholic Schools, Jeana Davi from Saint Mary’s Catholic School in Williamstown, NJ, and Ashlei Wyant from Assumption Regional Catholic School in Galloway, NJ...

After a two-year hiatus, our favorite outdoor event on the Diocese of Camden’s calendar is back, iRace4Vocations! The annual faithraiser dedicated to supporting vocations to the priesthood and religious life returns on April 3 at Cooper River Park in Pennsauken. The event features an outdoor Mass with Bishop Dennis Sullivan and our seminarians, a sanctioned 5K run, a 1 mile walk, fun, games and fo...

We continue our religious communities series this week with a chat about the Vincentian Congregation, a clerical society in the Syro-Malabar Church based in India with a direct lineage to the Vincentians of France founded by Saint Vincent de Paul in 1624. The Catholic faith in India can be tracked by to the Apostle Thomas who visited in 54 AD. Joining us today to talk about their community is Fr....

As Lent begins this week, our co-hosts Jen Mauro and Mike Walsh wanted to help everyone get into the spirit of the season so they invited on to the show Fr. Ed Kolla, retired priest and regular contributor to the Catholic Star Herald newspaper, and Donna Ottaviano-Britt, head of the Diocese of Camden’s Secretariat for Pastoral Outreach. The group chat about the uniqueness of Ash Wednesday and the...

It’s a hosts-only episode this week, and Mike Walsh was surprised to learn it’s the 5th anniversary of the podcast! He and Jen Mauro chat a little about the history of the show and some news items from the week, including two New Jersey Catholic Conference legislative alerts, a Knights of Columbus team-up to help tornado victims in Kentucky and a Synod and Eucharistic Revival update. As for the 5t...