Talking Catholic

We open up the 2021 season of the podcast with a hosts-only chat as we look forward to the new year. There are a lot of great opportunities out there and Kari Janisse, Mike Walsh, Mary McCusker and Marianela Nunez have some ideas (and a lot more skill sets cultivated thanks to 2020). Listen to Talking Catholic on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, SoundCloud, Alexa or at https://talking.cathol...

We love podcasts, we love listening to them, we love making them and we hope you love listening to them. Well this week, we’re crossing over with them! We’ve invited the hosts of “Am I Not Here”, the official podcast of the Diocese of Metuchen, to join us to chat (commiserate) about our lives as Catholic communicators. Joining our own hosts, Mary McCusker and Mike Walsh, on this episode are the As...

Dr. William Watson and Dr. Robert Lockwood chat with our hosts Marianela Nunez and Mike Walsh about the common questions Catholic Schools are getting regarding in-person and remote instruction this year. Dr. Watson explain how South Jersey Catholic Schools are thriving even under the pressures caused by a pandemic that seem to have come from nowhere.  It certainly has pushed Catholic school leader...

This week, Mary McCusker and Mike Walsh sit down with David Tanzola, an active and involved parishioner at the Catholic Community of the Holy Spirit in Mullica Hill, NJ, and a dear friend of Catholic Charities of South Jersey, where he’s served as a volunteer in several programs.  David is a dynamic member of our Diocese who walks us through his fascinating journey towards becoming a Catholic, a h...

In three days the Catholic Church will mark the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the Americas.  Today, however, the church celebrates an important figure in her veneration: Juan Diego, Indian peasant, Mary’s messenger, and first indigenous American saint.  During this program, hosts Laurie Power and Pete Sanchez will unpack the life of this man, his miraculous encounters with the Virgi...

We’re going back to college on this week’s show so we can chat with two of our favorite Catholic Campus Ministers, Alison Filion and Rebekah Hardy. The two ministers, serving students at Stockton University and Rowan University, respectively, chat with Kari Janisse and Mike Walsh about the ministry and how they’ve been able to care for the spiritual well-being of their charges during covid-times....

It’s the time of year again! We’re talking about the often misunderstood and underutilized Advent season. In today’s culture we tend to skip right from Thanksgiving to Christmas and we miss out on all the opportunities Advent offers us to properly prepare for the Christmas season. On today’s episode Kari Janisse and Mike Walsh welcome one of their favorite priests - Fr. Michael Goyette, Pastor of...

Blessed José Ramón Miguel Agustín Pro Juárez, better known as Blessed Miguel Pro, lived a life conformed to Christ, even unto death by firing squad.  In this month’s program, our hosts Laurie Power and Pete Sanchez celebrate the feast of this Jesuit priest, who ministered during the time of Mexico’s persecution of Catholics in the early 20th century.  Undaunted by the Mexican government, he contin...

It’s our 200th episode! Traditionally, we prefer to do live shows in front of an audience when we hit a new centennial mark, however this year we had to put a halt to that to comply with pandemic guidelines. So instead, we decided to record a Zoom episode with all of our hosts and a few of our favorite guests from the past year. (Not only are we celebrating 200 episodes but we’re also celebrating...

We like chatting about vocations on Talking Catholic, so we brought out the big guns for this episode, Fr. Adam Cichoski, Director of Vocations for the Diocese of Camden, and Laurie Power, our beloved (and multi-award winning) co-host of the Taking Saints podcast, who is a former postulant of the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia (aka the Nashville Dominicans). The duo chat with our hosts Mary McCu...

On October 3rd, Pope Francis released his third encyclical titled “Fratelli Tutti,” subtitled “On fraternity and social friendship.” This document focuses on the social and economic problems of today’s society; and proposes an ideal world of fraternity in which all countries can be part of a "larger human family.” To shine some much needed light on this document and its creator, we asked noted Cat...

Recently, the Diocese of Camden was blessed with the ordination of 12 men to the permanent diaconate. These family men have spent 6 years in academic and practical study to learn how to assist their bishop, pastors and the laity in proclaiming Jesus’ message through the spiritual life of our church. Our hosts Kari Janisse and Mike Walsh welcomed onto the podcast three of the recently ordained deac...

