In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Nathan Smith, the  Director of Ecumenism for Glenmary Home Missioners, a Catholic religious community, and as a consultant for the USCCB’s Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs and one of the authors behind The Gift of Being Christian Together, a new document seeking to build a bridge between Catholic and Evangelical communities.

In this amazing conversation, Nathan shares the heart of ecumenism: how we can reach out to our separated brethren – other non-Catholic Christian communities – to successfully find common ground and work towards a closer relationship. We talk about Christ's vision in John 17, how to understand non-Catholic Christian communities especially for converts, and how to reconcile the truth found only in the Catholic Church with the Body of Christ, broken and separated, in other Christian communities.

This is a profound conversation!

For more visit The Gift of Being Christian Together.

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For more information visit the Patreon page.  All patrons receive access to exclusive content and if you can give $5/mo or more you'll also be entered into monthly draws for fantastic books hand-picked by me.

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Theme Music: "Splendor (Intro)" by Former Ruins. Learn more at formerruins.com or listen on Spotify, Apple Music, and Bandcamp.

This show is brought to you in a special way by our Patreon Co-Producers. Thank you to Elli and Tom, Fr. Larry, Gina, Heather, James, Michelle, Noah, Robert, Shelby, Susanne and Victor, and William. 

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In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by the inestimable Kenny Burchard. A convert to the Catholic faith, Kenny joins us to tell the remarkable story of his encounter with purgatory while preaching and studying the Bible. It was in his preparation work for a sermon series that Kenny first encountered the idea of purgatory – and it changed his life!

Listen and learn, in this episode, about the deep biblical roots of purgatory in the Bible. Kenny takes us through verses, through some of the logical problems of a Christian worldview without purgatory, and then tackles some of the most pressing objections that he himself would've held as an Evangelical – now debunked!

Find Kenny and Dave Armstrong's fantastic book God of Love, Fire, and Light: A Biblical Defence of Purgatory.

Also find a follow Kenny's YouTube channel Bible Highlights and, as always, his work with the Coming Home Network International.

Send your feedback to [email protected].

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For more information visit the Patreon page.  All patrons receive access to exclusive content and if you can give $5/mo or more you'll also be entered into monthly draws for fantastic books hand-picked by me.

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Thank you to those already supporting the show!

Theme Music: "Splendor (Intro)" by Former Ruins. Learn more at formerruins.com or listen on Spotify, Apple Music, and Bandcamp.

This show is brought to you in a special way by our Patreon Co-Producers. Thank you to Elli and Tom, Fr. Larry, Gina, Heather, James, Michelle, Noah, Robert, Shelby, Susanne and Victor, and William. 

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In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Wendy and Zoe, from the Instagram page Catechumemes, to talk about their absolutely remarkable conversions to Catholicism – as two best friends on a wild theological and spiritual journey!

Wendy and Zoe are truly amazing. As two Christians taking their faith seriously they dug deep into every theological topic imaginable, sharing late night conversations and days long debates on everything from baptism to communion to the nature of the Church. But, when topic after topic began coming up Catholic these two ardent Calvinists – serious about Reformed theology and the Baptist tradition – had to ask some tough questions about what they thought they knew about Catholicism.

Man, what a conversation this was!

We cover everything from the Early Church Fathers to the Sacraments to apostolic succession and the papacy and, in Wendy and Zoe's own words, what they felt had been "robbed" from them in Protestantism – and what they discovered in the Catholic Church!

For more from Wendy and Zoe check out their Instagram page.

Send your feedback to [email protected].

Sign up for our newsletter for my reflections on  episodes, behind-the-scenes content, and exclusive contests.

To watch this and other episodes please visit (and subscribe to!) our YouTube channel.

Please consider financially supporting this show!

For more information visit the Patreon page.  All patrons receive access to exclusive content and if you can give $5/mo or more you'll also be entered into monthly draws for fantastic books hand-picked by me.

If you'd like to give a one-time donation to The Cordial Catholic, you can visit the PayPal page.

Thank you to those already supporting the show!

Theme Music: "Splendor (Intro)" by Former Ruins. Learn more at formerruins.com or listen on Spotify, Apple Music, and Bandcamp.

This show is brought to you in a special way by our Patreon Co-Producers. Thank you to Elli and Tom, Fr. Larry, Gina, Heather, James, Michelle, Noah, Robert, Shelby, Susanne and Victor, and William. 

Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

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In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Catholic convert, or revert from non-denominational Evangelical Christianity, Austin Habbish. Austin is the founder of Think Catholic, the host of the podcast Summa in a Year, and the heart and mind behind Sent Evangelization.

In this episode Austin shares some of his experiences, as a Catholic, evangelizing door-to-door in his parish neighbourhoods. We talk about the obligation as baptized believers to evangelize, the importance of taking care of everyone (not just the Catholics) in our parish neighbourhoods, and how to evangelize in a world that's increasingly unfriendly, un-churched, and where religion is a foreign language.

Austin's an awesome guy with a huge heart for evangelization. This is a great conversation.

For more from Austin check out Sent Evangelization and Think Catholic and look up Summa in a Year wherever you find podcasts.

Send your feedback to [email protected].

Sign up for our newsletter for my reflections on  episodes, behind-the-scenes content, and exclusive contests.

To watch this and other episodes please visit (and subscribe to!) our YouTube channel.

Please consider financially supporting this show!

For more information visit the Patreon page.  All patrons receive access to exclusive content and if you can give $5/mo or more you'll also be entered into monthly draws for fantastic books hand-picked by me.

If you'd like to give a one-time donation to The Cordial Catholic, you can visit the PayPal page.

Thank you to those already supporting the show!

Theme Music: "Splendor (Intro)" by Former Ruins. Learn more at formerruins.com or listen on Spotify, Apple Music, and Bandcamp.

This show is brought to you in a special way by our Patreon Co-Producers. Thank you to Elli and Tom, Fr. Larry, Gina, Heather, James, Michelle, Noah, Robert, Shelby, Susanne and Victor, and William. 

Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Support the show

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In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by one of my all-time favourite guests Steve Weidenkopf. Steve is a lecturer, author, renown speaker, and an absolute expert on the subject of Church history and he brings his knowledge to bear on today's fascinating topic: the greatest myths of the Reformation.

We tackle the underlying philosophy of the Reformation – what is a reformation or a revolution? – and what was the original intentions of the Reformers? We also dig into what led up to the Reformation and the corruption in the Catholic Church, the problem with indulgences, and the idea of the "unchaining" of the Gospel by the Protestant Reformers.

This and much more as we look at the history of Christianity leading up to (and beyond) the Reformation through a critical lens – trying to get at what was really going on.

For more from Steve visit his website.

Send your feedback to [email protected].

Sign up for our newsletter for my reflections on  episodes, behind-the-scenes content, and exclusive contests.

To watch this and other episodes please visit (and subscribe to!) our YouTube channel.

Please consider financially supporting this show!

For more information visit the Patreon page.  All patrons receive access to exclusive content and if you can give $5/mo or more you'll also be entered into monthly draws for fantastic books hand-picked by me.

If you'd like to give a one-time donation to The Cordial Catholic, you can visit the PayPal page.

Thank you to those already supporting the show!

Theme Music: "Splendor (Intro)" by Former Ruins. Learn more at formerruins.com or listen on Spotify, Apple Music, and Bandcamp.

This show is brought to you in a special way by our Patreon Co-Producers. Thank you to Elli and Tom, Fr. Larry, Gina, Heather, James, Michelle, Noah, Robert, Shelby, Susanne and Victor, and William. 

Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

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Find and follow The Cordial Catholic on social media:

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In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Evangelical convert to Catholicism Brandon Forschino to talk about his journey into the Catholic faith.

Brandon was a zealous evangelist for Christ who went to Evangelical seminary to deepen his understanding of the faith, evangelism, and apologetics and after encountering crippling divisions in the faith he began to investigate other Christian denominations – and discovered Catholicism!

It was in his unpacking of the things he thought he knew about Catholics that he realized he was mistaken on so many things and, instead, began to be compelled to look deeper in the Catholic faith. The rest is history!

Please find and follow Brandon on his fantastic YouTube channel for more content.

Send your feedback to [email protected].

Sign up for our newsletter for my reflections on  episodes, behind-the-scenes content, and exclusive contests.

To watch this and other episodes please visit (and subscribe to!) our YouTube channel.

Please consider financially supporting this show!

For more information visit the Patreon page.  All patrons receive access to exclusive content and if you can give $5/mo or more you'll also be entered into monthly draws for fantastic books hand-picked by me.

If you'd like to give a one-time donation to The Cordial Catholic, you can visit the PayPal page.

Thank you to those already supporting the show!

Theme Music: "Splendor (Intro)" by Former Ruins. Learn more at formerruins.com or listen on Spotify, Apple Music, and Bandcamp.

This show is brought to you in a special way by our Patreon Co-Producers. Thank you to Elli and Tom, Fr. Larry, Gina, Heather, James, Michelle, Noah, Robert, Shelby, Susanne and Victor, and William. 

Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

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Find and follow The Cordial Catholic on social media:

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In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by the wonderful Sam Nunnally.

Sam spent two decades as a charismatic, evangelical pastor before leaving to pursue the truth of Catholicism – a journey which took him many more years to confront, understand, and finally embrace... and it's all on his story, this week on the show!

Sam's story is a phenomenal one – clocking in at one of the longest – including a serious examination of Sola Scriptura in an approach and context which we've never heard before on the show, a deep study of charismatic gifts in the Early Church, and some seriously heart-wrenching moments of confronting and accepting the truth claims of Catholicism.

This is a fantastic story of someone absolutely in pursuit of Christ, coming up Catholic!

For more from Sam check out his Instagram account (one of my favourites).

Send your feedback to [email protected].

Sign up for our newsletter for my reflections on  episodes, behind-the-scenes content, and exclusive contests.

To watch this and other episodes please visit (and subscribe to!) our YouTube channel.

Please consider financially supporting this show!

