Questions Covered

03:45 – Do Paul and James contradict each other on Justification? 

10:12 – I got a Reiki massage in the past, which I heard from a previous caller is wrong. I didn’t know this was wrong, but did I open myself up to anything bad? 

14:05 – According to the First Vatican Council, no one can reject Papal infallibility without endangering his faith. I’m Easter Orthodox, so am I damned? 

18:00 – How do I discern the voice of God from my inner voice? 

21:38 – What was the purpose of animal sacrifice in Mosaic Law? 

29:00 – Why did God tolerate divorce in the Old Testament? 

36:20 – Is it appropriate to thank intercessory saints and angels? 

41:30 – I feel like I just had a rushed confession, so should I go back? 

49:35 – How do I become confident in my faith without seeming obstinate? 

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Questions Covered:

14:00- Can a comatose person receive Last Rites, and does this Sacrament ensure salvation? 

18:00- Christopher Columbus stop the child sacrifice practices among Indigenous peoples? 

22:35 – What is the Catholic Church’s stance on “neuro-bio feedback”, “mindfulness training”, and mediation? 

31:05 – What is the Church’s view on the fact that different apostolic churches have different canons of scripture? 

37:47 – I just found out I was baptized Catholic, but I do not want to be Catholic. What should I do? 

49:25 – I was trying to get to confession before mass, but the line was too long. Is it okay to make a perfect contrition so that I am prepared for Communion? 

…

Questions Covered:

07:25 – How do we respond to the Protestant objection to the True Presence in the Eucharist when they use John 6:3 as evidence against it? 

13:51 – I feel there is a lack of financial transparency in the Church. Is this true and if so, can it be rectified? 

18:52 – How can I prove that Paul is the author of Ephesians? 

29:26 – Is there any significance to the rebuilding of the Jewish temple in Catholic eschatology? 

34:39 – What is your take on remote viewing, where people teleport their minds in order to see another place? 

41:30 – Can a Catholic and non-Catholic be married sacramentally? 

44:57 – What is up with this claim that there is a second pope? 

49:20 – Is it okay for people to be charismatic Catholics? It seems really similar to Pentecostal Christianity. 

…

How can we engage in apologetics through stories?

Questions Covered:

20:15 – How would you respond to someone who says that religion is just a series of stories, nothing more? 

23:35 – What do you think about the series that is currently out, The Chosen? Do you think that the imaginative license taken with it is useful and good? 

31:29 – Could you elaborate on the idea that maybe imagination and mysticism go hand in hand? How can we discern when we are imagining things versus having a mystical experience? 

50:08 – Are there any current authors who have captured imagination well that you would recommend? 

52:59 – How do you see Sam’s character in the Lord of the Rings? Is he an archetype for Christ? 

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Catholic writer Shaun McAfee joins us to defend the Catholic use of sacramentals—holy water, crucifixes, blessings, etc. This practice looks a lot like magic to both our Protestant and secular friends. Do they have a point? Shaun draws from his new book—20 Answers: Relics and Sacramentals—to explain just what Catholics are up to.

Cy Kellett:

Are Catholic sacramentals superstitious and magical? Shaun McAfee next.

Hello and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic faith. I’m Cy Kellett, your host. One of the things that we find …

Questions Covered:

02:00 – I’m Catholic and I’m concerned about the religious indifferentism that is taking over and even seeping into the Catholic Church itself. 

08:21 – you have any advice on scrupulosity?  

17:00 – 18 yr old son came and said “I should not be Catholic because I do not believe everything the Catholic Church teaches” how do I respond to this? 

24:53 – In regard to the pandemic and lockdown what is your take on those of us who feel that the Churches should not have closed in the first place? I am having trouble trusting our shepherds now because of everything that went on during those times. 

34:53 – Here there is a 3 year wait for marriage annulment and the fact that one cannot receive Communion until they are fully annulled can be life-changing to some. Are steps being taken to change the waiting period? 

41:35 – Why is the stigmata on the shroud of Turin on Christ’s wrists while certain saints (for example Padre Pio) had the stigmata on their palms? 

45:36 – I have heard rumors that Pope Francis is going to release a document that hinders the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass. Are there previous documents that “protect” the ability to perform the Traditional Latin Mass?  

…

Questions Covered: 

04:15 – I was raised Catholic but I was married in an Episcopalian church. I am wondering about the validity of my marriage. 

06:16 – In the catechism there are smaller “non heaven or hell issues” that I disagree with. How much of the catechism (or doctrines of the Faith) do I have to agree with in order to be a Catholic? 

17:00 – I was Reading about current Eucharistic issues and I read that abortion is an immediate cause for excommunication. Why are other forms/sins of murder not excommunicable? 

21:18 – I’d like to know how the apostles knew about events of Christ’s life where it seemed like only Jesus would have been present (as in when Jesus was before Pontius Pilate or when he was fasting in the wilderness). How can we trust the validity of the gospels? 

29:59 – The Bishops said that the president should not receive communion and I think that is crazy. The president is catholic shouldn’t he be able to receive communion. 

51:12 – I have a question about the passage John 8:1-11 I listened to a secular podcast where they said that this passage was added later to the bible. 

Resources Mentioned:

https://timstaples.com/2019/was-the-woman-caught-in-adultery-original-to-johns-gospel/

…

Questions Covered:

02:36 – I’m a 7th Day Adventist, I read KJV, but Catholics go to Church on Sundays, not Saturdays. I believe the Sabbath is Saturday. 

12:00 – I’m not Catholic because I’m Oriental Orthodox, I reject the Papacy and the Council of Chalcedon. 

29:00 – I am a Protestant considering the faith, but the language of the Catholic Church makes me feel like an outsider. 

39:37 – I’m not Catholic because I’m Hebrew, and I don’t want to reject or change what I am. 

47:07 – I’m a Southern Baptist looking at Annulment, and I’ve been married several times. What would I need to do in my current situation? 

…

Questions Covered:

10:50 – I find the Church to be unfriendly. 

19:58 – “The Bible is a Catholic Book” gives me the impression that the Church put the Bible together, but many books of the Bible predate the Church. Why is the Bible a Catholic book, then? 

29:12 – I am already a Christian, so what’s the point of being Catholic? 

34:15 – I am not Catholic because I don’t want to go through the Annulment process. 

47:03 – I’m Episcopalian/Anglo-Catholic, and I believe everything that Catholics do. 

…

It turns out that Catholic Answers Apologist Joe Heschmeyer is also a lawyer, so we asked him about the recent Supreme Court decision that allowed a Catholic social service agency to continue refusing to place foster children in the custody of gay couples. Is this discrimination? And what does this ruling suggest about the future of religious freedom?

Cy Kellett:

Is the Supreme Court letting Catholics get away with discrimination? Joe Heschmeyer, next. Hello and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast, for living understanding and defending your Catholic faith. I’m Cy Kellett, yo…