Catholic Answers Focus: Recent Episodes
Catholic Answers
Catholic Answers Focus, the world's premier podcast on Catholic apologetics, helps you explain and defend the Catholic Faith. If you want to take a deep dive into the reasons behind Church teaching, Catholic Answers Focus is for you.
As a student at Oxford and an instructor at Harvard, he tried living by the maxim, “Preach always, and when necessary, use words.” It didn’t work. Then he started talking about Jesus, and people responded. Some by coming into the Church. Now, Dr. Tommy Heyne is on a mission to get Catholics talking openly and confidently about the Lord. Cy Kellett:Hello, and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers Podcast for living, understanding and defending your Catholic Faith. I am Cy Kellett, your host. What about this one? What about the advice we sometimes get that we should p…
The fact of suffering poses real intellectual challenges to the Christian message. So how do we share the gospel of a loving God, when suffering seems to reflect so poorly on him? Mark Giszcack, author of Suffering: What Every Catholic Should Know, joins us.Cy Kellett:Hello and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers Podcast for living, understanding and defending your Catholic faith. One of the greatest challenges faced with any person who wants to explain and defend the Catholic faith is life, and the fact that life involves sometimes overwhelming suffering. So you got to be able to answer…
Father Mark Mary Ames joins us for a conversation about the centrality of God’s Fatherhood to the Christian message. The author of The Father: 30 Meditations to Draw You Into the Heart of God, offers insights for sharing God’s Fatherhood with others, even those who struggle with father imagery.Cy Kellett:Hello and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding and defending your Catholic faith. I am Cy Kellett, your host, and today we talk about God the Father, and about, well, first of all, coming closer to God the Father, but also about opportunities with e…
Karlo Broussard joins us to discuss the Catholic understanding of the Eucharist, specifically if believing that Jesus is fully present is absurd.Cy Kellett:Hello and welcome to Focus, the Catholic answers podcast for living understanding and defending your Catholic faith. I am Cy Kellett, your host. And not too long ago we talked with Karlo Broussard about the Eucharist and particularly the words of institution and some Protestant arguments against the Catholic belief in the literalness of the words of consecration.This is my body and this is my blood. This time we talk with Karlo again, b…
A topic that tends to come around during Holy Week is the accuracy of the crucifixion, including when it occurred. In this episode, Cy and Catholic Answers Senior Apologist, Jimmy Akin, discuss the question of when exactly Jesus was crucified. Cy Kellett:Hello and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding and defending your Catholic faith. I am Cy Kellett, your host. And when exactly was Jesus crucified? That is our question this hour. It’s interesting, at least to me, quite interesting that as you examine that question, you get into some i…
The conversation over the real presence has been around for some time. Bible verses get thrown around but when we look at the full context of scripture, the words of Jesus come fully alive with its full glory. Catholic Answers Apologist, Karlo Broussard, joins us for a compelling conversation on this topic. Cy Kellett:Hello and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers Podcast for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic faith. I’m Cy Kellet, your host. And among the things that Catholics have to defend, because it is the most precious thing in this world to us, is th…
It can be tempting to bring the heat when defending Christ and his Church against infuriating arguments (and obnoxious personalities). Our guest, Trent Horn, has developed a reputation for turning down the heat while remaining firm in the truth. He shares some of his secrets with us.Cy Kellett:Hello and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers Podcast for living, understanding and defending your Catholic faith. I am Cy Kellett, your host, and we have one of the world’s best Catholic podcasters and YouTubers, authors and defenders of the faith with us to talk about how you keep cool in…
Erik Tafoya’s story of imprisonment and redemption is a powerful demonstration of God’s mercy. Now Tafoya is on a mission to bring apologetics to everyday folks. He shares his story and his techniques for explaining and defending the Faith.Cy Kellett:Hello, and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic faith. I am Cy Kellett, your host. And sometimes when we’re making the show, we’re like, “We have a topic and we want to find somebody who’s an expert in that topic.” And sometimes we have a …
Carrie Gress explores the intricate relationship between feminism and Catholicism. From tracing feminism’s historical roots to discussing its impact on modern society, she offers an insightful perspective on how the Church can provide an alternative to the prevailing feminist ideology. Tune in as she navigates through complex topics with depth and clarity, shedding light on the path forward for Catholics in today’s world.Cy Kellett:Hello and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers Podcast for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic faith. I am Cy Kellett, your host, an…
A major theme of modern morals is the slogan, “My body, my choice.” But is my body just a thing for me to use as I please, or does it have a more glorious purpose? Stephanie Gray Connors joins us for a discussion of the Christian view of the body, rooted in the unshakeable truth that God is love.Listeners can get a discount on Stephanie’s latest book, My Body For You, by purchasing at https://stpaulcenter.com/mybodyforyou and using the code FORYOU15Cy Kellett:Hello and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding and defending your Catholic faith. I am Cy …
Given the hyper- destructive nature of modern warfare, and the frequency of modern military engagements, can a Christian still accept the Just War thinking of earlier ages? Would Jesus? We asked theologian Joseph Capizzi, dean of the School of Theology and Religious Studies at Catholic University of America.Cy Kellett:Hello and welcome to Focus the Catholic Answers Podcast for the living, understanding and defending your Catholic faith. Maybe one of the challenges to understanding and defending our faith right now is modern warfare. What exactly is the church’s position here? How are …
In his engaging new book, The Best Argument for God, Pat Flynn gives … wait for it … the best argument for God. We asked him to share it with us. We also asked him for suggestions on becoming proficient in defending God.Cy Kellett:Hello and welcome to Focus the Catholic Answers Podcast for living, understanding and defending your Catholic faith. I am Cy Kellett, your host. I’m very happy to welcome Pat Flynn, who has a wonderful new book out called The Best Argument for God, which we are about to talk about. And this is one of the things that, well, I don’t know if t…
Kyle Washut, president of Wyoming Catholic College, joins us to discuss the difficulties of evangelization and apologetics in the plugged-in era. He explains why, if you want to come to WCC, you won’t need to bring your phone.Cy Kellett:Hello and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic faith. It’s hard to defend your Catholic faith if there’s nobody listening when you’re defending it. And we’re not listening to one another. We are absorbed in our devices. And I’m not saying that in a mean way because…
Some Christians are adamant that those who confess Jesus as Lord go directly to Heaven when they die. But is this teaching biblical? Karlo Broussard joins us for a discussion of what Christians can really hope for at death.Cy Kellett:Hello and welcome to Focus the Catholic Answers Podcast for living understanding and defending your Catholic faith. I am Cy Kellett, your host. And does the Bible teach us that we get immediate entrance into heaven after death? We hear that a lot. There’s even TV commercials to that effect and lots of websites that will teach that. And many Christian comm…
Tom Nash explores the controversy surrounding the term “accompaniment” and delves into its true meaning, emphasizing the importance of genuine love, humility, and support in helping others grow in their faith and address challenges.Cy Kellett:Hello and welcome to Focus the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding and defending your Catholic faith. I am Cy Kellett, your host. Today we’re lucky we have Tom Nash in studio with us. Tom Nash works with us here at Catholic Answers answering all kinds of apologetics questions. He’s an author and longtime theologia…
Karlo joins Cy to discuss whether the Church is consistent on the teaching of sexual morality.Cy Kellett:Hello and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers Podcast for living, understanding and defending your Catholic faith. I am Cy Kellett, your host, and happy to be with you. This time, a conversation about sexuality and in all honesty, if we really, I think were to maybe make an evaluation of why the world rejects the Catholic Church today, a great deal of it has to do with the sexual revolution. It’s certainly not all of the story, but a great deal of it has to do with the sexual re…
Catholics and Protestants often use biblical proof texts as they argue about the role of Mary in salvation. But this can form bad Bible reading habits, says Father John Waiss, author of Bible Mary: The Mother of Jesus in the Word of God. He joins us for a conversation about how looking for Mary can teach us better Bible reading.Cy Kellett:Hello, and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic faith. I am Cy Kellett, your host, delighted to be here with you in the new year and talking about a new book that we have here at Catholic Ans…
A special Christmas Day episode of Focus with Catholic Answers President Christopher Check. …
University presidents are under fire for allowing genocidal and anti-Semitic speech on their campuses. But what can they do? Theologian Chad Pecknold from Catholic University of America joins us for a discussion of the Catholic approach to free speech issues.Cy Kellett:Hello and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers Podcast for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic faith. I am Cy Kellett, your host, and defending our faith becomes more difficult it seems as the society becomes less and less attached to the values that have gotten it where it is now, as we become more and more …
As Christmas draws near, Trent sits down with Cy Kellett to discuss the unique elements of the Incarnation and how to answer arguments that claim it is a myth borrowed from paganism.Cy Kellett:Hello and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic faith. I am Cy Kellett, your host. And one of the places you got to defend your Catholic faith is over there on YouTube where people will post things that debunk the Christian faith sometimes. They’re debunking. There’s a lot of good debunking going on over there, but sometimes t…
Joe Heschmeyer, author of The Eucharist is Really Jesus, explores the misunderstood topic of indulgences. He explains the historical context and biblical perspectives on indulgences, addressing misconceptions and highlighting the fine line between legitimate spiritual generosity and the improper commodification of spiritual goods that tarnished the reputation of indulgences in the past.Cy Kellett:Hello and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding and defending your Catholic faith. I am Cy Kellett, your host, and anyone who has ever found themselves in the pos…
Michael Lofton, author of Answering Orthodoxy, joins us for a conversation about the first millennium of Christianity. Is it true that the pope was once considered just the first among equals, or was there always something more about the role of the Bishop of Rome?…
In his new book, Building a Civilization of Love: A Catholic Response to Racism, Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers is boldly honest about the Catholic Church and racism in the United States. But he is also hopeful because he believes there is an answer to the evils of racial division in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He joins us for a conversation about racism and Catholicism. …
Joe Heschmeyer delves into the Catholic doctrine of original sin, responding to a Reddit user’s query about its compatibility with the innate goodness of humanity. He discusses the impact of original sin on relationships with God, fellow humans, creation, and oneself, shedding light on the theological nuances and the need for redemption. …
Karlo Broussard joins us to talk about his new book, The New Relativism: Unmasking the Philosophy of Today’s Woke Moralists. We discuss issues related to moral shaming and accusations of being judgmental, hateful, and bigoted, particularly concerning lifestyle choices associated with the LGBTQ+ community. Karlo explores the underlying moral relativism behind such accusations and offers critiques of this approach, emphasizing the importance of open and reasoned discussion on moral issues.Cy Kellett:Hello and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers Podcast for living, understanding and d…
Whatever the world might say, Christian moral teaching is about more than sex. Andrew Petiprin joins us for a conversation about the Christian perspective on money, particularly in a consumerist culture. How is a Christian to live when “happiness” is on sale everywhere?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 today we talk about something that may seem slightly tangential to the whole apologetics endeavor, and that is consumerism. But I don’t think …
Joshua Charles, from the “Becoming Catholic” blog, describes his discovery that when the Church Fathers talked about heresy, the things they described sounded remarkably similar to his own Protestant beliefs.Cy Kellett:Hello, and welcome to Focus Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding and defending your Catholic faith. I am Cy Kellett, your host. Very happy to welcome Joshua Charles this time. I think maybe, possibly, the first White House speechwriter we’ve ever had on here, although I couldn’t guarantee it. I’m not sure. But you can find his work …
Cy Kellett welcomes Keith Nester, a former Protestant pastor who converted to Catholicism. They discuss the challenges faced by converts and how to help them navigate their first year in the Catholic Church. Keith also shares insights into the beauty of the Mass and the importance of understanding the “why” behind Catholic practices.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 we make it our business here at Catholic Answers to try to explain and defend the fa…
Scholar Jared Staudt joins us for a conversation about the social value of Christianity. Does it do any good for anyone? Does it have a good record as a movement?Cy Kellett:Hello and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers Podcast for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic faith. We’re going to talk a little bit about whether Christianity has been good for the world or bad for the world, but try to guess which side we’re going to come down on. Maybe share some ideas with you about how Christianity has actually been quite good for the world.You might even be surprised…
Church councils have shaped and formed the Faith for every living Christian, whether Catholic, Orthodox, or Protestant. So what is the basis for the councils, and what do we make of their teaching. We get answers from Paul Senz, author of “Church Councils: 100 Questions and Answers.”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 this time we welcome Paul Senz, the author of Church Councils: 100 Questions and Answers, a new book from Catholic Answers Press. And i…
With the 50-year anniversary of the original film, The Exorcist, and the upcoming release of a sequel, we figured this would be a great time to sit down and talk to contributing apologist Tom Nash to discuss the film that caused such a stir. …
Protestantism has some explaining to do about its own traditions. Did the new theologies of the reformers actually make sense? Do they make sense today? John Martignoni joins us.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 we got a long time author with a new book. And the new book is about does Protestantism make sense? And it’s a Catholic approach to looking at Protestantism and just asking in a basic, honest, straightforward way, does this hang together? Would a …
If Catholics are right about John 6, every Christian is under divine command to celebrate the Eucharist. So is the Catholic Church right? Karlo Broussard joins us to explain why Catholics aren’t wrong.Cy Kellett:Hello, and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic beliefs. A lot going on as far as the Eucharist goes. We have all this kind of bad news that we’ve had in recent years about Catholics not accepting the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, or maybe not even knowing the teaching, which is, in some ways, eq…
What is the Gospel of Thomas? Is there just one such gospel? What can it teach us about Jesus. Tim Staples joins us Cy Kellett: Hello and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers Podcast for living understanding and Defending Your Catholic Faith. One of the most popular conversations we’ve ever had here if the internet is to be believed, and I think in this case it is. One of the most popular conversations we’ve ever had here at Catholic Answers was a conversation with Tim Staples about the Book of Enoch. So we thought, well, let’s go back to Tim and ask him about other …
Everywhere you will find misconceptions about the Church’s role in slavery. Even most Catholics do not know the truth about what the Church did, and did not do, regarding slavery.Best-selling author Paul Kengor joins us to share some of the surprising true story.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 one of the things, among the many, that modern people accuse the church of is the accommodation to slavery or maybe even an encouragement of slavery. And so, i…
Are you “sex positive”? If not, get ready to be called a closed-minded bigot. Theologian Angela Franks, from St. John’s Seminary in Boston, gives us a Catholic critique of the “sex positivity” movement.
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 today, a very special opportunity to get to talk with Dr. Angela Franks, who is a professor of theology at St. John’s Seminary in Boston, and a well-known speaker and author, as a matter of f…
The idea that Scripture is the sole rule of faith is central to the thinking of man Protestants, who see Tradition as a watering down of scriptural purity. But Catholics have good reason to reject this view. Author Casey J. Chalk explains.
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Christians often think that Christianity is purer–more Christlike–when it is less doctrinal. Tim Staples explains the dangers of this grave error.
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What does it mean that Jesus “rose from the dead?” Did his body literally come back to life? What kind of life? Joe Heschmeyer discusses common errors about the Resurrection, and the beautiful truths we often miss.
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, joined in studio this time by Joe Heschmeyer. We usually connect with him via the internet. Joe, welcome. Joe Heschmeyer: Hi. It’s good to be here in person. Cy Kellett: I’m awfully glad to have yo…
With the Oppenheimer movie filling theaters, and today the anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, here’s an encore of our most popular atom bomb episode. …
The first century of Christianity was often a raucous argument. Essential truths were constantly under threat, and confusion was common. Jimmy Akin joins us to discuss what the great arguments of the first century were about and what we can learn from them.
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Larry Chapp has some confessions to make, and some powerful insights to share with a Church in crisis. He joins us for a conversation about his new book, “Confession of a Catholic Worker: Our Current Moment of Christian Witness.”
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The earliest Church did not think Jesus was God, says one modern theory. Rather, he was deified over time by people who loved his message. Jimmy Akin examines this theory, and finds precious little evidence for it in the historical record.
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“Jesus loves you, and if you don’t have faith in him, he’ll send you to hell.” In one form or another this reduction ad absurdum is used against Christians again and again. It is not just silliness, however. The problem of hell is a tough one, as apologist Karlo Broussard explains in this episode.
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Having failed at humanism, secular modernity now moves on to trans-humanism. Father Tad Pacholczyk, director of Education for the National Catholic Bioethics Center explains transhumanism’s ethical problems.
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 in the area of bioethics, in the area of biological technologies and the integrating of our own biology with other kinds of technology, things are moving fast and are likely to start moving faster. That’s just how…
What are the options, and where is the hope, for Catholic couples who encounter infertility? Ann Koshute and Kimberly Henkel, founders of Springs in the Desert, a ministry to those struggling with infertility, join us for a conversation.
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. We do apologetics here. That’s what we do. Sometimes the most important apologetic, really the ground of apologetics, that is, explaining and defending the faith to others, is to live it. Esp…
The Sacrament of Marriage is filled with power for growth toward intimacy with God. Dan and Stephanie Burke, from the Avila Institute, explain how they are helping couples access that power and thrive.
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 today we’re going to talk a bit about marriage. We have a wonderful couple here who we were just having a conversation over lunch and I thought, “Boy, this would make a perfect Focus episode.” And they said, …
Jeff Cavins and Father Mike Schmitz are now doing for the catechism what they did for the Bible. Cavins joins us to explain the value of the catechism in sharing the Faith.
Cy Kellett: Hello and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding, and defending your faith. I’m Cy Kellett. And as we think about sharing the faith and defending the faith these days, we can take heart not from too many things, but from this we could take heart that the church has a magnificently and a relatively easy to use tool available to help us to defend and to share the faith. I&#…
In such a confusing world where nothing seems to make sense anymore one thing comes to mind, how do we discuss anything with our kids when they keep getting such conflicting answers? Ana Samuels joins us to discuss gender identity with our children and how to speak clearly on these issues.…
Defending the Faith can take an emotional toll. Rather than turn to bitterness, the person who engages with those who attack the Faith will be most effective with some distance and calm. Psychologist Dr. Ray Guarendi offers tips on how to gain this distance and calm.…
Mike Aquilina, author of Africa and the Early Church, explains the African roots of much of what we now take for granted in Christianity. His work reminds us of an age when Christianity spread quickly in all directions so that before the Muslim invasions, a fruitful Christianity had taken root in Ethiopia, Sudan, Egypt, Libya, Eritrea, Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. …
Once again, legislatures in some states are considering bans on the seal of confession. We asked the chaplain of Catholic University of America, Father Aquinas Guilbeau, to explain why we have the seal, and why breaking it won’t to anyone any good. …
Antisemitism is the bigotry that never rests. And these days, there are Catholics in the public sphere once again proposing degrading ideas regarding Jews. How is a Catholic to understand Catholic/Jewish history in a way that comports with the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Joe Heschmeyer joins us. …
Faith or works or faith plus works or just lots of good works? How are we justified before God? Tim Staples explains the Catholic understanding of the role of grace before all else. …
What is religious freedom? Did the Church err about religious freedom at Vatican II? Michael Lofton from “Reason and Theology” tackles one of the great controversies of the council. …
Why is it so difficult to explain the Sacrament of Confirmation? And why does the Latin Church seem to offer it just at the wrong time? Simone Rizkallah digs into the controversy.Cy Kellett:Hello and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers Podcast for living, understanding and defending your Catholic faith. I am Cy Kellett, your host, and one of the things we need to live better, understand better and defend better, so we’re going to cover all three in this episode, is the sacrament of confirmation. Well, one of the reasons we have to defend it is there’s a general lack of unders…
With the strident morality of modern movements such as “Me Too,” it would seem that relativism has been replaced with moralism. Well, maybe not, says Karlo Broussard in his latest book, “The New Relativism.” In this episode, he explains how moral outrage is often a cover for an entrenched relativism. …
Having started from scratch himself, John Martignoni explains how to get started as a Catholic apologist. …
Dr. Craig Turczynski, the former director of in-vitro fertilization, andrology, and hormone assay laboratories at Louisiana State University Medical Center-Shreveport explains how IVF is done, and why it raises grave moral concerns.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. If you have ever tried to defend Catholic sexual ethics, you’re likely to have faced questions about in vitro fertilization. Why would the church that claims to be pro-life, for example, op…
American racism was given the power of religious fervor by those who thought the Bible alone provided the rule of faith. Don Johnson, author of Twisted Unto Destruction: How ‘Bible Alone’ Theology Made the World a Worse Place, explains.…
Modern people often have an unrealistic view of “development” in the early Church, thinking that ideas such as the divinity of Christ or practices such as the celebration of the Mass were products of early Church life rather than things received directly from Jesus. Joe Heschmeyer, author of The Early Church Was the Catholic Church, helps debunk some myths about where the Mass came from. …
Many Catholic/Protestant doctrinal differences have their roots in misreadings of the Apostle Paul. EWTN’s David Anders explains the relatively simple message of Paul and why modern ideas of Paul so often miss the mark.Cy Kellett:Hello and welcome to Focus the Catholic Answers Podcast for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic faith. I am Cy Kellett, your host, delighted to welcome Dr. David Anders, who you know from EWTN Called To Communion with Dr. David Anders, which airs each day on the EWTN Global Catholic Radio Network. And from time to time when I am listening, and …
Recently there has been controversy over who can and can’t receive communion. Msgr Eugene Morris joins us to help clarify this important question and gives us the proper parameters when knowing who can and cannot receive communion.…
Tim Staples has shared his conversion story around the world, but one part of that story is of particular importance today: How the moral teaching of the Church, far from driving everyone away, often provides a powerful incentive to become Catholic. …
Michael Lofton, from the Reason and Theology podcast, gives us a primer on the words that many people think are the main divider between Orthodox and Catholic Christians. Does the question about whether the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father “and from the son” really divide churches? …
In the Western societies, fewer men than women practice religion. Karlo Broussard argues that, at least in part, this means they are likely failing at the hard work of manliness. …
His sudden death and final writings have put Australian Cardinal George Pell into the headlines around the world. Given his importance, we went down under to get insights into his view of the Catholic role in today’s world. Our guest, Monica Doumit, is the Director of Public Affairs and Engagement for the Archdiocese of Sydney, Australia. …
Tim Staples shares the story of the dark figure early Church writers say motivated John to clarify the truth about Jesus Christ.…
Philosopher Edward Feser has read the major texts of critical race theory and has some concerns. He joins us for a discussion of his newest book, All One in Christ: A Catholic Critique of Racism and Critical Race Theory.…
For most people, the Parish is where the Catholic Church happens. But something is not quite right in parish life. JD Flynn, founder of pillarcatholic.com, digs into why today’s parish is not quite what it could be.…
Sometimes the Second Vatican Council gets a weak defense: “Well, it was just a pastoral council, so why worry about it?” Michael Lofton, from Reason and Theology, asks whether this defense is true? Is Vatican II really “just pastoral”? …
Jeremy Christiansen, author of From the Susquehanna to the Tiber: A Memoir of Conversion from Mormonism to the Roman Catholic Church, joins us for a conversation about arguments against Mormonism. Which will work and why? …
Jesus spoke a great deal about money and wealth, but how do we apply his teaching in a world of complex financial interconnectedness? Deacon Frank Reilly, the founder of Reilly Financial Advisors, now a part of Creative Planning brings a lifetime of experience to the question. Terence McGoldrick, Providence College Theology Professor, is an advisor to Deacon Frank in the work of finding morally acceptable investment opportunities. Both join us for a discussion.
