The Catholic Culture Podcast

The Catholic Culture Podcast is now in video! Subscribe to our YouTube channel! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBwqvyZyc2bpzI-kOYhwrkw While the Catholic Church has condemned Marxism, Communism and socialism from their beginning, an alarming number of those calling themselves Catholic display a sympathy for these ideas: think of America magazine’s 2019 essay on “The Catholic Case of Communism”. Even some orthodox Catholic intellectuals seem to think we should mine the writings of Marx for whatever truth might be contained among the rubbish. Aside from the fact that Marx’s philosophy represents a war on being itself (in his words, “the ruthless criticism of all that exists”), making it rather difficult to find untainted morsels of truth in his writings, there are other reasons to steer clear. If philosophy is truly the pursuit of wisdom, we should care about the personal lives of philosophers. Marx was a deeply vicious man. He displayed complete contempt for his fellow man, was a virulent racist, despised God and religion, and was an utter hypocrite when it came to money, constantly sponging off his family and acquaintances. Beyond all that, there is the distinct sense of something demonic in Marx’s personal life. Those who knew him most intimately consistently described him in demonic terms: His son wrote to him as “my dear devil”, his father suggested that he was “governed by a demon”, and Engels referred to him as a “monster of ten thousand devils”. Marx himself was obsessed with the Devil, writing poems and plays about characters who make pacts with Satan and are resigned to their own damnation. He even told his children an ongoing bedtime story about a man who sold his soul to the devil. (Marx’s two daughters would die in suicide pacts with their husbands, who were atheistic revolutionaries like their father-in-law.) In this episode, Paul Kengor, author of The Devil and Karl Marx, discusses this (exhaustively footnoted) evidence of the demonic in Marx’s life. What inspired this man with so much hatred that he called for the “ruthless criticism of all that exists”, beginning with religion? Contents  [3:03] The scope of The Devil and Karl Marx [10:36] A picture of Marx from those closest to him [15:23] Marx’s lifelong “ruthless criticism of all that exists”, beginning with religion [26:33] Satanic themes in Marx's early literary output [30:57] Suicide pacts in Marx’s literature and in his children’s lives [37:56] Walter Duranty and Aleister Crowley [41:55] Marx's personal behavior around money, family, and friends [47:41] The error of separating philosophy from personal life [52:29] “Just a phase”?: Why Marx’s youthful writings are relevant to his later work [55:18] The pedants’ denial that Marxism is present in contemporary movements Links Paul Kengor, The Devil and Karl Marx https://www.tanbooks.com/the-devil-and-karl-marx.html Online Great Books opens a new enrollment period on October 13th. Join the waiting list via this referral link to get 25% off your first three months! https://hj424.isrefer.com/go/ogbmemberships/tmirus/ Episode 27 with Online Great Books’ Scott Hambrick https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/episode-27-always-wanted-to-study-great-books-heres-how-youll-actually-follow-through-scott-hambrick/ Support the show! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio

There are many strange stories in rock history. But Luxury is surely the only band in which three out of five members ended up becoming Orthodox priests. Combining a hard-edged instrumental texture with sweet, melodious vocals and literary lyrics, Luxury has continued to record and perform sporadically since their beginning in the mid-1990s Christian punk scene. They have retained a loyal following and their latest album, Trophies, was released last year to much acclaim. Fr. David Lee Bozeman—singer, songwriter and guitarist—joins the show to tell the band’s story, discuss the relationship between liturgy and modern culture, and comment on his lyrics, which deal with themes like ordination, marriage real and counterfeit, the scourge of pornography, and the sanctification of the body. Contents [2:36] “The Majesty of