The Open Door

In this episode of The Open Door, panelists Thomas Storck, Andrew Sorokowski, and Christopher Zehnder interview Christopher Villiers on his book Versing the Mystery: Poems (December 11, 2024) This collection of poems verses the mystery of God and Creation. Exploring the stories and characters of Scripture, Classical history and myth, the reader confronts the glory of God and is plunged into the de...

In this episode of The Open Door, panelists Thomas Storck and Andrew Sorokowski interview JonMarc Grodi of the Coming Home Network.  Some of the questions asked include the following:  What is the Coming Home Network and how did it begin? How successful has it been? Do you have statistics on home many non-Catholics you've helped bring into the Church? What are the chief obstacles in your experienc...

In this episode, the panelists of The Open Door talk with Matthew Tsakanikas on Christian Zionism and its Theological Distortions (October 30, 2024) 1. What is Zionism, and what specifically, is religious or Christian Zionism?  2.  Why is it a theological error? How does it misread the Bible, particularly passages such as Romans 11:29? 3.  What are its origins? 4. Does it have much presence outsid...

In this episode of The Open Door, panelists Jim Hanink, Valerie Niemeyer, and Christopher Zehnder discuss the multi-faceted issue of immigration. How can we better understand the new waves of immigrants, whether in the United States or Europe? What does the Church teach about the ethical issues that come into play? How can we assess the politics of immigration? What role should our parishes play a...

This week on The Open Door (August 7th) we will explore the thought of Servant of God Romano Guardini, a widely influential theologian whom both Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis deeply admired. So did Flannery O’Connor! Guardini is often thought of as a unifying figure in the Church. Our welcome guest is Christine Myers Miller. She is a graduate of the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studi...

On this episode of The Open Door (July 24), panelists Jim Hanink, Valerie Niemeyer, and Christopher Zehnder discuss the Catholic traditionalist movement. Our special focus will be “independent” traditionalists. How do they differ from other traditionalists? What leads them to “LeFebvreism”? What can we learn from the ongoing debate about the movement’s role in the Church? Our welcome guest is Andr...

In this episode of The Open Door, panelists Jim Hanink, Valerie Niemeyer, and Christopher Zehnder discuss Catholic social thought and economics. That means taking a long, hard look at capitalism in practice and the dominance of corporations. We’ll explore the nature of usury and what’s at issue in a fair wage. We’ll consider the State as a political community and the family as the cornerstone of s...

In this episode of The Open Door  (June 26),  panelists Jim Hanink, Christopher Zehnder, and Valerie Niemeyer discuss the role of spiritual direction. Just what is it? What is the ministry of the spiritual director? Our special and welcome guest is Msgr. Patrick Gaalaas. He is a priest of the Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma. Msgr. Gaalaas retired from parish work in 2022 at the age of 75. Bu...

This week on The Open Door (June 12) we complete our series on education. Our focus is developing Catholic textbooks that give history its deepest perspective. Our welcome guest is Christopher Zehnder, M.A. He is the General Editor for the Catholic Textbook Project. A graduate of Thomas Aquinas College, he has worked as a graphic artist, journalist, school headmaster, and teacher of history, liter...

In this episode of The Open Door (May 29, 2024), panelists Jim Hanink, Mario Ramos-Reyes, and Valerie Niemeyer talk about the work of State Catholic Conference Directors. Our focus will be on the role that they can play in developing Catholic education. Our welcome guest is Tom Venzor. He has served as the Executive Director of the Nebraska Catholic Conference since 2016. Prior to this, he served...

In this episode of The Open  Door, panelists Jim Hanink, Mario Ramos-Reyes, and Valerie Niemeyer continue our discussion of education. We’ll focus on preparing, and supporting, Catholic school teachers. Our welcome guest is Deacon Omar Gutiérrez, the President and Executive Director of the Evangelium Institute. An expert on Catholic Social Teaching, he has been published in many print and online p...

Here at The Open Door, we are turning our attention to education for the next few episodes. This week (May 1) we will consider the growing trend of homeschooling. Our special guest is Patrice Fagnant-MacArthur. She is a lifelong Catholic who has been homeschooling her three children, two of whom are grown, for 17 years. In a welcome effort to provide both information and inspiration for homeschool...

On this episode of The Open Door (April 17th), panelists Jim Hanink, Mario Ramos-Reyes, and Valerie Niemeyer discuss medical ethics. Our focus will be the debate about the criteria for brain death. Our special guest is John A. Di Camillo, PhD, BeL. He is an Ethicist and the Personal Consultations Director at The National Catholic Bioethics Center (NCBC). He manages its 24/7 free ethics consultatio...

