Kresta in the Afternoon

It’s common for Christians to wax nostalgic about the “good old days.” We’ll see a display of public faith from the past and lament that it would never happen today. But since NFL safety Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field on Monday Night Football, we’ve seen everyone from the NFL to ESPN broadcasters publicly calling for prayer. And back in 1965, CBS executives were very hesitant to sign off on t...

Pro-Lifers in the US will always remember 2022 as the year Roe v Wade was finally overturned. But that victory was simply the first step, and since then there have been victories and defeats across the country. Michael New has more.

We spent much of 2022 discussing the German Synod, which will continue to be a major story in Church News. We get a recap of what has been happening with Matthew Bunson, who also reminds us of other important Church stories from the year.

When Star Trek’s William Shatner traveled into space last year, he lamented that “all he saw was death.” But we got plenty of other looks into space this year thanks to the new James Webb Telescope, which gave us jaw-dropping looks at the far reaches of our universe. There were also plenty of discoveries that to the average person seem important, but they aren’t quite sure why. Stacy Trasancos hel...

Activists in the US continue to push for gender-affirming treatment for kids with gender dysphoria, and the Biden administration has been happy to comply. But in Europe we have seen several countries pulling back from this trend. The Tavistock Gender Clinic in the UK shut down this fall, and Sweden’s national board of health is now urging “caution” when treating kids. Wes Smith recaps this and oth...

According to reporting by Aid to the Church in Need, More than 100 priests and women religious were kidnapped, arrested or killed in 2022. The most dangerous country was Nigeria, where at least four priests were murdered. Religious leaders have also suffered immensely at the hands of the Ortega regime in Nicaragua. Ed Clancy joins us with more.

When Joseph Ratzinger was elected Pope in 2005, he found himself with incredible shoes to fill. Over the last quarter-century, his predecessor had become a spiritual father to millions. What part did Pope Benedict play in leading the Church into the new millennium? George Weigel joins us.

Marcus Peter is part of what many call the “John Paul II Generation,” but he did not embrace his Catholic faith until the papacy of Pope Benedict, whose teachings were instrumental in his life. Marcus shares more.

When John Paul II was on his deathbed in 2005, the Church spent many days on “death watch” and bells tolled in St Peter’s upon his passing from this life. The death and funeral of a Pope Emeritus is another matter. Matthew Bunson joins us from Rome with the latest, and also gives his own tribute to Benedict.

What is American political conservatism? Is it the movement defined by William F Buckley and Ronald Reagan? The Tea Party movement that arose in the mid-2000s? That which is identified by allegiance to Donald Trump? All of the above? Something else? We’ll talk it over with Matthew Continetti.

For a large part of American history, it was widely believed that one could not be a good Catholic and a good American, as you would have to choose between loyalty to country and loyalty to the pope. Catholics play an important role in the American story - but we often make the mistake of seeing them as one, cohesive unit. In fact, Catholic immigrants from Ireland, Germany, Italy and other nations...

Vatican II is one of the most significant events in modern Church history and has been studied endlessly over the last 60 years. Is there anything left to say about it? George Weigel thinks so – by reexamining the event through the prism of Pope John XXIII’s original intentions for the council. He joins us.

When Msgr. Hilary Franco was a young priest, he served as an assistant to Bishop Fulton J Sheen and was with him during the Second Vatican Council. 60 years later, he may be the only priest alive who witnessed those events firsthand. He joins us to share his memories.

On October 16, 1962, President Kennedy learned of Soviet missile sites under construction in Cuba. For the next thirteen days, he met with his advisers to determine the best course of action. The popular understanding of what happened during those meetings is quite different from what the historical record shows. We take a close look with Sheldon Stern.

In His deepest nature, God is Love. This can make it hard to understand the concept of Hell – eternal separation from God. Al continues his thoughts.

The monastic lifestyle began spreading throughout the West a few centuries after Christ’s death, but it was not uniform. Each monk lived his own lifestyle and tradition. That began to changed when Benedict of Nursia became a hermit and authored his Rule, which would become the universal guide for Western monks. Bill Cook tells the story.

A popular figure in literature is the “strong, silent man,” – a man of few words but great deeds. This certainly describes St. Joseph. He’s one of our most popular saints today, but for centuries artists virtually ignored him. The artwork we do have of St Joseph show him in a wide variety of styles, but always as a man we can turn to. We look at some examples with Liz Lev.

Abortion harms everyone. It hollows out marriage and the family. It undermines the rule of law and corrupts our political system. It turns healers into executioners and “women’s health” into a euphemism for extermination. Now that the issue is back in the hands of the states, how can we go about communicating these truths to others? Ryan Anderson joins us.

Zac Kriegman spent six years working in Data science at Thomson Reuters, one of the world’s largest news organizations. His job was to study numbers and stats and figure out what they really meant. When he turned his focus to race and police brutality, he came across a shocking realization – the data was being used incorrectly in our national conversation, with disastrous effects. But when he trie...

Joseph Haydn is among the most influential composers of the Classical period. He was a friend of Mozart and tutor of Beethoven, and has been called the Father of the Symphony. He was also a man of devout Catholic faith. We look at his life and music with Robert Reilly.

In his Gospel Sequence Lauda Sion Salvatorem, written for the inaugural celebration of Corpus Christi, St. Thomas Aquinas wrote “However much you can do, so much dare to do.” This spirit of “daring to do all we can” should take a special meaning for us during the three year Eucharistic Revival which kicked off last summer. Fr. Roger Landry, one of the National Eucharistic Preachers, joins us.

Mark Twain is arguably America’s most beloved author, and his characters Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn have long served as symbols of youthful rebellion. He had a very complicated relationship with Christianity and modern atheists love to quote him when critiquing religion. Twain once wrote that if Christ were alive today, he would never be a Christian. But he also said his favorite work was his novel...

Alice von Hildebrand’s life accomplishments could fill a book. She escaped Nazi Europe in her youth, became one of the leading women in Catholic philosophy, and devoted decades of her life to writing and teaching. She also had a loving relationship with her husband, the late and great Dietrich von Hildebrand. She passed away last week, and we honor her legacy with John Henry Crosby.

Paying for college has become a major concern for parents and students, and Americans now owe about $1.7 trillion in Student Debt. Some Democrats have called for student debt to be forgiven, and President Biden has announced a plan that is currently being challenged by the courts. What can be done about the problem? Dr. Richard Vedder discusses the matter.

Nominees for Secretary of Education are typically not widely known, so the press and the public grants them the benefit of the doubt. This was not the case with Betsy DeVos; from the time her nomination was announced, she was subject to attacks from critics. The New York Times claimed her nomination was "a triumph of ideology over evidence that should worry anyone who wants to improve results for...