Catholic Answers Focus

Netflix goes heavy Catholic in its series Midnight Mass. But does it get the Catholic view of death right? Apologist Joe Heschmeyer joins us for a discussion of the various takes on death presented in Midnight Mass. Cy Kellett: Catholic take on Netflix’s Midnight Mass, Joe Heschmeyer is next. Hello and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic faith. I’m Cy Kellett, your host, and one thing that we know in this movie era, in this era of the moving image, the Catholic church looks good on film. And they did it again in a n...

Some Christians miss or explain away the amazing gift that Jesus gave his Church when he told the Apostles, “Whose sins you forgive are forgiven…” This unique moment is given to us in John 20:23. Karlo Broussard joins us to explain why the most obvious reading is the right one — Christ gave the Apostles the power to forgive sins. Cy Kellett: Did Jesus give the church a sacrament of confession or not? Karlo Broussard is next. Cy Kellett: Hello, and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic faith. I’m Cy K...

Catholics in politics are big in the news these days. But a truly Catholic politics might not be what you think. We talk about the meaning of politics form a Catholic perspective with theologian Andrew Willard Jones author of new book, The Two Cities: A History of Christian Politics. Cy Kellett: What is the place of the church in politics? Andrew Willard Jones is next. Hello, and welcome to Focus, The Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding and defending your Catholic faith. I’m Cy Kellett your host. Before we start, let me just review where we are as Catholics in the public ...

Loki now has his own TV show on Disney+, and the god of mischief raises serious issues of atheism, polytheism, freewill, and conversion. We get Joe Heschmeyer’s take on all of it from a Christian perspective. Cy Kellett: Disney’s Loki raises big questions. Joe Heschmeyer’s glorious purpose is to answer them, next on Focus. Cy Kellett: Hello, and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding and defending your Catholic faith. I’m Cy Kellett, your host. And like many people, I have watched Loki, the new Marvel series on the Disney+ platform, an...

Being entirely objective, the Basilica of St. Peter in Rome is the best building in the world! We ask Duncan Stroik, the founder of the Sacred Architecture Journal, to explain why this is, and why churches, and other buildings today, don’t match it. Why don’t we build churches like St. Peter’s anymore? Architect Duncan Stroik is next. Cy Kellett: Duncan Stroik is Professor of Architecture at Notre Dame University and the founding editor of Sacred Architecture Journal. And we had the great, good fortune of having a visit from him here at Catholic Answers. So we sat down to talk wit...

Do you have trouble with the Sacrament of Reconciliation? Not sure about? Don’t know quite what to say? Father Hugh Barbour gives a brief lesson on what really happens in confession, and offers tips on how to make confessing part of your life. Cy Kellett: What does confessing to a priest actually do? Father Hugh Barbour is next. Cy Kellett: Hello, and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic faith. How I’m making Jesus happy. Is that a real thing? Can you make Jesus happy? Well, one of the great insights that Father Hugh share...

Fr. Hugh Barbour discusses how Jesus's teachings on judgment impact our own lives, urging listeners to avoid being judgmental and resentful. The podcast explores the nuances of moral judgment, different perspectives on controversial topics, and the importance of embracing forgiveness and mercy in Christianity.

Fr. Hugh Barbour discusses the devil's hatred for Mass and Jesus' desire for attendance. Emphasizes the importance of active participation, impact of the pandemic on Mass, significance of the Eucharist, devil's focus on deterrence, communal worship, and financial support.

Catholic Scholar Christopher Kaczor finds a great deal to admire in Jordan Peterson and his followers. But is Peterson’s work a fully-satisfying body of thought, or is it more of a doorway to deeper satisfactions for the mind? We discuss Kaczor’s new book — Jordan Peterson, God, and Christianity: The Search for a Meaningful Life. Cy Kellett: Is Jordan Peterson leading people to Christianity? Christopher Kaczor is next. Cy Kellett: Hello, and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answer’s podcast for living, understanding and defending your Catholic faith. I’m Cy Kellett...

Theologian and Catholic Worker Larry Chapp joins us for a discussion of Pope Francis’ Motu Proprio on the Latin Mass. Was this a missed opportunity for the pope to achieve his larger goals? Is there any better way available to reach those goals? Cy Kellett: Is this a self-defeating papacy? Dr. Larry Chapp is next. Cy Kellett: Hello and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic faith. I’m Cy Kellett, your host. I’ve been wanting to have Dr. Larry Chapp on the program. Lots of folks actually recommend him all the time...