Conversations with Consequences

Your host Dr. Grazie Christie is joined by two amazing guests for this episode in the series “The Church on the Ground: Going Forward in Joy.” In this series we examine the ways that Catholics are putting their faith into action and making a difference “on the ground.” Malena Legarre tells Dr. Christie about her"Brothers of the Streets”(Hermanos de la Calle) initiative at St. Agnes Parish in Key Biscayne, Florida, which aims to give kids an opportunity to serve and pray with the homeless and the addicted. Dr. Christie also speaks with Genaro Poulat, who along with his wife helps with the “Marriage Covenant” retreats at St. Agnes, which has the goal of bringing couples closer together and closer to the Church. Shownotes: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/120119.cfm http://hermanosdelacalle.org/ http://www.stakb.org/ http://www.stakb.org/church/CatholicChurch.php?op=Covenant_Retreat

Your hosts Dr. Grazie Christie and Andrea Picciotti-Bayer are joined by Dr. Matthew Bunson, a senior contributor to EWTN and widely respected scholar, teacher, and commentator. They discuss the recent Synod on the Amazon, as well as the fall meeting of the US Catholic Bishops and what happened at the meeting. Dr. Bunson explains to our hosts what a synod is; the reasons why the Synod on the Amazon was called in the first place; priestly celibacy and questions about the possibility of married priests in the Amazon, and the next steps after the Synod; evangelization and the importance of not turning the Church into an “NGO;” moving the modern ecological movement into a Catholic ethos; the election of Archbishop Jose Gomez as President of the US bishops; and more. Helpful links: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/112419.cfm https://www.ewtn.com/special-event/amazon-synod-13871 https://twitter.com/MattBunson?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/i-just-wanted-to-be-a-priest-archbishop-gomez-elected-president-of-usccb-93833 https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/amazon-synod-document-calls-for-married-priests-and-increased-roll-for-women-20862

Your hosts Grazie Christie, Ashley McGuire, and Andrea Picciotti-Bayer this week are joined by Luke Goodrich, Vice President and Senior Council at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a religious freedom legal advocacy group— a.k.a. “God’s ACLU.” Luke is the author of the new book “Free to Believe: The Battle Over Religious Liberty in America.” Discussion topics include definitions of religious freedom based on Church teaching; religious freedom as a philosophical and Scriptural issue; religious freedom as a value coming from God; secular and philosophical arguments for religious freedom; the similarities and differences between religious freedom arguments against same-sex marriage and against racial discrimination; the freedom of Catholic hospitals to operate; and more. Helpful links: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/111719.cfm https://www.becketlaw.org/ https://www.lukegoodrich.com https://www.amazon.com/Free-Believe-Religious-Liberty-America/dp/0525652906

This week on the podcast, your hosts Dr. Grazie Christie and Andrea Picciotti-Bayer interview distinguished guest Mary Hasson, who is the Kate O’Beirne Fellow in Catholic Studies at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C., and director the Catholic Women’s Forum. The ladies are also joined by Beth Pearce, the mother of a transgender child, who has startling insight into how the transgender movement operates. This week discussion points include: attempts to alter the legal definition of “sex;” gender stereotypes; mental health, anxiety and suicide rates among young people; Beth’s observance of her daughter getting hormone therapy at Planned Parenthood; the recent parental rights case involving a child in Texas; and more. Shownotes: https://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/111019.cfm https://catholicherald.co.uk/magazine/the-supreme-court-gender-dysphoria-and-the-plight-of-parents/ https://www.kelseycoalition.org/ https://genderresourceguide.com/ https://eppc.org/ https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/r-g-g-r-harris-funeral-homes-inc-v-equal-opportunity-employment-commission/

Your hosts Dr. Grazie Christie and Ashley McGuire are joined by Dr. Brad Wilcox, a distinguished researcher who writes on marriage, parenthood, and cohabitation, and the ways that marriage, gender, and culture influence the quality and stability of family life in the United States and around the world. They discuss the importance of fatherhood in the life of children; the benefits of growing up in an intact family, and of marriage (and marrying early!); ways to lower the divorce rate; cohabitation; and more. Dr. W. Bradford Wilcox is Director of the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia, Professor of Sociology at the University of Virginia, and Senior Fellow at the Institute for Family Studies. Helpful links: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/110319.cfm https://ifstudies.org/ https://ifstudies.org/blog/conservatives-happier-at-home-worried-for-the-nation https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2019/october-web-only/marriage-how-baptists-catholics-helped-florida-couples.html https://twitter.com/WilcoxNMP

The Catholic Association's “legal eagle” Andrea Picciotti-Bayer recently joined Dr. Tim Uhl, Superintendent of Montana Catholic Schools, to discuss the Espinoza Supreme Court case, which has the potential to overturn all state Blaine amendments. This case could affect funding for Catholic schools nationwide. Dr. Uhl Kindly gave us permission to post Andrea’s full conversation about this important case. Listen to Dr. Uhl’s full podcast here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-164-catholic-school-matters-radio-hour-oct-30-2019/id1158967390?i=1000455468593 Other notes: https://tduhl.wordpress.com/2019/10/30/espinoza-case-on-the-catholic-school-matters-radio-hour/ https://catholicherald.co.uk/magazine/a-chance-to-end-discrimination-against-catholic-schools/

Father Benedict Kiely, a champion of Christians in the Middle East, has been trying to get a visa to visit Syria for several years. The situation for Christians and minorities in the Holy Land is “even more complicated than you realize,” he tells our hosts Dr. Grazie Christie and Andrea Picciotti-Bayer. Father Kiely reminds us that Christianity in the West came from the Holy Land in the East, and gives us his insight into the lives of Christians in war-torn Syria and the rest of the region. Helpful links: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/102719.cfm https://www.nasarean.org/ https://www.thecatholicassociation.org/podcasts

Your hosts Grazie and Andrea discuss religious freedom with Dr. Tom Farr and Ismail Royer of the Religious Freedom Institute. They discuss religious freedom in the United States from the perspective of the Catholic Church, particularly Vatican II and Dignitatis Humanae, and how Catholics are working to defend religious freedom in the world today. Helpful links: www.religiousfreedominstitute.org/ http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decl_19651207_dignitatis-humanae_en.html

Your hosts Dr. Grazie Christie and Andrea Picciotti-Bayer are joined by Father Juan Vélez, a priest of the prelature of Opus Dei and author of “Passion for Truth, the Life of John Henry Newman.” Father Vélez is an expert on the soon-to-be saint John Henry Cardinal Newman, the famous British convert from Anglicanism whose canonization is coming up Oct. 13. Vélez, Grazie and Andrea discuss, among many other things, Newman’s writings on conscience and Newman as an example of a virtuous life. Links: https://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/101319.cfm https://www.amazon.com/Passion-Truth-Life-Henry-Newman/dp/0895558718

Your hosts Dr. Grazie Christie and Andrea Picciotti-Bayer sit down with Mallory Millett, a former actress and widely published author whose sister, Kate, was instrumental in the feminist movement of the 1960s. Also joining is Dr. Carrie Gress, whose new book "The Anti-Mary Exposed" is a fascinating look at what feminism has wrought on our society— not least of which, our guests say, is a loss of true beauty. Links: https://www.tanbooks.com/index.php/the-anti-mary-exposed-2515.html https://archives.frontpagemag.com/fpm/marxist-feminisms-ruined-lives-mallory-millett/