Kresta in the Afternoon

In his book The Garden of God, Pope Benedict XVI addressed our responsibility towards creation. In his writings, he illustrated a biblical vision of man as the center of creation with which we share a bond of kinship and which we are called to wed to its Creator by exercising a dominion of love. Dr. Matthew Ramage joins us with more

Lawyers for Theodore McCarrick say the disgraced former Cardinal is not mentally fit to stand trial for allegedly sexually abusing a teenage boy in the 1970s. Matthew Bunson joins us to discuss this and other Church news.

In this Sunday’s Gospel, we hear Jesus call his first apostles. Four men drop their nets and follow him. In Judaism, it was only permissible to cease the practice of one’s livelihood and break family ties for the sake of the study of God’s word, the Torah,“the law.” We dive deeper into this reading with Peggy Stanton.

We all know that marriage rates are low in the United States. The most recent American Family Survey found that only 45% of Americans are currently married (down from 50% in 2015). Despite the Church’s pro-marriage stance, Catholic marriage rates are not much higher than the general population. We discuss some of the reasons with Rachel Hoover.

The story of Melanie Barrett’s journey to Christ actually begins with her mother, who grew up in a Jewish family in New York in the 1950s. Melanie’s mother passed on to her a desire to find spiritual insights and truth, and she often found herself looking outside organized religion to find it. How did she end up a Catholic? She shares her story with us.

Forgiveness is a great wellspring of personal healing. It can repair shattered relationships. It restores interior freedom to the one who has been hurt, and empowers victims of crime and abuse to recover the dignity and agency they were stripped of by the offender. Since forgiveness restores interior freedom in an individual, can that somehow get bumped up to a more macro level? Is there a way to apply this to the healing of not just an individual, but a community? Can forgiveness help heal a hurting Church? We talk with Fr. Thomas Berg.

The rich literary patrimony of Western civilization can be daunting. Where to begin? Which books are truly great? Which works of literature have stood the test of time? In Twelve Great Books, Joseph Pearce helps us get started. He joins us.

The experience of miscarriage causes deep grief to mother and father, often leaving parents unsure of how to navigate the tragedy. The Church offers both prayer and accompaniment for grieving women and couples, and laypeople have created resources for grief. But many couples remain unaware of the available faith-based miscarriage ministry and resources. We talk with Abby Jorgenson about the work she does.

Everyone know Martin Luther King for the work he did as an adult, perhaps most notably his August 28 “I Have a Dream” speech. But what about the young Martin Luther King who left his Atlanta home to attend divinity school in the North? And what would he have to say about today’s unrest? We’ll talk with Patrick Parr.

When we read or watch the news, we aren’t just informed – we are formed by the stories we hear and the images we see. But St. Paul also instructs us to not be conformed to the world. How can we consume the news in a way that builds virtue and leads to greater flourishing? Jeffrey Bilbro is our guest