Kresta in the Afternoon

You probably remember the stories of Charlie Gard and Alfie Evans. And now there is a similar tragedy coming out of the UK - a 2-year-old girl named Alta Fixsler who has been taken off life-support because doctors say she has no chance of recovery and is in constant pain. Her parents are Hasidic Jews and doctors in their homeland of Israel are willing to take over Alta's care, but a European court has ruled that their religious liberty concerns do not apply, as there is no guarantee Alta would feel the same way. It's a story that illustrates a larger problem: what happens when we lose sight of a human's inherent dignity. Charles Camosy joins us.

Charles Camosy is associate professor of theological and social ethics at Fordham University. He's the author of several books including Losing Our Dignity: How Secularized Medicine is Undermining Fundamental Human Equality and Resisting Throwaway Culture: How a Consistent Life Ethic can Unite a Fractured People. Visit charlescamosy.com and follow him on Twitter @CCamosy.

Breaking today: NY Governor Andrew Cuomo resigned after the NY Attorney General published a report detailing serial sexual misconduct in his office.  Cuomo himself has said he is arrogant because arrogance works.  Al shares how his resignation ends up being Catholic because there is always pride before the fall.

The Church is entering a period of transition. Mass attendance is on the decline, we’re dealing with the shame of McCarrick, and our secular and religious leaders – whether it be intentionally or unintentionally – are sowing confusion. These are the challenges our next pope will face – how will he tackle them? George Weigel is our guest.

George Weigel is a New York Times bestselling author of many books including The Next Pope: The Office of Peter and a Church in Mission as well as Witness to Hope and The Irony of Modern Catholic History. He’s a distinguished senior fellow of Washington’s Ethics and Public Policy Center. Visit EPPC.org.

A recent Washington Post column profiled Michigan judge Sara Smolenski, who was told by her pastor not to take Holy Communion after she entered into a same-sex marriage. Like many in the so-called Communion Debate, the Post took the angle that we are all sinners yet we all receive Communion - which of course misses the overall point. We take a look at the discussion with Terry Mattingly.

Last week Mississippi presented a brief to the Supreme Court arguing that there is no Constitutional right to abortion and asking the Court to overrule Roe v Wade and Planned Parenthood v Casey. What chances does this effort have of being successful? Professor Robert George joins us.

Robert George is Professor of Jurisprudence at Princeton University and the co-author of What is Marriage? Man and Woman: A Defense. Visit robertpgeorge.com and follow him on Twitter @McCormickProf

What happened on January 6 at the US Capitol?  Was it a coup?  A riot?  An insurrection?  Al breaks down what actually happened (and what it is not).  

The Archdiocese of New York has instructed its priests not to grant religious exemptions for COVID -19 vaccines. A memo from chancellor John Cahill says that “Any individual is free to exercise discretion on getting the vaccine based upon his or her beliefs without seeking the inaccurate portrayal of Church instructions. Our priests should not be active participants in such actions.” Dr. Michael Deem helps us break down this complicated situation.

Dr Michael Deem is an Associate Professor of Human Genetics at the University of Pittsburgh, which he has joined for the Fall of 2021 after previously serving at Duquesne University. He has also been an affiliated faculty member of the Genetic Counseling Program at Indiana State University and a subject faculty member of the Certificate Program in Pediatric Bioethics at Children’s Mercy Hospital. He is the author of the “Coronavirus Vaccine Explainer” essay, which can be found at The Pillar, and joined us in-studio this spring.

Tomorrow, August 6, will be the 800th anniversary of the death of St Dominic. Unlike many of our great saints, Dominic did not leave a deposit of writings to be examined and built upon. Yet this medieval Spaniard still has much to teach us today, and we see this in the way of life he left to the Church. Fr. Patrick Briscoe joins us.

Fr. Patrick Mary Briscoe, OP, is the cohost of the lively Dominican friars’ podcast Godsplaining. Father Patrick serves as deputy senior editor of Aleteia.org and associate chaplain at Providence College. He is the co-author of Saint Dominic's Way of Life: A Path to Knowing and Loving God.

As a canon lawyer, Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois gave an especially careful reading to Pope Francis’ motu proprio. He promptly issued dispensations for two churches in his diocese to continue celebrating the Traditional Latin Mass, but he also has pushed back against the idea that the motu is a full suppression of the extraordinary form. Matthew Bunson joins us looking at this and other Church news.

Matthew Bunson is Executive Editor and Washington Bureau Chief for EWTN News and a Senior Fellow at St Paul Center for Biblical Theology. He’s the author or co-author of more than 50 books including the first English-language biography of Pope Francis and The Encyclopedia of Catholic History. Follow him on Twitter @MattBunson. Register Radio airs Saturdays at 7 pm and Sundays at 11 am.

National Public Radio has revised its ethics policies in a way that, in its own words, “eliminates the blanket prohibition from participating in ‘marches, rallies and public events,’ as well as vague language that directed NPR journalists to avoid personally advocating for ‘controversial’ or ‘polarizing’ issues.” Bill Donohue argues that this has removed the last pretense of the outlet’s objectivity – he joins us.

Bill Donohue is the president of the Catholic League. He’s the author of eight books including most recently The Catholic Advantage: Why Health, Happiness and Heaven and his upcoming book The Truth about Clergy Sexual Abuse.