Kresta in the Afternoon

This morning the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the city of Boston violated the First Amendment by refusing to fly a local organization’s Christian flag in front of city hall, though it had flown other groups’ flags. In his opinion, Justice Stephen Breyer wrote Boston’s actions violated the First Amendment because the flags did not represent government speech. Al takes a closer look.

On today’s Feast of Catherine of Siena, we remember a heroic woman who lived in times eerily similar to our own. Fr Thomas McDermott looks at what she can teach us.

Yesterday the Oklahoma legislature passed a heartbeat law similar to the law in Texas. It’s one of many laws that have passed nationwide that could take effect after the ruling in Dobbs v Jackson. Michael New joins us with an overview of how pro-life and pro-abortion laws are shaping up.

Every week, we get together with Matthew Bunson to talk about what’s happening in the church. He joins us again today.

Alfred Hitchcock, considered one of the most influential filmmakers of all time, died on this day in 1980. His work was also influenced by his faith. We take a look with Steven Greydanus.

April 2022 would have marked Dani Laurion’s thirteenth year confined to a wheelchair. But instead, for the past month or so, Dani has been strolling around Lansing, Michigan as if those dozen infirm years had never happened. She joins us with her story.

Last week Peggy Stanton shared with us a story of her encounter with Jesus and the Divine Mercy. But there is much more to the Divine Mercy story and much to take a way from Jesus' messages to St Faustina. Peggy joins us again.

April 15th was the 75th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the MLB Color Barrier. Both Robinson and Brooklyn Dodgers manager Branch Rickey relied on their faith during this time. Al looks at the story the role that Giovanni Papini’s Life of Christ played.

In some ways, the current transgender movement parallels the desire to reject one’s sexual identity that the Heaven’s Gate members experienced a quarter century ago. We talk with Doug Keck.

Kresta Comments: Immigration

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 reportedly said he’s open to the idea. What can be done about the problem? Dr. Richard Vedder discusses the matter.

On Monday the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case of Kennedy v Bremerton School District. The case involves Coach Joseph Kennedy, who spent years praying with members of his football team on the 50-yard-line after games until he was banned in 2015. Are Coach Kennedy's prayers protected by Freedom of Religion, or do they violate the Establishment Clause? That's what the Court is deciding...

Kresta Comments: Another Mistake Christians Make in the Immigration Debate

On Sunday French President Emmanuel Macron successfully won reelection over far-right candidate Marine Le Pen. However, the overall results from the election show the majority of voters supported candidates considered “non-mainstream,” telling us something about how the French view the establishment. What does this mean, and what might it say about the course of our own politics? Sam Gregg joins u...

Pro-life activists who conducted a defense of the unborn at a Michigan abortion center were physically assaulted by its security guards. Monica Miller was there and tells us what happened, and also remembers her work with the late Vicki Thorn.

We talked last week with Fr. Harry Dean, spiritual advisor for Texas death row inmate Melissa Lucio. Melissa was scheduled to be executed today, but yesterday was granted a stay of execution. We talk more about her story with Sabrina van Tassel.

For a few years now we have been talking with Greg Popcak about how his ministry is focusing on the building of the Domestic Church as a fundamental part of the Christian life. Greg’s work is starting to take off and he joins us with an exciting update. Second Half - We talked last week with Fr. Harry Dean, spiritual advisor for Texas death row inmate Melissa Lucio. Melissa was scheduled to be exe...

When the pandemic broke out in the early spring of 2020, many Christians observed how fitting it was that such a time of suffering would come during Lent. And this Lent, especially during Holy Week, Ukrainians experienced something similar. Russia has now claimed victory in the battle for the city of Mariupol, those residents there say they aren’t giving up. Archbishop Borys Gudziak joins us.

When discussing the immigration debate, it is common for Christians to invoke the Scriptures’ command to “Welcome the stranger.” But it’s not so simple as that, and we first need to understand what “the stranger” means. Al discusses.

A new study out of Italy claims it can date the Shroud of Turin to around the time of Christ, thanks to a new technique using x-rays. Edward Pentin explains how it works.

To become a follower of Jesus in the time the Gospels were written was to turn your life upside-down and risk everything for the sake of the One who gave everything. How does Mark approach these people? On his feast day we talk with Mary Healy.

Today it is widely accepted that Shakespeare was raised in a devoutly Catholic family at a time when the practice of the Faith was illegal. Blessed John Henry Newman wrote that Shakespeare had “so little of a Protestant about him that Catholics have been able, without extravagance, to claim him as their own.” As this week marks the anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth, death and baptism, we’ll take...

The Vatican’s Congregation for Clergy has approved new norms for the formation of seminarians, which were drafted by the U.S. bishops’ conference in 2019, and have been under discussion between Rome and the USCCB since that time. We discuss it with Matthew Bunson.

This Sunday we will celebrate the Feast of the Divine Mercy. It has a special connection for Peggy Stanton, who was awakened from a deep sleep one night to paint the image of the Divine Mercy. She shares the story with us.

When most of us think of Benjamin Franklin, we think of flying kites in thunderstorms, Poor Richard’s Almanack, and his diplomatic efforts during the Revolution. But did you know he also published more works on religion than any other 18th-century layman? Though he abandoned the Christianity of his childhood for deism, his faith was more complex than that. We take a look with Thomas Kidd.