the Flesh” [9:39] The complicated sanctity of the Christian body; deification/theosis [14:58] Fr. David’s songwriting process [15:53] The story of Luxury, three of its members’ path from Protestantism to sacramental faith [25:06] “Courage, Courage”, a song about Fr. David’s ordination [35:48] “To Conquer and Destroy” [39:29] The band's early influences and Fr. David's reference points from the 80s and 90s [44:19] Fr. David’s experience of the Christian rock scene [46:27] Orthodoxy and modern culture: liturgy is brought into secular life, not vice versa [52:02] “The War on Women” and the hold of pornography on the modern world [1:02:00] The compact experience of T.S. Eliot’s poetry and its influence on Fr. David’s lyrics [1:05:46] “Museums in Decline” [1:11:58] “Trophies” and the Orthodox understanding of marriage and second marriages [1:20:35] Provocation in Luxury’s early lyrics [1:23:16] “Queer Logic”, a lament over the Supreme Court’s decision on gay marriage [1:27:37] “Perpetua Simone”   All music in this episode used with permission from Luxury and Lee Bozeman. “The War on Women”, “Museums in Decline”, “Trophies”, “Courage, Courage” from Luxury, Trophies. https://luxury.bandcamp.com/album/trophies “To Conquer and Destroy”, “Perpetua Simone” from Luxury, Luxury. https://luxury.bandcamp.com/album/luxury “The Majesty of the Flesh” from Lee Bozeman, The Majesty of the Flesh. https://leebozeman.bandcamp.com/album/the-majesty-of-the-flesh “Queer Logic” from Lee Bozeman, Queer Logic. https://leebozeman.bandcamp.com/album/queer-logic Links Lee Bozeman http://www.leebozeman.com/ Lee Bozeman on Bandcamp https://leebozeman.bandcamp.com/ Luxury on Bandcamp https://luxury.bandcamp.com/ Luxury on Twitter https://twitter.com/thebandLuxury Luxury on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/LuxuryBand This podcast is a production of CatholicCulture.org. If you like the show, please consider supporting us! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio

Catholic theologian Douglas Farrow and Lutheran political scholar Andrew Busch join the show to discuss their recent essays on the coronavirus lockdown, and assess the reasons and prospects for civil disobedience. In “The Health-First Heresy,” Farrow examines the responses of Catholic and other Christian leaders to the state’s orders to cease corporate worship. Whatever concessions the Church may make to the state as to the circumstances under which worship is held, she may not simply suspend her proper activities indefinitely until the state gives the word. In “The Limits of Expertise,” Busch assesses where “following the experts” (which ones? in what fields?) has gotten us so far and points out the dangers of pretending to replace statesmanship with expertise. Contents [8:30] The “health-first heresy”; the priority of the soul over the body [17:29] Making prudential judgments vs. suspending corporate worship indefinitely; how much can the Church concede to the state in matters of worship? [23:37] We have to realize the world is run by people who have contempt for religious worship [32:09] Areas of overlap between Church and state authority [40:08] The modern desire to be in complete control surpasses the desire to avoid suffering [42:58] Religious leaders need to plan for the next pretext to shut down worship [49:56] Listen to—Which scientists? In what fields? [56:30] The track record of the experts [58:56] The legal fallout of accepting lockdowns [62:47] Shifting the goalposts from “flattening the curve” to eliminating all cases [1:04:13] Rule by experts is incompatible with the consent of the governed [1:07:47] Other motives behind lockdown [1:10:29] Why coordinated civil disobedience needs to begin NOW—no waiting for a vaccine [1:21:06] Striking a balance between resisting irrational fear and taking appropriate precautions Links Douglas Farrow, “The Health-First Heresy” https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2020/08/07/the-health-first-heresy/ Andrew Busch, “The Limits of Expertise” https://americanmind.org/essays/the-limits-of-expertise/ Douglas Farrow at Catholic World Report https://www.catholicworldreport.com/author/farrow-douglas/ Andrew Busch at The American Mind https://americanmind.org/author/andrew-busch/ and Claremont Review of Books https://claremontreviewofbooks.com/author/andrew-e-busch/ Episode 56 on Yves Simon’s General Theory of Authority https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/episode-56-vindicating-authority-aquinas-guilbeau-op/ Episode 27 with Online Great Books’ Scott Hambrick https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/episode-27-always-wanted-to-study-great-books-heres-how-youll-actually-follow-through-scott-hambrick/ Online Great Books opens a new enrollment period on October 13th. Join the waiting list via this referral link to get 25% off your first three months! https://hj424.isrefer.com/go/ogbmemberships/tmirus/ This podcast is a production of CatholicCulture.org. If you like the show, please consider supporting us! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio

While the left continues crudely to paint America’s founding as a mere expression of white supremacy, certain thinkers on the right have been making their own attack on American principles. They argue that America’s founding principles are fundamentally a product of an Enlightenment liberalism incompatible with natural law and faith. They find in the Constitution seeds of moral relativism, leading inevitably to Obergefell and gender ideology. To this position Robert Reilly’s new book America on Trial: A Defense of the Founding is a powerful rejoinder, arguing that the Founding’s roots lie a few millennia further back than the Enlightenment. With superb scholarship, he examines the whole history of Western culture up to the Founding, beginning with the Greeks, Hebrews and early Christians, proceeding through the Middle Ages to the Protestant Revolt and the debate over the divine right of kings. It becomes clear that the American Founding was part of a millennium-long debate over the question of which is supreme, reason or will. This interview focuses primarily on the original explication of several important American constitutional principles in medieval ecclesiastical and secular law. At the end, Thomas poses some tough questions about the compatibility of the First Amendment with the teachings of Leo XIII about Church-state relations and free speech in Immortale Dei. This is a listener-supported show! To help produce more episodes, please go to http://www.catholicculture.org/donate/audio. Contents [2:09] The stakes of the debate over America’s founding [10:38] Christianity diminished the role of the state… [17:15] …while granting legitimacy to the state within its own secular sphere [22:38] The two swords; separation of temporal and spiritual authority [25:36] The king must respect the ancient customs of the land [29:02] Developments in canon law: consent of the governed, the right to representation [39:08] The Coronation Charter and the Magna Carta, right to revolution [42:56] Natural and divine law trump human positive law, both secular and ecclesiastical [46:14] The importance of England's role in the formation of the American colonies [48:57] Political implications of the debate over God’s Intellect vs. pure arbitrary Will [53:43] How consent works: the basis of a democratic majority and minority [57:54] The dependence of a democratic republic on the virtue of its people [1:06:15] Revolution against US govt. justified during slavery and today? Role of prudence [1:13:40] Does the Constitution conflict with Catholic teaching on Church and state? [1:28:34] Is Constitutional freedom of speech correct from a Catholic POV? [1:36:47] Modern-day barbarism: the re-tribalization of Man with identity politics [1:39:39] Does the Constitution mandate free speech on the state level? Links Robert Reilly, America on Trial: A Defense of the Founding https://www.ignatius.com/America-on-Trial-P3479.aspx Pope Leo XIII, Immortale Dei (On the Christian Constitution of States) https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=4916 Pope Leo XIII, Longuinqua (On Catholicism in the United States) http://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_06011895_longinqua.html Phil Lawler’s review of America on Trial https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/answer-to-catholic-critics-american-founding/ David Upham’s critique of America on Trial https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2020/07/03/how-americanism-put-baby-in-the-corner/  Book mentioned: The Ancient City by Fustel de Coulanges https://www.amazon.com/Ancient-City-Religion-Institutions-Greece/dp/0801823048 This podcast is a production of CatholicCulture.org. If you like the show, please consider supporting us! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio

This episode revisits some great moments from past Catholic Culture Podcast episodes: 18 - Acedia, the Forgotten Capital Sin - R.J. Snell https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/episode-18-acedia-forgotten-capital-sin-rj-snell/ 19 - Understanding the Church's Abuse Crisis - Fr. Roger Landry https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/episode-19-understanding-churchs-abuse-crisis-fr-roger-landry/ 21 - Gosnell, the Abortion Story No One Wanted Told - Ann McElhinney https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/episode-21-gosnell-abortion-story-no-one-wanted-told-ann-mcelhinney/ 22 - Newman's Idea of a University https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/episode-22-newmans-idea-university-paul-shrimpton/ 23 - How the Laity Must Respond to the Abuse Crisis - Fr. Roger Landry https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/episode-23-how-laity-must-respond-to-abuse-crisis-fr-roger-landry/ 24 - Talking A Capella with VOCES8's Barnaby Smith https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/episode-24-talking-capella-with-voces8s-barnaby-smith/ This podcast is a production of CatholicCulture.org. If you like the show, please consider supporting us! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio

In this episode originally from Criteria: The Catholic Film Podcast, Thomas asks attorney and scholar Louis Karlin whether Robert Bolt’s play and film A Man for All Seasons accurately depict St. Thomas More’s views on the rights of conscience, and his motives for martyrdom. More’s involvement in the prosecution of heretics is also examined: even if More was a martyr of conscience, is it accurate to call him a champion of religious freedom? One thing is certain: the portrayal by Hilary Mantel and others of More as a torturer of heretics is false. Links The Center for Thomas More Studies https://thomasmorestudies.org/ Lecture by Richard Rex critiquing the historical fiction of Hilary Mantel, “More the villain and Cromwell the hero?” https://ionainstitute.ie/thomas-more-thomas-cromwell-and-wolf-hall/ William Marshner, “Dignitatis Humanae and Traditional Teaching on Church and State” https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?id=8778 Thomas Pink, “Conscience and Coercion” https://www.firstthings.com/article/2012/08/conscience-and-coercion Louis W. Karlin and David R. Oakley, Inside the Mind of Thomas More: The Witness of His Writings https://www.amazon.com/Inside-Mind-Thomas-More-Writings/dp/1594173133 Karlin, Wegemer and Kelly, Thomas More’s Trial by Jury: A Procedural Legal Review with a Collection of Documents https://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Mores-Trial-Jury-Procedural/dp/1843838737/ Stephen Smith (ed.), For All Seasons: Selected Letters of Thomas More https://www.amazon.com/All-Seasons-Selected-Letters-Thomas/dp/1594171637 Wegemer and Smith (ed.), The Essential Works of Thomas More https://www.amazon.com/Essential-Works-Thomas-More/dp/0300223374/ St. Thomas More, The Sadness of Christ https://www.amazon.com/Sadness-Christ-Thomas-More/dp/1849020558 The Yale Edition of the Complete Works of St. Thomas More, Vol. 14, De Tristitia Christi https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Works-Thomas-Tristitia-Christi/dp/0300017936 Other podcasts on St. Thomas More Criteria film discussion https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/man-for-all-seasons-1966/ Audiobook of More’s Dialogue on Conscience https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/st-thomas-more-dialogue-on-conscience/ This podcast is a production of CatholicCulture.org. If you like the show, please consider supporting us! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio Music is The Duskwhales, “Take It Back”, used with permission.

