Kresta in the Afternoon

In the Gospel this Sunday, Jesus’ followers ask him the all-important question: “Will only a few people be saved?” Understanding His response is crucial for our lives as Christians. We’ll talk about it with Peggy Stanton.

An article published this weekend suggests that the Rosary has become a symbol of violent, right-wing extremism in the United States. The article has set off a wide variety of reactions, from amusement to grave concern over the author’s lack of understanding of American Catholicism. We’ll talk more about the Rosary with Luke Lancaster.

Israeli scientists have created what they are calling “synthetic mouse embryos,” which involves using mouse stem cells to create and develop mouse embryos. Researchers believe the work could eventually pave the way for use in humans. Wes Smith explains more.

The leftist regime of President Daniel Ortega continued its persecution of the Catholic Church in Nicaragua with several acts of repression over the weekend. We get the latest from Alejandro Bermudez.

Many of us, when we hear the term “The Universal Call to Evangelization” think immediately of “The Universal Call to Holiness,” taught by recent popes and the bishops of the Second Vatican Council. The language is similar, and both are intimately related to one another. In truth, you cannot have one without the other. You cannot have a universal call to holiness without a universal call to evangelization. Why? We talk with Steve Dawson

On Monday, the Swiss Bishops' Conference published a document for the upcoming Synod on Synodality in Rome reporting the Catholic Church was seen as suffering from clericalism —as well as "denying equality to women" and excluding "people with LGBTQ identity." Matthew Bunson joins us with a look at this and other Church news.

Does cognitive science show that religious belief is irrational?  Do our genes determine who we are and what we believe? We talk with Dr. Kelly James Clark, who brings together science and philosophy to answer some of humanity’s most pressing questions.

Zac Kriegman spent six years working in Data science at Thomson Reuters, one of the world’s largest news organizations. His job was to study numbers and stats and figure out what they really meant. When he turned his focus to race and police brutality, he came across a shocking realization – the data was being used incorrectly in our national conversation, with disastrous effects. But when he tried to share his findings, he was chastised by management and eventually fired. He shares his story.

As a young Marine, Andrew Young was part of the first wave of America’s military to enter Afghanistan, just months after the 9/11 attacks. After tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, he became a priest and spent much of 2020 in Afghanistan as one of the last Catholic U.S. military chaplains in the country. He joins us.

"I know of no instance in which the Catholic Lite project has led to a vibrant Catholicism, doing the work that Pope St. John XXIII and the Second Vatican Council set before the Church: the conversion and sanctification of the world." So says George Weigel in a recent piece for First Things. Al shares some thoughts.