Kresta in the Afternoon

On Thursday TikTok CEO Shou Chew appeared before Congress, which is considering a bipartisan bill to ban the app. Legislators are facing an interesting conundrum – they see the app as a threat to national security, but with more than 150 million American users, they’re hesitant to take it away from their voters. Jimmy Quinn has the latest.

Legislators in Vermont and Delaware are considering bills that would remove the Church’s right to the “Seal of confession” and force priests to report admissions or suspicions of child sexual abuse to the authorities. Andrea Picciotti-Bayer joins us with legal analysis.

We are approaching Holy Week, when Christ fulfilled his earthly mission through his Passion, Death and Resurrection and redeemed the whole world. Fr Thomas Weinandy, a prolific theologian, has observed that when Christ was conceived and named these acts were still in his future - he was yet to truly become Jesus. What does this mean? He joins us.

Fr John Zahm was a Holy Cross priest and scientist who served as vice president at the University of Notre Dame, He argued that Roman Catholicism was fully compatible with an evolutionary view of biological systems, an idea that was rejected and led to censure. John Slattery joins us with a look at his story.

In February six Red Rose Rescuers, including Monica Miller, were found guilty of trespass for a rescue that took place at an abortion clinic in Southfield, MI. They will be sentenced on Thursday. Monica has the latest on the case. 

On March 29, 1973, the last US combat troops left South Vietnam following the release of the last US POWs from the infamous Hỏa Lò Prison, nicknamed the “Hanoi Hilton.” Earlier in the war, the prison held Air Force pilot James Shipley, who was shot down in 1967. He spent six years in the Hanoi prison camps, where he endured brutal torture. Yet somehow he found hope and became determined to help hi...

A few weeks ago, someone left a Mary statue at Fr. Joe Krupp’s parish. It stayed in the gathering space for a few weeks until a young child accidentally broke it – and what was inside will shock you. Fr Joe tells the story.

How do we handle the "difficult" passages we find in Scripture, especially the Old Testament? Many times we tend toward one of two extremes - we either ignore the passages entirely, or obsess over them so much that we miss anything else. Tremper Longman joins us to help cut through the confusion and find clarity.

Mother Angelica died on this day in 2016 and her legacy lives on. Her years of illness made her a prime example of redemptive suffering and wrote extensively on the subject. We'll look at her teachings with Fr Joseph Mary.

During this Lent, especially Holy Week, many of us will be joining in the Stations of the Cross. Steve Ray shows us the history behind the tradition and gives us Biblical meditations for each one.

Spring is here and students around the country are finalizing their college and career plans. What if we taught them to measure success not by the school they attend or the size of their bank account, but by how they follow Christ? On the upcoming Feast of the Annunciation, we'll remember Mary's decision to offer a complete yes to God...what if we taught our kids to do the same? We'll...

The Archdiocese of Milwaukee has removed the canonical faculties of Fr James Connell to celebrate the Sacrament of Confession after he published an op-ed in support of laws that would force priests to break the seal of the confessional to report instances of abuse. Matthew Bunson has the details on this and other Church news.

In his concurring opinion for the Dobbs decision, Justice Clarence Thomas called the principle of substantive due process an “oxymoron” and said it is not a legal justification for abortion. Dean John Czarnetzky helps us understand this principle of Due Process and how the Court has applied it over the years.  

At last week's National Catholic Prayer Breakfast, Ambassador Joe Cella called for Catholics to send spiritual bouquets to Jimmy Lai and Bishop Rolando Alvarez, who have become the faces of modern Christian persecution. He joins us today.

In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus raises His friend Lazarus from the dead. We see from the Catechism that Jesus links faith in the resurrection to His own person – “I am the resurrection and the life.” Peggy Stanton joins us with more.  

In our discussions on the New Evangelization much has been said about how the Clergy can lead and the laity can take co-responsibility for the Church. But what of the deacons? Deacons occupy a special place in the Church and are in a unique position to evangelize. How can they, in the words of St. John Paul II, be “apostles for the New Evangelization?” We talk about it with Deacon Steve Hilker.

Stephen Gleason was baptized Catholic as a baby, and grew up going to Catholic schools and being an altar server in the years leading up to Vatican II.  In his teens, he began to drift away from the practice of his faith, and surfing became the most important thing in his life, until he had a series of providential experiences that turned his heart toward Jesus. He began to be involved in Protesta...

In John Chapter 16, Jesus tells us “in the world, you will have trouble, but take courage for I have conquered the world.” Though this can be hard to put into practice, relying on Jesus to strengthen us after a fall is an essential part of the Christian experience. We are not called to be “Averse to Adversity.”  We’ll be discussing this on March 25 at our annual Familiaris Consortio conference. Jo...

More than 30 years ago, John Paul II issued Ex Corde Ecclesiae, his apostolic constitution on Catholic universities. Rather than denounce the problems happening in schools, he sought to invite Catholic school leaders to the adventure of higher Catholic education. What happened? Dr. James Keating joins us.

When the Dobbs decision was announced last summer, we said it was a victory in one battle, and the start of 50 other battles. Sadly, many of those battles have not gone our way as virtually every state-level ballot initiative has gone pro-abortion. Ohio is the next battleground and is the only state with an abortion ballot in 2023. Peter Range tells us what’s going on. 

The First Commandment is one of the first things we learn in Sunday School. But our culture has largely abandoned it. We were not created to exercise self-law or self-rule, we were created to live for God. Al discusses.

Over the last few years, we’ve seen bishops in Germany, the US and elsewhere put  forth the claim that 2,000 years of Church teaching has over-emphasized sexual morality, and that “radical inclusion” supersedes doctrinal fidelity. Why is this an error? Archbishop Joseph Naumann joins us – and you can join him next year on the Good News Cruise!

Reconciling the seemingly irreconcilable Biblical accounts of creation with what we believe from science and the fossil record can be difficult. How do Christians approach this topic and how do they discuss it amongst themselves and amongst non-Christians? We talk with Pastor Todd Wilson.

A recent law change in Berlin will allow women to swim topless at public pools, just as men do. The media celebrated this as some great victory for women's equality. What lessons can we learn from that about the state of our society? Al discusses. 

In pop culture it's hard to find examples of good fathers. Whether we know it or not, dads are heroes. Even if you're struggling with the demands of fatherhood, you have it within you to be the hero your kids need. Dr. Meg Meeker joins us with a look at the importance of fathers and how to be the dad you want to be.