For more information visit the Patreon page.  All patrons receive access to exclusive content and if you can give $5/mo or more you'll also be entered into monthly draws for fantastic books hand-picked by me.

If you'd like to give a one-time donation to The Cordial Catholic, you can visit the PayPal page.

Thank you to those already supporting the show!

This show is brought to you in a special way by our Patreon Co-Producers. Thank you to Elli and Tom, Fr. Larry, Gina, Heather, James, Michelle, Noah, Robert, Shelby, Susanne and Victor, and William. 

Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

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In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by the extraordinary Justine Callis from The Theology of Conversion. She shares her journey from a staffer at a non-denominational, Evangelical Mega Church to a Catholic convert – and what drew her in.

Her story – of learning about the Eucharist, the magisterium, the Early Church and more – is the story of so many converts but the incredible MIRACLES that accompanied her along the way make for some AMAZING stories. Including one about Dr. Scott Hahn and the beginning of their amazing friendship!

For more from Justine check out Theology of Conversion on Instagram:

Send your feedback to [email protected].

Sign up for our newsletter for my reflections on  episodes, behind-the-scenes content, and exclusive contests.

To watch this and other episodes please visit (and subscribe to!) our YouTube channel.

Please consider financially supporting this show!

For more information visit the Patreon page.  All patrons receive access to exclusive content and if you can give $5/mo or more you'll also be entered into monthly draws for fantastic books hand-picked by me.

If you'd like to give a one-time donation to The Cordial Catholic, you can visit the PayPal page.

Thank you to those already supporting the show!

This show is brought to you in a special way by our Patreon Co-Producers. Thank you to Elli and Tom, Fr. Larry, Gina, Heather, James, Michelle, Noah, Robert, Shelby, Susanne and Victor, and William. 

Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Support the show

Find and follow The Cordial Catholic on social media:

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In this not-to-be-missed episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Catholic Answers contributor, speaker, and apologist Joel S. Peters to talk about arguments for Sola Scriptura – "Bible alone" Christianity – and reasons why he thinks non-Catholic Christians should reconsider this theological position.

For me, as host of this show, this topic gets to the core of what drove me to a deeper investigation of Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy: the question of the interpretation of Scripture and, especially, questions of how Scripture was historically used to underpin Christianity. In this conversation, Joel and I begin there, in the Early Church, and talk about what framework the first Christians used for understanding their faith – was it Sola Scriptura?

We dig in to a lot else, besides, and there's lots of love about this conversation. If you know someone who would benefit from thinking deeply about their position on the infallible rule(s) of faith in Christianity, this episode if for them! Joel brings light – and not heat – to a sometimes contentious topic that is at the heart of Christianity.

For more from Joel Peters check out his book Sola Scriptura Doesn't Work from Catholic Answers Press.

Send your feedback to [email protected].

Sign up for our newsletter for my reflections on  episodes, behind-the-scenes content, and exclusive contests.

To watch this and other episodes please visit (and subscribe to!) our YouTube channel.

Please consider financially supporting this show!

For more information visit the Patreon page.  All patrons receive access to exclusive content and if you can give $5/mo or more you'll also be entered into monthly draws for fantastic books hand-picked by me.

If you'd like to give a one-time donation to The Cordial Catholic, you can visit the PayPal page.

Thank you to those already supporting the show!

This show is brought to you in a special way by our Patreon Co-Producers. Thank you to Elli and Tom, Fr. Larry, Gina, Heather, James, Michelle, Noah, Robert, Shelby, Susanne and Victor, and William. 

Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

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In this not-to-be-missed episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Russ Breault, a long-time researcher, writer, speaker, and evangelist who has made it his life's mission to share the incredible miracle that is the Shroud of Turin with audiences across the globe.

Russ brings an absolute wealth of knowledge about this intriguing biblical artefact to explain why it is absolutely a miracle – a tool for evangelization – for the 21st century. Russ talks about the scientific data, the attempts to discredit the Shroud of Turin (all of which have failed!), and why we should believe it is what faithful Catholics have believed that it is since the very beginning.

Also, we dig into biblical clues, what the most recent and ground-breaking science has found about the Shroud, and how to use it to share the reality of Jesus and His Church with skeptics.

For more from Russ visit his website.

Send your feedback to [email protected].

Sign up for our newsletter for my reflections on  episodes, behind-the-scenes content, and exclusive contests.

To watch this and other episodes please visit (and subscribe to!) our YouTube channel.

Please consider financially supporting this show!

For more information visit the Patreon page.  All patrons receive access to exclusive content and if you can give $5/mo or more you'll also be entered into monthly draws for fantastic books hand-picked by me.

If you'd like to give a one-time donation to The Cordial Catholic, you can visit the PayPal page.

Thank you to those already supporting the show!

This show is brought to you in a special way by our Patreon Co-Producers. Thank you to Elli and Tom, Fr. Larry, Gina, Heather, James, Michelle, Noah, Robert, Shelby, Susanne and Victor, and William. 

Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Support the show

Find and follow The Cordial Catholic on social media:

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