Kresta in the Afternoon

Last week Justice Elena Kagan expressed concern over the future of the Court, saying that if “the court loses all connection with the public and public sentiment, that’s a dangerous thing for democracy.” What role is the Court supposed to play in our society, and should it ever consider public sentiment? John Czarnetzky joins us.

Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers has spent years discussing the power of God’s Mercy. He experienced it firsthand when he was able to heal a broken relationship with his father, whom he hadn’t seen in years. He joins us with this story and to discuss how we can find healing in Christ’s Divine Mercy.

For most of recorded history, cultures and societies sanctioned differences among peoples. Slavery was almost universally accepted and legal distinctions based on race, gender and ethnicity were justified. How did religion help restructure society towards a view of all humans having inherent dignity? We talk with PJ Hill.

In July 1967, a group of prominent Catholic university leaders put together what is commonly known as the Land o' Lakes Statement, the result of a three-day conference on the nature of contemporary Catholic universities. The signatories vowed to avoid "theological imperialism" in favor of "creative dialogue" and pledged themselves to "true autonomy and academic freedom in the face of authority of...

This month the National Suicide Prevention Hotline, a service of the Department of Health and Human Services, shortened its phone number to 988. Anyone who is experiencing a mental health crisis can call that number and be connected with counseling in their area. Mental health awareness has increased significantly in recent years, but unfortunately many people in this field overlook the importance...

GK Chesterton was received into the Catholic Church on July 30, 1922. 100 years later, we still feel the impact of that conversion. In 1933 he wrote that “The disintegration of rational society started in the drift from the hearth and the family. The solution must be a drift back.” That observation has certainly been proven true. Dale Ahlquist joins us with more.

Dr. John Bruchalski is a pro-life OB/GYN who has founded two practices that help pregnant women. But he wasn’t always this way – during his years in residency, he performed abortions up into the third trimester. He tells us what brought about the change.

There’s a popular phrase from the feminist movement of the mid-20th Century: “A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle!” Both sexes suffer when the functions, values, and truths about one of them are put down. When men are not allowed to be men, then women are not allowed to be women—and neither can flourish. Anthony Esolen joins us.

Yesterday marked the first 30 days since the Dobbs decision. In the days immediately following the ruling, pro-life leaders gathered in a massive webinar to begin planning the next steps. And now, they invite you to join them in person to continue connecting with the grassroots prolife movement. David Bereit has the details.

Adoration is love, and Eucharistic adoration is love of Christ present in the Blessed Sacrament. In the Gospels there are few people who understand love for Jesus as well Mary Magdalene, the Apostle of the Apostles. Her life prompts us to reexamine the Mercy of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. Fr. Sean Davidson has written an extended meditation on her life, and he joins us today.

The Vatican issued a strong warning to the German bishops yesterday, rebuking them for the Synodal Way. Citing an earlier letter from Pope Francis, the statement says “the particular Churches live and flourish in and from the Universal Church, and if they find themselves separated from the entire ecclesial body, they weaken, rot and die.” We take a closer look with Matthew Bunson.

In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus’s disciples ask Him to teach them to pray. In response, He gave them the words of the Our Father. Peggy Stanton joins us to open up the Catechism and draw parallels between Christ’s words and the teachings of the Church.

Prayer is a conversation with God, but Conversations can be difficult. We don't always "feel" different when we pray. So why pray at all? Al discusses.

On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong uttered those timeless words: “That’s one small step for Man, one giant leap for Mankind.” A few months before, astronauts on the Apollo 8 mission capsule recited the first ten verses from the book of Genesis as they circled the Moon on Christmas Eve. What role did religious motivation play in making one of mankind's greatest dreams a reality? We talk with Kendrick...

Each of us knows that certain things are wrong—not because we believe they are wrong, but because they really are wrong. What is the root of morality? Is there a hope for the new "moral science" being pursued by figures such as Sam Harris? We'll talk with Paul Nedelisky.

Now that the abortion decision has been returned to the states, we need to evaluate what Americans think about abortion. Surveys have shown that the majority of Americans disapprove of the decision to overturn Roe, but that doesn’t mean we should stop fighting. Al discusses.

Billy Atwell was a healthy 16-year-old football player with dreams of playing in college. That all changed when he was diagnosed with testicular cancer – his playing career was over and doctors told him he would never have children. He’s now married with three children, but the journey there wasn’t so simple. He joins us with his story of suffering, healing, doubt, and faith.

There has been no shortage of bad news on inflation and the economy lately. Last month the Consumer Price Index rose to 9.1%, a 40-year high. Is there any good news? Chadd Garcia joins us.

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 month. Fr. Roger Landry, one of the National Eucharistic Preachers, joins us.

This Sunday, the University of Michigan Medical School will hold its White Coat Ceremony, a traditional rite of passage for students starting medical school. The speaker, Dr. Kristin Collier, is pro-life, and although her speech has nothing to do with abortion, some students have demanded that the University disinvite her. So far, Medical School Dean Marschall Runge has refused. Kishore Jayabalan...

In February 2021, 76-year-old Rosa Lalor was walking and praying near her home in Liverpool, UK when she was stopped by a police officer. She was told that, because she was praying near an abortion clinic, her actions were a form of protest and violated Covid lockdown regulations. This month, she won her appeal – charges were dropped and her fine was reversed. Al tells the story.

When we think of St Paul and the Law, it’s easy to understand him as opposed to the Law, citing passages such as Romans were he writes that a person is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. Understood in context, however, the law prepares the way for Christ. We talk more with Dr Robert Fastiggi.

Former Miss USA Cheslie Kryst died by suicide earlier this year. In an essay last summer, she reflected on the pressure she felt from aging: "turning 30 feels like a cold reminder that I’m running out of time to matter in society’s eyes — and it’s infuriating." Al discusses.

At a recent conference, Italian Archbishop Bruno Forte claimed that in order to ensure Judaic-Christian relations are free of antisemitism, Christians should let go of the idea that Jews must accept faith in Christ as normative for salvation. This would have been news to the Apostles, who saw the Risen Christ and shared the news with their own Jewish communities. Peter Herbeck joins us.

The Beatitudes go to the heart of how Christians think about their relationship to God and their relationship to one another. Dr. Rebekah Eklund joins us with a look at how writers and teachers, both ancient and modern, have reflected on the Beatitudes and developed spiritual disciplines to enter more deeply into the knowledge of God.