Archbishop Bernard Hebda is pleading for prayers and calm following the shooting of a US citizen by an ICE agent. Matthew Bunson has more on this and other Church news.

Guest Info

For the past 20 years, Dr. Matthew E. Bunson has been active in the area of Catholic social communications and education, including writing, editing, and teaching on a variety of topics related to Church history, the papacy, the saints and Catholic culture. He is faculty chair at Catholic Distance University, a senior fellow of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, and the author or co-author of over 50 books including: “The Encyclopedia of Catholic History,” “The Pope Encyclopedia,” “We Have a Pope! Benedict XVI,” “The Saints Encyclopedia”and best-selling biographies of St. Damien of Molokai and St. Kateri Tekakwitha.

In 2020, Pope Francis commissioned a group of scholars to study the question of the female diaconate. The commission finished its report late last year, and submitted a letter to Pope Leo stating that there was no support for ordaining women as deacons. We talk more about the issue with Monica Miller.

Further Reading

Women Deacons? Here’s Why Not

Study Commission Says No to a Female Diaconate

Book: The Authority of Women in the Catholic Church

Guest Info

Dr Monica Miller is the Director of Citizens for a Pro-Life Society and the author of many books including “The Authority of Women in the Catholic Church,” “Abandoned: The Untold Story of the Abortion Wars” and “Theology of the Passion of the Christ” Check out prolifesociety.com.

The victory of socialist candidates in recent elections has highlighted the renewed appeal of the Marxist system. Some now see socialism as the wave of the future. Conservatives reply by saying that this system must be rejected because “socialism does not work.” John Horvat shares what a trip to Poland taught him about socialism.

Further Reading

How a Trip to Poland Convinced Me That Socialism Works

Guest Info

John Horvat II is Senior Contributor at The Imaginative Conservative and a scholar, researcher, educator, international speaker, and author of the book Return to Order, as well as the author of hundreds of published essays. He lives in Spring Grove, Pennsylvania, where he is the vice president of the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property.

Why do our politicians usually swear in on the Bible? And how do so many of them miss the point? The answer lies in the meaning of covenant. Marcus has more.

Ever since he was diagnosed with cancer in May 2024, Adam Wright has embraced his cross and walked the Via Dolorosa with his family. A few days ago, Adam had the joy of “ringing the bell” as he was declared Cancer-Free. He joins us.

Adam’s website

Guest Info

At his core, Adam Wright is a Roman Catholic striving to live the universal call to holiness through his vocation as a husband and father of five. Everything else is secondary.

Catholic writer and journalist Russell Shaw has died at the age of 90. Over his long career, Shaw served in several capacities with the US Bishops, wrote dozens of books, and was a frequent guest on Catholic Radio. Mike Aquilina joins us to honor him.

Further Reading

‘A great man who loved Jesus’: Catholic writer Russell Shaw dies at 90

Guest Info

Mike Aquilina is author or editor of more than fifty books on Catholic history, doctrine, and devotion.

Reports have surfaced of people, including teens, using the “Grok” AI chatbot to create pornographic images of classmates, neighbors, and others. This presents a challenge parents of previous generations never could have imagined. Marcus discusses what we can do.

Bill Watterson’s Calvin of comic strip fame once declared that he refused to make New Year’s resolutions, because improving oneself implied that certain values were better than others, but because values are relative they are all equl – virtue is no better than vice. Marcus looks at how this strip serves as a commentary on our culture.

Baptism imprints a spiritual mark upon the soul, and that mark remains even when the baptized person drifts from God. God addresses post-baptismal sin through repentance, reconciliation, transformation, and sacramental reconciliation. Marcus has more on conversion and baptism.

President Donald Trump is asking congressional Republicans to be more flexible on taxpayer funding for abortions as lawmakers continue to negotiate an extension to health care subsidies related to the Affordable Care Act. Peter Laffin joins us with more.

Further Reading

Trump urges Republican ‘flexibility’ on taxpayer-funded abortions

Pro-life sold out for a seat at Trump’s table. Now it’s out in the cold

Follow Peter on Twitter

Guest Info

Peter Laffin is a senior editor at the Washington Examiner, overseeing In Focus and Restoring America. He was formerly a staff writer for the National Catholic Register. His commentaries, news features, and book reviews have appeared in Catholic Herald UK, the Catholic Thing, RealClearPolitics, and RealClearReligion, and he has offered analysis on Fox News, EWTN, and Sirius XM’s POTUS.