In this episode of The Open Door, panelists Jim Hanink, Mario Ramos-Reyes, and Valerie Niemeyer discuss the politics of the presidency and vice presidency. November, and with it the national election, is not so far off. The Biden vs. Trump rematch is officially scheduled. Here at  The Open Door  we want to think outside the duopoly’s binary box. That means checking in on the candidates of the Amer...

In this episode of The Open Door, panelists Jim Hanink and Valerie Niemeyer interview Karina Fabian, the president of The Catholic Writers Guild. (March 20, 2024) We discuss all things literary. For a start, was Walker Percy, as a naysayer claimed, the last Catholic novelist? We don’t think so. And what’s the range of the “literary”? It includes, of course, non-fiction. It welcomes poets and drama...

On this episode of The Open Door, panelists Jim Hanink, Mario Ramos-Reyes, and Valerie Niemeyer discuss four giants of 20th century Catholic thought: Edith Stein, Jacques Maritain, Dietrich von Hildebrand, and Karol Wojtyla (St. John Paul II). Our welcome guest is Prof. Rick Spinello. He teaches at Boston College and St. John’s Seminary in Boston. The author of numerous scholarly articles on ethic...

In this episode of The Open Door (Monday, March 4th) we’ll discuss the role of tradition in forming Catholic teaching. Some argue that Pope Francis overlooks the normative role of tradition. Others argue that some papal critics, as well as critics of Vatican Council II, misunderstand the dynamic nature of tradition itself. We’ll discuss, too, the development of doctrine and what it means. Our gues...

In this episode of The Open Door (February 7th, 2024), panelists Jim Hanink, Mario Ramos-Reyes and Valerie Niemeyer continue to discuss two unmentionables: Religion and Politics! Our welcome guest is Jeff Culbreath, a married father of six residing in the obscure suburbs of Sacramento. He works in the apparel industry, drives his busy kids around, and tries to be a low-maintenance husband to his h...

This week on The Open Door (January 24th) we virtually visit Norway. What’s going on with Christian Democracy there and in nearby Sweden? What sources do our Scandinavian friends draw on to build a creative alternative to politics as usual? What sources do we in the US share with them? Our welcome and special guest is Eilev Hegstad. He is working on a PhD with the title "The role of ethics committ...

In this episode of The Open Door (January 10), panelists Jim Hanink and Valerie Niemeyer talk about what’s involved in running for the Senate of the United States. What motivates a candidate to do so? What are the technical requirements? How much money does it take to mount a campaign? Need serious Christians apply for the job? Our special and welcome guest is Mark Ruzon. Yes, he is a candidate fo...

In this episode of The Open Door (December 13th), panelists Jim Hanink and Mario Ramos-Reyes discuss the progress of the American Solidarity Party and the current presidential and vice presidential campaign of Peter Sonski and Lauren Onak. Our special and welcome guest is Marcos Lopez, the Chair of the American Solidarity Party. A first generation Cuban-American, he is a husband and a father of tw...

This week on The Open Door (November 29th), panelists Jim Hanink, Mario Ramos-Reyes, and Valerie Niemeyer continue their discussion of the art of translation, Eastern Catholicism, and the relation between Thomism and Ressourcement theology with special and returning guest Professor Matthew Minerd. He is a Ruthenian Catholic, raised Roman Catholic in a mixed American-Slavic and Appalachian cultural...

This week on The Open Door (November 15th), panelists Jim Hanink, Mario Ramos-Reyes, and Valerie Niemeyer discuss the art of translation, Eastern Catholicism, and the relation between Thomism and Ressourcement theology. Our special guest is Professor Matthew Minerd. He is a Ruthenian Catholic, raised Roman Catholic in a mixed American-Slavic and Appalachian cultural context in Southwestern Pennsyl...

This week on The Open Door (November 1st), panelists Jim Hanink, Mario Ramos-Reyes, and Valerie Niemeyer discuss India, religious freedom, and Thomism. Our distinguished and welcome guest is Prof. Timothy Samuel Shah of the University of Dallas. By training and personal passion, he is a scholar of politics and political philosophy, specializing in religion and global politics, religious freedom, a...

This week on The Open Door (October 18), panelists Jim Hanink, Mario Ramos-Reyes, and Valerie Niemeyer dig deeper into arguments for and against the existence of God. These arguments matter greatly, and we think they have a necessary place in Christian evangelization. Is Christianity true? We confess that it is! But if God doesn’t exist, then it is not. Our welcome and returning guest is Patrick F...