Kresta in the Afternoon

Christians in the Henan Province of China must now complete an online form and receive approval in order to attend Church services. Officials claim this is a form of governance for “Smart Religion” but have not provided a legal reasoning for this decision. We get more from Jonathan Dingler.

Have you ever looked around your church or school and felt that everyone had a perfect family except you? As the parents of ten, Michael and Alicia Hernon are often asked for their secrets in raising holy, virtuous kids. The answer might be simpler than you think. Michael joins us.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy recently sent thousands of hours of previously-unseen January 6 footage to Fox News’ Tucker Carlson, who has been releasing clips of the videos on his program. For more than two years now, Democrats have claimed January 6 had our Democracy hanging by a thread, and now Carlson is claiming his new evidence largely exonerates the rioters. Neither of these is an accurate portrayal of what actually happened. Al has some thoughts.

Paul Williams is a Catholic lay Dominican who practiced Buddhism for several years. But as he studied that faith he realized elements of it, especially the idea of karma and rebirth, ultimately rendered life meaningless and hopeless. His search for a rational answer led him to reexamine Christianity and, ultimately, the Catholic Church. Paul joins us.

In the late ’60s, a small group of elite American women convinced an overwhelming majority of the country that destroying the most fundamental of relationships—that of mother and child—was necessary for women to have productive and happy lives. Our pro-life culture became pro-lifestyle, embracing everything the feels good. Carrie Gress calls this phenomenon the "Anti-Mary," because it in such contrast to what our Blessed Mother stands for. She joins us.

French Cardinal Philippe Barbarin has been found guilty of failing to report abuse accusations against Fr Bernard Preynat. He has announced he will resign his diocesan position, but also plans to appeal the verdict. We take a look with Matthew Bunson, who also updates us on how people are reacting to Cardinal Cupich's plan for combatting abuse.

The world claims that the greatest virtue we can have today is to be “Woke.” The term may be new, but its ideology goes back for decades. Fundamentally, it is more than a political movement – it is a pseudo-spiritual one, and it must be reckoned with. But St Paul tell us in Ephesians not to be woke, but to Awake and receive the light of Christ. How do we do this? Noelle Mering joins us.

Late last year a professor from the University of Oslo published an article proposing “Whole Body Gestational Donation,” in which women who have been declared brain-dead could be used as “whole-body surrogates” for gestating babies. The author argues that there is no significant ethical difference between keeping a brain-dead person alive so their organs can be donated, and the procedure she is proposing. Is this just a think piece, or is it something that could catch on? Jennifer Lahl joins us.

The annual Conservative Political Action Conference wrapped up in Maryland this Saturday with an address from Donald Trump, and straw polls taken there showed he is still the favorite, at least among a particular type of conservative voter. Deal Hudson gives us a report.

There’s a powerful argument for the historicity of the Gospels that has been, for the most part, forgotten in recent years. It’s the way the Gospels, Book of Acts and Pauline letters “fit” together like pieces of a puzzle. Lydia McGrew joins us with a closer look at these “undesigned coincidences” and how they strengthen the case for Biblical accuracy.