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The term “social justice” can make lots of people roll their eyes. But the teachings of Christ have profound social dimensions. So how does a Catholic view of social development differ from the world’s? We asked Jim Cavnar, cofounder of Cross Catholic Outreach to give us some answers.
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Modern secular people have forgotten the role of the Catholic Church in lifting humanity out of ignorance, violence, poverty, and disease. Perhaps most forgotten, is the Catholic contribution to an embrace of the dignity of women. Simone Rizkallah, director of program growth at Endow (Educating on the Nature and Dignity of Women), explains.
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. One of the things we do here as Catholics is that Catholics have a sorted history when it co…
At times the Bible uses feminine imagery for God, so why do we not refer to God as mother? Joe Heschmeyer considers whether the modern Church should reconsider the masculine in reference to God.
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. Joe Heschmeyer our guests today. And the question is, what do we make of those who would prefer to address God as mother? Well, how do we respond to those who would prefer to address God as mother? Or might in fact say, …
Trent Horn, author of Why We’re Pro-Life, digs into some of the Bible verses that people use to support abortion. Turns out, the Bible is pro-life. Go figure… Find out how you can get free copies of Why We’re Pro-Life at whyweareprolife.com.
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Did Science Kill the Biblical Worldview? Astrophysicist (not historian) Neil deGrasse Tyson gives a little history lesson about how science forced Christians to give up the biblical worldview. Is this real history, or did he make it up? We asked Jimmy Akin to give us a take.
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Joe Heschmeyer joins us for a look at the growing popularity of the word “Christofascism.” What does it refer to, and are Catholics who want to spread the Faith guilty of it?
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Dr. David Anders joins us for an in-depth look at the accusation that the Catholic Church is superstitious. The Catholic relationship to superstition might at times be complicated, but the complications have a very Catholic remedy.
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 we’re familiar with the need to defend the faith against objections, but sometimes, we end up defending the faith more against a misimpression or a suspicion about the faith, and superstition i…
Charbel Raish, founder and chief executive of Parousia, one of Australia’s leading Catholic media apostolates joins us for a discussion of his early embrace of Islam and his subsequent rediscovery of Catholic Faith.
Cy Kellett: Charbel Raish from Sydney, Australia. Thanks for being with us. Charbel Raish: Thanks for having me. Cy Kellett: From Parousia Ministries. Charbel Raish: That’s right. Cy Kellett: And is that, that’s- Charbel Raish: Parousia. Parousia. Yeah, it was, we’re known as Parousia Media for a long time, but then we dropped the word media because we do s…
Today’s children face many new adversities that past generations could never have imagined. Filmmaker, Don Johnson sits down to discuss his new film Dysconnected, and the truth behind this radical movement thats being pushed on our children. Dysconnected: The Real Story Behind the Transgender Explosion
Cy Kellett : Hello and welcome to Focus, the Catholic answers podcast for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic faith. I’m Ct Kellett, your host, and very happy to welcome my friend Don Johnson this time to talk about a new film that Don has. This is actually a very bus…
Today’s children face many new adversities that past generations could never have imagined. Filmmaker, Don Johnson sits down to discuss his new film Dysconnected, and the truth behind this radical movement thats being pushed on our children. Dysconnected: The Real Story Behind the Transgender Explosion
Cy Kellett : Hello and welcome to Focus, the Catholic answers podcast for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic faith. I’m Ct Kellett, your host, and very happy to welcome my friend Don Johnson this time to talk about a new film that Don has. This is actually a very bus…
Theologian Deborah Savage, currently teaching at Franciscan University in Steubenville, delves into the Hebrew wording of Genesis 1 and 2 to uncover new and liberating insights into God’s revelation of the meaning of womanhood and manhood.
Cy Kellett: Hello and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast, for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic faith. There’s some accusation against the Catholic faith actually, that perhaps it has strains of misogyny in it, maybe strains of a kind of old way of thinking about men and women that makes men the superiors of women, o…
Theologian Deborah Savage, currently teaching at Franciscan University in Steubenville, delves into the Hebrew wording of Genesis 1 and 2 to uncover new and liberating insights into God’s revelation of the meaning of womanhood and manhood.
Cy Kellett: Hello and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast, for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic faith. There’s some accusation against the Catholic faith actually, that perhaps it has strains of misogyny in it, maybe strains of a kind of old way of thinking about men and women that makes men the superiors of women, o…
Can Catholics follow astrology? Jimmy Akin, host of Jimmy Akin’s Mysterious World, joins us to discuss the Catholic approach to astrology. Does the Bible forbid it? Can a Catholic follow the daily horoscope? Is there any reason to believe in astrology at all?
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. Jimmy Akin is our guest this time and we wanted to ask him about astrology. Actually, astrology been around, I guess, about as long as people have been around, but very …
Can Catholics follow astrology? Jimmy Akin, host of Jimmy Akin’s Mysterious World, joins us to discuss the Catholic approach to astrology. Does the Bible forbid it? Can a Catholic follow the daily horoscope? Is there any reason to believe in astrology at all?
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. Jimmy Akin is our guest this time and we wanted to ask him about astrology. Actually, astrology been around, I guess, about as long as people have been around, but very …
What can our forebears teach us about dealing with persecution? In this bonus episode, we ask theologian Ben Safranski how one very important early Christian – Cyprian of Carthage – dealt with Roman persecution in some surprising ways.
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What can our forebears teach us about dealing with persecution? In this bonus episode, we ask theologian Ben Safranski how one very important early Christian – Cyprian of Carthage – dealt with Roman persecution in some surprising ways.
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Are Christians going to be taken up and out of the world before the big trouble with the anti-Christ begins? Catholics say no, that is a false view of God’s revelation regarding the end times. Our guest, Karlo Broussard takes up a popular Protestant challenge: How can the Catholic Church teach that faithful Christians will experience the final trial when the Bible teaches that Christians will be raptured before such a time?
Cy Kellett: Karlo Broussard, apologist here at Catholic Answers. Thanks for being with us for focus. Karlo Broussard: Cy Kellett. Thanks for having me. Cy Kellett: Y…
Are Christians going to be taken up and out of the world before the big trouble with the anti-Christ begins? Catholics say no, that is a false view of God’s revelation regarding the end times. Our guest, Karlo Broussard takes up a popular Protestant challenge: How can the Catholic Church teach that faithful Christians will experience the final trial when the Bible teaches that Christians will be raptured before such a time?
Cy Kellett: Karlo Broussard, apologist here at Catholic Answers. Thanks for being with us for focus. Karlo Broussard: Cy Kellett. Thanks for having me. Cy Kellett: Y…
The Bible has relatively few passages about homosexuality, and modern thinkers have found ways to explain some of them away. For example, is Genesis 19 really about homosexuality or is it really about a failure of hospitality? Dr. Mary Healy, a member of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, gives us a bracing Catholic answer.
Cy Kellett: Hello, and welcome to Focus the Catholic Answers podcast for Living, Understanding and Defending Your Catholic Faith. One very delicate area of Christian apologetics in our times is homosexuality. There’s a great deal of confusion abou…
The Bible has relatively few passages about homosexuality, and modern thinkers have found ways to explain some of them away. For example, is Genesis 19 really about homosexuality or is it really about a failure of hospitality? Dr. Mary Healy, a member of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, gives us a bracing Catholic answer.
Cy Kellett: Hello, and welcome to Focus the Catholic Answers podcast for Living, Understanding and Defending Your Catholic Faith. One very delicate area of Christian apologetics in our times is homosexuality. There’s a great deal of confusion abou…
At Google, some employees are starting to think the computers have come alive. How might a Catholic understanding of souls help us explore the matter? Jimmy Akin joins us for what turns out to be a bit of a hilarious conversation.
Cy Kellett: Jimmy Akin, senior apologist of Catholic Answers, thanks for doing Focus with us. Jimmy Akin: Hey, my pleasure. Cy Kellett: So… Jimmy Akin: What are we focusing on today? Cy Kellett: Artificial intelligence. I know this is one you have focused on before and you know a good deal about, but it became news when an employee of Google suggested or made …
What exactly does it mean when Christ accuses the Pharisees of abandoning the commandments of God in favor of traditions of men? What are the implications for us? Karlo Broussard explores the proper place for “traditions of men.”
Cy Kellett: Karlo Broussard, apologist here at Catholic Answers. Thanks for being with us. Karlo Broussard: Cy Kellet, thanks for having me. Cy Kellett: It’s always good when you’re here for focus. Karlo Broussard: Amen to that. Cy Kellett: And one of the things we can focus on with you because you’ve spent a lot of time in scholarly res…
Questions Covered:
01:06 – Why should I go to a Catholic Church when the non-denominational church that I like going to is also preaching the truth? 07:00 – Are there any Catholic alternative voices that support a minimalistic approach to natural law? 13:50 – How do we reconcile the discrepancy in Matthew and Luke regarding when the birth of Christ occurred? 21:08 – Where in the bible does it say that we are wounded by original sin and not totally depraved? 34:55 – If a person was baptized later in life and had committed terrible sins, would baptism remove the need for purgatory for those sins? 37:09 – What genre of literature in the book of Genesis? 42:46 – The Baltimore Catechism says that in order to enter heaven you have to get to know, love and serve God. Which of the three is most important? 46:13 – How do we reconcile Adam and Eve and the evolution of homo sapiens?
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Questions Covered:
04:48 – How do I respond to Mormons whenever they go back to having good feelings about the Book of Mormon? How do I get past that roadblock? 12:14 – What is the official teaching on the eucharist and the sacrifice? 17:11 – Is it true that the Roman canon of the Mass can’t change? If this is true, how can St. Dominic and St. Ambrose be in it? 21:02 – Is it proper to say that Mary is the dwelling place of the Holy Trinity? 23:59 – I’m a lapsed Catholic, how to overlook current Church politics and scandals in order to come back to the Church? 37:53 – How do we explain children who have memories of a past life? 48:25 – Did God give a divinely inspired tradition to the Jews like he did to the Church? If not, why not? If He did, Why would He allow it to be corrupted enough for Jesus to criticize it?
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Questions Covered:
08:57 – What were the differences between Pharisees and the Sadducees? Are they comparable to Catholics and Protestants? 15:15 – I’ve returned to the Church and I want a list of books you recommend. Which Catechism should I get? 17:50 – Does your guardian angel finish your prayers if you fall asleep? Are people only their specific religion because that’s how they were raised? 29:56 – What are your thoughts on the idea that the founding principles of America are anti-Catholic? 35:57 – I’m in a long conversation with my protestant friend. How do I help soften their position and bias against Catholicism? 42:05 – Can you critique my argument for the Immaculate Conception that I want to present to my parents? 47:53 – What would you say is the most compelling argument for God that is not a Thomistic argument? Can you provide an explanation of the moral argument? 53:00 – How do we prove Mary’s virginity?
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Questions Covered:
08:51 – My friend told me that there’s a vision of Mary currently happening. She said that Mary is saying to stock up on nuts, honey and blessed grapes. Are you familiar with it? Is this a valid apparition? 16:30 – Did the Church have all 73 books of the bible after the council of Rome in c.398 AD? 21:30 – Why bother evangelizing to my protestant family if Christ is the center of their lives? 32:41 – How can you ask Mary to pray for you if she is a human being who has passed on? Do Catholics think you can talk to the dead? 35:20 – How can you ask Mary to pray for you if she is a human being who has passed on? Do Catholics think you can talk to the dead? 43:12 – Why are certain sexual acts not allowed in marriage, specifically sodomy? 49:38 – How do I explain to my protestant friends that Jesus gave Peter primacy in authority and not to the entire Church?
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The term transubstantiation has been used for centuries within the Church but does it actually men? William Albrecht, co-author of The Secret History of Transubstantiation joins us to explore its true meaning.
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Every so often the debate over Mary having other children comes up. Tim Staples, author of Behold Your Mother, joins us to debunk this claim.
Cy Kellett: Tim Staples, Catholic apologist. Thank you for being with us on Catholic Answers Focus. Tim Staples: It is great to be with you, Cy Kellett. Cy Kellett: I stress Catholic apologist because I want to challenge you a bit on a Catholic belief. Tim Staples: Uh-oh. Am I in trouble? Cy Kellett: I’m going to challenge you with the Bible, and this just is a passage of the Bible that seems so clear and seems to have such an obvious, indisputabl…
Tik Tok seems pretty sure that the God of the ancient Hebrews had a wife, an idea that perhaps would debunk the Jewish story of covenant with the One Lord God. We asked Jimmy Akin, author of The Bible Is a Catholic Book to evaluate the merits of the whole “God had a wife” idea.
Cy Kellett: Senior apologist, Jimmy akin. Thanks very much for being here with us on Catholic Answers Focus. Jimmy Akin: My pleasure, Cyril Kellett, host of Catholic Answers Focus. Cy Kellett: Also, I should say, host of Jimmy Akin’s Mysterious World. I should have added that. And here’s one for you. The in…
Have you seen the recent images from the James Webb Telescope? Catholic convert and Harvard astrochemist, Karin Öberg joins us to examine the recent images and what they tell us about God, the beginnings of our universe, and bug people.
Cy Kellett: Hello, and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers Podcast for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic faith. Recently, we all got to see some magnificent images from a magnificent piece of technology, the James Webb Telescope. Out there in space, somewhere, looking deep into the past using its various sensors. And this raises a tremendou…
Seventh Day Adventists claim that the Sabbath was changed from Saturday to Sunday centuries after the life of Jesus. Joe Heschmeyer, author of The Early Church was the Catholic Church, joins us to debunk this claim.
Cy Kellett: Apologist, Joe Heschmeyer, thank you for being here with us on Catholic Answers Focus. Joe Heschmeyer: The pleasure is mine. Cy Kellett: You want to talk about the Sabbath? Joe Heschmeyer: Yeah, lets. Cy Kellett: It seems very straightforward, and yet it’s a matter of some great controversy. Joe Heschmeyer: It’s even a denominational splitting issue. Cy …
What do Joel Osteen, Kenneth Copeland, and Jesse Duplantis have in common? They all promote a form of Christianity that preaches a good and easy life. Tim Staples breaks down the reasons why the prosperity gospel is dangerous and exposes the pitfalls of this theology.
Cy Kellet: Tim Staples, Catholic Apologist, thanks for being with us. Tim Staples: It is great to be with you, Cy Kellet. Cy Kellet: I want to talk to you about the prosperity gospel. And this is something that really is big. The prosperity gospel is really big, and I do sometimes feel a pang of guilt that we don’t talk ab…
Is hell empty? Michael Lofton joins us to answer the question that seems to be surrounded by controversy in many Catholic circles.
Cy Kellett: Will hell ever be empty? Michael Lofton 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 confessing to you that one of the hardest things to defend is hell. It’s a very unpleasant thought. It certainly doesn’t comport with our modern idea that everybody gets a participation trophy. There seems to be some very serious consequences …
Former inmates often struggle adjusting to everyday life. In this episode, we talk to Joe Gilbreath, founder of RiseUp Industries and Mike Lucero on bringing hope to those adjusting to life after prison. riseupindustries.org
Cy Kellett: Taking Jesus seriously about visiting prisoners. Folks from Rise Up Industries, 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. And today a special bonus episode. Cy Kellett: Jesus has so many good friends. Sometimes his very best friends a…
With the Supreme Court weighing in on abortion, all the old pro-choice arguments are being dragged out again, and they haven’t gotten any stronger. Trent Horn breaks down some of them with us.
Cy Kellett: Are clever pro-choice arguments really that clever? Trent Horn 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, and we’re joined by Trent Horn this time. And Trent is the perfect person to talk to. He’s been doing pro-life advocacy, pro-life apologetics…
BONUS EPISODE God Is Present to You For the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (June 24), Sister Regina Marie Gorman reflects with us on the ways God remains ever present to us. The joy of that presence is the key to every life.
Cy Kellett: Is it really possible to live in intimacy with God? Sister Regina Marie Gorman 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 had the great privilege recently of talking with Sister Regina Marie Gorman, a well-known sister, a wom…
PETA has an ongoing campaign against “speciesism” the idea that humans have no right to use animals. But is speciesism — even though it sounds like “racism” or “sexism” — really such a bad thing?
Cy Kellett: Is being a speciesist as bad as being a racist? Dr. Logan Gage 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. And one of the things that we’ve been saying for years is, “In order to defend the Catholic fa…
Apologist Pat Flynn, from the Philosophy for the People podcast, gets down to basics with us to defend the idea that we can, indeed, know things with certainty. This defense of knowledge helps when we are confronted with the argument that no one really knows anything for sure.
Cy Kellett: How can we even know anything? Pat Flynn 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, and Pat Flynn is here with us today to help us settle something that is very unsettled and it …
It is common to hear the feast of Pentecost referred to as the birthday of the Church because it marks the day when the Apostolic Church received the Holy Spirit in a definitive and powerful way. But is this the same as birth, or is something else happening at Pentecost? Father Hezekias Carnazzo, founder of the Institute for Catholic Culture is our guest.
Cy Kellett: When exactly was the church born? Father Hezekias Carnazzo 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, at least u…
One strategy used by those who want to denigrate the Bible is to say it doesn’t meet Christian standards of what is acceptable in the media. It’s a clever move, but is it true that the Bible is too sexy and violent for respectable reading?
