Crown and Crozier

“If you reject me on account of my religion, I shall thank God that He has spared me the indignity of being your representative.”

Like most of the words that escaped from his mouth or his pen, Hilaire Belloc’s famous speech to British voters was fiery, forceful and fueled by his faith.

It’s a great tragedy of history that Belloc has been pushed into the shadow of his friend and collaborator, G.K. Chesterton. Whether in prose or Parliament, Belloc was a force of nature. His life was one extended adventure, from escaping death as an infant to achieving fame as Oxford’s top debater to challenging the anti-Catholic prejudices of the British establishment.

And although he lived from 1870-1953, the alarm bells which he rang against elitist assaults on the Christian foundations of Western civilization are as prophetic and resonant today as they were in his time.

Our guest for this episode is Belloc biographer and internationally acclaimed writer, scholar and speaker, Joseph Pearce. Pearce is the author of over a dozen books. Alongside Old Thunder, his biography of Hilaire Belloc, his works include best-selling volumes on G. K. Chesterton, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Shakespeare.

Pearce currently serves as St. John Henry Newman Chair in Catholic Studies at Thomas More College, Director of Book Publishing at the Augustine Institute, editor of the Ignatius Critical Editions and the St. Austin Review, and senior contributor at The Imaginative Conservative.

Websites / resources referenced

Joseph Pearce official website

Joseph Pearce, Old Thunder: A Life of Hilaire Belloc

Hilaire Belloc (Encyclopedia Britannica)

Hilaire Belloc, The Path to Rome (1902)

Hilaire Belloc, The Servile State (1912)

Joseph Pearce, “What is Distributism?” The Imaginative Conservative (June 12, 2014)

Pope Leo XIII, Rerum Novarum (1891)

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Please note that this podcast has been edited for length and clarity.

Since his death in December 2022, there have been countless tributes paid to Pope Benedict XVI, extolling his legacy as one of the greatest minds and shepherds of the contemporary Church.

In this episode, we aim to offer our own tribute, by focusing on the late Holy Father’s contributions to Catholicism’s understanding of the relationship between the Church and the State.

In particular, we turn attention to speeches which Benedict delivered within the walls of some of the most iconic halls of power in Europe - namely, Westminster Hall in London, England in 2010 and the German Parliament in 2011.

These speeches addressed essential questions around how we organize our life in common; what constitutes the foundation of Western civilization; what the role of truth and justice is in public life; how natural law can anchor public discourse; and what a true ecology of man looks like.

Our guest is Fr. Raymond de Souza, one of North America’s leading Catholic commentators, whose columns appear regularly in the National Post and National Catholic Register.  Fr. de Souza serves as a parish priest in the Archdiocese of Kingston, Ontario.


References

Fr. Raymond de Souza official website

Fr. Raymond de Souza, “Sea to Sea”, Convivium  [reflections on Pope Benedict’s September Speeches]

Fr. Raymond de Souza, “Benedict XVI’s lifelong friendship with God”, National Post (January 5, 2023)

George Weigel, “Parting Reflections” (January 6, 2023) [fourth installment of “Letters from Rome” series on the death of Pope Benedict XVI]

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www.crownandcrozier.com
twitter.com/crownandcrozier

Please note that this podcast has been edited for length and clarity.

Against the backdrop of numerous economic and social crises, there’s a lot of chatter in Canadian public policy circles about the need to “meet the moment.”

In this episode, we examine the broad canvass of challenges facing the Great White North; whether the conservative movement in Canada is well-equipped to tackle them; and the need for a renewed discovery and embrace of the transcendent, immutable truths and traditions which serve as the foundation of the country’s political and social architecture.

Our guest is Stockwell Day, one of the leading emeritus statesmen of Canadian conservatism.

From 1986-2000, he served in the Alberta legislature, holding multiple portfolios in the provincial Cabinet.  From 2000-2001, he was leader of the Canadian Alliance and Her Majesty’s Official Opposition in the House of Commons.  Following the merger of Canada’s two major conservative parties in 2003, he remained as a Member of Parliament, and held several Cabinet roles in the government of former Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Day’s long tenure in politics came to a close in 2011, when he declined to run in that year’s federal election.  Since then, he’s served in numerous Board and fellowship positions, and has run his own strategic consulting firm, Stockwell Day Connex.

References

Stockwell Day (official website)

@Stockwell_Day (Twitter)

[email protected]
www.crownandcrozier.com
twitter.com/crownandcrozier

Please note that this podcast has been edited for length and clarity.

