The faithful have many questions about the ecclesiastical sexual abuse crisis: What did Church authorities do right in responding to the previous wave of scandals, and what did they fail to do? How could Theodore McCarrick, a serial abuser surrounded by rumors, rise to become one of the most powerful hierarchs in the Church? What is the connection between doctrinal infidelity and sexual infidelity by priests? How do priests living double lives justify remaining in the priesthood? Finally, how much truth is there to the claim that priestly sexual abuse is the result of clericalism? Links Fr. Roger Landry, Plan of Life: Habits to Help You Grow Closer to God https://amzn.to/2RGVW80 Fr. Roger Landry’s National Catholic Register articles about the abuse crisis: http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/truth-is-needed-to-free-the-church-from-sacrilege-of-clergy-scandal http://www.ncregister.com/blog/fatherlandry/how-to-stay-faithful-as-we-endure-and-confront-the-crisis http://www.ncregister.com/blog/fatherlandry/anchors-in-the-storm http://www.ncregister.com/blog/fatherlandry/spiritual-paternity-anger-lying-and-vulnerable-adults http://www.ncregister.com/blog/fatherlandry/what-to-do-about-corruption-in-the-church This podcast is a production of CatholicCulture.org. If you like the show, please consider supporting us! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio

Once included among the capital sins, acedia has been identified with both sloth and sadness. St. Thomas Aquinas, for example, defined it both as "disgust with activity" and “sadness about spiritual good.” Today’s guest, RJ Snell, argues that acedia is the chief spiritual malady of our age, underlying the malaise, nihilism and despair so prevalent in the modern West. Links R.J. Snell, Acedia and Its Discontents: Metaphysical Boredom in the Empire of Desire https://amzn.to/2xTTBhQ Thomas’s 2015 review of Snell, Acedia and Its Discontents https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/otc.cfm?id=1307 Thomas’s 2015 review of Nault, The Noonday Devil https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/otc.cfm?id=1283 Forthcoming book: R.J. Snell and Robert P. George, Mind, Heart & Soul: Intellectuals and the Path to Rome https://amzn.to/2zO9Uhk This podcast is a production of CatholicCulture.org. If you like the show, please consider supporting us! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio

Many Catholics have become cynical about the possibility of changing the political landscape, but perhaps we’ve given up before we’ve really tried. It’s not just about electing the right congressmen and nominating the right justices, it’s about keeping them accountable. In this episode, former Virginia delegate Bob Marshall shares practical insights drawn from his encyclopedic knowledge of the American political tradition and from his own achievements in politics: for example, he was behind the Hyde Amendment which stopped abortion funding via Medicaid. He reminds us that “To render to Caesar, you have to know the structure of Caesar’s world.” Did you know that Congress has the Constitutional authority to decide what kinds of cases the Supreme Court may hear? What about the possibility of amending appropriations bills to render SCOTUS decisions like Obergefell unenforceable? Have you given real consideration to the fact that local politics is the foundation for everything else? If not, you’ll want to listen to this episode. Links Robert G. Marshall, Reclaiming the Republic: How Christians and Other Conservatives Can Win Back America https://amzn.to/2xSQxlg Jeff Mirus’s review of Reclaiming the Republic https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/otc.cfm?id=1565 Bob Marshall’s recent articles for The Federalist https://thefederalist.com/author/robertgmarshall/ Msgr. John Sanders, the priest who played with Duke Ellington https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/otc.cfm?id=1575   Timestamps 2:41 Bob Marshall’s political career and recent defeat 6:01 Why Bob wrote Reclaiming the Republic; natural law in the American founding 9:25 Catholics ought not withdraw from politics: Biblical precedents 13:25 Judicial branch is not the final authority on what is Constitutional; Congress’s authority to decide what cases the Supreme Court can hear 23:32 The importance of educating your representatives 26:47 Bob’s role in passing the Hyde Amendment; importance of the power of the purse 34:13 Appropriations bills can be used to keep bad Supreme Court decisions from being enforced 36:22 Our representatives avoid voting on the record so we can’t hold them accountable 39:24 How to get your representative to go on the record 41:03 The oath of office—you can’t fulfill it if you don’t read the bills you vote on! 44:15 Anti-commandeering laws, by which states can refuse to enforce federal laws 48:47 Why you should vote in primary elections 50:41 “All politics is local”: issues that affect people’s daily lives 53:18 The importance of the precinct; door-to-door campaigning tips 57:45 The role of corporations in promoting immoral policies

