Almost Good Catholics

LISTENER DISCRETION IS ADVISED: The topic of today’s episode is human trafficking and crimes against children, usually sexual crimes, and sometimes ritual abuse and organ harvesting.Matt Osborne has worked with OUR Rescue (originally Operation Underground Railroad) for ten years; he left his CIA career to join this NGO and is now one of the longest-serving members of the team. Last year he was COO and president and these days he’s Global Ambassador for Operations and Education; as part of this new role, he hosts the Voices for Freedom podcast with his friend and colleague Jessica Mass.[I intentionally did not ask Matt about Tim Ballard, the founder of the organization and subject of the loosely biographical Sound of Freedom, who had to leave the organization after accusations in 2023 about past scandalous behavior toward (adult) women. I also did not ask him about the politics of Jim Caviezel who played Ballard in the film. You can read about these things very easily online, but it seemed to me to have nothing to do with our guest today and were rather a distraction from the important work of OUR Rescue.] OUR Rescue website and Instagram. Voices of Freedom podcast with Matt Osborne and Jessica Mass. Cyber TipLine (“cybertipline.org”) that Matt discussed in our show; this is a place to report the exploitation of children or potential or suspected exploitation of children. Sound of Freedom (2023) Trailer and Angel Studios webpage. Here is the pilgrimage with Monique and Joseph González this coming September with Inside the Vatican, and the related episodes from Almost Good Catholics: Pilgrimage to Mexico: Our Lady of Guadalupe & the Flower World Prophecy 2024 Colleen Dulle on Almost Good Catholics, episode 16: Marxists and Mystics: A Vatican Journalist discusses her Biography of Madeleine Delbrêl and the New Papal Constitution Father James Martin, SJ, on Almost Good Catholics, episode 30: What if You’re Gay? Starting Conversations with and about LGBT Catholics. Joseph and Monique González on Almost Good Catholics, episode 74: Our Lady of Guadalupe and Aztec True Myth: How the Flower World Bloomed into History in 1531. Here is my first discussion with Pastor Brian Zahnd and the film A Hidden Life which we will be talking about on August 15: A Hidden Life (2019) trailer, IMBD, and on Amazon Prime. Brian Zahnd on Almost Good Catholics, episode 82: The Wood between the Worlds: Why Death on the Cross? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pete Imperial has been principal of St. Mary’s Catholic High School in Berkeley, California, a Lasallian Catholic School of 160 years and going strong. Yet only 45% of the students are Catholics (though a similar number are Protestant Christians) and some of the kids have had no religious experience at all. How does a good Catholic school infuse the souls of its charges and the secular society at large with the Gospel and the teachings of the Holy Roman Catholic Church?Dr. Imperial has a BA from the University of California in Berkeley, an MA in history from San Francisco State University, and an EdD in Educational Administration from the University of San Francisco. In addition to running the school, he also teaches Islamic Studies, Economics, and East Asian History.This episode is indebted to Ryan Anderson, the listener and a friend of the podcast who suggested this episode and introduced me to Peter. St. Mary’s College High School website and Pete’s faculty webpage. About Lasallian education. Other Almost Good Catholics episodes on the subject of Catholic Education: Joseph Nagel and Heather Skinner on Almost Good Catholics, episode 8: It's Elementary! Catholic Education in the 21st Century. Rich Meyer on Almost Good Catholics, episode 45: Education in the World not of the World: A School Director and Father Talks about Forming the Whole Child. Here is the pilgrimage with Monique and Joseph González this coming September with Inside the Vatican, and the related episodes from Almost Good Catholics: Pilgrimage to Mexico: Our Lady of Guadalupe & the Flower World Prophecy 2024 Colleen Dulle on Almost Good Catholics, episode 16: Marxists and Mystics: A Vatican Journalist discusses her Biography of Madeleine Delbrêl and the New Papal Constitution Father James Martin, SJ, on Almost Good Catholics, episode 30: What if You’re Gay? Starting Conversations with and about LGBT Catholics. Joseph and Monique González on Almost Good Catholics, episode 74: Our Lady of Guadalupe and Aztec True Myth: How the Flower World Bloomed into History in 1531. Here is my first discussion with Pastor Brian Zahnd and the film A Hidden Life which we will be talking about in August: A Hidden Life (2019) trailer, IMBD, and on Amazon Prime. Brian Zahnd on Almost Good Catholics, episode 82: The Wood between the Worlds: Why Death on the Cross? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Christine Wohar talks about Finding Frassati: And Following His Path to Holiness (EWTN, 2021), her book about Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati. The book is a biography, hagiography, and delightful conversation about the participation of the Communion of Saints in our lives and how can join hands with them in our daily lives. Like many of us, Bl. Pier Giorgio was a normal guy with a comfortable life, and he did normal fun things available to him a young wealthy, Italian a hundred years ago, like mountain climbing, Alpine skiing, studying at university, and playing pool with his friends. But he also showed extreme love for the Eucharist, care for the poor, evangelization, and chastity—so, normal, and yet extraordinary.Not only was Bl. Pier Giorgio’s body free from corruption when it was exhumed 75 years after his death, but he also has a couple of astounding miraculous healing attributed to him through his intercession. Christine Wohar talks to me about this remarkable figure in the church and how we can follow in his footsteps. Christine Wohar’s organization, FrassatiUSA, on the web. Christine Wohar’s book, Finding Frassati from Sophia International Press and also on Amazon.com. Kevin Becker on YouTube discussing the miraculous healing through Bl. Blessed Pier Giorgio and also an article about it. Other Almost Good Catholics episodes that we referred to in this interview: Fr. Greg Boyle, SJ, on Almost Good Catholics, episode 17: Eternity Now: Talking about Mysticism with the Apostle to the Gangs of LA. Brian Zahnd on Almost Good Catholics, episode 82: The Wood between the Worlds: Why Death on the Cross? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dorcas Oyelade and Kailea Barté, two young women, still teenagers, organized a Christian club in a public at John Swett High School in Crockett, Northern California, where I am a teacher. The students worked with a Protestant NGO, Decision Point, which supported them even as they insisted on their First Amendment rights when there was opposition. The club has been an impressive success with many students joining them at lunch time, become interested in the Christian faith, and in some cases starting to go with them to church.Decision Point website and YouTube channel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John Michael Talbot is a tremendously successful musician and writer; he is also the founder of a monastery—the Brothers and Sisters of Charity at Little Portion Hermitage in Arkansas—where he is Minister General today. He started as a Methodist and a country rock musician in the seventies and the story of his journey is amazing, from the encounter with Jesus he had at seventeen to the intense mystical experiences that he had later in life during an illness that brought him into closer communion with Our Lord. John Michael Talbot’s website. John Michael Talbot’s Wikipedia page. Late Have I Loved You, album on Amazon Music. Late Have I Loved You, book on Amazon.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Professor David Bonagura, theologian and Latinist, has translated and edited seven of St. Jerome’s letters dealing with death and mourning. This doctor of the church consoles his friends in first centuries of Christendom, describing death as sleep, and dying as our journey back home to God. And though the Mediterranean is big and fourth-century travel was slow, we see that the Christian community is surprisingly close. The letters also reveal some of the material history and mentalities of daily life which allow us a priceless glimpse across the centuries. Professor Bonagura’s website. Professor Bonagura’s book Jerome's Tears: Letters to Friends in Mourning (Sophia International Press, 2023). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Michael John Cusick argues that our addictions and disordered sexual desires are really a misdirected effort to reach God and live in connection with Him. How can this be? The crude simulation is but at poor substitute for the real thing, for the Truth. Yet in this fallen world, sinners repeatedly fall into the snares. “I do not understand my own actions,”—Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans—"For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” But like the prodigal son in the pigpen, we cannot but lift our eyes from the mud and think about the loving Father waiting for us at home.Michael John Cusick, author, counselor, host of the wonderful podcast, Restoring the Soul, talks about what he has learned about addiction, disorder, mercy, and freedom, in his book Surfing for God: Discovering the Divine Desire Beneath Sexual Struggle and also on this episode of Almost Good Catholics. Michael John Cusick’s website. Restoring the Soul intensive counseling ministry. Restoring the Soul podcast, and on Apple. Related Almost Good Catholics episodes: Heather King on Almost Good Catholics, episode 4: Divine Intoxication: A Discussion about Grace, Sainthood, and Women in the Church Mako Fujimura on Almost Good Catholics, episode 14: The Silence of God: The Meaning of Our Suffering and Redemption Brant Hansen on Almost Good Catholics, episode 75: The Men We Need: What Men Are Supposed to Be Doing Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Temeko Ricardson grew up in the Protestant American tradition; she was a “GPK” (grand-pastor-kid) from a family of church leaders. She has been thinking about Christianity and social issues—failure to include God’s people into His Church, fractured families, homelessness—and how to weave out society together and spread the Gospel. She’s an entrepreneur, consultant, philanthropist, and filmmaker. Today we talk about her work and the content she had been making to “ensure people understand the greatness of having Christ at the center of their lives through entertaining content.” Temeko Richardson’s YouTube channel. Temeko Richardson’s IMDB page. Temeko Richardson on Film Freeway. At the Cross film website. Interview with Ray Lewis, “Fatherless.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There have been Christians in the Holy Land for two thousand years; “we are the first church,” says Father Firas Abedrabbo who is from Bethlehem and works in Ramallah. He studied law in France and speaks excellent English and spoke with me about his experience as a priest in Palestine (the West Bank) during the Gaza War. We talk politics and history, but we also talk about how people in the middle of a war can see God’s love and His participation in our daily lives, even (or perhaps especially) in our darkest hours.I am grateful for Josh Del Colle of South Dakota for this episode suggestion and for arranging the introduction. Website of the Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem Father Firas’s webpage. Almost Good Catholics episodes with Father Piotr Żelazko in Jerusalem: [Part 1] Fr. Piotr Żelazko on Almost Good Catholics, episode 71: Live from Israel: Catholics in the Holy Land Today [Part 2] Fr. Piotr Żelazko on Almost Good Catholics, episode 73, starting at 55 minutes after my interview with Jay Richards: Darwinian Accident or Divine Architect? The Debate between Natural Selection and Intelligence Design [Part 3] Fr. Piotr Żelazko on Almost Good Catholics, episode 79, The Ground is Crying out to God: Live from Jerusalem Part 3 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For Christians, the central event in history and in universe is the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ 2000 years ago. This killing of God (or deicide) is so mysterious and terrible that it’s hard to even approach: what kind of a God would choose to be tortured and murdered by his rebellious creatures? Pastor Brian Zahnd’s poetic theology of the Cross (in The Wood between the Worlds) takes a kaleidoscopic approach, which turns this way and that, until that terrible cross reflects the light of God that dazzles with coruscating beauty. Pastor Brian’s webpage. Pastor Brian’s book, The Wood between the Worlds (IVP, 2024) Tim Stewart’s interview with Brian on the Impact Nations podcast (February 2024) Related Almost Good Catholics episodes: David Basile on Almost Good Catholics, episode 39: Why a Savior? The Theology of Sacrifice and Redemption Jeff Brannon on Almost Good Catholics, episode 40: O Death, Where is Your Sting? The Biblical Theology of Resurrection Fr Chris Alar on Almost Good Catholics, episode 61: Master Craftsman, Broken Tools: Why God Works Through Us, Hears Intercessory Prayers, and Grants Divine Mercy Sr Mary Josefa of the Eucharist on Almost Good Catholics, episode 68: Brides of Christ: Contemplative Life among the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices