Conversations with Consequences

Good friend of the podcast Kathryn Jean Lopez stops by the studio to discuss her new book, “A Year With the Mystics: Visionary Wisdom for Daily Living,” as well as Kathryn’s long and successful career at National Review. Kathryn is a senior fellow at the National Review Institute and editor-at-large of National Review. In addition to discussing the book, Kathryn, Grazie Christie and Andrea Picciotti-Bayer talk about the influence of the founder of National Review, Bill Buckley, as well as a life-changing trip that Kathryn took to Rome. Links: https://www.amazon.com/Year-Mystics-Visionary-Wisdom-Living/dp/1505109043 https://nrinstitute.org/ http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/092919.cfm

The Catholic Association’s Dr. Grazie Christie and Maureen Ferguson discuss the recent, horrifying revelation that a late abortion doctor, who operated in Indiana, was found to have over 2,000 medically preserved fetal remains hidden at his home in Illinois. Grazie and Maureen discuss the saddening details as well as the tepid response from presidential candidate and South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg. "Our abortion culture has so dehumanized the “unwanted” pre-born child that we can't be surprised when their remains are treated disrespectfully. The societal disregard for the dignity of unborn lives has wrought a predictable end." Read Maureen’s piece on the situation: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/ulrich-klopfers-treatment-of-aborted-babies-is-horrifying-but-not-shocking

In the Catholic Church, everything was calm and placid until the Second Vatican Council…right? There’s the history of the Catholic Church and modernity that you think you know— modernity acts, Catholicism simply reacts— but there’s an “irony” in that history that you probably don’t know; one that turns the history of the Church on its head. How has the world’s largest religious body dealt with the enormous changes of last few hundred years, brought about in large part by "modernity?" George Weigel, Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, prolific author and prominent Catholic intellectual, has written a new book called “The Irony of Modern Catholic History: How the Church Rediscovered Itself and Challenged the Modern World to Reform.” Your hosts Grazie and Andrea engage Mr. Weigel in a fascinating and far-reaching discussion that touches the history of the Church and offers a hopeful vision of the future. Helpful links: https://www.amazon.com/Irony-Modern-Catholic-History-Rediscovered/dp/0465094333 https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2019/09/ironies-in-the-fire https://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/092219.cfm

The sexual revolution has created a crisis of identity - leading people to cling to identity politics in their primal quest to answer the question "who am I?” This week’s amazing guest is Mary Eberstadt, senior research fellow at the Faith and Reason Institute in Washington, D.C. She is a writer and essayist whose work has appeared in Quillette, TIME, The Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, National Review, First Things, The Weekly Standard, and more. She writes extensively about religious freedom, sexuality, and the family, and is the author of the brand-new book “Primal Screams: How the Sexual Revolution Created Identity Politics.” Links: https://www.amazon.com/Primal-Screams-Revolution-Identity-Politics/dp/1599474115 http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/091519.cfm

This is the second episode of our special series, “Church on the Ground: Going Forward in Joy.” This week, the TCA’s Grazie Christie, Andrea Piccioti-Bayer, and Maureen Ferguson are joined by Father Bill Byrne, pastor of Our Lady of Mercy Parish in Potomac, Maryland. The hilarious Father Byrne talks about his own upbringing and Catholic formation, as well as his thoughts on the scandals and the abuse crisis in light of Bishop Barron’s new book, “Letter to a Suffering Church.” And as always, Father Roger Landry offers us a beautiful reflection on this upcoming Sunday's Gospel.

On this special bonus episode of Conversations with Consequences, Dr. Grazie Christie and Andrea Piccioti-Bayer discuss Bishop Robert Barron’s new book, “Letter to a Suffering Church,” which addresses the abuse crisis head-on. Don’t miss Grazie and Andrea's timely and hard-hitting discussion from their perspective as lay women, working mothers, and concerned Catholics. Buy the book: https://order.sufferingchurchbook.com/order https://www.amazon.com/Letter-Suffering-Church-Bishop-Speaks-ebook/dp/B07RLZ5TMT/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=2SOPB3GZKQJIT&keywords=letter+to+a+suffering+church+barron&qid=1567613336&s=gateway&sprefix=letter+to+a+%2Caps%2C167&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUE5NUM0UllMMTZSQk8mZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTA3MjI4MzYxRkY4VjI5WDFNVFZJJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTAyOTYzMzkyVTBMWjNBNFFZMk5VJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

The abuse crisis has rocked the Church. Should we assume that any priest accused is guilty? The conviction of Australian Cardinal George Pell should give any Catholic and defender of the rule of law pause. An incredible allegation of abuse formed the basis of Pell's conviction and his accuser's perceived credibility was recently cited in dismissing his appeal. What about the overwhelming evidence of the improbability— and perhaps even impossibility— of the abuse even occurring? Phil Lawler, editor of Catholic World News, joins TCA's Dr. Grazie Christie and Andrea Picciotti-Bayer for a lively discussion of the case crafted against Cardinal Pell, the basis for his appeal to Australia's highest court and what this means for the Church. Helpful articles: https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/otn.cfm?id=1358 http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/cardinal-pells-unsuccessful-appeal-and-reason-for-hope

Planned Parenthood will no longer receive Title X funds, after refusing to separate out abortion from the rest of what they do. Now what? Women in need can look forward to the expansion of federally-funded family planning clinics that truly support "positive birth outcomes and healthy families" — the primary goal of the Title X grant program.  TCA's Dr. Grazie Christie and Andrea Picciotti-Bayer are joined by pro-life OBGyn Dr. John Bruchalski, founder of Tepeyac OB/GYN clinic and Divine Mercy Care in Northern Virginia, in a bonus episode to discuss the future of Title X family planning grants and the federal government's renewed support for healthcare for women and their families. Learn more at: https://tepeyacobgyn.com

Is late term abortion ever medically necessary? Can the abortion pill really be reversed, or is that just a pro-life twisting of the facts? Our host Dr. Grazie Christie interviews another doctor, Dr. Mary Jo O’Sullivan, about late term abortion, pro-life bioethics and how Dr. O’Sullivan works to reverse medication (abortion pill) abortions. Helpful links: https://www.abortionpillreversal.com/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23191936 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK132781/

What does “sex” mean? What about “gender?” There’s a lot of competing information out there about the ways in which men and women are different, and why it matters. Your host, Dr. Grazie Christie, sits down with the Catholic Association’s Ashley McGuire and Andrea Picciotti-Bayer to talk about Ashley’s 2017 book, “Sex Scandal: The Drive to Abolish Male and Female." We talk about what the breakdown of sexual differences means for women in sports, sex selective abortions, the #Metoo movement and more. Ashley’s book: https://www.amazon.com/Sex-Scandal-Drive-Abolish-Female/dp/1621575810/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=sex+scandal&qid=1565894478&s=gateway&sr=8-2 TCA clips: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/administration-moves-to-enforce-abortion-restriction/2019/08/09/392efdc6-bac4-11e9-8e83-4e6687e99814_story.html https://catholicherald.co.uk/news/2019/08/09/archbishop-naumann-fighting-abortion-is-most-important-human-rights-effort-of-our-time/ https://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/foster-to-adopt-parents-share-their-life-changing-stories-of-the-gift-of-fa