2023 started on a sombre, bittersweet note, with the death of two heavyweights in the Church hierarchy: Pope Benedict XVI and Cardinal George Pell.

In this episode, we seek to pay tribute to this pair of monumental figures who exerted enormous influence on the life of the Church, and who served the members of the Mystical Body of Christ for a combined total of 125 years in the priesthood.

We also discuss a topic that occupied a pre-eminent place in the ministries of both men - namely, what Vatican II was really all about and what authentic interpretation and implementation of the Council really looks like.

Our guest is George Weigel, Distinguished Senior Fellow and William E. Simon Chair in Catholic Studies at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, DC. One of the most prominent and distinguished voices in the Church today, Weigel is the author or editor of more than 30 books, including the authoritative biography of St. John Paul II, Witness to Hope, as well as his recent history and commentary To Sanctify the World: The Vital Legacy of Vatican II.


References

George Weigel, “Parting Reflections” (January 6, 2023) [fourth installment of “Letters from Rome” series on the death of Pope Benedict XVI]

George Weigel, “On the Death and Requiem of Cardinal George Pell” (January 16, 2023)

Cardinal George Pell, “The Catholic Church must free itself from this ‘toxic nightmare’”, The Spectator (January 11, 2023)

George Weigel, To Sanctify the World: The Vital Legacy of Vatican II  (2022)

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www.crownandcrozier.com
twitter.com/crownandcrozier

Please note that this podcast has been edited for length and clarity.

I know for certain, dear listener, that there’s at least one thing you and I have in common - each of us is going to die.

In this episode, we turn attention to that uncomfortable, sometimes distressing topic of death.

Our guest is Dr. Randall Smith, author of From Here to Eternity: Reflections on Death, Immortality and the Resurrection of the Body.

Dr. Smith reminds us that a proper understanding of death and the next world makes for a life that is more full of truth, goodness and beauty in this world. 

We also talk about what it means for the Church and the State to “do death well” - which includes rejecting the allures peddled by the transhumanist school of thought.

Dr. Smith is a Professor of Theology at the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas, the author of numerous books, and a regular contributor to The Catholic Thing, an online Catholic news and commentary forum.

References

Dr. Randall Smith (University of St. Thomas webpage)

Dr. Randall Smith’s columns at The Catholic Thing

Dr. Randall Smith, From Here to Eternity: Reflections on Death, Immortality and the Resurrection of the Body(2022)

[email protected]
www.crownandcrozier.com
twitter.com/crownandcrozier

Please note that this podcast has been edited for length and clarity.

Goodbye 2022, hello 2023!

In this episode, we do a double take - not only glancing back at the biggest stories from 2022 in the world of Church, State and faithful citizenship, but also casting our gaze forward to what 2023 may have in store.

We touch on the lifting of COVID restrictions; Pope Francis’ visit to Canada and the legacy of Indian residential schools; the recent passing of Pope Benedict XVI; the wave of attacks against Catholic churches across North America; Eucharistic revival in America; the Synodal Way in Germany; and more!

Our guest is popular Catholic commentator, speaker and writer, Brian Holdsworth.  Through his YouTube channel, Brian provides regular reflections on major challenges in the life of the Church, as well as the beauty of Church tradition and history.  For more info on Brian and his online community of “Reinforcements”, be sure to check out his website: https://brianholdsworth.ca/

References

Brian Holdsworth’s official website

@briankeepsworth (Twitter)

@BrianHoldsworth (YouTube) 

[email protected]
www.crownandcrozier.com
twitter.com/crownandcrozier

Please note that this podcast has been edited for length and clarity.

In Fall 2021, it was revealed that Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali, among the most senior and high profile leaders within the Anglican Church, had converted to Catholicism.

In this episode, we sit down with (now) Monsignor Nazir-Ali as he reflects on his first year of membership in the Catholic Church. 

We explore moments from his life which served as major waypoints in his journey of faith, including his embrace of Christianity during his youth in Pakistan, his hasty departure from his homeland after crossing swords with militant Islamist authorities, and his ultimate conclusion that both the deposit of faith and its authentic ministry dwell most fully within Catholicism.

We also discuss pivotal issues in the contemporary life of the Church, including the need for sacred tradition and magisterial authority to guide the transmission of the faith, especially in any exercise such as the Synod on Synodality.  To top it all off, we touch on St. John Henry Newman, the death of Queen Elizabeth II, and the legacy of the early Church as a persecuted minority which ended up changing the course of human history.

Monsignor Nazir-Ali is a priest within the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, and serves as the Director of the Oxford Centre for Training, Research, Advocacy and Dialogue.