Cy Kellett : Should the Bible be reserved for mature audiences only? Trent Horn 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, and if you’re going to defend your Catholic faith you’re going to have to defend the Bible.…
Some Christians claim that Peter, the man, is not the rock on which Jesus builds his Church, but Peter’s profession of faith is. Actually, no. Apologist Suan Sonna explains why.
Cy Kellett: Did Jesus really found the Catholic church with a pun? Suan Sonna 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. And if you engage at all in defending the Catholic faith, one of the things that you will have to defend is the papacy. And in order to do that, you’re goi…
An argument has been spreading that Francis is not the pope because Benedict retained some of the papal powers. We ask apologist Michael Lofton to explain the munus/ministerium debate.
Cy Kellett: What about the theory that Pope Benedict resigned only part of the papacy? Apologist Michael Lofton 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, and our guest this time is Apologist Michael Lofton. Michael Lofton has actually been quite critical of Pope Francis, and so we t…
Ever wished for a killer proof to convince all of Twitter that God exists? Logan Gage, head of the philosophy department at Franciscan University, says there is actually a better strategy. Maybe just point to the variety of evidence, and help others to see it.
Cy Kellett: I know you want it, but you don’t need that one killer argument to prove God’s existence. Dr. Logan Gage 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, and especially in this, it used to b…
Chris Check, president of Catholic Answers, joins us for a Cinco de Mayo bonus episode to discuss some of the struggles faced by the Catholic Church in 20th Century Mexico. It’s a dramatic story with astonishing heroes and heroines, and nasty villains, one of whom called himself, “The personal enemy of God.” …
It looks like Roe v. Wade is finally about to be overruled. What does it mean that the news has been leaked? What does the draft decision say? Joe Heschmeyer joins us to discuss what appears to be very happy news.
Cy Kellett: Apparently, Roe v. Wade will be overturned. Joe Heschmeyer 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. Thank you so much for being with us. Cy Kellett: We’re going to respond to a recent news story in this episode, because it’s a b…
Good apologetics is not just a quest to have the right answer. It is, instead, one tool in a larger struggle to win souls. This means that it involves spiritual battle. Our guest, Dan Burke, explains spiritual battle for apologists.
Cy Kellett: You want to defend the church? Don’t neglect your own spiritual life. Dan Burke 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 remember being a young California Catholic heading off to Boston College to study theology and…
Catholics can use to Scripture to defend the fact that Jesus empowered the Church with a permanent magisterium, but our guest, Suan Sonna, says we should also just use some common sense when we explain the magisterium to Protestant Christians.
Cy Kellett: Does the church actually have the authority to speak for Jesus? Suan Sonna is next. Cy Kellett: Hello and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers Podcast for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic faith. And one of the things that we Catholics have to defend is the idea that Jesus left a teaching church, a church with the authorit…
Rod Bennett’s new book, These Twelve, helps us see Jesus’ mission through the eyes of the Apostles. For Holy Week, Bennett reflects on what the Apostle’s experienced as Jesus continued to teach them even as he suffered his passion.
Cy Kellett: Holy Week through the eyes of the apostles. Rod Bennett 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, and for Holy Week, a special conversation with Rod Bennett. Many people know Rod Bennett as the author of t…
Mark Wahlberg and Mel Gibson share a few thoughts on what makes a good “faith” movie as we discuss their excellent new film Father Stu. After that we get the lowdown on the real Father Stu from his friend and fellow priest Father Bart Tolleson.
Cy Kellett: Finally a great movie about the priesthood. Mark Wahlberg, Mel Gibson and Father Bart Tolleson, next. Hello, and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding and defending your Catholic faith. I’m Cy Kellett, your host. Maybe you heard about the new movie opening this week, Father Stu. It’s a movie ab…
Agnostics say they just don’t know the answer to life’s biggest question. Pat Flynn, Host of Philosophy for the People, says that, while agnostics make some good points, their decision not to decide is ultimately a mistake.
Cy Kellett: Hey, let’s face it. Agnostics make some strong points. Pat Flynn 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. Thanks so much for being here with us. Among those who we might contend intellectually here at Catholic Answers, what d…
A debate is raging within Catholicism over the legitimacy of modern liberalism. R.R. Reno, editor of First Things magazine, stops by to help us understand the stakes in the debate.
Cy Kellet: Modern ideas about freedom are not setting people free. Catholics are debating what to do about it. R.R. Reno is next. Cy Kellet: Hello, and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers Podcast for living, understanding and defending your Catholic faith. I’m psych Kelly, your host. First Things is a big deal. It has had a huge effect on culture in recent decades, and it is one of the places that religiou…
Is it really true that if you’re not angry you’re not paying attention? Joe Heschmeyer, author of The Early Church Was the Catholic Church, explains why anger at modern problems is not always a virtue.
Cy Kellett: Ever hear phrases like, “If you’re not angry, you’re not paying attention?” Joe Heschmeyer challenges those ideas next. Cy Kellett: Hello and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic faith. Joe Heschmeyer with us this time. I’m Cy Kellett, your host. We talk with Joe about anger, specifically …
Is there a wrong way to have a baby? Stephanie Gray Connors, author of Conceived by Science explains the human rights issues with in vitro fertilization.
Cy Kellet: Everybody loves a baby, but is IVF a moral way to get one? Stephanie Gray Connors is next. Hello, and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic faith. The better we get at reproductive technology, biological technology, the finer the distinctions become that we need to make. And this can really drive people crazy. They can say things like, “You’re just splitti…
Atheists get the big thing wrong, but that doesn’t mean they get everything wrong. Karlo Broussard, author of Prepare the Way, explains why Catholics and atheists can agree on some important insights about God.
Cy Kellett: Actually, atheists get a lot of stuff right. 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 Kellett, your host. We’re going to understand our faith by understanding what those who don’t have faith have to say about God. This time, Karl…
Michael Lofton of the Reason and Theology podcast shares his experience of leaving Catholicism for Orthodoxy and eventually returning. He explains why he concluded he needed to be in communion with the pope, and why every Christian should.
Cy Kellett: Is the grass greener in the Orthodox Church? Michael Lofton next. Hello, and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding and defending your Catholic faith. I’m Cy Kellett, your host. This week, we welcome Michael Lofton who made his way from Protestantism into Catholic Church, made his way from the Catholic Chu…
Apologist Joe Heschmeyer joins us to review Catholic Just War teaching, and spend some time discussing how that teaching applies to modern American wars.
Cy Kellett: Is it still possible to have a just war in the modern world? 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. War become more common in recent years than it was in the past. We thought maybe in the modern world, with the rise of the modern world, warfare would go out of vogue, but it cer…
Are you a simulation created by some dude on his computer in his basement? In fact, couldn’t our whole universe be a simulated universe? Patrick Flynn, Catholic philosopher and host of The Pat Flynn Show and Philosophy for the People tackles the growing consensus among the smart people that we might be living in a simulation.
Cy Kellett: Could we really be living in a simulation? Pat Flynn 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. This week, we welcome a new affiliate,…
In recent years, people have been discussing the legitimacy of Pope Francis’s papacy. Patrick Coffin, former host of Catholic Answers Live, released a video presenting an argument that suggests Pope Francis is an antipope. Cy sits down with Joe Heschmeyer to evaluate Patrick’s main points.
Cy Kellett: Is it possible that Pope Francis is not the pope? Joe Heschmeyer 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. Little bit of a special episode this time. Joe …
Who gets to say what a religion is, and why do “World Religions” classes so often fail in their approach to Christian Faith? Joe Heschmeyer, author of The Early Church Was the Catholic Church, explores the politics around the word “religion.”
Cy Kellett: Why modern definitions of religion get Christianity wrong. Joe Heschmeyer 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 your host and one of the things we might have to defend our Catholic faith agai…
Schools are indoctrinating your kids into the woke agenda. How did we get here? Noelle Mering, author of Awake, Not Woke, reviews the history that brought our educational institutions to their current crisis. Why did we go down this road, and can we recover?
Cy Kellett: How did we get to the point where schools are actively indoctrinating children? Noelle Mering is next. Cy Kellett: Hello, and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic faith. Our friend Noelle Mering in her book, Awake, Not Woke, has a chapter on education and how edu…
God came among us as a man, but the world is still a mess. So what difference did the life of Jesus make? Gary Michuta, author of Revolt Against Reality, explains how Jesus initiated a revolution in world affairs.
Cy Kellett: How is your world different because God became a man? Gary Michuta 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 Gary Michuta joins us this time. He has a brand new and wonderful book, Revolt Against Reality: Fighting the Foes of Sanity and Truth from t…
Will they or won’t they overturn Roe v. Wade? All the focus on the Supreme Court life cases means lots of media spewing confusion about abortion. Who can answer all of this confusion? Well, you can, by keeping things honest and simple as Apologist Joe Heschmeyer explains in this episode.
Cy Kellett: An extremely simple pro-life argument. Joe Heschmeyer 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. Cy Kellett: We’ve been doing a lot of programming on pro-l…
Number two will BLOW YOUR MIND! Popular Catholic Apologist Trent Horn, the author of Why We’re Catholic, reflects on the three big errors all apologists should avoid.
Cy Kellett: What are the big mistakes apologists make? Trent Horn is next. Cy Kellett: Hello, and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic faith. Cy Kellett: I’m Cy Kellett, your host. One of the great defenders of the Catholic faith and one of the great defenders of life in the world today is our young friend, young Trent Horn. And he has a great following…
Drawing on his newest book — The Early Church Was the Catholic Church — Joe Heschmeyer describes what the very earliest Christians believed was happening in the celebration of the Eucharist. Did they see it as a sacrifice or just a memorial? Did they understand it as a sign or as the real presence of Jesus?
Cy Kellett: Did the very earliest Christians think about the Eucharist like we do? Joe Heschmeyer 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. Happy N…
Was it a comet? Was it a shooting star? Do we have any clues as to the nature of the Star of Bethlehem? Jimmy Akin brings some fascinating speculations about what the star might have been.
Cy Kellett: Is there any way to know what the Star of Bethlehem was? Jimmy Akin gives it a try next. Cy Kellett: Hello and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic faith. This time, a little bit of understanding. What exactly is the Star of Bethlehem? There’s been all kinds of interesting speculation, and you know what? You know who loves a …
The most wonderful time of year — the tree, the lights, the cider — oh, and don’t forget the stories about how Christmas is a pagan holiday basically stolen by Christians. Jimmy Akin joins us to get to the root of some of the claims made about the hidden paganism of Christmas.
Catholic Answers is proud to present a very Pagan Christmas, with Jimmy Akin. 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 that’s how I feel every Christmas. We’ve got t…
Deacon Charlie Echeverry from the Living the Call podcast joins us for a discussion of the opportunities available to better serve the Latino Catholic community. He explains how an apostolate such as ours — and maybe yours — can help bring the Church together in the US and make things less difficult for Catholic families in the future.
Cy Kellett: You know what’s weird in the American church? It’s getting more Latino while Latinos are getting less Catholic. Deacon Charlie Echeverry from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles is next. Cy Kellett: Hello, and welcome to Focus, th…
Drawing on his book, Light From Darkness: Nine Times the Catholic Church Was in Turmoil and Came Out Stronger Than Before, historian Steve Weidenkopf answers our questions about the current Vatican deal with China. Is the agreement to let the Chinese government have a say about bishop appointments a return to the days of the Investiture Controversy?
Cy Kellett: Is the China deal a repeat of the investiture controversy? Steve Weidenkopf is next. Cy Kellett: Hello, and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding and defending your Catholic faith. The long history of…
Joe Heschmeyer — author of A Man Called Joseph: Guardian for Our Times — joins us to wrap up the year of St. Joseph. We dig into the fascinating history of his veneration, and ask why he seems such a perfect father-figure for modern people.
Cy Kellett: Turns out St. Joseph has a lot to teach modern people, 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 please raise your hand if the following applies to you. You didn’t really do much to observe t…
Monica Doumit, the Director of Public Affairs and Engagement for the Archdiocese of Sydney, is one of the clearest pro-life voices on Earth. Here’s what happens when we ask her to admit some of the things pro-choice people are right about.
Cy Kellett: Pro-choice arguments actually get a lot right. Monica Doumit is next. Cy Kellett: Hello, and welcome to Focus, the Catholic answers podcast for living, understanding and defending your Catholic faith. And we’re not exactly going to be defending the Catholic faith at this time. We wanted to talk with one of our … well, you can p…
Vox Media’s series of explainer videos failed badly when it tried to use science to suggest that monogamy doesn’t really fit with human nature. We asked Dan Kuebler, Professor of Biology and Dean of the School of Natural and Applied Sciences at Franciscan University, to help us understand monogamy in a more adult way, using both scientific and moral arguments.
Cy Kellett: What can science really tell us about monogamy? Dr. Dan Kuebler is next. Cy Kellett: Hello, and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic faith. I’…
In the second part of our discussion with Father Hugh Barbour about Catholic Faith and the transgender movement, he brings out a forgotten document from Pope John XXIII. The document was never promulgated by the Second Vatican Council, but it says a great deal about how the Church thinks about sex, and sex “reassignment.” Listen to the first part here: Aquinas on Transgenderism
Cy Kellett: What the Second Vatican Council almost said about sex changes. Father Hugh Barber next. Cy Kellett: Hello, and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers Podcast for Living, Understanding and Defending Your Cat…
Thomas Aquinas, the Church’s greatest theologian, had lots to say about the nature of the human person. So what would he say about the modern transgender movement? We asked Father Hugh Barbour.
Cy Kellett: What would Thomas Aquinas say about transgenderism? Father Hugh Barbour is next. Cy Kellett: Hello, and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding and defending your Catholic faith. So much talk about transgenderism these days, and it finally occurred to us, I wonder what Thomas Aquinas would have to say about that? And so we decided, we’ll ask a Th…
The Jews of Jesus’ time, like Jews today, prayed for the dead. Apologist Joe Heschmeyer looks at how Jesus and the early Church responded to this widespread practice and finds strong evidence that the Lord intended his Church to continue it.
Cy Kellett: God’s people have always prayed for the dead. Joe Heschmeyer is next. A shocking change occurred when in the 16th century some Christians began to teach that we could not or should not pray for the dead. Jesus never said any such thing, nor did the apostles or the gospel writers, which raises a question. Cy Kellett: If the Jews pra…
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…
Father Hugh Barbour explains what Jesus meant when he said the measure with which we measure will be measured back to us. Is he really going to judge us the way that we judge others? If so, its time to get to work on all that judgment, gossip, and resentment.
Cy Kellett: Are you telling me I can never judge somebody? Father Hugh Barber, 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, and are you judgmental? Are you resentful of other people because of the judgments you make…
More than anything, the devil hates to see you at Mass. And Jesus was clear that he, personally, desired you there. Father Hugh Barbour is back, and he explains why the Mass must be at the center of every Christian life.
Cy Kellett: Getting back to mass, participating fully in the mass. Fr. Hugh Barbour 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. A little bit about living your Catholic faith. This time with Fr. Hugh Barbour, our guest, Fr. Hugh Barbour, encouraging y…
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…
The author of Purgatory Is for Real tackles a tough philosophical question — is my soul made to last forever? If so, how do we know this? If not, what could happen that would destroy the life of my soul?
Cy Kellett: Is there something immortal about you? Karlo Broussard 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 I really enjoy talking with Karlo Broussard and maybe go at little technical this time, but that’s my fault. I kind of led Karlo into that because I wante…
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…
In the first of two conversations with Karlo about the soul, Cy asks Karlo to explain what a Christian means by “soul.” Where is the soul? Does everything have a soul? What is the point of having a soul? Using the tools of philosophy, Karlo gets us some answers.
Cy Kellett: What is a soul anyway? Karlo Broussard, next. Hello and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding and defending your Catholic faith. I have to admit this one comes from me. I wanted to have this conversation with Karlo, because I struggle with the idea of the soul because I think …
We ask Jimmy Akin, apologist and host of Jimmy Akin’s Mysterious World, whether there is a Catholic way to understand the mind. Jimmy reviews some of the current thinking about what the mind is, and explains what a Catholic can, and cannot, accept.
Cy Kellett: What is a mind anyway? Jimmy Akin 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, very glad you are here with us. Hey, right up front, let me just say if you could maybe like and subscribe if you’re watching on Yo…
In her new book, Awake, Not Woke: A Christian Response to the Cult of Progressive Ideology, Noelle Mering argues that our “woke” moment is, in fact, a surrender to the age-old temptation to take the place of God. It is also the direct consequence of the sexual revolution. She joins us to explain how an awake Christian can help free the world of the destructive ideology of “woke”.
Cy Kellett: Can a Christian get woke? Noelle Mering is next. Cy Kellett: Hello, and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding and defending your Catholic faith. …
Can a Catholic assent to blowing up entire cities? What about when to do so will save perhaps millions of lives? Catholic Answers President Chris Check joins us as we consider again America’s use of Atomic weapons to end a long, bitter war with Japan.
Cy Kellett: Why would a Catholic support nuking Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Chris Check 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, and this week, as this episode is posted, we’re commemorating the anniversary o…
To lure parents who want their kids to be competitive in a high-tech society, some Catholic schools promote themselves vigorously as providing a top-notch STEM education. But just how compatible is the STEM mentality with Catholic ideas about formation and education? Dr. William Fahey, President of New Hampshire’s Thomas More College of Liberal Arts, joins us to explain why the Catholic educational tradition is better for students than STEM training. NOTE FROM HOST: Dr. Fahey and I both used the word “Medicine” instead of “Math” as the last word in the STEM acronym. This use is uncommon,…
Why is studying the Bible in college so often injurious to faith? Is it because scientific investigation of the Bible has the power to debunk it? Or could there be something wrong with the way modern scholarship engages with the Word of God? Scott Hahn, co-author of The Decline and Fall of Sacred Scripture, takes us on a seven-century journey toward answering these questions.
Cy Kellett: Have the experts ruined scripture? Scott Hahn, next. Cy Kellett: Hello, and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic faith. One of the great explai…
What is the Church hiding in keeping the Book of Enoch out of the Bible? Genesis mentions him, and the New Testament includes reference to the book that bears his name. But are his apocalyptic prophecies just too hot for the Church to handle? Tim Staples uncovers the truth about the wild and dangerous Book of Enoch.
Cy Kellett: Is the church hiding the Book of Enoch? Tim Staples, 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 all around the Internets you will find references to …
How on Earth could it really be a mortal sin to miss Mass? This seems so harsh! Catholic Answers Apologist Karlo Broussard takes up a hard challenge as he defends the Catholic requirement to participate in Sunday Mass. There are exceptions, of course, but as Karlo makes clear, missing Mass is not a thing to take lightly.
Cy Kellett: Seriously, it’s a mortal sin to miss mass? Karlo Broussard, 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, and everybody’s got to…
Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers has an apparently unpopular answer to the scourge of racism—imitating Jesus. Our society refuses this path, preferring a culture of constant critique and revolution. It is time that the revolutionaries heard the hard truth—their cure is no cure at all. Real healing requires us to take up the Gospel with courage and humility.
Cy Kellett: Can the Catholic faith cure racism? Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers is next. Cy Kellett: For a long time, but especially since the death of George Floyd, the conversation about race in the United States and around the world has been at a …
From the beginning, support for abortion has relied on using language to hide reality — specifically the reality of killing an innocent boy or girl. We expect an avalanche of such language in the year ahead, given the likelihood of a new US Supreme Court abortion decision. In preparation, we asked pro-life brainiac Stephanie Gray Connors to help us cut through the deadly propaganda.
Cy Kellett: Challenging deceptive language around abortion. Stephanie Gray Connors is next. Hello and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding and defending your Catholic fait…
Mark Brumley, the well-read president of Ignatius Press, joins us for a brief conversation about books in which he gives his suggestions for Catholics looking for some good summer fiction.
You need a good summer book to read. Mark Brumley, next. Cy Kellett: Hello, and welcome to Focus, the Catholic answers podcast for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic faith. To be a Christian is to be engaged with the word, the written word and the word of God in the person of Jesus. Words, words, words, Conversation. That’s a great deal of what Catholic and Christian life is about. Spe…
Does the Catholic Church still teach that divorce is wrong, even sinful? And if so, why, especially given that so many Catholics are divorced? Leila Miller, author of Primal Loss: The Now-Adult Children of Divorce Speak, explains what the Church teaches about divorce and why this teaching remains essential.
