In its second interim report issued last month, a Synodal study group continued to talk about a “paradigm shift … in continuity with Vatican II” and labeled homosexuality as an “emerging issue.” Catholic teaching on issues of morality cannot change – so why do some people try to? Richard Spinello joins us.

Further Reading

Why Catholic doctrine on sexual morality cannot change

Guest Info

Richard A. Spinello is Professor of Management Practice at Boston College and a member of the adjunct faculty at St. John’s Seminary in Boston. His most recent book is Four Catholic Philosophers: Rejoicing in the Truth (Jacques Maritain, Edith Stein, Dietrich von Hildebrand, Karol Wojtyła). He has also written numerous books on ethics and the work of St. John Paul II, including The Splendor of Marriage: St. John Paul II’s Vision of Love, Marriage, Family, and the Culture of Life.

The NCAA Men’s basketball tournament tips off this week, and millions of people have joined the quest for the “Perfect Bracket.” The odds of guessing all 65 matchups correctly are astronomical – roughly 1 in 9 quintillion if you flip a coin on every game, and about 1 in 120 billion if you are knowledgeable about college basketball. But the odds that Jesus “accidentally” fulfilled every Messianic prophecy are even longer. Marcus explains.

The rift between faith and science seems to grow larger by the day, as many view the modes of thinking in opposition to one another. People often feel forced to choose between the two, with no apparent way of reconciling them. However, the experience of wonder might just hold the key that brings these two seemingly contradictory sides back together. Brian Cranley returns to continue discussion how the God of Reason created science in His image.

Further Reading

The Science of God, the God of Science

Brian’s website

Book: The Call of Wonder: How the God of Reason Created Science in His Image

Listen to our first interview with Brian

Guest Info

Throughout his life, Brian Cranley has been fascinated by the intersection of God and the “real world.” This led him to earn a BS in biomedical engineering from Texas A&M University and later a masters of divinity from the University of St. Thomas in Houston. Today, he lives in the Texas Hill Country outside San Antonio with his family. When he’s not writing, you can find him running a thriving medical device business and spending time with his girls outdoors. In his free time, he continues his own search for wonder in the worlds of philosophy, theology, and science.

In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus heals a man born blind. He explains to the disciples that the man was not blind due to anyone’s sins, and responds to attacks from the Pharisees for healing on the Sabbath. We unpack the readings with Rob Corzine.

Guest Info

Rob Corzine is the vice president of programs for St Paul Center for Biblical Theology.

As a spiritual father to an entire congregation, a priest has a different perspective on fatherhood. Fr. Josh Fons has more.

Guest Info

Fr. Josh Fons is Parochial Vicar of St Patrick Parish in Brighton. This summer he will assume responsibilities as Parochial vicar of St Thomas Aquinas Parish with the St John Student Center in East Lansing.

“Beware the Ides of March!” It was on March 15 that Julius Caesar was fatally stabbed, memorialized by Shakespeare with his agonized cry “Et tu, Brute?” Marcus discusses the rise the Roman empire played in the rise of Christianity.

The Sokoto Caliphate fell in Northern Nigeria on this day in 1903. Marcus grew up in a nation where Sunni Islam was the predominant religion and explains the need to understand how Islam views the idea of a Caliphate.

In today’s First Reading from Jeremiah Chapter 7, we see God speaking plainly. Using direct, relational language like “listen to my voice” and “walk in all the ways I command you,” He speaks to us on a personal level. This covenantal language binds heaven and earth through fidelity in God. Marcus has more.

Artificial Intelligence has become one of the great controversies of our time. Will it inevitably try to overthrow us, as is depicted in so many films? It is simply another tool in our toolbox? Or is it somewhere in between? Thomas Williams is our guest.

Guest Info

Thomas Williams has served as a commentator on faith, religion and the Vatican for several television news networks, including CBS, NBC and Sky News and has appeared on The Today Show, NBC Nightly News, CBS Evening News, Dateline, and other programs. He also starred in and helped produce MSNBC’s ten-part special series The Ethical Edge covering the final illness and death of Pope John Paul II, the 2005 papal conclave, the election of Pope Benedict XVI, the U.S. Papal visit of Pope Benedict in 2008, Benedict’s trip to the Holy Land in 2009, and the papal trip to the UK in 2010. He was appointed by the Holy See as official spokesperson for two Synods of Bishops (1997 and 2001) and is currently Rome Bureau Chief for Breitbart News.

Visit his website here

Fr. Dave Pivonka joins us for a wide-ranging conversation on his experiences at Franciscan University of Steubenville, looking at the Catholic meaning of grief, education, and more.

Further Reading

Living Metanoia

Guest Info

Father Dave Pivonka, TOR, became president of Franciscan University of Steubenville in 2019. The well-known Catholic speaker and author received his bachelor’s from Franciscan University, then earned an MDiv, MA in theology, doctorate in education, and executive juris doctorate. A member of the Franciscan Friars of the Third Order Regular, Province of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, he was ordained a priest in 1996. He served in leadership positions at Franciscan University including as vice president for Mission and Planning. He also served as director of the TOR’s Post-Novitiate Formation and most recently directed the TOR’s evangelistic outreach Franciscan Pathways.