Kresta in the Afternoon

Wednesday was the feat of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuit order. At the start of the nineteenth century, the Jesuit order seemed fated for oblivion; it had just been restored as a religious order and had about six hundred aged members. But a century later, the Jesuits numbered seventeen thousand men and were at the vanguard of the Catholic Church's expansion around the world, especially the US. We trace their history with John McGreevy.

Last night Kansas voters rejected a measure that would have allowed for future pro-life laws to be passed in the state. The vote was not close, failing about 60%-40%, and was the first indicator since the Dobbs ruling of how voters may be thinking on the abortion issue. But pro-lifers still need not despair. Michael New explains why.

Thomas Jefferson has a complicated legacy. He’s arguably the face of American liberty, and wrote the immortal words that “All men are created equal,” but he also kept slaves for most of his adult life. This makes him a target for “woke” activists. Last year a Jefferson statue was removed from the New York City Council Chamber, and now even his home of Monticello is changing its approach to his legacy. What did Jefferson believe and how should we remember him today? Thomas Kidd weighs in.

Last night, President Biden addressed the nation to announce the death of Ayman al-Zawahiri, who was killed by a drone strike in Kabul. A mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, Zawahiri succeeded Bin Laden as the leader of Al Qaeda in 2011. The world hasn’t heard as much from him lately, especially since ISIS came on the scene, but his death is still an important step in the War on Terror. Raymond Ibrahim has more.

Abortion harms everyone. It hollows out marriage and the family. It undermines the rule of law and corrupts our political system. It turns healers into executioners and “women’s health” into a euphemism for extermination. Now that the issue is back in the hands of the states, how can we go about communicating these truths to others? Ryan Anderson joins us.

This spring we sat down with the Diocese of Arlington and Archdiocese of Detroit to explore the role Catholic media can play in bringing truth and hope in very troubled times. The project will be available on August 12, and today we get a preview from Billy Atwell.

At Acton University earlier this summer, we spoke with Mustafa Akyol, a Libertarian Muslim who believes there is a future for a democratic worldview in his faith. Are there Muslim-majority societies that honor what we would call First-Amendment liberties? If so, where are they and how influential are they? Dan Philpott joins us.

This weekend officials in New York City declared a public health emergency in an effort to curb the spread of the Monkeypox Virus, as the disease normally associated with African countries continues to crop up around the globe. The Washington Post has already declared the outbreak a pandemic and called for officials to “enlist the full spectrum of prevention and diagnostics to curb the spread.” Data has shown that the disease mostly spreads through sexual contact between homosexual men – so why all the hubbub? And why do officials seem more concerned with the “reducing stigma” of the disease? Al has more.

We are living at a time when we can barely agree what words like “race” and “justice mean,” much less deal with the issues surrounding these concepts. When you combine that with journalists, pundits, and diversity trainers all desperate to advance their own causes, it’s easy to see why we’ve become so polarized on this issue. How do we work, and talk, our way out of this mess? Ismael Hernandez weighs in.

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus warns us “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.” Have you ever wondered how the people of Noah’s day could be so clueless? He warned them of what was coming, and they did nothing to change their lives. What lessons can we learn from Noah as our own culture descends into madness? Al discusses.