Cy Kellett: Is divorce really that bad? Leila Miller, 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, your host. And there appears to be an elephant in the room, that is in…
Catholic author and speaker Elizabeth Kelly joins us for a discussion of the supposed “anti-woman” bias in Christianity. Is it real, or is it just a modern story disconnected from historical reality? Kelly is the author of books for and about Christian women, including Love Like a Saint: Cultivating Virtue with Holy Women.
Cy Kellett: Is Christianity anti-woman? Liz Kelly is next. Cy Kellett: Hello, and welcome again to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding and defending your Catholic faith. I’m Cy Kellett, your host. We try to be current here. We try…
You can hardly tune into a Catholic podcast or read a Catholic publication these days without someone complaining about the lack of manliness. But is a lack of manliness the problem, or a lack of Christianity in men? We asked the world’s most manly man, Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers, to help us get to the roots of the manliness panic.
Cy Kellett: Recovering a Christian image of manhood. Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers 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 today we talk a l…
Todd Aglialoro, director of publishing here at Catholic Answers, offers ideas for some “delightful” Catholic summer reading. In this first of a two-part reading series, Todd offers non-fiction ideas, with fiction to come later.
Cy Kellett: Great tips for summer reading. Todd Aglialoro is next. Hello, and welcome to Focus, The Catholic Answers Podcast for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic faith. Maybe on this episode, we should add enjoying your Catholic faith. I’m Cy Kellett, your host, and part of the enjoyment of being Catholic, all of the beautiful books.…
Catholic writer Shaun McAfee joins us to defend the Catholic use of sacramentals—holy water, crucifixes, blessings, etc. This practice looks a lot like magic to both our Protestant and secular friends. Do they have a point? Shaun draws from his new book—20 Answers: Relics and Sacramentals—to explain just what Catholics are up to.
Cy Kellett: Are Catholic sacramentals superstitious and magical? Shaun McAfee next. Hello and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic faith. I’m Cy Kellett, your host. One of the things that we find …
It turns out that Catholic Answers Apologist Joe Heschmeyer is also a lawyer, so we asked him about the recent Supreme Court decision that allowed a Catholic social service agency to continue refusing to place foster children in the custody of gay couples. Is this discrimination? And what does this ruling suggest about the future of religious freedom?
Cy Kellett: Is the Supreme Court letting Catholics get away with discrimination? Joe Heschmeyer, next. Hello and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast, for living understanding and defending your Catholic faith. I’m Cy Kellett, yo…
Our own Tim Staples discusses the Catholic claim that there is no salvation outside the Church? How are we to understand this truth, and what does it mean for those who do not enter the Church?
Cy Kellett: Can we settle this once and for all? Is there or is there not salvation outside the Catholic Church? Tim Staples next. Hello and welcome again to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic faith. I’m Cy Kellett your host. And you might’ve noticed recently we’ve been talking about the church with Tim Staples. Kind of a series …
In his new book, Love Never Fails, Madison Wisconsin Bishop Donald Hying helps Christians to take up the adventure of living in Christ, even in the modern world, every day. We asked him if we Catholics have taken on too much of the culture and lost our distinctiveness.
Cy Kellett: The daily struggle against assimilation. Bishop Donald Hying 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. And among the many problems that we face as Catholics in the modern world is the need t…
Karlo Broussard, author of Prepare the Way: Overcoming Obstacles to God, the Gospel, and the Church, answers the common Freudian objection to belief in God—It’s just wish fulfillment.
Cy Kellett: Is religion just a coping mechanism. Karlo Broussard is next. Hello and welcome to focus. The Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic faith. We’ll do a little defending today against the accusation that religion is all about a psychological need we have, to be comforted, most especially to be comforted in the face of the fact that we know that we…
Tim Staples draws on his new School of Apologetics course — Evidence for the Church — to address the growing reluctance of some Catholics to accept the authority of church councils. Where do councils get their authority, and how much deference must a Catholic give them?
Do I have to accept all of the councils of the church? Tim Staples, 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, and this time we address what I think is kind of a disturbing trend in the con…
Karlo Broussard takes up the challenge of those who say Romans chapter 8 assures the Christian that salvation cannot be lost. The author of Meeting the Protestant Challenge puts this passage within the context of the full teaching of Jesus and the Apostles in order to uncover the truth about salvation.
Does Saint Paul promise my salvation is secure? Karlo Broussard is next. Cy Kellett: Hello, and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic faith. Part of our Catholic faith is that we have to work out our salvation in fear and trembling…
Tim Staples returns to Focus with a question taken from his School of Apologetics course “Evidence for the Church“: Did Jesus really give his authority to a human institution?
Cy Kellett: Did Jesus found a church to have his authority and power? Tim Staples is next. Hello and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic faith. I am Cy Kellett, your host. I emphasize Catholic really hard right there because we’re going to defend the Catholic faith today. Every Christian would say Jesus came with authority, teaching with…
Clearly Catholic bishops need closer collaboration with lay Catholics if we are ever going to get past the leadership models that led to the sex abuse crisis. But what is appropriate lay participation in keeping bishops honest? Jason Negri discusses one model being pursued by the Daniel Coalition, a local effort for reform in Lansing Michigan.
Can the laity hold bishops accountable? Jason Negri, next. Cy Kellett: Hello, and welcome again to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding and defending your Catholic faith. A great deal of suffering in recent decades around the se…
Fr. Simon Esshaki talks about the call from Jesus Christ for all Christians to go out into the world, sharing the good news. The call to evangelize has only grown more important, though it may look different today than it did in 100 A.D. Cy and Fr. Simon discuss the great importance of using social media properly in order to introduce people to Jesus Christ.
Cy Kellett: Internet evangelizing the apostolic way. Father Simon Esshaki is next. Hello. Welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic faith. Today we talk a little bit about sharin…
With his death and resurrection, Jesus completes the great work of our salvation and gives us the perfect sign that he has conquered sin and death. So are the Ascension and Pentecost just add-ons? Apologist Tim Staples says no. They are essentials, and filled with power.
What do the Ascension and Pentecost have to do with the rest of Jesus’ mission? Tim Staples 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 in our new studio digs. I hope you’re enjoying thos…
Not all opposition to the idea of free will comes from atheists. In fact, a prominent strain of Christianity denies free will as it strives to defend the omnipotence of God. But does such a strategy turn God into a monster? Trent Horn explains.
Cy Kellett: Does God decide everything or do I get to decide some stuff? Trent Horn 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 most Christians throughout most of the history of Christianity have believed that we have a choice. Certainl…
Does neuroscience, or any science, pose a challenge to believing human beings have free will? Trent Horn joins us for a discussion of today’s fashionable denial of the fact of free will.
Cy Kellett: Is free will unscientific? Trent Horn 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. Our good friend and colleague, Trent Horn, is in town for a couple of days. So we decided, let’s get him in here and do a couple of Focus episodes with him. Or did we decide that? Maybe the …
Apologist Karlo Broussard responds to a common atheist critique of the God of the Bible, that he is a narcissist whose ego makes him hungry for the worship of his creatures. Does the Bible really give us such a creepy Lord? And even if he is not creepy, why does he insist on worship? THE ARTICLE: https://www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/is-it-egotistical-for-god-to-demand-your-love
Cy Kellett: Is God an egocentric, narcissist maniac? Karlo Broussard, next. Hello, and welcome to Focus The Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic faith. I’m C…
A common pop-culture assertion is that if there are intelligent extraterrestrials then Christianity is ruined. The idea is that such a discovery would disprove the Bible. Is that true? We asked astro-chemist Karin Oberg to give us her view.
Cy Kellett: Would discovering aliens disprove Christianity? Dr. Karin Oberg 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. And when you go to the movies as a Christian person, do you ever feel like maybe in the movies or even in wh…
Renowned scholar of St. Augustine, Father David Meconi, SJ, joins us for a discussion of the Apostolic Fathers. Did these men really know the Apostles? And if they did, what do they tell us about the kind of Faith the Apostles preached and lived?
The forgotten wisdom of the early church, Father David Meconi is next. Cy Kellett: Welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic faith. I’m Cy Kellett, your host. And I can remember the very first time that I heard about the Apostolic Fathers, people who knew the apostles, and then wrote d…
In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus seems to soften his usual crystal-clear teaching against divorce. But what is he saying? Is he saying that adultery is an exception that allows for divorce? Karlo Broussard tackles this tough question.
Cy Kellett: Does adultery cancel marriage? Karlo Broussard next. Hello, and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic faith. I’m Cy Kellett your host. In practice, we Catholics and Protestants probably don’t live very differently when it comes to marriage. I don’t know what the statist…
What if my conscience says one thing and the Church says another? The Catholic Church clearly teaches that I must follow my conscience at all times while also teaching that the Church has authority over me. Joe Heschmeyer offers some help for those who are confused about conscience.
Does conscience trump doctrine? Joe Heschmeyer 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 and a listener, Jason K, sent us a suggestion for an episode and we thought it was a perfect epis…
Karlo Broussard, author of Meeting the Protestant Challenge, takes on a common challenge to the Catholic priesthood. If Peter says all Christians are priests — and he does — then what need have we of a Catholic priest?
Why have priests if all Christians are priests? 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 Kellett, your host. A common challenge that’s made to Catholics from our Protestant brothers and sisters, we don’t need the priesthood. Pete…
It seems like Scripture is so solid, and Tradition is so ephemeral. Why should we trust that God has revealed himself to us in Sacred Tradition? And which traditions, exactly are revealed truths? Catholic Answers’ newest apologist, Joe Heschmeyer, explains.
Is Catholic tradition really trustworthy? Joe Heschmeyer 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. One of the things we Catholics have to defend is this idea that we’re taught almost from the beginn…
Canon lawyer and journalist Ed Condon from pillarcatholic.com joins us to answer some hard questions about tithing. Is tithing required of every Christian? If so, is it just a tax? And if not, then what is required?
Is tithing just a Catholic tax? Ed Condon 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 and a very happy Easter to you. Not many people attending parish services, at least in a relative sense this Easter and as a matter of fact, throughout the last year. This…
As tempting as it may be to treat social activism as if it were our highest calling, in fact, it is not. Father Jeffrey Kirby’s new book, Real Religion, attacks the idea that biblical religion can be reduced to a kind of social activism. We asked him about how Christianity views social activism. Read more from Fr. Kirby here.
Is biblical faith anything more than social activism? Father Jeffrey Kirby 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 always enjoy talkin…
Karin Oberg is a professor of astronomy at Harvard University who also teaches Aquinas at the Thomistic Institute. Who better to ask about whether or not the Big Bang gives us slam dunk evidence for the existence of God?
Does the science of the Big Bang prove that God is the creator? Scientist Karin Oberg is next. Cy Kellett: We’ve got a big time topic for you this time about whether or not the Big Bang proves that God is the creator of the universe. And we thought if we’re I ask a big question like that, we need a big time guests to give us an answer. So we got professor Karin Ob…
We couldn’t get him to name any names, but we did get Jimmy Akin to explain what the Bible has to say about the nature of the anti-Christ. Without doubt many will be surprised by just how little the anti-Christ is mentioned in the Bible, and that it is probably more accurate to talk about “anti-Christs.”
What does the Bible really say about the antichrist? Jimmy Akin next. Kind of continuing our end times theme from our last episode with Jimmy Akin, where we talked about the mark of the beast, in the modern world, we also have these figures who arise. There’s figures l…
Modern governments sometimes demand that entire populations participate in this program or that, which, quite naturally for Christians, regularly raises the question of the Mark of the Beast. So, what is this mysterious mark? Jimmy Akin joins us to give us some insights into how we can identify it.
How to avoid the mark of the beast. Jimmy Akin, 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. We live in a highly integrated society. In such a society, from time to time, the…
Taking our cue from his new book Real Religion, we asked Father Jeffery Kirby to explain a distinction he makes between the religion of self-help and the religion of the Bible.
Cy Kellett: Biblical religion is not just a self-help program. Father Jeffrey Kirby 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 this time we welcome the author of a brand new book here at Catholic Answers. The book is called Real Religion: How to Avoid False Faith and Worship God in Spirit and Truth. The…
CNN host Don Lemon took on the Vatican in a conversation with the women of The View. He explained that he doesn’t think God approves of the Catholic refusal to bless same-sex unions. We asked apologist Karlo Broussard to respond to Mr. Lemon’s take.
Cy Kellett: Don Lemon lectures the Catholic Church. Karlo Broussard responds 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 the Vatican said recently Catholics are not going to bless same-sex unions. And you might be surpr…
A listener asks us if it is wrong to say bad things about others, especially online, if the bad things are true. Turns out, it is, and theologian Dr. Scott Hefelfinger explains why.
Cy Kellett: When’s it wrong to share the truth about someone? Augustine Institute Professor Scott Hefelfinger, 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 and Tony in Canada sent us an email about doing an episode on detraction. And we discussed it for a long time, whether we wanted to d…
Our friend from down under, Monica Doumit, the Director of Public Affairs and Engagement for the Archdiocese of Sydney, shares another legal innovation from Australia, laws that are meant to protect gay people by making it illegal to teach chastity as Catholics understand it. We ask her what the laws require, and what the Catholic Church actually teaches about human sexuality.
Cy Kellett: Is chastity a hate crime? Monica Doumit 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 we …
The boss is back, and this time he’s taking on the big daddy of Catholic misbehavior: the Spanish Inquisition. Our president, Chris Check, wraps up our three part series on inquisitions with a sober look at an iconic time in Catholic history. And if this piques your interest, take Chris’s class on the Inquisition at the Catholic Answers School of Apologetics. schoolofapologetics.com
Cy Kellett: Trying to make sense of the Spanish Inquisition, Chris Check is next. Hello and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic faith. …
It’s a delicate time to talk about anger. There is a lot to be angry about. There’s a lot in the secular world to be angry about. There’s a lot in the church to be angry about, but we want to be giving an account of our faith that draws other people—most especially our children—towards the faith. Matthew Walther and Cy Kellett discuss how anger can ruin apologetics.
“Which brings me to my final point, the harshest of all the censures that I intend to present here. It is one that I hope will, literally speaking, hit very close to home. I am talking about what you are do…
Why did the Church end up in such a bitter struggle against the Cathars, and how did that struggle play out? Our three-part dive into the various Catholic inquisitions continues as we ask Catholic Answers President Chris Check what really happened in the Medieval Inquisition.
How bad was the Medieval Inquisition? Chris Check 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, and the Medieval Inquisition is the one that started it all. Before we talk about the Spanish Inqu…
Listener Geraldine writes from the Netherlands to ask for an episode on “indifferentism.” Just how are we supposed to share the Faith with people who show no interest? We get some helpful answers from Matt Nelson, author of Just Whatever: How to Help the Spiritually Indifferent Find Beliefs That Really Matter.
Cy: Can we reach those who just don’t care about God? Matt Nelson is next. Hi, Geraldine. Thanks for your email. We always ask at the end of these episodes for people to send us emails and Geraldine took us up on that offer with a great question. Hello and welcome to f…
We begin a three-part dive into the various Catholic inquisitions with Catholic Answers President Chris Check. In part one we ask about the mindset of the Catholics who first established the mechanisms of inquisition.
Cy Kellett: Part one of our deep dive into the Inquisition, Chris Check 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 among the hardest things to defend the church against are the historical accusations that we have behaved badly sometimes. You all did those crusades…
Monica Doumit, the Director of Public Affairs and Engagement for the Archdiocese of Sydney in Australia, explains how anti-confession laws are bringing frightening implications not just for priests but for Catholic schools and other Catholic institutions throughout Australia. But do Catholics really have a right to keep secrets from secular authorities?
What happens when the seal of confession is called a crime? Monica Doumit, 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 …
John DeRosa, author of One Less God Than You, explains what classical theism is, why the Catholic Church embraces it, and how to defend it against less noble visions of the divine.
Cy Kellett: Does classical theism still work? John DeRosa 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. Cy Kellett: One of the things we have to defend is the existence of God, but it’s not just that we believe that God exists and we have to defend that. There are things that we can say …
Father James Boric, the rector of America’s first cathedral, the Basilica of the Assumption in Baltimore, joins us to explain why he chose Eucharistic adoration as a cornerstone of his parish-building efforts. It turns out there is a lot of power in sitting quietly with Jesus.
Cy Kellett: Why bother with adoration? Father James Boric 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 right in the heart of Baltimore is America’s oldest cathedral. Oh, well, we’ll ex…
Joe Heschmeyer, author of Pope Peter – Defending the Church’s Most Distinctive Doctrine in a Time of Crisis, is back with more help explaining how to deal with the modern papacy. In this episode, we talk about talkative popes and the proper way to disagree with them when what they say seems out of bounds.
Cy Kellett: Is there a right way to disagree with the pope? Joe Heschmeyer next. Hello and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic faith. I’m Cy Kellett, your host. Poor Joe Heschmeyer, he wrote the book Pope Pet…
Karlo Broussard, the author of Purgatory is for Real, addresses an email correspondent who asks: “Isn’t eternal punishment unfair for finite sins?”
Cy Kellett: Is hell unfair? Karlo Broussard, 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 today, we actually tackle what in many ways is probably the most difficult doctrine of Christian faith. The doctrine of hell, of the existence of hell and of the fact that some go there. It’s difficult for emotional reas…
The Bible seems conflicted on whether God can change his mind. Can he? And if he cannot, how do we explain those pesky Bible passages? Also, why pray if God can’t change his mind? Jimmy Akin tackles these tough questions for us.
Cy Kellett: Can God change his mind? Jimmy Akin, 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. And this time we take a question that came from a listener. We’re delighted that people have been sending us questions. By the way, you can…
“Modernism” is the charge against the Church in many parts of the internet. In fact, it is common to find Catholics attacking the Second Vatican Council as modernist heresy. So what is modernism, and has it infected the Church? Father Sebastian Walshe, author of Secrets From Heaven and Always a Catholic, explains modernism and engages with the charge of modernism against the Church.
Cy Kellett: Has the Catholic church fallen prey to modernism? Father Sebastian Walshe is next. Hello, and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding, and defending your Ca…
The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls changed the way modern scholars view Judaism in the time of Jesus. John Bergsma, author of Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls: Revealing the Jewish Roots of Christianity, joins us to explain some of the ways the scrolls shed light on the gospels.
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. One of the things we have to defend our Catholic faith against is the idea that modern scholarship debunks the Gospels, or somehow shows them not to be leg…
Especially in times of upset within the Church, we might well ask just what the Holy Spirit is doing. Does the Spirit really lead the Church? And if so, why so many problems and confusions? Jimmy Akin responds.
Cy Kellett: How does the Holy Spirit lead the church? Jimmy Akin 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 the question came to us via the email about just how does the Holy Spirit lead the church? And I think that it’s obvious to anybody why this question woul…
What is up with Germany’s bishops and their attempts to re-write some basic Church teachings? Is a schism in the offing? We asked Ed Condon, one of the founders of the The Pillar, a new “Catholic media project focused on smart, faithful, and serious journalism, from committed and informed Catholics.”
Cy Kellett: What is up with the German bishops? Ed Condon 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 Ed Condon, our guest today, is one of the founders of a n…
Tim Staples joins us for a conversation about just where things stand regarding the alleged apparitions to Ida Peerdeman given new communications from the Vatican. Also, what does all this have to do with the push to dogmatically define Mary with words such as co-redemptrix and mediatrix of all graces?
Cy Kellett: The Lady of All Nations, Mediatrix of All Graces. Tim Staples 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. Cy Kellett: There have been lots o…
As a leader in New Age thought, Deepak Chopra has taken it upon himself to explain the real meaning of Jesus. But does he shed light on the real Jesus or invent a new Jesus of his own? We asked Trent Horn.
Has Deepak Chopra cracked the Jesus code? Trent Horn is next. Cy Kellett: Welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic faith. I’m Cy Kellett, your host. Probably one of the big temptations of us modern people is the temptation to think, “Now that we’re here, now that we’ve arrived in the modern world and we hav…
We’re not kidding with this title. Catholic Answers Director of Publishing, Todd Aglialoro joins us for a conversation about the role sex robots could play in the destruction of civilization. Warning: this conversation includes a strong defense of Christian teaching on sexuality.
Cy Kellett: We really need to talk about the danger posed by sex robots. Todd Aglialoro 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 today, we talk about a looming threat, and let me warn you …
How can the Catholic Church teach that we actually eat and drink the Body and Blood of Jesus when Scripture forbids partaking of blood in Leviticus 17:10? The author of Meeting the Protestant Challenge, Karlo Broussard, explains why it is acceptable for Jesus to teach us to drink his blood, and, more than that, why it makes sense that he would.
Cy Kellett: Is it unbiblical to drink Christ’s blood? Karlo Broussard, 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 among the th…
Modern movies continue to be problematic, promoting twisted popular agendas to young audiences and slipping past adult audiences. How can Catholics respond to movies and television that pose such grave moral challenges?
Marie Bates: So, Cy sends me an email about Focus episode ideas, and it just says, “Is Enola Holmes the most evil movie to ever be made?” I stormed into his office, I sat down, and here we are. We’re about to have a great discussion about it. Next on Catholic Answers Focus. Hello, and welcome to Catholic Answers Focus, a podcast for living, understanding, and…
Tim Ryland, editor of Catholic Answers Magazine helps us close 2020 with a reflection on the state of journalism. Specifically, given the parlous state of journalism, how can anyone know the truth about what the heck is going on?
Cy: I don’t know how to know the truth about anything anymore. Tim Ryland from Catholic Answers Magazine helps me 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 when it comes to certain things, it’s easy to know the truth. If it’s in th…
How can the Catholic Church teach that baptism is necessary for salvation when the Bible shows people receiving the Holy Spirit before baptism and Paul tells us that Christ did not send him to baptize but to preach the gospel? The author of Meeting the Protestant Challenge, Karlo Broussard, explains.
Cy Kellet: Is baptism necessary for our salvation? Karlo Broussard 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 I have to admit, as a cradle Catholic, as a Catholic from before …
The coming of the Lord as a babe in Bethlehem is perfectly arranged by the Lord. Drawing on Thomas Aquinas, Father Hugh Barbour explains some of the ways God arranged for his son to be born in just the right way, place, and time.
Cy Kellett: Every single detail of the nativity is perfect. Father Hugh Barbour is next. Hello and welcome to Catholic Answers Focus, the podcast for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic faith. I’m Cy Kellett your host. And man, if you want to have a good time with Father Hugh Barbour, get him talking about the baby Jesus. He loves the baby Jesus.…
Understanding what prayer is goes a long way when tacking problems with distraction in prayer. Father Hugh and Cy discuss how to start praying, and what distraction in prayer means, which is maybe less than you think.
Cy Kellett: Distracted in prayer? Father Hugh Barbour with help next. Hello and welcome to Catholic Answers Focus, the podcast for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic faith. I’m Cy Kellett, your host, and I get distracted constantly. Wait, should I start again? What was I saying? No. I get distracted constantly and my prayer life is full of distractions, and…
Our society has all but given up on protecting the innocence of children. This is a grave matter, one the Catholic Church must speak up against, and Bishop Thomas Paprocki joins us to do just that.
Cy Kellett: How did the modern world turn out to be so abusive of children? Bishop Thomas Paprocki, next. Hello and welcome to Catholic Answers Focus, the podcast for living, understanding, and defending your faith. I’m Cy Kellett, your host. And today we tackle a tough subject with a tough Bishop. Let me just say it right out. The modern world has become abusive of children. We congratulate …
People today live in physical proximity to one another even as they occupy very different worlds. Father Robert McTeigue, author of Real Philosophy for Real People explains how we got here, and some possible cures.
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 one of my heroes is Walker Percy, who once said, “In the modern world, you can have 20 people sitting on a bus, a city bus together, and none of them are occupying the same world.” And this is the problem …
Father Hugh Barbour takes on the growing Marian Consecration movement and explains its theological roots. What is consecration and can one really consecrate oneself to Mary?
Is Marian consecration, anything more than just a pious practice? Fr. Hugh Barbour 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. And as everybody knows, Christians are divided over the person of Mary and over how to honor her and all that, and Catholics are in one camp and many other Christians are …
This year has been a pretty good one for the Satanic Temple. They’ve even gotten a good deal of positive press. So who are they, what do they believe, and are Catholics obligated to battle them in the streets? Karlo Broussard examines their seven tenets to see.
Cy Kellett: What’s behind the growth of the Satanic Temple? Karlo Broussard next. Welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic faith. I’m Cy Kellett, your host, and there has been some news out about the growth of the Satanic Temple. So we thought we’d tac…
Jesus tells us that there is a certain sin that will not be forgiven. Because Jesus is God, we can be sure he is not misleading us. But what is the sin against the Holy Spirit, and how can we avoid it? Father Hugh Barbour explains.
Are you scared of committing the sin against the Holy Spirit? We’ll help you out with Father Hugh next.. Cy Kellett: What if there was something that you could do that could not be forgiven, that would guarantee your damnation? I’d want to know exactly what that was, and probably you would want to know exactly what that was as well so that you could avo…
The author of Purgatory Is for Real, Karlo Broussard, explains the reality of indulgences and why they are effective in paying off debts.
What is the deal with indulgences? 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 Kellett, your host. One of the things that comes with being Catholic is the understanding that there are many real and true and existing things. There are aspects of reality that are not obvious to our seeing, hearing, tasting, touching and smelling, and ar…
As the editor in chief of the Catholic News Agency, JD Flynn has reporters covering the Church around the world. We asked him to give us an assessment of the state of the Church today. Some improvement is needed, to say the least.
The state of the Catholic church with a man who knows, JD Flynn 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. And I recently had an opportunity to sit down with the editor in chief of the Catholic News Agency, JD Flynn, to talk about the sta…
Meditation, mindfulness, centering — it’s all the rage. But what are the implications of these things for the Christian person? Father Hugh Barbour breaks down what meditation is and why the Church, actually, has a great deal to teach the world about how to get it right.
Meditation, it’s all the rage- we ask Fr. Hugh about it, next. Cy Kellett: Everybody’s talking about meditation and mindfulness and awareness and all of this. Well, it turns out that Christians have been thinking about these things for a long time, and there is an important contribution from Christian …
Cy Kellett is his own guest in this episode. On the 56th anniversary of Lumen Gentium, he discusses what the Church proposes as the way to personal relationship with Jesus. This process—Encounter, Conversion, Communion, and Mission—brings the person into intimacy with Jesus while cementing the person into the life of the Church.
How to have a personal relationship with Jesus, with me, Cy Kellett, next. Hello and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding, and defending your faith. I’m Cy Kellett, your host, and this week is Jesus week here at Catholic Answe…
In what sense is Jesus available to us in the Eucharist? Can anyone understand it? And why is his presence in the Eucharist central to our salvation? Father Hugh Barbour explains.
It’s Jesus Week, and we talk about Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament with Father Hugh Barbour 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 and it’s Jesus Week here at Catholic Answers, like shark week only better. And as we prepare for the Feast of Christ the King during this Jesus We…
We meet Tim Staples in the year 3,000 to ask what has changed in the Church and what has stayed the same? Could there be new sacraments? How much could the ones we have now change? And what will be the Catholic response to technology beyond our current imagination?
Cy Kellett: We now interrupt your regularly scheduled broadcasts to bring you this trip into the future, into the year 3000 with Tim Staples. Hello, and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus, the time traveling podcast for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic faith. I am Cy Kellett, your cruise director for this tri…
Guest host, Chis Check, asks Fr. Hugh to defend praying for the dead. Fr. Hugh explains why praying for the dead is every Christian’s duty.
Cy Kellett: What are Catholics doing when we pray for the dead? Father Hugh Barbour is next. Hello and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic faith. I’m Cy Kellett, your usual host, but we’ve got a guest host today, Chris Check, in conversation with Father Hugh Barbour. Catholics, as we’ve said on an earlier episode this month, pray for the dead all throughout November.…
In the Hebrew Scriptures, God gives quite specific directions on how to make sacrifices to him. We ask Jimmy Akin why God does this? What good does it do? And does God need all these sacrifices?
Cy: How should we think about biblical sacrifices? Jimmy Akin, right now. Hello and welcome to Focus, the Catholic answers podcast for living, understanding, and defending the Catholic faith. I’m Cy Kellett, your host, and remember to subscribe to focus on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Stitcher, wherever you listen, so that you’ll get a notice when new episodes are available and, if you would, p…
Father Hugh Barbour explains the two judgments. What happens at our particular judgment? What happens at the general judgment? And what does all of this have to do with ghosts who might need some help?
Cy: What happens when God judges you? Father Hugh Barber is next. Cy: Hello and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding and defending the Catholic faith. I’m Cy Kellett, your host. And usually I wait until the end of these podcasts to ask for your financial support, but it’s come to my attention that some of you are not listening all the way to the e…
Our own Karlo Broussard has a new book that not only defends the doctrine of purgatory but explains why Christ’s teaching about purgatory is a key part of the Good News of salvation. He shares with us why purgatory is such good news for us.
Cy: Karlo Broussard explains Purgatory, next on Focus. Cy: Hello and welcome to Focus, the Catholic answers podcasts for living, understanding and defending your Catholic faith. I’m Cy Kellett, your host. I have to admit, I don’t know you well, but just looking at you, I think you’re going to spend some time in Purgatory. I see that…
What happens when we die? Answers are limited, but the news is generally good. Father Hugh Barbour shares insights into the feasts of All Saints and All Souls.
Cy: You are connected to the dead, and before long you’re going to join them. Father Hugh Barbour helps you deal with that, next. Cy: Hello, and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding, and defending the Catholic faith. I am Cy Kellett, your host. I always like talking to Father Hugh, but there’s a particular joy that comes with talking to him about what happens on the other side. As Catholi…
St. Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” might well have been a moral failing that he simply could not overcome. Father Hugh Barbour explains how this reading of 2 Corinthians offers those of us who struggle with habitual sin a liberating glimpse into the personal and unfailing love of God.
Cy: What was that thorn in St. Paul’s flesh? Father Hugh Barber is next. Cy: Hello and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcasts for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic faith. I’m Cy Kellett your host. And you may be surprised to find this out, but almost every sin…
Many people have grown quite concerned that Pope Francis might, in fact, be a bad pope. We asked Joe Heschmeyer, the author of the book Pope Peter, to examine common complaints against Francis, and consider what our obligations would be if these complaints turn out to be true.
Cy: What if Francis is a bad pope? We ask Joe Heschmeyer next. Hello and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding, and defending the Catholic faith. I’m Cy Kellett, your host. We get kind of serious this week because people raise serious questions about whether or not Pope Francis i…
A Catholic priest will literally bless your cat if you ask. But what is this ritual about? Why do we do it, and what does it accomplish? Father Hugh Barbour explains.
Cy: What does a blessing do? Father Hugh Barbour is next. Hello, and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding, and defending your faith. I’m Cy Kellett, your host. What a blessing to have you here with us today. Catholics are constantly getting stuff blessed. If a priest starts to bless us, we know exactly what to do. Every now and then, someone will show you their Rosary and tell you who bl…
Media depictions sell the “Rapture” as a Christian doctrine. But the event generally understood as the Rapture is not Christian doctrine at all. Karlo Broussard, the author of Purgatory Is for Real, decodes the truth about the end times.
Cy Kellett: Do you want to be raptured? Karlo Broussard 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 Karlo Broussard is here with us to talk about the rapture. Is it something you should be anticipating, working towards, worried …
The author of a brand new book called Exorcism, Father Vincent Lampert explains exorcism as a ministry of charity. The long-time exorcist of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis has seen many strange things, but insists that the most important lesson from exorcisms is to rely on Christ, who is the help of all in need.
Cy Kellett: Let’s talk with an exorcist, right now on Catholic Answers Focus. Hello, and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic faith. I’m Cy Kellett, your host. If you generally choose to listen to this podca…
With election season passions heating up, Catholics are more willing than ever to excommunicate each other online. But what, exactly, does it take to be put out of the Church? We asked the king of careful distinctions, Father Sebastian Walshe.
Cy Kellett: Can we just get the bad people out of the Catholic Church? Father Sebastian Walsh joins us next. Hello and welcome to Focus, the Catholic answers podcast for living, understanding, and defending the Catholic faith. I’m Cy Kellett, your host. I don’t like to pick on Twitter too much. Lots of great stuff happens on social media and…
Father Hugh Barbour helps us get ready for the Feast of St. Michael with a reflection on angels. Who are they? What do they do? And how, without having bodies, do they get anything done?
Cy Kellett: What is the deal with angels? Father Hugh Barbour 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 we’ve got the feast of Saint Michael coming up. Michael the Archangel. Is he the highest angel? Is he close to the highest angel? Well, we’ll talk about that. But we want to…
It’s one thing to believe in God based on philosophical proofs. But what about the claim that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is the true God who has intervened in history? What justifies belief in this claim? Jimmy Akin explains.
Cy Kellett: Why believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? Jimmy Akin next. Hello and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic faith. I’m Cy Kellett, your host. Last time, we asked Jimmy about the Kalam argument. Does it prove God’s existence? There’s a whole area of phil…
What if you could get a personal message each day from beyond this world? Millions of people seek such messages in astrology charts and readings. But the Church has a better “astrology,” in which God really does have a message for you each day of the year.
Cy Kellett: A surprising look at astrology, next with Father Hugh. Hello and welcome to Focus, the Catholic answers podcast for living, understanding, and explaining the Catholic faith. Please remember to subscribe at Apple, or Stitcher, or what’s the other one, Spotify, wherever you get your podcasts. Please, give us that…
Jimmy Akin joins us and we gave him two simple tasks—explain the Kalam Cosmological Argument and tell us whether it proves that God exists. Jimmy obliged.
Cy Kellett: Does the Kalam cosmological argument prove God exists? Jimmy Akin explains. Hello and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic faith. I’m Cy Kellett, your host. The Kalam argument has become very popular in recent decades, actually after some neglect. It has done so as you’ll hear in this podcast because it’s been promoted by a certain apologist, part…
Father Hugh Barbour joins us to explain why Catholics have feast days that celebrate sadness. This time we cover the twin feasts of Christ’s Cross and Mary’s sorrow.
Cy Kellett: Making feasts out of sorrowful things… Father Hugh Barber is next. Hello and welcome to Catholic Answers Focus, the podcast for living, understanding, and defending the Catholic faith. I’m Cy Kellett, your host. In a certain sense, the Catholic faith is about turning from sorrow to celebration, but sometimes we quite literally celebrate sorrowful things. This month over two days, we celebrate t…
If I do not know who I am, I cannot know what to do or even what will make me happy. Joe Heschmeyer explains why Christ has the definitive answer on each person’s identity, and how meeting him settles our identity questions.
Cy Kellett: Is it possible to know yourself without knowing Jesus? Joe Heschmeyer right now on Focus. Hello and welcome to Focus, Catholic answers podcast for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic faith. I’m Cy Kellett, your host, and these are without question confused times and among the things that we’re confused about, and this is kind o…
A recent survey is heartbreaking for those who know Jesus is God come among us. Larger percentages of Christians no longer believe this. Karlo Broussard explains why we can be confident that Jesus is, in fact, God.
Cy Kellett: American confusion over the person of Jesus. Karlo Broussard with us next. Hello and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding, and defending the Catholic faith. I’m Cy Kellett, your host. I’m just going to read you the first line or two of a story from Newsweek magazine that all of us around here found a bit disheartening and …
If you can think, you can pray. If you can desire, you can pray. Father Hugh Barbour explains why including God in the things you are already doing can turn your life into a life of prayer.
Cy Kellett: Actually, you do have time to pray. Father Hugh explains next. Hello, and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic faith. We all feel … Well, we shouldn’t say we all, but lots and lots of us feel overwhelmed much of the time, and we’re overwhelmed in part because we don’t have time. We just feel like we’r…
How can the Catholic Church teach that we need to worry about losing our salvation through mortal sin when the Bible teaches that we have been sanctified once and for all? Karlo Broussard tackles another Protestant challenge.
Cy: Are your future sins already forgiven? Next, with Karlo. Hello, and welcome to Focus, The Catholic Answer’s podcast for living, understanding and defending the Catholic faith. Remember to subscribe to Focus wherever you get your podcasts. And if you would, please give us that five star rating and help us to grow this podcast. Some of our Protestant friends tell…
The recent story of a priest who discovered he had never been baptized unleashed a torrent of anxieties and questions around the sacraments. We ask Father Hugh, why is the Church so inflexible about how sacraments are celebrated?
Cy: Just how important is precision in the celebration of the sacraments? Father Hugh Barbour is next on Focus … Hello, and welcome to Focus the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding and defending your Catholic faith. I’m Cy Kellett your host, and you probably heard about that priest in Michigan, at least he thought he was a priest, but it tu…
How can the Catholic Church teach that our justification is a process when the Letter to the Romans says that our justification is a one-time event? Karlo Broussard can’t help himself, he just has to keep meeting Protestant challenges to Catholic belief.
Cy Kellett: What does it take to get right with God? Karlo Broussard next. Hello and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding and defending the Catholic faith. Please, don’t forget to subscribe to Focus at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. That way you’ll be…
From ancient times, Christians have celebrated the Assumption of Mary on August 15. In modern times, the celebration of the Coronation of Mary has been joined to that feast. Father Hugh Barbour reviews the history and theology of these Marian celebrations, and explains why they should fill you with joy.
Cy Kellett: We’ve got a special episode in honor of Mary, our queen right now on Catholic Answers Focus. Hello and welcome to Focus. The Catholic Answers Podcast for living, understanding and defending the Catholic faith. Don’t forget to subscribe, wherever you subscribe for your p…
Popes are not saints. They are not prophets. They are not world leaders, or media stars, or even theologians. They can be these things, but none of these things are essential to the pope’s job. Joe Heschmeyer, author of Pope Peter, explains why this is good news.
Cy Kellett: A less stressful way of looking at the papacy today on Catholic Answers Focus. Hello, and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding, and defending your faith. Remember to subscribe to Catholic Answers Focus wherever you get your podcasts, whether that’s Apple podcast, Spotify, St…
What does Catholic tradition actually teach about racism? Did Jesus have anything to say about it? Father Hugh Barbour explains how the ancient Faith deals with a term coined in the modern world.
Cy Kellett: Racism in the light of divine revelation right now on Focus. Hello and welcome to Focus, The Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding and defending the Catholic faith. Remember to subscribe wherever you subscribe, maybe at Apple podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, that way you’ll be notified when new episodes are released and please leave us that five star review, it does help to…
Did God really make the universe out of nothing? Is there really any such thing as “nothing”? Trent Horn tackles the difficult concept of “nothing” as he explains where we got everything.
Cy Kellett: Did God really make everything out of nothing? That’s on Focus right now. Cy Kellett: Hello, and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding and defending the Catholic faith. Remember to subscribe to Focus on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, wherever else you might get your podcasts, that way you’re notified when new episodes are …
These days one can almost feel that God is asleep. Does he not see the chaos, confusion, and injustice of the modern world? Father Sebastian Walshe, the author of Secrets from Heaven, joins us to consider today’s realities in the light of the gospel stories of Jesus asleep in the storm.
Cy Kellett : Is God asleep during these tough times? Right now on Catholic Answers Focus. Hello and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding and explaining the Catholic faith. Remember to subscribe to Focus on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Stitcher, wherever you get your podcast…
Apologist and author John DeRosa tackles the idea that the God of the Bible is violent and unworthy of being worshiped. As he does in his book One Less God Than You, DeRosa shows how this meme-level argument against God comes up short.
Cy: Is the God of the Old Testament a homicidal maniac? Right now on Focus. Hello and welcome again to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding, and defending the Faith. As always, please take a minute to subscribe to Focus on Apple podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher. I’m pretending like I know what these things are, but you know what they a…
Father Hugh Barbour takes us on a tour of the role of Christ’s Transfiguration in the life of the Church. Starting with what happened, and explaining where the feast originated, he helps us grasp the relationship of the Transfiguration to our own spiritual lives.
Cy: What’s the deal with Christ’s transfiguration? Father Hugh is next. Hello, and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding and defending the Catholic faith. Remember to subscribe, to Focus on Apple podcast, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcast. That way we’ll get…
Taking our cue from his new book One Less God Than You, we ask author and apologist John DeRosa how to respond when we are told that religion is for the weak-minded! Also, Cy does some role-playing as a German atheist…
Cy: Is religion a crutch for the weak-minded? Right now on Focus. Hello and welcome to Focus, Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding and defending the Catholic faith. As always, please take a minute to subscribe to Focus on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Stitcher, wherever you listen, and you’ll be notified when new episodes are released. And please give us tha…
Christianity is the religion of Joy, but few people understand what Joy is or how to gain it. Father Hugh Barbour joins us to explain.
Cy Kellett: Hello, and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I am Cy Kellett, your host. The world is disturbed right now. It seems there’s so much sadness, so many broken hearts, a great deal of almost despondency, fear, all of those things right now in the world and it’s hard to be happy. I think a lot of people are searching around for their happiness. Maybe happiness that was easy to locate even just a few short months ago is hard to find no…
Of course when a priest stands up to challenge an NFL team on is support for Pride Month he’s going to get smacked down on social media. But were Father Andre Metrejean’s comments hateful?. Karlo Broussard joins us to reason through the comments and the social media responses.
A Catholic priest challenges Pride Month – next, on Catholic Answers Focus. Cy Kellett: Hello and welcome to Catholic Answers Focus, the podcast designed to help you explain and defend the Catholic faith. I’m Cy Kellett, your host. This priest in Louisiana aroused kind of a Facebook a…
As Catholics celebrate the feasts of Mary and Martha, we ask Father Hugh Barbour about the family from Bethany that was so intimate with Jesus. Famously, Jesus scolded Martha. What is this about, and what does it teach us about relationship with Jesus?
CK: Why is Jesus so tough on Martha? Next on Catholic Answers Focus. Hello and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus the podcast designed to help you to explain and defend the Catholic faith, I’m Cy Kellett your host. In the gospels Jesus can sometimes seem a bit harsh, almost mean. The Catholic Church is getting ready to celebrate the …
Is there a Catholic model for economics? If so, what is it? If not, what contribution can the Catholic Faith make to economic theory and practice?
Cy Kellett: Hello, and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. Actually, before we start Trent, Jon Sorensen says that you’re really good at promoting your podcast at the beginning and he tells me that I’m really bad at it, and I have to get better at it. So, could you tell me what you do at the beginning of your podcasts, and then I’ll try it and you tell me if I’m doing a good job? Trent Horn: I’m happy to do that C…
The sacrament of Confirmation can be baffling to today’s Catholics. What is it? What does it do? And what is the correct age to receive it? Father Hugh Barbour answers all our questions.
CK: Hello and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I’m Cy Kellett, your host. Very glad to have you here with us. Sacrament of confirmation, is it possibly the least understood of the seven sacraments or the one that we might fumble around the most for an explanation of. I think it might be and I’m going to ask Father Hugh Barbour, our chaplain and the former Pryor of St. Michael’s…
Though a saint of the Catholic Church, Father Junipero Serra remains a figure of contempt in some circles because of his association with Spanish Colonialism in California. Who was the man? And what was his role in the vast narrative of the colonial era? Our guest Robert Senkewicz is co-author, with his wife Rose Marie Beebe, of the acclaimed book Junípero Serra: California, Indians, and the Transformation of a Missionary.
CK: Hello, and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I’m Cy Kellett, your host. Thank you so much for being with us today. We talk about Father Junipero Serra. I&#…
Father Hugh Barbour offers an appreciation of the life of St. Mark Ji Tianxiang, who lived more than 30 years as an opium addict. Though he never overcame his addiction, he died a martyr’s death. His story illuminates the mystery of holiness in the life of an addicted person.
Cy Kellett: Hello, and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I am Cy Kellett, your host, joined by our chaplain, Father Hugh Barbour. He is a Norbertine priest, former Prior of St. Michael’s Abbey in Orange County, where they’re building a beautiful new church and you should check it out online. Hell…
How can the Catholic Church teach that we need Tradition as well as Scripture when the Bible says that Scripture is sufficient as a rule of faith and for making a man “complete”? And how can the Catholic Church teach that Scripture is not our sole infallible source for doctrine when the book of Acts praises the Bereans for using Scripture alone to determine the truth?
Cy Kellett: Hello, and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I’m Cy Kellett, your host. Thanks for being with us. We have in studio with us the author of Meeting the Protestant Challenge: How to Answer 50 Biblical Objec…
Was Fr. Junipero Serra a dark part of history, deserving of his statues and memorials’ desecration, or was he a holy man of God who directly resisted the mistreatment and enslavement of the native peoples he evangelized? Find out here, with Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone.
CK: Hello, and welcome to Catholic Answers Focus. I’m Cy Kellett, your host. Thank you so much for being with us. Strange times continue that we’re living through. Very, very odd and, in some ways, maybe a bit obsessive ideological times. That reality has expressed itself here in the state of California an…
Is it time to give up on Columbus? In the light of modern scholarship, should we view Columbus with suspicion? The author of the highly acclaimed book Columbus and the Quest for Jerusalem joins us for a look at the real man and at what he meant to do with his voyages of discovery.
Christopher Columbus, hero or villain? Next on Catholic Answers Focus. Cy Kellett: Hello, and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I’m Cy Kellett your host and we’re living at a time of tearing down statues, covering up murals as people reevaluate our connections to certain figures of the past. Among…
What is the relationship between the soul in a state of grace and the Blessed Trinity? What does it mean to say that the Trinity comes to dwell in my soul? What is the evidence for the presence of the Blessed Trinity in the soul?
CK: Hello, and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I am Cy Kellett your host and we welcome once again, our chaplain father, Hugh Barbour, Norbertine priest, former Prior of St. Michael’s Abbey in Orange County. Hello Father Hugh. FHB: Hello there. CK: Father, I feel like I understand almost everything, but there’s a couple of things I don’t un…
How can the Catholic Church teach that we need a Magisterium (a living teaching authority) when John says in 1 John 2:27 that we have no need for a man to teach us since the Holy Spirit will teach us? The author of Meeting the Protestant Challenge responds.
CK: Hello, and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I’m Cy Kellett, your host. Thank you so much for being with us today in studio with Karlo Broussard, the author of a couple of books, including Meeting The Protestant Challenge. And we take some challenges from that book today. Hello, Karlo. KB: Hey Cy. CK: So these are challeng…
Father Hugh Barbour explains the biblical and medieval roots of the modern devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Is devotion to the Sacred Heart a divine response to an increasingly isolated and lonely modern world?
CK: Hello and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I am Cy Kellett, our host, and our guest is Father Hugh Barbour, Norbetine priest, former Pryor of St. Michael’s Abbey in Orange County which is building a new church. You should look it up online. Hello, Father. FHB: Hello. Hello. CK: It’s very nice to be speaking with you in June, a month of many good things inc…
Yes, the earliest Christians celebrated the Mass, and they did so in ways that are impressively similar to today’s Mass. In fact, the Church lived as a liturgical community from the very moment of its birth.
Cy Kellett: Hello, and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I am Cy Kellett, your host. We’ve been having some conversations in recent weeks with Tim Staples, Director of Apologetics and Evangelization here at Catholic Answers, about the early church and some of the things that are said about the early church. And trying to dig into what’s true about the life of the …
Cy interviews two of our favorite women religious about their work sharing the love of God with others, and how we gain confidence in the love of God.
Cy Kellett: Hello, and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I am Cy Kellett, your host, and today we tackle a question that is close to the hearts, sometimes closer to the heart perhaps than to the mind. How do we know that God loves us? One of the ways that we can explore that is with people who share the message of God’s love with other people. We have two of our favorite guests here with us today, Sister Maris Stella and Sister Mic…
Was there a golden age at the very beginning of the Church when Christianity was unspoiled by a hierarchical structure? Was there a blessed age when Christians were simply Christian, without authoritative leaders who had the power to govern the Church? Nope. Tim Staples explains.
Cy Kellett: Hello, and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I’m Cy Kellett, your host. Thank you for being with us. We’ve been doing some early church conversations with Director of Evangelization and Apologetics here at Catholic Answers, Tim Staples. And we’re going to continue with that early …
Father Hugh illuminates how God freely gives us all we need for our salvation through the sacraments. He defends this position as we discuss Pentecost and the Gifts of the Holy Spirit.
CK: Hello and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I am Cy Kellett, your host. And it having been … Now, I say that that way, but we were recording before, but it’s Pentecost. Pentecost celebrated on Sunday and this will reach you on Monday. And so we’re going to talk with our Chaplain Father Hugh Barbour about the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Hello, Father Hugh. FHB: Hello. CK: So the gifts …
The author of Meeting the Protestant Challenge explains why Catholics believe that the Church is a visible hierarchical institution when Jesus says that the Church in Matthew 18:20 is an invisible union of believers.
Cy Kellett: Hello, and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I’m Cy Kellett, your host, in studio again with Karlo Broussard. Hello, Karlo. Karlo Broussard: Hey, Cy. CK: Karlo, the author of a couple of books, including Prepare the Way, Overcoming Obstacles to God, the Gospel, and the Church, and Meeting the Protestant Challenge, How to Answer 50 Biblical Objections to C…
Why is the Church so defensive about marriage even when it is not sacramental? Why does the Church insist on the goodness of natural marriage? What does this say about sacramental marriage?
Cy Kellett: Hello, and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I’m Cy Kellett, your host. And today, we take a look at marriage with Father Hugh Barbour, Norbertine priest. I know the temptation is killing you right now. Fr. Hugh Barbour: What temptation? CK: You know what I’m talking about. I could see the word forming in your mouth. FHB: No. No, absolutely not. I don’t know what you…
The author of Meeting the Protestant Challenge asks how the Catholic Church can teach that Peter is infallible when Paul rebukes Peter for not eating with the Gentiles? Doesn’t this further show that Peter had no more authority than Paul?
CK: Hello and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I’m Cy Kellett your host, and I get the great pleasure of talking with Karlo Broussard again. Hi, Carlo. KB: Hey, Cy. CK: Karlo is a speaker author, and apologist here at Catholic Answers, the author of a couple of books, including Prepare The Way: Overcoming Obstacles To God, The Gospel And The Ch…
Is fear a sin? Is it just an emotion? How are Christians meant to understand fear? Is there such a thing as fear that is actually a gift from the Holy Spirit? Father Hugh Barbour fearlessly tackles a host of questions about fear.
CK: Is fear a sin? Father Hugh Barbour, next. Hello and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I’m Cy Kellett, your host, and it’s a time of fear. There is a good deal of fear all around us. It’s in part because of the virus certainly, but we can live in a frightened age in many ways. We have our strange fears, sometimes nameless, sometimes they h…
How can the Catholic church teach that Peter is the rock or the foundation of the church when St. Paul teaches in 1 Corinthians 3:11 that there is no other foundation besides Jesus?
Cy Kellett: Hello, and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus, I’m Cy Kellett, your host, joined in studio by Karlo Broussard, apologist here at Catholic Answers and author of a couple of very fine books, including Prepare the Way and Meeting the Protestant Challenge. Hello, Karlo. Karlo Broussard: Hey son. I thank you for saying they’re fine books. I appreciate that. Cy Kellett: They are fine books- …
The commandment to love our enemies seems impossible sometimes, especially for those who have been badly hurt. So what does Jesus mean by this commandment? Are we all obligated to follow it? And if we do follow it, what does it mean to love those we don’t feel any love for?
Cy Kellett: Hello, and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I am Cy Kellet, your host, and I’m delighted to have you here with us. We have our chaplain with us, Father Hugh Barbour, a Norbertine priest of the Abbey of Saint Michael in Orange County, where they’re building a new and beautiful church. Y…
What is apostolic succession? Did the early Church believe in and practice apostolic succession? Find out here, with Tim Staples.
Cy Kellett: Hello and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I am Cy Kellett, your host. There’s four marks to the church. It’s one, holy, catholic, and apostolic. Pretty much every Christian would agree to that. So we focus on the apostolic nature of the early church this time with our guest, Tim Staples. Tim is director of apologetics and evangelization here at Catholic Answers, the author of Beyond Your Mother: A Biblical and Historical Defense of …
During this virus shutdown lots of people are giving practical advice on how to keep relationships healthy. We ask Father Hugh to give us a deeper look at friendship from a Christian perspective. Understanding the role of friendship in God’s life and plan can help us in living out friendship with others.
CK: Friendships under strain, we’ve got help on the way. Father Hugh Barbour next. Hello and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I’m Cy Kellett, your host and today, we talk a little bit about friendship and disagreement with Father Hugh Barbour. In part, I’m moti…
Sometimes it seems like nothing is solid. Everything, even within the Church, seems to be up for debate. Is this true? How solid is Catholic doctrine? On what basis can we trust that it won’t shift?
CK: Hello and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I’m Cy Kellett, your host, and we welcome back our Chaplain, Father Hugh Barbour, delighted to see you again, Father. FHB: Nice to see you. CK: For this episode of Focus in which we’re going to discuss Catholic doctrine and where it can change, where it can’t change, or where it might develop and where it can’t develop.…
Fr. Hugh Barbour and Catholic Answers’ president, Christopher Check, acknowledge the struggles that people are experiencing during this challenging time of coronavirus lockdown. They address how we, as Catholics Christians, can best react and deal with the loneliness, anger, sadness, and other feelings that such a crisis has generated.
Christopher Check: Welcome to Catholic Answers Focus. My name is Christopher Check. I am president of Catholic Answers, sitting in for your usual host, Cy Kellett. Catholic Answers Focus is our podcast here at Catholic Answers, where we don’t take c…
“The tradition of the Church has always upheld, in spite of minimizing responses to this question that one might come across, that our Lord appeared to his mother in his resurrection. It almost goes without saying, because of course she is the place and the person of his incarnation and the annunciation. And she stood at and she initiated his ministry with the wedding at Cana and the miracle at Cana, which she works in view of his hour, which he seems to be hastening in response to her request. “And then she’s standing at the foot of the cross and then she’s at Pentecos…
Even though we cannot attend Mass while we shelter in place, we can experience real liturgy in our homes by praying the Liturgy of the Hours— and it’s more accessible than you might think. Fr. Hugh Barbour explains how, even during the suspension of public Masses, you can still not just watch but participate in real liturgy.
Cy Kellett: Hello and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I’m Cy Kellett, your host. Strange times we’re living in at the moment with the virus around the world and people confined at home, and families, many families, without too many outlets, not …
Did the early Church believe that the Eucharist was the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ? Had that been the belief of the Catholic Church since the Last Supper? Find out today with Catholic Answers’ Director of Apologetics, Tim Staples.
Cy Kellett: Hello and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I’m Cy Kellett, your host, and we’re going to take a look at the early church in this episode and in some coming episodes with Time Staples, director of Apologetics and Evangelization here at Catholic Answers. Hi, Tim. Tim Staples: Hi, Cy Kellett. How are you buddy?…
The Catechism of the Catholic Church is clear about the existence of angels. “The existence of the spiritual, non-corporeal beings that Sacred Scripture usually calls “angels” is a truth of faith. The witness of Scripture is as clear as the unanimity of Tradition. St. Augustine says: “‘Angel’ is the name of their office, not of their nature. If you seek the name of their nature, it is ‘spirit’; if you seek the name of their office, it is ‘angel’: from what they are, ‘spirit’, from what they do, ‘angel.'” With t…
Senior Fellow in Ethics at the Culture of Life Foundation, RJ Snell, considers the difficult choices facing health care providers in the time of Covid-19. How can Catholic moral teaching inform these choices and ensure they are made humanely?
Cy Kellett: Hello and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I am Cy Kellett, your host. And in the midst of this Coronavirus pandemic that we are all struggling through together, first of all, many blessings to you and your family and with lots of hope that you are getting through it all right and staying close to the Lord. But as we go through thi…
Sometimes the post-Vatican II push for lay participation can become onerous. What is really needed to be fully Christian? Does everyone need to be a theologian, liturgist, and apologist?
Cy Kellett: Hello and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I’m Cy Kellett, your host. And this time, an apologetic defense of a simple life of faith, I guess that’s how we could put it, a defense of a simple life of faith, or a life of simple faith, or just simply being faithful. We’ll go with any of those. Our guest, Father Hugh Barbour. Hello, Father. Fr. Hugh: Hello, hello. Cy Kellett…
Do Catholics favor traditions of men over the word of God? Jimmy Akin next on Catholic Answers Focus.
Cy Kellett: Hello and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus I’m Cy Kellett, your host, joined by Jimmy Akin, Senior Apologist here at Catholic Answers. Hello Jimmy. Jimmy Akin: Howdy. Cy Kellett: I want to ask you today about some passages in the gospels that say not to replace God’s word with the traditions of men- Jimmy Akin: Okay. Cy Kellett: … particularly in Matthew and Mark’s gospel. Jimmy Akin: Mm-hmm (affirmative). Cy Kellett: So, and this is covered by the w…
For many people, it looks likely that the next few weeks will not offer a realistic opportunity to go to Mass. Our chaplain joins us for a conversation about the powerful option of “Spiritual Communion” during this time, and any time. Did you miss Fr. Hugh and Cy on our episode of Focus last week? Check out “Coronavirus and the Catholic Church”. You can find Fr. Hugh’s latest book, 20 Answers: Prayer, here.
Spiritual communion in a time of coronavirus. Father Hugh Barbour is next. Cy Kellett: Hello again, and welcome to Catholic Answers Focus. I am Cy Kellett, your host, and…
Anxiety blossoms as the most recent coronavirus appears, though in low numbers, in the United States. People wonder if they should stop receiving the Eucharist on the tongue, others if they should receive at all. Fr. Hugh Barbour and Cy Kellett discuss the truth of the Eucharist and what to keep in mind through this period of uncertainty- a God who loves us and makes Himself available to us in the Eucharist.
Cy Kellett: Coronavirus and the Eucharist. Next with Father Hugh Barbour. Cy Kellett: Hello and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I am Cy Kellett, your host. And our guest this epi…
The president of Catholic Answers shares insights into the reality of the Crusades to help the Christian who is confronted with that apologetics conversation-stopper: “What about the Crusades?”
Cy Kellett: How to handle the challenge of the Crusades with Chris Check right now. Hello and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I’m Cy Kellett, your host. Opponents of the Catholic Church often use the Crusades as evidence for the corruption of Catholicism and for the violence of religion in general. Their point is that Christian claims to be a religion of love and peace are de…
In the last century, the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls raised the profile of the ancient community of the Essenes. Do these discoveries debunk Christian ideas about Jesus?
Cy: Who were the Essenes and how are they connected to the Dead Sea Scrolls next with Jimmy Akin, and don’t forget to stay all the way to the very end. There’s a surprise coming up. Hello and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I am Cy Kellett, your host, and we’re joined again by Jimmy Akin, the author of The Bible Is a Catholic Book among many other books and senior apologists here at Catholic A…
Best known for trying to catch Jesus in logical traps, the Sadducees had some strange beliefs for first century Jews. Why do they seem so tricky in their dealings with Jesus? And what can his interactions with them teach an apologist?
Who is this mysterious group who challenges Jesus on the resurrection, but believes in God? We’ll tackle the Sadducees next with Jimmy Aiken. Hello, and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I am Cy Kellett, your host, and we’re in the midst of three conversations with Jimmy Akin on some of the movements in the Jewish world of Jesus’s time. …
The Catholic devotion to relics is, for some, an embarrassment and an echo of pagan practices. Father Hugh Barbour explains what’s going on with this ancient Christian practice and why it is perfectly consistent with the teachings of Christ and the Apostles.
Cy Kellett: Hello and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I’m Cy Kellett, your host, and maybe one of the things that we Catholics come into some criticism for, not maybe, we definitely come into some criticism for our attachment to relics. We’ll defend relics a little bit in this episode and here to do that is our good f…
Claiming friendship with God is a good way to get mocked by the “wise” of the world. But it is a central claim of Christianity. How do we make sense of it?
Cy: Is friendship with God really possible? Philosophy professor John Cuddeback next. Hello, and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I’m Cy Kellett, your host. Sometimes in apologetics we might spend much of our time explaining and defending the controversial aspects of Christian life, and can maybe not get around to explaining and defending the most beautiful teachings of Christ and His Church, and those might be the very ones …
If anyone can be said to be the villain of the Gospels, it’s the Pharisees. Sometimes fellow Christians will label Catholics as Pharisees. So, who were they? Where did they come from? And what should we make of their interactions with Jesus?
The Pharisees get a bad rap. Do they deserve it? Up next with Jimmy Akin. Cy: Hello, and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I’m Cy Kellett, your host, and the villains of the piece in the New Testament are often the Pharisees. We welcome Jimmy Akin, whose book, The Bible is a Catholic Book, covers some of what Jimmy knows about New Testament t…
The man who wrote the book Persuasive Pro-Life gives us a primer on how to share arguments against abortion. Use these effective techniques to move yourself and others closer to the truth about tiny, little, unborn people.
Pro-life boot camp with Trent Horn right now. Cy: Hello, and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I’m Cy Kellett, your host, and in studio with me today, our good friend Trent Horn, author of many things, including a book called Persuasive Pro-life. We thought with Trent, we’d take this opportunity to do a little pro-life boot camp, get the basics about how …
As we wrap up our conversations with Karlo Broussard on his book Meeting the Protestant Challenge, he asks: How can the Catholic Church teach that we need Tradition as well as Scripture when the Bible says that Scripture is sufficient? And how can the Catholic Church teach that Scripture is not our sole infallible source for doctrine when the book of Acts praises the Bereans for using Scripture alone to determine the truth?
Cy: Do Protestant arguments for sola scriptura succeed? Next with Karlo Broussard. Hello and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I’m Cy Kellett, your host. Toda…
As we continue our conversations about his book Meeting the Protestant Challenge, Karlo Broussard asks: How can the Catholic Church teach that we can’t have absolute assurance that we’re going to heaven if the Bible says that we can? How can the Catholic Church teach that it’s possible for us to lose our salvation when Jesus says that no one can snatch us out of his hand?
Can we know for sure that we’re going to heaven? Coming up next with Karlo Broussard. Cy: Hello and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I am Cy Kellett, your host, and today we welcome again our good friend Karlo…
Drawing on his book Meeting the Protestant Challenge, Karlo Broussard asks: How can the Church teach that non-immersion baptisms are valid when the Bible speaks only of baptisms that were done by immersion? And how can the Catholic Church baptize infants when Jesus makes it clear that one must believe first and then be baptized?
Answering some Protestant challenges on baptism with Karlo Broussard coming up. Cy: Hello and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I am Cy Kellett, your host and today we welcome apologist Karlo Broussard for a conversation drawn from his book, Meeting the Protest…
Catholic Answers’ Director of Apologetics and Evangelization reflects with us on the identity of Jesus as incarnate God. What does this mean and why does it fill us with joy?
Tim: What does Christmas celebrate? Next with Tim Staples. Cy: Merry Christmas from Catholic Answers and welcome to Catholic Answers focus. I’m Cy Kellett, your host. And a little bit of Christmas cheer there for you as we start. We’re going to talk about Christmas on this Christmas day with probably the most Christmasy person I know, Tim Staples, Director of Apologetics and Evangelization here at Catho…
The author of The Bible Is a Catholic Book reviews the biblical evidence for the Star of Bethlehem. What was it? How did the Magi follow it? Was it real or just a literary device?
Cy: What should we make of the star of Bethlehem? Next, Jimmy Akin. Hello and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I am Cy Kellett, your host. And today we discussed the star, the star of Bethlehem. What do we know about it? What do we believe about it? What are we obligated to believe and what might we possibly discover about that star? Our guest is Jimmy Akin, senior apologist here at Catholic Answers and the …
Actually, lots can be known about the historical Jesus, and Christians can give confident rebuttals to those who claim Jesus is just a myth. Trent defends Jesus from the mythicists.
How confident are you that Jesus was a real man? Trent Horn, next. Cy: Hello and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I am Cy Kellett, your host, and we are joined once again by our good friend Trent Horn. Trent, who is Apologist Extraordinaire here at Catholic Answers and author of many, many books including, Why We’re Catholic. The super bestseller, I should say, the super bestselling book, Why We̵…
Engaging the imagination is often the key to engaging the intellect. Dr. Holly Ordway, author of Apologetics and the Christian Imagination, explains how apologists can use story to help share the truth.
Cy: Want to be a good apologist? Try being a great storyteller. Holly Ordway, next. Hello and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. Many of us have grown accustomed to the apologist as a person who makes reasoned arguments in defense of the faith, and without question, this is central to apologetics. But reasoned arguments are often not enough and appeal to the imagination is also needed, a…
Ugh, the false dichotomy between the Jesus of history and the Jesus of faith. No, they are not two different people, and yes, the Gospels are an accurate history of the Rabbi from Nazareth.
Cy: Hello and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I’m Cy Kellett, your host, joined in studio today by Tim Staples, our Director of Apologetics and Evangelization, and the man who produced The Great Disappointment: Understanding the False Doctrines and Failed Prophecies of the Seventh-Day Adventists, that’s out now. A CD set, or you can get it as an MP3 download. Tim, welcome again. Tim: I…
How can the Catholic Church teach that the Eucharist is the actual body and blood of Jesus when Jesus refers to his so-called blood as the “fruit of the vine”? And how can the Catholic Church teach that Mary was immaculately conceived when she calls God her “Savior” in Luke 1:47?
Cy: Hello and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I’m Cy Kellett, your host, and we continue our conversation with Karlo Broussard, the author of Meeting the Protestant Challenge: How to Answer 50 Biblical Objections to Catholic Beliefs. Hello again Karlo. Karlo: Hey Cy. Cy: And I’ll just sum it up r…
How can Catholics Church teach “Sacred Tradition” when Jesus teaches that the Bible is the only authority? And how can the Catholic Church teach that good works play a role in our justification when Paul insists that we’re not justified by works?
Cy: Hello, and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I am Cy Kellett, your host, delighted to be joined again by Karlo Broussard, apologist here at Catholic Answers, and the author of a wonderful new book, Meeting The Protestant Challenge: How to Answer 50 Biblical Objections to Catholic Beliefs. I say it’s wonderful in part because it’…
Catholic Faith contradicts the Bible, some Protestants will say. Karlo Broussard explains that this is a challenge Catholics must answer because we accept the Bible as the Word of God. Not to worry, he also shows how such claims are wildly mistaken.
Cy: Hello and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I’m Cy Kellett your host. And part of the reason Protestantism has lasted and persists is that it poses serious intellectual challenges to the claims of the Catholic church. And an intellectual challenge deserves a well-reasoned response. Unless of course you have the power to burn peopl…
Modern scholars often muddle the truth abut Jesus’ knowledge of himself. Did he know he was God? Did he behold the face of God even from the moment of conception? And why does any of this matter?
Cy: Hello and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I’m Cy Kellett, your host, and our guest is Tim Staples, the director of Apologetics and Evangelization here at Catholic Answers. And the man behind this brand new CD set The Great Disappointment, understanding the false doctrines and failed prophecies of Seventh Day Adventism. Congratulations on that. Tim: Why, thank you young lad. Cy: So …
What is the proper role of the Church in the debate over marriage? Is sacramental marriage different than natural marriage? And what is the role of governments in this debate: to determine what marriage is or to discover and protect what marriage is?
Cy Kellett: Hello and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I’m Cy Kellett, your host. And this is the second part of a conversation we’re having with Father Sebastian Walshe, a Norbertine priest of the Abbey of St. Michael in the Diocese of Orange, California, about marriage, something that had always seemed, at least in our cultu…
Marriage has been redefined by the state, but was there ever a precise definition of marriage? Could reason lead us to such a definition? And who is the competent authority to decide these things?
Cy: Hello and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I am Cy Kellett, your host, and I wonder, can you explain marriage? It’s not unusual today to be asked for your definition of marriage, what makes a marriage a marriage, why do you think that that’s what marriage is? It’s a bit like being asked to define truth or goodness. It’s so fundamental that precise definitions are …
They drink, they smoke, they make a popular show for Catholic men (The Catholic Man Show), so we ask Adam and David to justify Catholic teaching on the acceptability of drinking. Wouldn’t God prefer that we all just stay away from the sauce and stick with tea? That depends, it turns out.
Cy Kellett: Hello and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I am Cy Kellett, your host, and we are delighted this week to welcome David and Adam Minihan, the men from The Catholic Man Show. Also, the founders of St. Michael Radio in Tulsa, Oklahoma. David and Adam are, in addition to being radio founders a…
We continue our conversation with the author of Reform Yourself! and the founder and editor of EpicPew.com on whether the Church Fathers believed in Sola Scriptura with looks at Athanasius, Cyril of Jerusalem, and Augustine.
Cy Kellett: This time Athanasius, Cyril of Jerusalem and Augustine, did they support Sola Scriptura? Cy Kellett: Hello and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I am Cy Kellett, your host, and we’re in the midst of a conversation with Shaun McAfee, the author of Reform Yourself!, among other books. Shaun wrote a series of four articles for Catholic Answers Magazi…
Is the Catechism of the Catholic Church too harsh in calling homosexual inclinations “objectively disordered”? Father James Martin has suggested a change in wording to something such as “differently ordered.” Might that be helpful?
Cy Kellett: The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that homosexual inclinations are objectively disordered. Should that language be changed? Next on Catholic Answers Focus. Cy Kellett: Hello and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I am Cy Kellett, your host. And a this week we tackle a somewhat difficult subject and we will try to do so with intellectual in…
Even Pope Francis is talking about schism, so is the unity of the Church in danger? Our senior apologist tackles the meaning of “schism” and assesses the risks.
Cy Kellett: Hello, and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I’m Cy Kellett, your host. Delighted to have you with us, thanks so much for joining us. Schism has been in the news recently, so we have our good friend Jimmy Akin here with us. Jimmy is senior apologist here at Catholic Answers, and the author of many things, but I’m going to point in particular to this one, Teaching With Authority: How to Cut Through Doctri…
The author of Reform Yourself! and the founder and editor of EpicPew.com helps you explain what the Church Fathers really taught about the Bible. He details how Protestant defenders of Sola Scriptura go too far when they enlist the early Church Fathers to defend the idea that Scripture is the sole rule of faith.
Cy Kellett: Did the early Church Fathers really teach sola scriptura? Next on Catholic Answers Focus. Cy Kellett: Hello, and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I am Cy Kellett, your host. We do hear, from time to time, folks who say they came into the Catholic Church because the…
The founder of shamelesspopery.com defends the Catholic understanding of the interior life and shares tips for developing yours.
Cy Kellett: Do you have an inner life and can you develop it? Joe Heschmeyer is next. Cy Kellett: Hello and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I am Cy Kellett your host. In a practical sense, the interior life is under attack because life is so full of distractions and entertainment, but in an intellectual sense, the interior life has been under attack for a long time with many skeptics now saying the interior life is nothing but an illusion and many Christian…
The author of Prepare the Way: Overcoming Obstacles to God, the Gospel, and the Church joins us to reflect on Coca-Cola’s “Love is love” ad campaign. Is all sexual love equal as the campaign suggests?
Cy Kellett: Is all love equal? Karlo Broussard next on Catholic Answers Focus. Cy Kellett: Hello, and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I’m Cy Kellett, your host, and Karlo Broussard is with us today. We’re going to talk about the “Love Is Love” campaign and about an article that Karlo produced for Catholic Answers Magazine online, in that regard. Karlo, welcome ba…
Is the Bible a collection of letters? To whom were the letters sent? Did the ancient world have a mail system? Listen in to hear Jimmy Akin and Cy Kellett discuss ancient letters and their importance in Scripture.
Cy Kellett: Hello, and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I’m Cy Kellett, your host, and I really have been enjoying doing these history podcasts with Jimmy Akin, so we get an opportunity to do another one today. Jimmy Akin is senior apologist here at Catholic Answers, the author of many books including two brand new 20 Answers books, one on Protestantism and one on the …
Who were these Romans who play such a big part in the New Testament and in the life of the early Church? How did they get to be a world power, and what did they make of these new Christians?
Cy Kellett: Hello, welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I am Cy Kellett, your host and delighted again to welcome Jimmy Akin, senior apologist here at Catholic answers for another of these kind of looks back into the history of the world as it relates to the Bible times and the Bible people. Jimmy, welcome back again. Jimmy Akin: Thank you, Cy. Cy Kellett: Jimmy, as you know, is the podcaster behind &…
Jimmy Akin joins Cy for a conversation about the historicity of the Joseph story in Genesis. Is the biblical depiction of Egypt believable? What does modern scholarship add to the story?
Cy Kellett: Hello and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I am Cy Kellett, your host, and last time we had a today’s guest on, Jimmy Akin is our guest, and the last time he was on, we talked about ancient Egypt and it turned out that was very, very popular. People really enjoyed hearing about that and it’s something that Jimmy knows a great deal about. So we asked him back to talk about just …
Cy concludes his interview on evolution and God with the author of Prepare the Way: Overcoming Obstacles to God, The Gospel, and The Church. Here, Karlo explains why greater complexity coming from apparently lesser complexity is not a problem, and why arguments that a wise God just wouldn’t have done it this way don’t hold water. Book Karlo to speak at your parish or next event. Want more from Karlo Broussard?
Prepare the Way: Overcoming Obstacles to God, the Gospel and the Church Why God Still Matters The Bible Blueprint for the Priesthood The Bible Blueprint for the Mass
Cy Kellett…
If evolutionary theory is correct, then chance plays an important role in the evolution of life. But how could God be the designer of life if things really do depend upon chance? Karlo Broussard continues is explanation of why Evolution does not eliminate God.
Cy Kellett: Does the possibility of chance in evolution disprove God’s participation? Coming up next on Catholic Answers Focus. Cy Kellett: Hello and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I am Cy Kellett, your host and this week, we continue our conversations, our series of conversations with Karlo Broussard on evolution, why e…
Cy sits down with Karlo Broussard, author of Prepare the Way, for a conversation about God and evolution. Karlo lists six common ways people use Darwin’s insights as the basis for arguments against God.
Cy Kellett: Have Darwin’s theories done away with God? Next on Focus. Cy Kellett: Hello and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I am Cy Kellett, your host. I’ve got to say, I am very excited about this series of conversations we embark upon with this episode of Focus. We’re going to talk a bit about evolution and what does evolution do to God? Does it have any effect on …
Drake McCalister, Coordinator of Catechetical Practicum at Franciscan University of Steubenville, came into the Catholic Faith because of what he heard on Catholic Radio. Now this father of five is to be ordained a priest. He talks with us about what really works in catechesis and apologetics.
Cy Kellett: Was there a golden age of catechesis we can get back to? That’s next on Catholic Answers Focus. Cy Kellett: Hello, and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I am Cy Kellett, your host, and today we ask a very practical question, though it comes with a wild story attached. The story …
Our Director of Apologetics and Evangelization, Tim Staples, says the Magisterium never stopped teaching that there is no salvation outside the Church. This doesn’t sound very PC.
Cy Kellett: Do Catholics still believe there’s no salvation outside the Church? Tim Staples next on Catholic Answers Focus. Cy Kellett: Hello, and welcome to Catholic Answers Focus. I am Cy Kellett, your host, and this time we deal with a topic, well, it strikes a lot of people as mean, frankly, and here to help us unpack it and understand what it means is the Director of Apologetics and Evangelization here at…
Tim Staples, author of Behold Your Mother, says people today have forgotten that Jesus asks radical things of his followers. Is this idea too dangerous for modern consumption?
Cy Kellett: Does Jesus want you to be a radical? Tim Staples, next on Catholic Answers Focus. Cy Kellett: Hello and welcome to Catholic Answers Focus. I am Cy Kellett, your host and well Jesus, what did he want from us? Did he want us to be just the nice people that we’re trying our best to be or did he want something more from us? And I suppose that’s connected to what he has to offer us as well. And here t…
Tim Staples makes the wild claim that each of the seven sacraments was, in fact, established by Jesus. Can he defend this thesis? Like Bob the Builder—yes, he can.
Cy Kellett: Where did we get the seven sacraments? Tim Staples, next on Catholic Answers Focus. Hello, and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I am Cy Kellett, your host, and we are delighted here to be joined again by the Director of Apologetics and Evangelization here at Catholic Answers, Tim Staples. Hello again, Tim. Tim Staples: Hello, Cy Kellett. Cy Kellett: We have a problem here in the Catholic Church, because we added…
Who was Moses? Was he a real person? Is there evidence for the Exodus? Jimmy Akin continues our lively look at Moses among the Egyptians. Did you miss Part 1 of this conversation? Listen here: Moses and the Egyptians (Pt.1)
Cy Kellett: We continue our discussion of Moses and the Egyptians, right now on Catholic Answers Focus. Cy Kellett: Hello and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I’m Cy Kellett, your host, our guest this week continuing our conversation we began last week is Jimmy Akin, senior apologist here at Catholic Answers and also the podcast behind Jimmy Akin’s Myst…
What was Egypt like in the time of Moses? Did the Hebrews build the Great Pyramid? Jimmy Akin joins us for a lively look at Moses among the Egyptians. Want to hear the next part of this conversation? Listen here: Moses and the Egyptians (Part 2)
Cy Kellett: What do we know about the Egyptians of Moses’ time? Right now on Catholic Answers Focus. Cy Kellett: Hello and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I am Cy Kellett, your host, joined today by our senior apologist here at Catholic Answers, Jimmy Akin. Hi, Jimmy. Jimmy Akin: Howdy, Cy. Cy Kellett: There were these people in the anc…
Is it even appropriate to talk to the saints when we can just go straight to God? Karlo Broussard the author of Prepare the Way: Overcoming Obstacles to God, the Gospel, and the Church joins us with an answer as we end out three-part series. Book Karlo to speak at your parish or next event. Did you miss Part 1? Click here: Helpers on High (Part 1) Want to hear Part 2? Click here: Helpers on High (Part 2) Want more from Karlo Broussard?
Prepare the Way: Overcoming Obstacles to God, the Gospel and the Church Meeting The Protestant Challenge Why God Still Matters The Bible Blueprint for the Pri…
Karlo Broussard the author of Prepare the Way: Overcoming Obstacles to God, the Gospel, and the Church joins us for part two of our conversation about the saints, this time answering the most common objections to the intercession of the saints. Book Karlo to speak at your parish or next event. Did you miss Part 1? Click here: Helpers on High (Part 1) Want to hear Part 3? Click here: Helpers on High (Part 3) Want more from Karlo Broussard?
Prepare the Way: Overcoming Obstacles to God, the Gospel and the Church Meeting the Protestant Challenge Why God Still Matters The Bible Blueprint for the …
Karlo Broussard is the author of Prepare the Way: Overcoming Obstacles to God, the Gospel, and the Church. He joins us for a three-part conversation about our friends in Heaven, the Saints, and why we should befriend our helpers on high. The Catechism states,”It is not merely by the title of example that we cherish the memory of those in heaven; we seek, rather, that by this devotion to the exercise of fraternal charity the union of the whole Church in the Spirit may be strengthened. Exactly as Christian communion among our fellow pilgrims brings us closer to Christ, so our communion wit…
Jim Vogel, spokesman for the Society of St. Pius X in the United states, stopped by our offices, and we thought we’d like to hear, in their own words, what the Society sees as their current status. Our chaplain, Father Hugh Barbour, joined us in the studio for a conversation meant to tease out how the Society sees this moment, this pope, and the possibilities for regularization.
Cy Kellett: Hello and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I am Cy Kellett, your host, and we continue our conversation today with Jim Vogel, who is the editor-in-chief of Angelus Press and the spokesman for the S…
Jim Vogel, spokesman for the Society of St. Pius X in the United states, stopped by our offices, and we thought we’d like to hear, in their own words, what the Society sees as their current status. Our chaplain, Father Hugh Barbour, joined us in the studio for a conversation meant to tease out how the Society sees this moment, this pope, and the possibilities for regularization.
Cy Kellett: Hello, and welcome again, to Catholic Answers Focus. I am Cy Kellett, your host. Delighted to have you with us, and this time, we have two guests in studio with us, because we have big things to talk about…
Trent Horn’s new book explores the many ways Christ is falsely presented. He discusses these “counterfeit Christs” and why the real Christ is so much better.
Cy Kellett: Hello, welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. We continue this week with our conversation with Trent Horn, the author of the brand new book, Counterfeit Christs: Finding the Real Jesus Among the Impostors. It is out now from Catholic Answers Press. You can get it at Catholic.com. Cy Kellett: Trent, last time we talked a little bit about prosperity Jesus, the prosperity preacher as a counterfeit Christ, we talked…
Trent Horn’s new book explores the many ways Christ is falsely presented. He discusses these “counterfeit Christs” and why the real Christ is so much better.