In part two of my interview with Corey “The Tolkien Professor” Olsen, we discuss several extremely specific questions about Middle-earth, including: What is “magic” in The Lord of the Rings? Whogiddy-what is Tom Bombadil exactly? Do the good consequences of Eowyn’s disobedience to Theoden justify her actions? Are orcs—possessing free will but seemingly evil by nature—metaphysically coherent? Links Signum University https://signumuniversity.org/ Mythgard Institute (Signum’s free programs for the public) https://mythgard.org/ The Tolkien Professor Podcast https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-tolkien-professor/id320513707?mt=2 Corey Olsen’s website https://tolkienprofessor.com/ Timestamps Corey Olsen 2:06 The ambiguity of “magic” as used by different beings and races in The Lord of the Rings 12:13 Is Tom Bombadil God or a Christ-figure? What does it mean that “he is,” and that he is “the Master”? Is Tom a Maia? West vs. east and resurrection in the barrow-wight episode 35:04 Does Eowyn’s fulfillment of prophecy in slaying the Witch-King justify her abandonment of her duties to stay behind and rule/protect her people in the King’s absence? Simplistic feminist misinterpretations of Eowyn; Rohan’s vs. Gondor’s cultural values 44:26 Eowyn’s despair vs. Sam’s; different kinds of hope; Sam’s attitude towards his duty and the sense in which he lacks hope 59:38 More on Eowyn, Rohan's debased cultural values 1:07:02 How Tolkien developed in his concept of flat vs. round Middle-earth 1:09:17 Are orcs evil by nature? How can that be if they have free will? 1:15:22 What is the basis of the differences/superiorities/inferiorities among the races of Middle-earth, and how is it different from real-world racist theories? 1:26:16 This week’s reading: J.R.R. Tolkien, “On Fairy-Stories” https://amzn.to/2Cgo9Pm This podcast is a production of CatholicCulture.org. If you like the show, please consider supporting us! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio

Corey Olsen, aka The Tolkien Professor, started out putting his college lectures out in podcast form, and ended up founding an online master’s program devoted to the study of imaginative literature: Signum University. We discuss Signum, the state approval process, the current advantages and prospects of online education, some differences between Tolkien and Lewis, and reading Tolkien with children. Links Signum University https://signumuniversity.org/ Mythgard Institute (Signum’s free programs for the public) https://mythgard.org/ The Tolkien Professor Podcast https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-tolkien-professor/id320513707?mt=2 Corey Olsen’s website https://tolkienprofessor.com/ Timestamps Corey Olsen 2:38 Signum University approved by the New Hampshire Higher Education Commission 3:02 Scope of studies at Signum University: definition of imaginative literature; Tolkien at the center 5:54 A fundamental difference between Tolkien and Lewis 15:23 The process of getting an educational program approved by a state board 22:46 Corey’s motivations to podcast: desire to communicate with more than a tiny academic audience, unfulfilled demand from people who want to study Tolkien seriously 28:43 Making online education more than just an efficient correspondence course: real-time interaction and community 33:14 Online education as an affordable alternative to bilking students and exploiting faculty 40:00 Signum’s free programs for the public at the Mythgard Institute 47:04 How old should your kid be to read The Lord of the Rings? 52:38 Moralizing Tolkien vs. Lewis: how they lend themselves to different ways of reading with children 56:17 This week’s reading: J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 250 https://amzn.to/2PLXhcs This podcast is a production of CatholicCulture.org. If you like the show, please consider supporting us! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio

What’s it like to be both a priest and a professional actor? George Drance, S.J. is the artist in residence at Fordham University, where he teaches acting, a resident artist in La Mama’s Great Jones Repertory Company, and the artistic director of Magis Theatre Company. We discuss his religious and artistic vocation, how people in the theater world feel about working with a priest, how to take custody of your career and choose your roles with integrity, Catholic vs. worldly ideas of success, and more.   Links George Drance, S.J. Fordham faculty page https://www.fordham.edu/info/25064/theatre_full-time_faculty/10013/george_drance_sj/1 Magis Theatre Company http://www.magistheatre.org Timestamps George Drance, S.J. 1:52 Being both a Jesuit priest and a working actor 6:50 How Fr. George seeks God in his work 8:11 Working in experimental theater with Great Jones Repertory and La MaMa; the legacy of Ellen Stewart 14:25 Navigating the theater world socially as a priest; how theater people respond to Fr. George’s priesthood 18:59 Dealing with the pressure to take compromising roles; taking custody of your career as a young actor 29:44 The advantage of having a personal practice as an actor 33:34 There’s no shame in having a day job; rejecting worldly conceptions of success 35:51 The fascinating career of dramatist-priest Pedro Calderón de la Barca (1600-1681); his Life Is a Dream 42:27 Magis Theatre Company: actor training and reviving forgotten classics 48:02 Adaptation of The Odyssey for high school students 50:15 Magis’s upcoming show, Miracle in Rwanda, based on Left to Tell by Imaculée Ilibagiza 53:50 This week’s reading: Bl. John Henry Newman, The Idea of a University

The critical theorists and social justice warriors are trying to do to medieval studies what they’ve done to other disciplines, and if you don’t get on board, you’re a white supremacist. Over the past two years or so, the mob has targeted University of Chicago professor Rachel Fulton Brown, calling her a fascist, trying to intimidate her department into censuring her, and banning her from conference sessions. She joins me to discuss her ordeal, why even tenured professors are willing to stand up for unpopular truths, and the stakes of the battle for medieval studies.   Links Rachel Fulton Brown’s academic homepage http://home.uchicago.edu/~rfulton/ Milo Yiannopoulos’s essay “Why the Battle for Medieval Studies Matters to America” (profanity warning) https://www.dangerous.com/45111/middle-rages/ Rachel’s fascinating Professional Self-Portrait http://home.uchicago.edu/~rfulton/Professional%20Self%20Portrait.pdf Mary and the Art of Prayer: The Hours of the Virgin in Medieval Christian Life and Thought: Purchase https://amzn.to/2MPrGFf Read Chapter 2 https://issuu.com/columbiaup/docs/mary_and_the_art_of_prayer_ave_mari     Timestamps 2:56 Rachel Fulton Brown 3:41 The initial blog post that made Rachel’s colleagues angry 10:15 Rachel’s friendship with Milo Yiannopoulos 15:19 The progressive witch hunt within medieval studies 28:25 The letter 1,500 academics signed attempting to get her department to censure her 34:40 Rachel’s defenders in academia 36:49 Why even tenured academics fear the mob 41:23 Critical theorists coming from English literature into medieval studies 45:27 What will be lost if medieval studies is taken over by progressives: the study of Christianity 51:02 This week’s reading: Bl. John Henry Newman This podcast is a production of CatholicCulture.org. If you like the show, please consider supporting us! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio

Mike Aquilina has been a highly successful freelance writer for over three decades. He is best known for his popular books on the Fathers of the Church, but he is also a poet and has co-written songs with the well-known blues singer Dion. We chat about the process of collaboration (whether as a ghostwriter or a song lyricist), the trajectory of poetry over the past century, and more.   Links Mike Aquilina’s website https://fathersofthechurch.com/ “New York Is My Home” (a song Mike co-wrote performed by Dion and Paul Simon) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpsVSLUOCGA A History of the Church in 100 Objects by Mike & Grace Aquilina https://catholicbooksdirect.com/product/a-history-of-the-church-in-100-objects/ The Fathers of the Church, 3rd Edition by Mike Aquilina https://catholicbooksdirect.com/product/the-fathers-of-the-church-3rd-edition/ “Hindu Traditions of St. Thomas” at Mike’s blog https://fathersofthechurch.com/2007/05/21/hindu-traditions-of-st-thomas/ “Birdhouse in Your Soul” by They Might Be Giants https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhjSzjoU7OQ   Timestamps Mike Aquilina 2:29 St. Thomas Aquinas’s Eucharistic hymns 5:27 Being a lyricist collaborating with a musician (Dion) 7:05 The fun of ghostwriting 9:18 Prose influences 11:18 Mike’s eclectic career path 13:27 The modern idea of the artist; poetry in the past century 31:39 Life as a full-time freelance writer 32:46 Mike’s work on patristics 35:18 Distilling the scholarship of experts for a popular audience 38:09 More on Mike’s collaboration with Dion 40:24 Having his lyrics sung by Paul Simon 41:31 Chatting about favorite musicians and lyricists 50:18 "Thomas Christians” in India and early Korean Catholicism 53:52 This week’s readings: Clement of Alexandria

Are music and morals connected? If so, what is the nature of that connection? Are certain musical sounds morally bad or good in themselves, or are they neutral? Could the influence of music on morality be of an indirect kind? Is there such a thing as a virtuous way of listening to music? Can music prepare us for the spiritual life? Do you have to be a good person to make beautiful music? I discuss these questions and more with theologian Fr. Basil Cole, O.P., an amateur jazz pianist who wrote his dissertation on the moral effects of music (not to be confused with another Fr. Basil who has also commented on the same subject!).   Links Basil Cole, O.P. bio https://www.dominicanajournal.org/preacher-professor-and-author-extraordinaire/ Read Fr. Basil's dissertation https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=11968 Fr. Basil articles at CC https://www.catholicculture.org/search/resultslist.cfm?requesttype=docbrowseauth&resourcetype=1&catlabel=author&catid=85 Excellent article on the Rosary by Fr. Basil https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=9226 Jeff Mirus’s review of Music and Morals https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/otc.cfm?id=510 Jeff Mirus’s review of  The Hidden Enemies of the Priesthood https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/articles.cfm?id=253 Jeff Mirus’s review of Christian Totality https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/otc.cfm?id=842 Further recommended reading (not mentioned in episode): Elisabeth-Paule Labat, O.S.B., The Song That I Am: On the Mystery of Music https://amzn.to/2LemFYY   Timestamps 3:16 Fr. Basil Cole interview 4:05 Fr. Basil’s musical background 10:01 Refuting the claim that certain musical sounds are intrinsically morally bad or good 12:20 Common misapplication of Plato’s theory of music 18:28 Does music imitate or express emotions? 20:05 Why certain personalities might feel threatened by musical creativity; the necessity of risk in art and the spiritual life 25:31 Why the philosophers have not understood music: it goes beyond reason and concepts 31:32 How good music teaches us to “rejoice rightly” 37:34 Music as school of contemplation 44:34 Beauty and morality: an indirect relationship; can music promote morality through happiness? 48:31 Temperance in listening to music 51:17 Is mediocre music morally degrading? 55:08 Using music to foster false identity and narcissistic sentimentality vs. true self-knowledge through contemplation 59:16 The vice of curiositas in music: music streaming tempts us to superficial musical gluttony 1:01:05 Curiositas: Over-analysis and musical snobbery 1:03:28 What Frank Serpico can teach us about music and integrity 1:06:38 Do you have to be a good person to make beautiful music? 1:10:50 What virtues does an artist need? 1:13:02 How to begin listening to music more deeply 1:15:47 This week’s excerpt: Sirach 32:5

Jeff Mirus, founder of CatholicCulture.org and Trinity Communications, shares his extensive experience in establishing Catholic organizations. He discusses his transition from a college position to launching a nonprofit publishing venture, emphasizing a student-centered approach. Mirus reflects on the evolution of CatholicCulture.org and the need for adaptability in a digital age. He also highlights St. Catherine Drexel’s inspiring commitment to service, encouraging listeners to embrace similar generosity in their own apostolate efforts.