Talking Catholic

Spoiler alert! Pete, Mike, and two of Mike’s Marvel Cinematic Universe-loving pals - Phil Huesser and Jay Rhinehart - spent 2+ hours talking about Avengers: Endgame. It may not be the spiritual content you’ve come to expect from the podcast, but we do talk about pop culture movies A LOT so it seems only appropriate that we join the MCU sheep and do a deep dive into the minutia of Avengers: Endgame...

Mike and Pete have a perfectly pleasing podcast this week with Kalley Petito, first grade teacher at Saint Margaret’s Elementary School in Woodbury Heights, and author of the new children’s book “Mr. Petito and the Punks,” which teaches kindness through rhyming and alliteration. Mrs. Petito shares the journey of her book, which was first composed 25 years ago on a word processor and is now availab...

It's Talking Catholic's first dedicated movie review episode, featuring the pro-life film “Unplanned,” currently in theaters. Mike, Pete, and Kim Pesotski, Director of Youth Ministry at Hammonton’s Saint Mary of Mount Carmel Parish, share their thoughts on the film - the true story of Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood leader’s spiritual and professional transformation - and her fight for t...

This week, Mike and Pete are back in The Vault to welcome Alicia Foreman, a junior at Stockton University, to chat about her path to full communion in the Catholic faith. The Social Work major shares her amazing story of finding Christ through The ROCK ministry at Williamstown High School, and embracing the Church’s teachings. Since her confirmation, she has dedicated herself to being a true missi...

The fifth and final installment of audio from the plenary sessions of the Convocation of Catholic Leaders: The Joy of the Gospel in South Jersey. This one, from the final plenary session of the Convocation, features a presentation from Chris Lowney, author of the book, Everyone Leads. This book was the roadmap of preparation for the Convocation for every attendee. In his presentation he delved eve...

Hey! It’s a full-fledged Talking Catholic podcast for the first time this week!!!! (We hope you’ve been enjoying the Convocation audio, but if not, the last one comes out today.) We’re back in AC… again. But this time, Mike, Pete and today’s surprise co-host, Donna Ottaviano-Britt are in town to speak with Franciscan Sister of the Renewal local servant Sister Agnes and four of her community’s inau...

The fourth installment of audio from the plenary sessions of the Convocation of Catholic Leaders: The Joy of the Gospel in South Jersey. This one, from the afternoon session of Day 3, features a talk from Dr. Carolyn Woo, Distinguished President’s Fellow for Global Development at Purdue University and former President & CEO of Catholic Relief Services. In her talk, "Rise and Shine," Dr. Woo focuse...

The third installment of audio from the plenary sessions of the Convocation of Catholic Leaders: The Joy of the Gospel in South Jersey. This one, from the afternoon session of Day 2, features a talk from Cardinal Joseph Tobin, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Newark. Cardinal Tobin offers his personal reflection on why Pope Francis gave us the challenge of becoming Missionary Disciples. (https://w...

The second installment of audio from the plenary sessions of the Convocation of Catholic Leaders: The Joy of the Gospel in South Jersey. http://convocation.camdendiocese.org This one, from the morning session of Day 2 - featuring a presentation by Hosfmann Ospino, PhD, an Associate Professor of Theology and Religious Education at Boston College, School of Theology and Ministry. Dr. Ospino's talk h...

Each day this week, we will be releasing the audio from each of the five plenaries featured at the recent Convocation of Catholic Leaders: The Joy of the Gospel in South Jersey. On Day 1, emcees Donna Ottaviano-Britt and Deacon Anthony Cioe laid out the upcoming four-day conference, explaining why Bishop Dennis Sullivan made the decision to model this convocation after the national convocation of...

As the annual FaithFull food drive kicks off across the diocese this weekend, our hosts travel to Atlantic City to speak with a true gentleman, Joe Viecelli of Catholic Charities. Our guest shares his experiences of 15 years in onsite service management in Atlantic City, serving poor and needy individuals and families from all over Atlantic County, and fostering relationships with them over the ye...

Almost a week removed from the historic Convocation of Catholic Leaders: The Joy of the Gospel in South Jersey, Mike and Pete once again sit down this week with Donna Ottaviano-Britt, Director of Missionary Discipleship and the driving force behind four fantastic days in Atlantic City (which took 18 months of preparation). The three recap the presentations, workshops, meditations, music, and yes,...

Mike and Pete are on the road this week, spending the next few days with 800 of their friends at the Convocation of Catholic Leaders: the Joy of the Gospel in South Jersey. On location at Harrah’s Conference Center in Atlantic City, our hosts speak with Betsy Fenwick, part of the parish delegation from Atlantic City’s Parish of Saint Monica; and returning guest Jessica Gettings, from Saint Kathari...

This week, Mike and Pete chat with the new Director of the Diocese of Camden Life & Justice Ministries office, Matthew Davis. Returning to work in his native South Jersey, he shares stories of his time teaching in the Dominican Republic, his previous work overseeing the pastoral care of ethnic communities and immigrant Catholics that included supporting their full participation into the greater Ch...

As spring creeps ever closer, Mike and Pete have a sunny chat with Mariann Gilbride, the new Director of Development for the Diocese of Camden. After fighting through conflicting reviews by Mike and Pete about the new Captain Marvel movie, Mariann gets the two MCU lemmings back on course with a great conversation about her journey back to the diocesan offices after time spent in the Diocese of Tre...

If the saying is true that “a good laugh is a good thing,” then the Senior Ministry of Merchantville’s Saint Peter Parish has a great thing going. In one of funniest programs in Talking Catholic’s 110-episode history, Mike and Pete sit down at the Senior Center with Director Bobbie Bradley and its delightful residents. In front of a live, captive, and boisterous audience, Mike, Pete, Bobbie, and g...

Fr. Rob, Mike and Pete may have set a new record for most digressions in a podcast, however, if you can navigate all the twists and turns of this Mardi Grad-influenced conversation, your soul may reap the rewards. On Fat Tuesday, Mike and Pete traveled down to Saint Padre Pio in Vineland and its Pastor, the venerable Talking Catholic chaplain, Father Robert Sinatra. Amid donuts and chocolate, the...

Sweets. Chocolate. That second cup of coffee in the morning. As Lent begins next week, there are many ways Catholics around the world sacrifice during this season of conversion, to better grow in purity and enlightenment. Gary Zimak, noted author, has another idea: Give up Worry for Lent. The South Jersey resident shares with Mike and Pete the way to let go of anxiety, and find everlasting peace a...

Joseph Campo, Executive Producer of the fantastic documentary film “Outcasts,” joins Pete and special co-host Kari Janisse, Coordinator of Youth and Young Adult Ministries at Our Lady Of Peace Parish in Williamstown, where this conversation took place, to talk about his new film, which chronicles the work of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal. Years in the making, his work takes viewers to those...

This week we sit in on a presentation on the recent “Share the Journey” pilgrimage, offered through Catholic Charities, Diocese of Camden, with student pilgrims from Rowan University's Catholic Campus Ministry. Earlier this year, 14 missionary disciples- including college students from Rowan, Stockton University, and Rutgers-Camden traveled to a humanitarian respite center in McAllen, Texas, meeti...

Viva Cristo Rey! Long live Christ the King! The rallying cry for the Cristeros who sacrificed their lives in defense of religious freedom, this phrase was uttered by the youngest of the revolutionaries, 15 year-old Jose Sanchez del Rio, just before his brutal death in 1928 at the hands of the oppressive Mexican government. On the now-saint’s feast day, Laurie and Pete unpack the courageous life of...

Love and Marriage, love and marriage go together….in a podcast? This week, Mike and Pete visit the lovely home of Kathy and Michael O’Callaghan for a matrimony-themed episode of Talking Catholic. In conjunction with the upcoming National Marriage Week, from Feb. 7-14 (http://www.foryourmarriage.org/celebrate-national-marriage-week/), our two hosts speak with the couple on their 22+ years of marria...

This week Mike and Pete are joined by four fantastic Catholic young adults from NET Ministries - Christian Peres, Cecilia Peyton, Joe Bartley, and Casey Buenzli. The group talks about about the retreats they have been offering throughout the northeast United States, most recently in the Diocese of Camden. NET Ministries challenges young Catholics to love Christ and embrace the life of the Church....

It's another edition of Talking Saints! “The things that we love tell us what we are.” These were just ten of the thousands of words attributed to Saint Thomas Aquinas, influential Doctor of the Church, Dominican friar, theologian, and philosopher. On his feast day on this Monday, Laurie Power and Pete Sanchez kick off a new year of “Talking Saints” with a look at the life and work of this incredi...

This episode of Talking Catholic is a real treat. We sat down with Donna Ottaviano Britt, the lively Director of Missionary Discipleship for the Diocese of Camden and the head of the steering committee for the upcoming Convocation of Catholic Leaders: The Joy of the Gospel in South Jersey. Donna explains how this event came to be, what Bishop Dennis Sullivan and the steering committee are hoping c...