Cy Kellett: Hello, and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I am Cy Kellett, your host. Delighted to welcome Trent Horn, one of the lynchpins of the Catholic Answers Apologetics crew. Hello, Trent. Trent Horn: Hello, Cy. I’m always trying to keep things together. Cy Kellett: I don’t actually know what a lynchpin is. You know, sometimes you use a metaphor and you don’t know what that is. But glad to have …
Michael Naughton, the author of Labor and Leisure: The Integration of Faith and Work in a Divided World, explains the Judeo-Christian view of rest, most especially the need to rest on the Lord’s Day. _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Cy Kellett: Hello and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I am Cy Kellett your host. And there is lots of talk everywhere these days about finding balance, which suggests a lot of people are having trouble finding balance. Very few people seem to be able to do it. It may b…
Fr. Hugh Barbour and Cy continue their discussion about the Divine Mercy on Catholic Answers Focus.
Cy Kellett: We continue, with our chaplain, a discussion about the divine mercy. Hello and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I am Cy Kellett, your host. Our guest again this week is Father Hugh Barbour, our chaplain, and we continue our conversation begun last week about the divine mercy, both Divine Mercy Sunday and the devotion. Cy Kellett: Well, let us get, then, to the message of the divine mercy, a message that we’re told comes directly from Jesus to Saint Faustina Kowalska. W…
Is devotion to the Divine Mercy an innovation or something consistent with the traditions of the Church? We sat down to get the answers from Fr. Hugh Barbour on Catholic Answers Focus.
Cy Kellett: Divine Mercy Sunday is approaching. What is the Divine Mercy? Cy Kellett: Hello and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I am Cy Kellett, your host. Thank you so much for joining us. Today we talk about…is it an innovation of the modern Church? Is it an imposition into the liturgical calendar? What is it? It’s the Divine Mercy. We will ask our chaplain, Father Hugh Barbour, about tha…
The author of Why Catholic Bibles Are Bigger and Hostile Witnesses explains why Christianity’s enemies actually give us a great deal of insight into how the earliest Christians lived and what they believed.
Cy Kellett: Hello, and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I am Cy Kellett, your host. Cy Kellett: One of the great resources for understanding early Christianity is the testimony of her enemies. That might seem counterintuitive, but certainly not everyone in the ancient world thought well of Christians or their beliefs, and some of the uglier things that were written about Chri…
Is justification instantaneous or a process? How might that process work? Would works be part of it? Tim Staples and Cy Kellett conclude their discussion about the relationship between faith and works in salvation.
Cy Kellett: Here’s the final part of our conversation with Tim Staples on salvation. Cy Kellett: Hello and welcome to Catholic Answers Focus, I am Cy Kellett, your host, and today we continue a conversation we’ve been having. As a matter of fact, bring it to its conclusion. A conversation we’ve been having with Tim Staples, director of apologetics and evangelizati…
In part two of this three-part series, Tim Staples and Cy Kellett continue their discussion about the relationship between faith and works in salvation, here with an emphasis on works as a response to God’s unmerited gift of grace.
Cy Kellett: What role do works play in our salvation? Right now on Catholic Answers Focus. Hello, and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I am Cy Kellett, your host. And last time we talked a bit about the grace that is needed to prompt us towards salvation. How does all that get started? Tim Staples, our guest for that, and our guest again today. Tim is…
How are people saved? Does salvation take cooperation? Who will be saved? Where is the scriptural evidence for faith and works? Why do Catholics believe what they do? Have you struggled to answer these questions when sharing your faith? Listen in to learn how Tim Staples approaches having a discussion about salvation.
Cy Kellett: Hello and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I am Cy Kellett your host. Thank you so much for being with us. How do we get saved? How exactly does that happen? What happens before we are saved? What does it mean when we are being saved and how does that functio…
Cy Kellett discusses with chaplain and Norbertine priest, Fr. Hugh Barbour, and Chris Check, president of Catholic Answers, the encouraging and significant realities of the hope of Christ in the world today.
Cy Kellett: They’re hard to see, but there are signs of hope in the modern world. Let’s discuss them with Father Hugh Barbour and Chris Check. Cy: Hello and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I am Cy Kellett, your host. We’re always happy when you’re here with us. Any lazy mind can find all the evidence of evil in the world today. It’s as easy as turnin…
The president and chaplain of Catholic Answers join Cy for a conversation about demonic influences in the modern world. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Are demons active in the modern world? Let’s discuss it with Father Hugh Barber and Chris Check. Hello and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I am Cy Callet, your host, and we’re always so appreciative that you’re here with us today. It’s going to maybe sound a little bit like herding cats. It does when these t…
Modern Catholics have experienced a “creeping universalism,” with many now convinced that few people, if any, go to hell. Ralph Martin defends traditional Church teaching on hell, and explains why it is not going away. Cy Kellett: Does anyone actually go to hell? Ralph Martin is here. Lets find out. Cy Kellett: Hello, and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. Delighted to have you here with us. Thank you for joining us. I am Cy Kellett, your host. This week, we tackle the question of salvation. Not what it is, but to how many will it be, in the end, extended. Our guest is Ralph Martin, who …
Do the sacraments do what they claim to do? Msgr. Eugene Morris defends their efficacy in a world that mostly fails to see them for what they are. Msgr. Morris is a sacramental theologian and a priest of the Archdiocese of Saint Louis. He is a popular speaker, retreat leader, and radio guest and host. Book Cy to speak at your parish or next event. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Cy Kellett: Do the Sacraments do what they say they’re gonna do? Let’s find out. Cy: Welcome again t…
Our in-house-philosopher, Karlo Broussard, author of Prepare the Way: Overcoming obstacles to God, the Gospel and the Church, joins us for a three part conversation about relativism. Why are conversations about right and wrong so often labeled “hate speech? Book Karlo or Cy to speak at your parish or next event.
Want more from Karlo Broussard? Prepare the Way: Overcoming Obstacles to God, the Gospel and the Church Meeting the Protestant Challenge Why God Still Matters The Bible Blueprint for the Priesthood The Bible Blueprint for the Mass
Cy Kellett: Why does it get called hate speech when i…
Our in-house-philosopher, Karlo Broussard, author of Prepare the Way: Overcoming Obstacles to God, the Gospel and the Church, joins us for a three part conversation about relativism. What gives you the right to interfere in other people’s moral choices? Book Karlo or Cy to speak at your parish or next event.
Want more from Karlo Broussard? Prepare the Way: Overcoming Obstacles to God, the Gospel and the Church Why God Still Matters The Bible Blueprint for the Priesthood The Bible Blueprint for the Mass
Cy Kellett: What gives you the right to interfere in another person’s moral choices?…
Our in-house-philosopher, Karlo Broussard, author of Prepare the Way: Overcoming Obstacles to God, the Gospel, and the Church, joins us for a three-part conversation about relativism. What are the arguments in its favor, and are they convincing?
Book Karlo to speak at your parish or next event. Want more from Karlo Broussard? Prepare the Way: Overcoming Obstacles to God, the Gospel and the Church Meeting the Protestant Challenge Why God Still Matters The Bible Blueprint for the Priesthood The Bible Blueprint for the Mass
Cy Kellett: Do the modern moral relativists have a point? Let’s l…
Cy and Jimmy continue their discussion of Baby Jesus as his birth and infancy are relayed to us by Matthew and Luke. …
Do you skip the lists of begets and begottens when you read the Bible? Cy and Jimmy discuss the genealogies of the Lord and find some amazing things. …
Is there a place for faith in the workplace? Professional baseball pitcher Trevor Williams stops by to talk about pitching for the Pittsburgh Pirates and living as a Catholic. …
Our guest is the editor-in-chief of the International Philosophical Quarterly, Father Joseph W. Koterski, S.J., and our guest interviewer is our chaplain, Father Hugh Barbour, O. Praem. …
Philosophy is not just for the pros. Daily life is impossible without it, and the better we are at it, the better equipped for life we become. Our guest is the Editor-in-Chief of the International Philosophical Quarterly, Father Joseph W. Koterski, S.J., and our guest interviewer is Karlo Broussard. …
Once a modernist, composer Frank La Rocca has written a Mass of the Americas that will premier at San Francisco’s Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption on December 8. We talk music, conversion, and the meaning of beauty. …
Once a modernist, composer Frank La Rocca has written a Mass of the Americas that will premier at San Francisco’s Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption on December 8. We talk music, conversion, and the meaning of beauty. …
“Mindfulness” is controversial, but should Catholics dismiss it? Dr. Greg Bottaro, author of The Mindful Catholic: Finding God One Moment at a Time, explains the healing potentials, and the religious complications, associated with this movement. …
Understanding the full truth of the human person is an important step in providing healing. Dr. Greg Bottaro is the executive director and founder of the Catholic Psych Institute and the author of The Mindful Catholic: Finding God One Moment at a Time. He shares how a fully Catholic view of the person leads to better outcomes. …
Sociologist Mark Regnerus became a controversial figure with his study of the children of gay parents. Today he studies Christian marriage. We discuss his research into marriage and modern sexual habits. …
Sociologist Mark Regnerus became a controversial figure with his study of the children of gay parents. Today, he studies Christian marriage. We discuss difficult questions considered taboo in most professions. …
We continue our series on living the communal aspects of our Catholic Faith with Dr. Jared Staudt, author of the forthcoming book, The Beer Option. …
An interview with Leah Libresco, author of Building the Benedict Option: A Guide to Gathering Two or Three Together in His Name, kicks off our series on living the communal aspects of our Catholic Faith. …
The President of Catholic Answers, Chris Check, recently published a reflection called “A Father’s Thoughts on the Current Crisis” at Catholic.com. We discuss it with him. …
The rector of St. John Fisher Seminary in the Diocese of Bridgeport, CT, continues his discussion of the virtues with a focus on chastity. …
The rector of St. John Fisher Seminary in the Diocese of Bridgeport, CT, explains how virtues are real powers that allow for fullness of life. …
Terry Barber is half of one of the most exciting teams in radio. Aimed squarely at calling men to live the Faith, the Terry and Jesse Show has garnered a wide and loyal audience. Terry’s been at it for decades, but he just can’t stop creating new platforms for sharing the good news. …
We discuss the idea of “going out to the margins” with Deacon Jim Vargas, CEO of Father Joe’s Villages, a world leader in caring for the homeless on this episode of Catholic Answers Focus. Cy Kellett: Hello and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I am your host, Cy Kellett. And this time, we focus on one of the most successful programs in the country for assisting people experiencing homelessness, and it’s right here in San Diego. It’s our neighbor, Father Joe’s Villages. The mission there is to prevent and end homelessness one life at a time. Father Joe’s Vi…
Avera Maria Santo’s realization that she was same-sex attracted changed her life. Her discovery of the depths of Catholic Faith led her to start writing. Now she’s a blogger and speaker with a mission. …
Each summer, Crossroads sends young people on pro-life pilgrimages across the United States. Martha Nolan, vice president of Crossroads, joins us from the road to tell us how lives are being changed as the walkers make their way to Washington, D.C. …
George Weigel’s newest book, The Fragility of Order: Catholic Reflections on Turbulent Times, offers a diagnosis of how the world, and the Church, got into the situation of disorder we face today. Join us, as Weigel discusses the book, the world, and his chats with Pope Francis. …
The author of the highly acclaimed book, On the Third Part of the Secret of Fatima, helps explain the controversies surrounding the apparition. A meticulously researched account, On the Third Part of the Secret of Fatima replaces sensationalism with scholarship, and helps set the record straight. …
Raised in the Prosperity Gospel, Lisa Cooper ultimately found freedom and healing in the Catholic faith. She shares with us what it’s like growing up in the Word of Faith movement, and how that movement came to be what it is today. …
Leo Severino, the producer of movies such as Little Boy and Bella stops by for a chat about his new book, Going Deeper: A Reasoned Exploration of God and Truth. We also discuss the movie business, and the unreasonableness of much modern thinking. …
The mythic heroes of our age are comic book and science fiction protagonists. Author Jim Papandrea’s new book, From Star Wars to Superman explores the religious implications of our modern stories, and finds there a window into the person of Christ. …
The arrival in Mexico of Hernan Cortez and his soldiers won Mexico for Spain. The appearance a few short years later of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Tepeyac Hill won it for Christ.
Cy Kellett: Hello, and welcome again to Catholic Answers Focus. I am your host, Cy Kellett, and we are very grateful that you’re here with us. In honor of the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, we consider the real story of how the gospel of Jesus Christ reached the Americas and took root across Mexico. We’ll do our best not to get bogged down in the myths and anxieties of the modern, and may I say somewhat ju…
St. Martin’s Academy in Kansas is meant to be a place for the whole person: body, mind and soul. It’s founders, Daniel Kerr and Patrick Whalen explain their vision for a boys boarding school offering farm-work, study and prayer. Can such a school be a place for God to cultivate saints? …
With grace and humor, author Matthew Arnold shares his story of conversion, including his time as a Catholic Traditionalist. Without recrimination or resentment toward anyone, he shares the beauty of the Catholic life he has discovered, and gives insights into some of the still-simmering controversies of our times. …
The founder and President of the Cardinal Newman Society, Patrick Reilly, updates us on the state of Catholic Higher education, finding signs of hope in a relatively bleak landscape. …
Sue Ellen Browder helped sell the sexual revolution. And she, along with many others, lied to do it. Her book, Subverted: How I Helped the Sexual Revolution Hijack the Women’s Movement, names names as it tells the heartbreaking tale. …
The Fatima apparitions ended the very same month that communists took over Russia. A century of spiritual battle between communism and Our Lady ensued. The author of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Communism explains the hidden battle at the heart of the 20th century. …
Director and screenwriter Michael Carney stops by for a chat about making good, uplifting movies in Hollywood and about his new movie, Same Kind of Different as Me. …
Though the era of Christendom was plagued with anti-Semitism, it was not universally anti-Semitic. Scholar Edmund Mazza discusses how scholastic scholars of the time understood relations between Christians and Jews. …
Renowned theologian Ulrich L. Lehner challenges modern ideas about the niceness and usefulness of God, offering an introduction to the wild and dangerous God of the Bible. …
Bishop Chad Zielinski is the 6th bishop of Fairbanks Alaska, a diocese of 11,000 Catholics spread across an area of more than 410,000 square miles. He shares what it is like to minister in America’s largest, and coldest, mission diocese. …
With the Southern Poverty Law Center labeling Catholic and other Christian-leaning institutions as “hate groups,” we talk with Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse, the founder of the Ruth Institute, a recent target of the SPLC. …
Jim Towey, president of Ave Maria University in South Florida, shares the story of one Catholic school’s journey through the eye of Hurricane Irma. …
In the name of LBGT rights, the Southern Poverty Law Center has begun labeling Catholic and other Christian-leaning institutions as “hate groups.” We talk with Family Research Council Senior Fellow, Chris Gacek, and Communications Director and Legal Counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, Kerri Kupec, about the serious consequences of such labeling. …
People have lost faith in the Catholic Faith. Pat Gohn, lifelong Catechist and author of All In: Why Belonging to the Catholic Church Matters stops by for an in-depth discussion of the reasons not just to remain Catholic, but to go All In. …
Should Catholic priests be allowed to marry? Fr. Joshua Whitfield, a married Catholic priest, explains why he thinks a departure from the traditional practice of priestly celibacy would be unwise. …
What is life like for Christian refugees from Syria and Iraq? We ask Dalal Saied, who left Iraq when she was seven, lived for years as a refugee in Syria, and finally settled in the United States as part of the Middle Eastern Christian diaspora. …
Once a successful Los Angeles entertainment lawyer, subsequently a nearly broken man, John Carmichael tells his story of collapse and redemption in the memoir Drunks & Monks. He joins us to reflect on his reasons for writing about the mess he made of his life, and the grace that turned it all around. …
Michael Vanderberg is the director of Stewardship for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, and he is a survivor of priestly sexual abuse. His story is about the transforming power of Christ’s love and finding the dignity in every person. …
Can the modern world put people, instead of economics, at the center of policy? We discuss the Catholic understanding of business profit with former Swiss Guard and renowned CEO, Andreas Widmer. …
Dr. Pia Matthews, author of God’s Wildflowers: Saints with Disabilities, joins us for a discussion of disability and holiness. We touch on the teaching of Pope John Paul II, the case of Charlie Gard, and the role of disability in the lives of individuals and communities. …
Philosopher Edward Feser joins Cy to discuss his new book, By Man Shall His Blood Be Shed: A Catholic Defense of Capital Punishment. Feser points out that Catholic doctrine has not changed, and argues that there are positive reasons not to abandon the death penalty. …
Guest host Jimmy Akin interviews Catholic Answers Live host, Cy Kellett, about his experience in the Catholic Worker Movement, and about its founder, Dorothy Day. …
Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput joins us for a discussion of Catholic Faith in American society. His new book, Strangers in a Strange Land, is our jumping off point. …
Bodybuilder and theologian Jared Zimmerer joins us for a discussion of fitness, asceticism, self-discipline, manliness and faith in Christ, the fullness of manhood. …
Hank Hanegraaff, the Bible Answer Man to millions of Protestant radio listeners, discusses his entry into the Orthodox Church, his veneration of Mary, and the fullness of life found in the Eucharist. Oh, and why he still doesn’t believe in the Prosperity Gospel. …
Why don’t the media get religion, and what can churches do to change that fact? Revered religion reporter and founder of GetReligion.org Terry Mattingly joins us for a wide-ranging look at the state of religion reporting in America. …
Is it really okay for Catholics to go door to door sharing the faith? We talk with Father John Guzaldo, pastor of St. Louis Parish in Waco, Texas about the door to door ministry he and his parishioners have started. …
Renowned scholar Anthony Esolen is leaving Providence College to take up residence at St. Thomas More College in New Hampshire. Professor Esolen shares his reasons for the move and his insights into the state of Catholic higher education. …
Can one be Anglican and fully in communion with the Catholic Church? We talk with Father Glenn Baaten and Deacon Candidate Keith Way about their entry into the Catholic Church. Both are members of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, created by the Vatican in 2012 for people nurtured in the Anglican tradition who wish to become Catholic. …
The Book of Proverbs is a powerful mix of human striving for wisdom and divine inspiration. Far more than just a collection of sayings, the proverbs form a blueprint for Christian living. In this installment of CA Focus, Father Mitch Pacwa, host of EWTN Live, shares some of the history and import of the proverbs with us. …
Established in 1955, the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker is part of a growing devotion to Joseph of Nazareth. But it is also a message from the Church about what it means to be truly human in the modern world. Oblate of Saint Joseph, Father Matthew Spencer walks us through this history, and dispels some myths about the patron of the Universal Church. …
Assemblies of God Pastor Josh Mangels came into the Catholic Church this Easter with his family and members of his congregation. It all began with a desire to live as the first Christians lived. …
Rod Dreher’s book The Benedict Option has become a center of conversation among Christians. Mr. Dreher drops by to discuss the book, our culture, and the Christian-response to post-Christianity. …
Lee Strobel joins Cy for a conversation about his new movie – The Case for Christ. Cy and Lee also discuss how Christians can evangelize in a post-Christian era. …
Jennifer Donelson, associate professor and the director of sacred music at St. Joseph’s Seminary (Dunwoodie) in New York, shares her insights on the interior life and the sacred music of the Catholic Church. …
In the Christ in the City program, young adults are answering the call to serve the poor while being formed for mission. Meet some of the Church’s most committed young people, as well those who help in their formation. …
All 10 archbishops of New York have been Irishmen of one degree or another. Author George Marlin shares their history with us, and a bit of the history of New York as America’s leading archdiocese. …
Who were the very earliest Christians? How many of them were there? What were their lives like? For the first in what we hope will be a series of talks about the early life of Christianity, Jimmy Akin stops by for a discussion of the first three years (33-36 A.D.) in the life of the Church. …
Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life, discusses the (somewhat) quiet revolution on college campuses toward the pro-life position. She also discusses how her organization became a national leader in organizing students to stand up for women and the unborn. …
Patrick Novecosky, Editor-In-Chief of Legatus Magazine since 2005, discusses Legatus’s efforts to form executives in the Faith. He also discusses changes within Catholic media, and the influence of Opus Dei on ideas about faith and the work world. …
Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List, talks with Cy about pro-life politics and the feminine power of Mary, mother of Jesus. A convert to both the pro-life movement and the Catholic Church, today Dannenfelser is one of America’s most important leaders in the fight for the right to life. …
Aurora Griffin, author of How I Stayed Catholic at Harvard, visits with Cy Kellett to discuss her own strategies for staying Catholic while she was in college, the power of the sacraments, and what parents can do to help their college-aged kids keep the Faith. …