The Open Door

Welcome to The Open Door. Coming next, Wednesday (12/14), we discuss theology, history, and politics. Our welcome guest is Alan Fimister, Assistant Professor of Theology at Holy Apostles College and Seminary. He read Modern History at Oxford University and took his PhD at the University of Aberdeen, writing on the influence of Thomistic political theory on early European integration. Dr. Fimister...

This week (November 23rd) on The Open Door we will introduce and explore the work of Hans Urs von Balthasar (1905–1988), widely considered one of the most significant theologians of the century. His major multi-volume theological works are The Glory of the Lord, Theo-Drama and Theo-Logic. Our welcome guest is the psychologist, Richard Clements. He is the author of The Meaning of the World Is Love:...

Today (November 9th) on The Open Door, panelists Jim Hanink and Mario Ramos-Reyes discuss an extraordinary murder mystery! Virgil Gheorghiu’s La Condottiera is the tale of a heinous crime set amid the terrible suffering of the Romanian people under Communism. Gheorghiu’s language is starkly poetic as he charts the circles of a modern hell. With her translation of this powerful work, Inez Fitzgeral...

In this episode of The Open Door, Professor Callum Scott on being a Catholic Philosopher in South Africa (November 2, 2022) This week (November 2nd) on The Open Door we’ll discuss Thomism and…South Africa! Context counts, so we’ll also be talking about Catholicism in South Africa. We’re looking forward to our first virtual visit to this beautiful and fascinating country. Our welcome and special gu...

This week on The Open Door (Oct. 19th) we explore two crises in higher education. The first is affordability for students. The second is federal interference in colleges and universities. But crises call for thoughtful responses. One such response is the development of Great Books colleges. Our special guest is Thomas M. Ward, a professor of philosophy at Baylor University. He is also the author o...

This week (October 5th) on The Open Door we discuss parish management in light of the Catholic intellectual and spiritual tradition. Our welcome guest is Michael Brinda, successful entrepreneur and author of Parish Management and Operations: The Buck Stops Here (En Route Books and Media, 2021). He founded New Horizons Computer Learning Centers in 1982 and franchised New Horizons around the world....

Esta semana en THE OPEN DOOR (21 de septiembre) discutimos sobre la formación sacerdotal. Nuestra bienvenida e invitado especial Monseñor Felipe de Jesús Estévez, Obispo Emérito de la Diócesis de St. Augustine, Florida. Es el coautor con el obispo Andrew H. Cozzens del libro Esposos Espirituales – Padres Espirituales: Formación de Sacerdotes en el Siglo Veintiuno. (En Route Books and Media, 2022)....

This week (Sept. 12th) on The Open Door we discuss politics and…Texas, the Lone Star State. Our welcome and special guest is Jacqueline Abernathy. She’s the gubernatorial candidate of the American Solidarity Party in the November Texas election. Abernathy is a wife, mother, and grant specialist from San Antonio. She earned her Ph. D. in Public Policy and Administration from the University of North...

This week (August 24th, 2022) on The Open Door we discuss marriage and the family. Our welcome guest is Perry J. Cahall of the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio. He is the Academic Dean of the School of Theology and Professor of Historical Theology. Dean Cahall is the author of Living the Mystery of Marriage: Building Your Sacramental Life Together (Hillenbrand Books, 2020), a book w...

Welcome to The Open Door! This week (Aug. 10) we move, virtually, to Australia. We’re heading to Perth, the capital of West Australia. We’ll discuss theology and philosophy in the context of Catholic life there. Our welcome guest is Frank Calneggia. He’s the author of Assertion and Refutation (En Route Books and Media, 2022). In it he challenges another Australian thinker, the theologian Tracey Ro...

Welcome to The Open Door! This week (Wednesday, July 27th) we return to a discussion of the American Solidarity Party, our political home. We’ve been called “the Party that reads the encyclicals.” We surely strive to read the signs of the times. Already the 2022 elections are close at hand. Can 2024 be far behind? Joining us will be Patrick Harris. He’s just finished his term as the Chair of our N...

In this episode of "The Open Door," panelists Jim Hanink and Mario Ramos-Reyes discuss Catholic liberal arts education, contemporary Thomism, and the role of the papacy. Our welcome guest is Dr. Peter Kwasniewski, a prolific author who has written widely about each. He holds degrees from Thomas Aquinas College and The Catholic University of America. In addition, he served as Admissions Director at...