References

Dr. Michael Nazir-Ali official website

@michaelnazirali

Dr. Michael Nazir-Ali, “There can be no moral renewal of public life without respect for God and Man”, The Catholic Herald (July 29, 2022)

“Ex Anglican Bishop Michael Nazir Ali converts to Catholicism”, The Spectator (October 14, 2021)

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www.crownandcrozier.com
twitter.com/crownandcrozier

Please note that this podcast has been edited for length and clarity.

U.S. President Thomas Jefferson famously wrote that the First Amendment to the Constitution was intended to erect “a wall of separation between church and state.”

It’s commonly asserted that the intellectual architecture underpinning Church-State separation and the First Amendment’s codification of religious freedom rested on a foundation of Protestant liberalism, coloured by the rationalist philosophy of the Enlightenment period.

But what if there’s more to the story?  If we hold the magnifying glass a little closer, is it possible to examine the arc of religious freedom in colonial America and discover Catholic fingerprints?

In this episode, we aim to give a fair hearing to this idea.

Our guest is Dr. Michael Breidenbach, Associate Professor and Chair of History at Ave Maria University, and Senior Affiliate for Legal Humanities at the Program for Research on Religion and Urban Civil Society at the University of Pennsylvania.  Author of Our Dear-Bought Liberty: Catholics and Religious Toleration in Early America, Dr. Breidenbach is an historian of politics, religion, law and culture in early America and the Atlantic World.


Websites / resources referenced

Dr. Michael Breidenbach biography

Michael Breidenbach, Our Dear-Bought Liberty: Catholics and Religious Toleration in Early America (2021)

“Conciliarism” (definition courtesy of Catholic Culture)

George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore

Inter Caetera (Pope Alexander VI, 1493)

Constitution of the United States, First Amendment

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www.crownandcrozier.com
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Please note that this podcast has been edited for length and clarity.

Pope St. John Paul II once said: “As the family goes, so goes the nation, and so goes the whole world in which we live.”

What’s the state of marriage and family these days?  Is public policy effectively safeguarding these fundamental human institutions?  When it comes to things like government action on childcare, is the work of the home even being properly valued?

Our guest for this episode is Andrea Mrozek, Senior Fellow at Cardus Family.  Cardus Family is an initiative of the Christian think tank, Cardus, based in Canada and dedicated to strengthening the ways in which society’s institutions can work together for the common good.

Andrea was previously Executive Director at the Institute of Marriage and Family Canada, and is widely recognized as a leading voice in Canada on marriage, child care and women’s issues.


Documents/Websites Referenced

Andrea Mrozek biography (Cardus)

Andrea Mrozek, “Child care solutions vital in post-Roe era” Catholic Register (July 2022)

Andrea Mrozek, Peter Jon Mitchell, Brian Dijkema, “Look Before You Leap: The Real Costs and Complexities of National Daycare” (2021)

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www.crownandcrozier.com
twitter.com/crownandcrozier

Please note that this podcast has been edited for length and clarity.

On April 15, 2019, Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris was engulfed in fire.  The conflagration was eventually extinguished - but it wasn’t long before flames were once again being fanned.

Plans for re-building the church have ignited controversy, with some critics arguing that the proposals are tantamount to the “Disney-fication” of the 900-year-old monument to Our Lady.

The debate is made all the more complex by the fact that the cathedral isn’t actually owned by the local Archdiocese.  Like tens of thousands of churches in Europe, it’s owned by the State.

Our guest for this episode is one of the most well-known expatriate art historians in Europe.  Dr. Elizabeth Lev has lived and worked as a tour guide in Rome for over 20 years.  She teaches at Duquesne University’s Italian campus as well as the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas.  Dr. Lev is the author of multiple books, the most recent of which traces the history of St. Joseph’s depiction in art.

Documents/Websites Referenced

Dr. Elizabeth Lev’s official website

Dr. Elizabeth Lev, “Sorry, Internet: Notre Dame is not being ‘wreckovated’”, The Washington Post (December 8, 2021)

“France Approves Controversial Plan to Renovate Notre-Dame Cathedral”, Smithsonian Magazine (December 14, 2021)

“What is Notre Dame Cathedral for?” The Pillar (November 30, 2021)

“Notre Damned”, The Catholic Herald (January 27, 2022)

History of Notre-Dame de Paris, Britannica.com

[email protected]
www.crownandcrozier.com
twitter.com/crownandcrozier

Please note that this podcast has been edited for length and clarity.