On today’s special episode we address two important October awareness initiatives: Respect Life and Domestic Violence.  Mike Walsh opens the show with a reflection on Respect Life Month, what this resource really means and how important it is for both the Right to Life movement and many social justice enterprises. Then Mary McCusker and Mike hear from two Catholic Charities staff members who, over...

In this special episode of Talking Catholic, guests Andrés Arango, Director of Hispanic Ministry and Evangelization for the Diocese of Camden and Marianne Zayas, Director of Parish Services for the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception chat with hosts Michael Walsh and Marianela Nuñez about the Hispanic Heritage Month celebration in the U.S. and how Latino Catholics are bringing their gifts to bo...

Joining us this week is newly-minted priest Fr. Peter Gallagher of Holy Angels Parish in Woodbury, NJ and soon to be returning to the Pontifical North American College in Rome for a year to finish his graduate studies. Fr. Peter chats with our hosts Kari Janisse and Mike Walsh about what he’ll be focusing on in this final year of education as well as his late-in-life devotion to the rosary. The tr...

Joining us this week is acclaimed Catholic speaker, author and academic Dr. Hosffman Ospino, Associate Professor of Hispanic Ministry and Religious Education, as well as chair of the Department of Religious Education and Pastoral Ministry at Boston College. Dr. Ospino’s research explores the dialogue between faith and culture and the impact of this interchange upon Catholic theological education,...

Today’s saint proves that the action of performing “little works” for the glory of God, can transform into greater things.  Our hosts Laurie and Pete have a lively conversation about this 19th century French Carmelite, and Laurie shares how Saint Therese has impacted her own spiritual journey over the years.

At the beginning of September, Catholic Schools in South Jersey reopened for five-day a week in person learning, with a virtual option for families who decided to utilize it. To give us an update and insight into how the new school year is moving along, our hosts Marianela Nunez and Mike Walsh welcome Patti Paulson from Holy Angels Regional School in Woodbury, NJ; Joe Cray from Wildwood Catholic A...

Making his triumphant return to the Talking Catholic podcast is Kevin Hickey, executive director of Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Camden. One of our favorite recurring guests, Kevin chats with us this week about the organization’s Justice for All ceremony, this year being held virtually on October 8, 2020. For 17 years, the South Jersey Catholic Charities agency has held the Justice for All...

Our host Mike Walsh flies solo this week and since he’s only comfortable talking to the people who challenge him most, he’s invited his colleague and frienemy (friend/enemy) Donna Ottaviano-Britt onto the show to do a deep dive into their spiritual formation and how it gives them a foundation to help bring the Catholic faith to others. Donna is a maven of the lay pastoral side of the Diocese of Ca...

“Slave to the slaves,” Saint Peter Claver dedicated his life as a Jesuit missionary to bring dignity and love to the thousands of African slaves coming into Colombia’s ports each year, during the 17th century.  As the Catholic Church marks his Feast today, Laurie and Pete unpack this saint’s work and reflect on our call to model a life of sacrifice. Listen to Talking Saints with Laurie Power and P...

While Talking Catholic originated as a podcast, over time we expanded into other media, including a dedicated YouTube channel that started in January of 2020. After a well-deserved summer off, our hosts are getting ready to roll out new shows for the Fall. On the show today, Mike Walsh chats with show hosts: Kari Janisse: Youth Ministry Insights Donna Ottaviano-Britt: Joyful Disciples Star Martine...

Over the next several months, our hosts Kari Janisse and Mike Walsh will be chatting with members from various women religious communities in South Jersey. For the first of these one-off episodes, we welcome from the Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal (aka the CFRs), Sister Ann Kateri, Sister Chiara, and postulant Kate Creel. The trio chat with us about how their community was founded, its charisms...

Election season often brings with it a lot of hostility – among our friends, co-workers, acquaintances, family members, and of course strangers on the internet. Since we’re directly between the Democratic National Convention and the Republican National Convention, we invited Matt Davis from the Diocese of Camden’s Office of Life and Justice to join us this week to chat about the civil discourse in...

Each year the Camden Diocese hosts a week-long overnight retreat for young people organized by the Office of Youth, Young Adults and Campus Ministry. In a normal year, Summer in the City would involve dozens of teenagers taking part in opportunities for service in places like soup kitchens and senior centers as well as prayer throughout the day as they focus on the four pillars of the program: Ser...