Welcome to The Open Door! This Wednesday (June 29) we discuss Catholicism and politics. In doing so, we’ll also explore the current debate about integralism and post-liberalism. It’s a tall order, but we have a welcome and returning guest, Thomas Storck, to help us. He’s the author of several books, including a new edition of his Foundations of a Catholic Political Order (Arouca Press, 2022). In a...

This week on The Open Door, Catholic panelists Jim Hanink, Mario Ramos-Reyes, and Christopher Zehnder discuss with Dr. Andrew Cummings teaching philosophy at the oldest seminary in the West, Mt. Angel Seminary, Oregon. And, of course, we’ll explore what’s being taught, from the classics to the contemporary. Our special guest is Prof. Andrew Cummings. He received his PhD from the University of Leuv...

Western Philosophy has been a 2500-year conversation attempting to understand the reality which lies beyond the changing physical appearances of the world. This perennial metaphysical discussion provided the West with a framework for its beliefs, politics, morality, and common values. In the 20th century, this conversation was rejected in favor of new Materialist ideologies like Methodological Nat...

This week on The Open Door, panelist Jim Hanink, Mario Ramos-Reyes, and Christopher Zehnder talk about homelessness. It’s a multifaceted human tragedy. But it does not defy solution. Our welcome guest is Ted Hayes, a veteran crusader for homeless people. He just recently hosted a group of California political candidates at an encampment in Venice, California. Ted is plain-spoken and a friend of ph...

This week on The Open Door (May 4th), we discuss retirement and redirection and making one’s heart sing! Our welcome and returning guest is Mrs. Leslie Shaw Klinger, OP. Leslie is a life-professed member of the Blessed Fra Angelico Chapter of Lay Dominicans, has retired from one career as a government civil servant where she held a variety of Administrative positions and is about to retire as the...

Today on The Open Door (April 20) we discuss power! Our welcome and returning guest is Ed Rushman, from Anaheim, California. Ed directs the enterprise IT efforts of leading companies, most recently securing them against ransomware attacks. He is a long time religious educator who prepares young people for the Sacrament of Confirmation. And Confirmation is the sacrament of courage! So it’s no surpr...

Welcome to The Open Door! In this program, we discuss integrating the Catholic Church's teachings on sexuality and the practice of therapy. Our welcome guest is Michael Gasparro. He is a licensed marriage and family therapist and licensed professional clinical counselor in the State of California. He previously worked for four years at the Breakthrough Clinic under the supervision of Dr. Joseph Ni...

In this episode of The Open Door, panelists Jim Hanink, Mario Ramos-Reyes, and Christopher Zehnder explore the philosophical and artistic legacy of St. John Paul II. Our welcome guest is Dr. Michael J. Healy. He recently authored A Primer in the Philosophy of John Paul II—In His Own Words (En Route Books and Media, 2021). Healy has served as Dean of the Faculty at Franciscan University of Steubenv...

In this episode of The Open Door, panelists Jim Hanink and Mario Ramos-Reyes explore a dynamic pro-life group, the Healthcare Advocacy and Leadership Organization (HALO). Our welcome guest is its executive director, Anne O’Meara. In our view, she and her collaborators are indeed heroes. They are front line workers who repeatedly challenge today’s “throw-away” society. We asked her the following qu...

In this episode of the Open Door, panelists Jim Hanink, Mario Ramos-Reyes, and Christopher Zehnder discuss the Supreme Court of the United States and promising challenges to abortion in Texas and Mississippi. Then we will turn to the pressing issues of “designer babies,” criteria for brain death, and hospital consolidation. Our welcome guests are Professor of Law Teresa Collett and Associate Profe...

On this episode of The Open Door, panelists Jim Hanink, Mario Ramos-Reyes, and Christopher Zehnder discuss dignity, its Christian roots, and whether secular liberalism can sustain it. Our special guest and returning guest is Nathaniel Peters. He is Contributing Editor of Public Discourse and Director of the Morningside Institute. Among the questions we will ask him are the following. Please feel f...

In this episode of The Open Door, panelists Jim Hanink, Mario Ramos-Reyes, and Christopher Zehnder talk with Dr. Mary Lemmons, Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN, about the University Faculty for Life, a multidisciplinary association of scholars speaking out for human life, located online at https://www.uffl.org/ Some questions: 1) Professor Lemmons, Ma...

In this episode of The Open Door, panelists Jim Hanink, Mario Ramos-Reyes, and Christopher Zehnder discuss A Manifesto of the New Traditionalism. It’s unique! Written from a Catholic Worker perspective, the Manifesto presents an integrated, dynamic for the redirection of the Catholic Church. Our welcome and returning guest is Larry S. Chapp. With Sean Domencic (another guest of ours) and Marc Barn...