Kresta in the Afternoon

In an interview with an Italian television program a few weeks ago, Pope Francis was asked how he “imagines hell” and said he “likes to think of hell as empty” and hopes that it is. He made it clear that this was a personal view and not a dogmatic

It’s been 50 years since the English translation of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s “The Gulag Archipelago,” in which he recounted his years of imprisonment in Soviet labor camps for criticizing Stalin. Dr. Elizabeth Spalding of the Victims of Communism museum joins us with more on his life and how you can join an event commemorating the work.

In a recent interview, Pope Francis said it is his personal hope that Hell is empty. How reasonable is it to hope that all men will be saved? Al discusses.

After twenty years of digging up “religion ghosts: in news stories, GetReligion is closing. Reporters in the mainstream press often disregard, underestimate and misunderstand the religion angle in major news events, or the simple faith that inspires and influences the people in their stories. Has anything changed in the last two decades? Terry Mattingly joins us.

In its annual Faith and Freedom Index, the Napa legal institute found Michigan to be one of the worst states in the nation for religious and regulatory freedom. Mary Margaret Beecher joins us with more, and also discusses her vocation as a lawyer and person of faith.

Saturday marked the anniversary of Woodrow Wilson's death. He's best known as the man who "kept us out of the war," then later as the president who led the country through the First World War. Who was he, really? What was his vision for the country? More than any other president, he believed in the Moral Force of Ideas. What does this mean? We talk with Patricia O'Toole.

The story commonly told about the relation between Christianity and freedom of religion treats Christianity as an inherently intolerant and oppressive religion. The historian Perez Zagorin writes, of "all the great world religions past and present, Christianity has been by far the most intolerant." But while it is a tragic truth that many Christians have oppressed others, the fact remain...

Prayer, in marriage, is more than checking off a box. It is time spent in the presence of the Author of love himself. Every time we pray for and with our spouse, God gives us greater insight into what it takes to love each other better more deeply, more honestly, more authentically, and more passionately. Every time we pray for and with our spouse, we open our hearts to a love that can satisfy our...

Today is the feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple. The temple was the center of the Jewish world and played an integral part in the faith. We explore it with Andre Villeneuve.

In suburban America, we like our bumper stickers, yard signs, and graphic t-shirts. In the online world, we love our memes. But what happens when slogans become the basis for our conversations and influencers become the authority on which the conclusions of our moral debate rest? Jody Benson joins us.

The election of John Paul II broke a pattern. For more than a century, nearly every pontiff had been a trained papal diplomat. The papacies of John Paul II and Benedict set a new trend – they were scholars long before they were made Cardinals. We look at how Benedict’s theological background affected his approach to his papacy with Msgr. Michael Heintz.

The experience of illness can be isolating and alienating, and make us feel out of place in a world of healthy people. Modern medicine has done wonders in healing the physical aspects of a disease, but many still struggle to cope with the existential dimensions of the experience of disease or injury. Xavier Symons joins us with a solution.

Catholic schools in the United States have often been countercultural. Today our schools challenge the dogmatic culture of secularism that's gripping public institutions — and none do so more effectively than Catholic classical schools. Andrea Picciotti-Bayer joins us with more.

In the last week, the Vatican has appointed three new bishops in China. What does this tell us about the state of Vatican-China relations? Ken Oliver joins us with this and other church news.

The sexual revolution has revolutionized everything, to the point where questions that once had simple answers have become complicated. For instance, the question “Can I attend a gay wedding?” comes up with increasing frequency and is proving less and less easy to answer. Carl Trueman helps us work it out.

The olive tree has been a symbol of peace for centuries. A dove brought an olive branch to Noah in the Book of Genesis, King David wrote in the psalms that he was an olive tree flourishing in the House of God, and anointing with oil continues to be an honored ritual. We explore more about the meaning of the olive tree with James Day.

The College of St Joseph in Ohio is taking a new approach to higher education, combining Catholic studies with training in skilled trades. Mike Sullivan, President of the College, tells us how it all came about.

Cynthia Scodova was raised in a Fundamentalist branch of Protestant Christianity during the 60s and 70s. As a teenager she was drawn toward nature mysticism and eastern philosophies, and a few years later she found herself fully embracing the "spirituality" of the liberal movements of the 70s and 80s. She did eventually marry, though she did not want kids - but it was her first child tha...

The most famous priest to be killed by the Nazis is probably Saint Maximilian Kolbe, who died in Auschwitz in 1941. But he was far from the only priest to be murdered. Three of the thirty barracks at the Dachau concentration camp were occupied by clergy, and of the 2,720 men imprisoned there, 2,579 were Catholics. More than a third of the men in the "priest block" died there. Fr Joseph F...

Much has been written and studied about the Holocaust. And, like other atrocities, we tend to focus on the crimes and the villains rather than the victims and heroes of the story. During the Nazi regime, citizens all over Europe worked to dismantle the party. Today, we look at the story of the German White Rose resistance and the life of Sophie Scholl. Paul Shrimpton joins us.

Kresta Comments: Where was God in Auschwitz?

Scripture speaks of two types of sin: “sin which is mortal” and “sin which is not mortal” and lays out three conditions that must be met in order for a sin to be considered mortal. At first glance, one might say that it’s rather hard to commit a mortal sin. Is it? Joe Heschmeyer joins us.

This week Pope Francis thanked the Vatican press corps for reporting on scandals in the Church with delicacy in an environment that often distorts the news. He observed that “being a journalist is a vocation, somewhat like that of a doctor, who chooses to love humanity by curing illnesses.” Matthew Bunson joins us with more on this and other stories.

This Sunday’s Gospel is short, but its message is deep. Jesus is teaching in the Temple when he encounters a man with an unclean spirit, astonishing all who are present. We break it down with Peggy Stanton.

There are some passages in St. Paul’s writings that seem to suggest taking religious vows is a “higher” calling than marriage – but by looking at his entire body of work, we can see that we are all called to holiness. Al discusses, and also looks at what Pope Benedict predicted about Gender ideology.