Conversations with Consequences

The Catholic Association's “legal eagle” Andrea Picciotti-Bayer recently joined Dr. Tim Uhl, Superintendent of Montana Catholic Schools, to discuss the Espinoza Supreme Court case, which has the potential to overturn all state Blaine amendments. This case could affect funding for Catholic schools nationwide. Dr. Uhl Kindly gave us permission to post Andrea’s full conversation about this important case. Listen to Dr. Uhl’s full podcast here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-164-catholic-school-matters-radio-hour-oct-30-2019/id1158967390?i=1000455468593 Other notes: https://tduhl.wordpress.com/2019/10/30/espinoza-case-on-the-catholic-school-matters-radio-hour/ https://catholicherald.co.uk/magazine/a-chance-to-end-discrimination-against-catholic-schools/

Father Benedict Kiely, a champion of Christians in the Middle East, has been trying to get a visa to visit Syria for several years. The situation for Christians and minorities in the Holy Land is “even more complicated than you realize,” he tells our hosts Dr. Grazie Christie and Andrea Picciotti-Bayer. Father Kiely reminds us that Christianity in the West came from the Holy Land in the East, and gives us his insight into the lives of Christians in war-torn Syria and the rest of the region. Helpful links: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/102719.cfm https://www.nasarean.org/ https://www.thecatholicassociation.org/podcasts

Your hosts Grazie and Andrea discuss religious freedom with Dr. Tom Farr and Ismail Royer of the Religious Freedom Institute. They discuss religious freedom in the United States from the perspective of the Catholic Church, particularly Vatican II and Dignitatis Humanae, and how Catholics are working to defend religious freedom in the world today. Helpful links: www.religiousfreedominstitute.org/ http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decl_19651207_dignitatis-humanae_en.html

Your hosts Dr. Grazie Christie and Andrea Picciotti-Bayer are joined by Father Juan Vélez, a priest of the prelature of Opus Dei and author of “Passion for Truth, the Life of John Henry Newman.” Father Vélez is an expert on the soon-to-be saint John Henry Cardinal Newman, the famous British convert from Anglicanism whose canonization is coming up Oct. 13. Vélez, Grazie and Andrea discuss, among many other things, Newman’s writings on conscience and Newman as an example of a virtuous life. Links: https://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/101319.cfm https://www.amazon.com/Passion-Truth-Life-Henry-Newman/dp/0895558718

Your hosts Dr. Grazie Christie and Andrea Picciotti-Bayer sit down with Mallory Millett, a former actress and widely published author whose sister, Kate, was instrumental in the feminist movement of the 1960s. Also joining is Dr. Carrie Gress, whose new book "The Anti-Mary Exposed" is a fascinating look at what feminism has wrought on our society— not least of which, our guests say, is a loss of true beauty. Links: https://www.tanbooks.com/index.php/the-anti-mary-exposed-2515.html https://archives.frontpagemag.com/fpm/marxist-feminisms-ruined-lives-mallory-millett/

Good friend of the podcast Kathryn Jean Lopez stops by the studio to discuss her new book, “A Year With the Mystics: Visionary Wisdom for Daily Living,” as well as Kathryn’s long and successful career at National Review. Kathryn is a senior fellow at the National Review Institute and editor-at-large of National Review. In addition to discussing the book, Kathryn, Grazie Christie and Andrea Picciotti-Bayer talk about the influence of the founder of National Review, Bill Buckley, as well as a life-changing trip that Kathryn took to Rome. Links: https://www.amazon.com/Year-Mystics-Visionary-Wisdom-Living/dp/1505109043 https://nrinstitute.org/ http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/092919.cfm

The Catholic Association’s Dr. Grazie Christie and Maureen Ferguson discuss the recent, horrifying revelation that a late abortion doctor, who operated in Indiana, was found to have over 2,000 medically preserved fetal remains hidden at his home in Illinois. Grazie and Maureen discuss the saddening details as well as the tepid response from presidential candidate and South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg. "Our abortion culture has so dehumanized the “unwanted” pre-born child that we can't be surprised when their remains are treated disrespectfully. The societal disregard for the dignity of unborn lives has wrought a predictable end." Read Maureen’s piece on the situation: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/ulrich-klopfers-treatment-of-aborted-babies-is-horrifying-but-not-shocking

In the Catholic Church, everything was calm and placid until the Second Vatican Council…right? There’s the history of the Catholic Church and modernity that you think you know— modernity acts, Catholicism simply reacts— but there’s an “irony” in that history that you probably don’t know; one that turns the history of the Church on its head. How has the world’s largest religious body dealt with the enormous changes of last few hundred years, brought about in large part by "modernity?" George Weigel, Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, prolific author and prominent Catholic intellectual, has written a new book called “The Irony of Modern Catholic History: How the Church Rediscovered Itself and Challenged the Modern World to Reform.” Your hosts Grazie and Andrea engage Mr. Weigel in a fascinating and far-reaching discussion that touches the history of the Church and offers a hopeful vision of the future. Helpful links: https://www.amazon.com/Irony-Modern-Catholic-History-Rediscovered/dp/0465094333 https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2019/09/ironies-in-the-fire https://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/092219.cfm

The sexual revolution has created a crisis of identity - leading people to cling to identity politics in their primal quest to answer the question "who am I?” This week’s amazing guest is Mary Eberstadt, senior research fellow at the Faith and Reason Institute in Washington, D.C. She is a writer and essayist whose work has appeared in Quillette, TIME, The Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, National Review, First Things, The Weekly Standard, and more. She writes extensively about religious freedom, sexuality, and the family, and is the author of the brand-new book “Primal Screams: How the Sexual Revolution Created Identity Politics.” Links: https://www.amazon.com/Primal-Screams-Revolution-Identity-Politics/dp/1599474115 http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/091519.cfm

This is the second episode of our special series, “Church on the Ground: Going Forward in Joy.” This week, the TCA’s Grazie Christie, Andrea Piccioti-Bayer, and Maureen Ferguson are joined by Father Bill Byrne, pastor of Our Lady of Mercy Parish in Potomac, Maryland. The hilarious Father Byrne talks about his own upbringing and Catholic formation, as well as his thoughts on the scandals and the abuse crisis in light of Bishop Barron’s new book, “Letter to a Suffering Church.” And as always, Father Roger Landry offers us a beautiful reflection on this upcoming Sunday's Gospel.