Something a little different: this is the audio from a video on the DeClue's Views YouTube channel, which I am republishing here because I want to give these men a wider audience. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeQenCC8iQo Description: In a recent video,Taylor Marshall presented what he considers to be errors in the documents of the Second Vatican Council. This video by Richard DeClue and Chris Plance serves as a rebuttal. It starts by highlighting general problems with Marshall's approach and the spiritual dangers it entails. It then goes through each of Marshall's "errors," offering corrective interpretations in light of the documents themselves and other magisterial texts. Time Stamps to Parts of this Video: 0:00:04 Opening Prayer 0:00:55 Introduction to Chris Plance 0:02:28 Introduction to Richard DeClue 0:03:19 Brief Description of Taylor Marshall's Video 0:03:54 Chris Plance on Why We Need to Respond to TM's Video 0:10:55 Richard DeClue on Why We Need to Respond to TM's Video 0:13:43 Taylor's Opening Remarks about Dialogue with Traditionalists 0:15:13 Richard and Chris on the Traditional Latin Mass and Traditional Catholicism 0:18:18 The Need to Avoid Strawmen and the Importance of Accurately Presenting Material 0:23:30 The Charge that the Council was "So Long Ago" and "We're Still Debating It" 0:28:19 The Issue of Whether the Council is Binding If It Didn't Proclaim New Dogmas/Anathemas 0:41:30 The Church Before and After Vatican II is the Same Church 0:42:40 The Infamous Schillebeecx Quote and the Need to Avoid a "Soap Opera Approach" 0:50:06 Lumen Gentium #8: Subsistit In (Subsists In) 1:00:29 Lumen Gentium #14 On the Catholic Church as Necessary for Salvation 1:02:19 Additional Point about Subsists In (Lumen Gentium #8) 1:03:59 Lumen Gentium #16: Do Muslims Worship God? 1:21:23 Lumen Gentium #16-17: A Preparation for the Gospel and Deceit By the Evil One 1:27:50 Nostra Aetate: Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions 1:46:30 Dignitatis Humanae: Declaration on Religious Freedom 1:56:25 Unitatis Redintegratio: Decree on Ecumenism vs False Ecumenism 2:00:30 Sacrosanctum Concilium: Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy 2:03:57 Closing Remarks 2:17:23 Closing Prayer To Support Chris Plance, go to his Patreon Page: https://www.patreon.com/CatholicLA To Support Richard DeClue, go to his Donor Box page: https://donorbox.org/sapientia-nullif... To read Richard's blog, click here: https://declubac.wixsite.com/sapienti... For the Documents of Vatican II, go to the Vatican Website: http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_co... Edward Feser's Blog Post: http://edwardfeser.blogspot.com/2015/... For Massimo Introvigne's Article on Ratzinger and Religious Freedom: https://www.cesnur.org/2011/dan-mi.html

The Catholic Church in America has largely lost its distinctive flavor and with it, its ability either to retain the faithful or to evangelize the infidel. The problem precedes Vatican II: in the Tridentine 1950s, many Catholics, eager for mainstream respectability, had already adopted a bourgeois spirituality. In his first book, The Prodigal Church: Restoring Catholic Tradition in an Age of Deception, Brandon McGinley calls for Catholics to return to the essence of the faith, rather than to a previous era of Catholic "success", and so find creative ways to restore a robust and evangelical Catholic culture in the unknown years to come.  Contents [2:03] Fr. Ratzinger’s famous quote about a smaller and more spiritual Church [8:30] Catholicism an embodied faith [12:32] Incompatibility between American and Catholic principles? [19:10] American Catholicism in the 1950s—incipient worldiness [27:15] The importance of small habits in living out the reality of faith and Christ's passion [33:04] Spiritual corrosion caused by immoderate anger towards the hierarchy [39:44] Remembering the Church Triumphant [43:05] “Third places” and the importance of the parish as a community space [51:05] The need for community among nuclear families [55:05] Catholic hospitality and vulnerability [1:00:04] Why we shouldn’t separate “moral” from “social” teaching Links The Prodigal Church https://www.sophiainstitute.com/products/item/the-prodigal-church Brandon McGinley https://brandonmcginley.com/ Brandon McGinley on Twitter https://twitter.com/brandonmcg This podcast is a production of CatholicCulture.org. If you like the show, please consider supporting us! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio

From 1981 to 1993, Jane Greer edited Plains Poetry Journal, publishing poets who were reviving the traditional tools of “rhyme, meter, alliteration, assonance, painstaking attention to diction” which had been abandoned in favor of free verse. (These poets included names you will be familiar with from the Catholic scene today, such as Anthony Esolen and Mike Aquilina.) Then, as they say, life happened, and Greer didn’t write a single poem for almost thirty years. But God’s ways are unpredictable. After three decades of silence, Greer was suddenly struck with a poem while sitting in a New Orleans café. This began a steady stream of output resulting in her new collection, Love Like a Conflagration (which also includes the poems from her only previous book). Greer’s poetry is musical, fiery and accessible, and has received high praise from many of today’s foremost Catholic poets, including past podcast guests Samuel Hazo, James Matthew Wilson, Anthony Esolen and Mike Aquilina. Hazo writes: “There is not a poem in this remarkable book that will leave you unchanged or be forgotten … Each of these poems is as permanently current as it is consummate. [Greer] puts on the page the passion long absent from American poetry. I’ve never read a book as poetically and beautifully frank as this.” Contents [2:57] Style and intended audience of Jane's work [3:53] The introductory poem to Love Like a Conflagration, “Micha-el” [9:00] Structure of the collection [12:22] “Her Green Desire” [16:19] Jane's 30-year hiatus from poetry and providential return [23:13] “At the Cafe Pontalba”, Jane’s first poem after 30 years of silence [25:27] Jane’s beginnings as a self-taught poet and early influences [30:30] “Because God Wanted It”, a poem about unmerited grace [34:28] The relationship between Jane's spiritual life and her poetry [38:12] Dealing with lust in “Song of the Passerby” and “Pastoral” [45:08] Jane's work founding and editing Plains Poetry Journal [50:27] “Bourbon, Neat” and pure play with language [55:34] The immersive musicality and force of Jane’s poetry [57:50] “Feminist Androgyne” [1:03:15] “The Haunting” [1:05:09] “Twice Betrayed”, a poem in Lazarus’ voice [1:10:49] “In the Pool at the Bourbon Orleans” Links Read “Micha-el” https://isi.org/modern-age/micha-el/ Love Like a Conflagration https://lambingpress.com/product/love-like-a-conflagration/ This podcast is a production of CatholicCulture.org. If you like the show, please consider supporting us! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio

Modernity treats the human body pretty much as a machine for the production of pleasure. It is tuned up, fueled, and oiled for peak performance, and then when it is no longer of use, it is burnt and disposed of in a maximally efficient manner. Paradoxically, the denial of a soul which persists after bodily death has led us to deny the body itself as fundamental to human identity. The allegedly soulless modern has less hope of resurrection than the Saducees ever did. We somehow fear death more yet never engage with the reality of death. Scott Hahn joins the show to talk about how the incarnation, death and resurrection of the Son of God changed how our civilization viewed the body, death and the afterlife. Unfortunately, even Catholics today treat dead bodies in a way that does not convey this reality. Yet how we approach death & burial has the potential to show the Catholic difference and evangelize our culture. Contents [1:24] The present confrontation (or lack thereof) with mortality and death [4:28] Modern Gnostic attitudes towards the body [7:21] The ancient pagan sense of reverence for dead bodies vs. that of the Hebrews [15:08] The duality in Jewish treatment of corpses [23:48] Shift to early Christian attitudes [29:12] Rediscovering a healthy, balanced and hopeful view of the human body [31:41] What does it mean that we will have “spiritual bodies” after the resurrection? [47:07] Catholic beliefs about the consequences of failing to properly bury the dead [53:50] Revival of cremation by French revolutionaries, Masons, Communists and neo-pagans as a deliberate attack on the Church [59:51] The relevance of sacramentals and relics to the question of cremation [1:05:05] Inordinate fear of death during the present pandemic; reasons for hope Links Hope to Die: The Christian Meaning of Death and the Resurrection of the Body https://stpaulcenter.com/product/hope-to-die-the-christian-meaning-of-death-and-the-resurrection-of-the-body/  “In all things, charity (even pandemics)” https://www.lincolndiocese.org/news/diocesan-news/13928-in-all-things-charity-even-pandemics Scott Hahn http://www.scotthahn.com/ Emily Stimpson Chapman https://thecatholictable.com/about-emily-stimpson/ This podcast is a production of CatholicCulture.org. If you like the show, please consider supporting us! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio