Al Kresta's Blog, page 340
March 16, 2011
Today on Kresta - March 16, 2011
Talking about the "things that matter most" on March 16
4:00 – Kresta Comments – God and Natural Disasters
Hurricane Katrina, the Haiti Earthquake, the Indonesia Tsunami, The Japan Tsunami. After all of these tragic events, the question is always raised; "Why does God allow natural disasters?" As we see in Deuteronomy, James and Numbers, God sometimes causes natural disasters as a judgment against sin. So is every natural disaster a punishment from God? Al has some answers to these questions being asked right now.
4:20 – The Nuclear Threat in Japan
The first American researcher to investigate the Chernobyl reactor meltdown on site, along with Russian and Ukrainian scientists in the years after that disaster, says what's happening in Japan has not reached the magnitude of Chernobyl yet. Dr. Alexander Sich says the closer comparison is Three Mile Island. But he says he IS concerned about reported levels of radiation leaking from crippled reactors. Dr. Sich joins us.
4:40 – Kresta Comments – The US House Hearings on Muslim Radicalization in America and Rep. Keith Ellison's Disingenuous Testimony
Last week Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) testified at a hearing on Islamic radicalism by weeping his way through a speech about whata-buncha-nasty-bigots Americans are. He chose as his case in point Mohammed Salman Hamdani, a Pakistani-born Muslim American who rushed to lower Manhattan on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, to assist in rescue efforts, and died in the collapse of the World Trade Center. Did his account check out with reality? We have the tape and the facts.
5:00 – The Power of the Sacraments
In her own inspiring style, Sr. Briege McKenna explores the marvelous ways God acts through the sacraments, and explains how nothing can substitute for the grace of receiving the grace of the sacraments. The book is entitled The Power of the Sacraments and Sr. Breige is here to discuss it.
5:20 – The Problem of Genesis
One of the most important principles of Catholic Biblical interpretation is that the reader of the Scriptural texts must be sensitive to the genre or literary type of the text with which he is dealing. Just as it would be counter-indicated to read Moby Dick as history or "The Waste Land" as social science, so it is silly to interpret, say, "The Song of Songs" as journalism or the Gospel of Matthew as a spy novel. By the same token, it is deeply problematic to read the opening chapters of Genesis as a scientific treatise. So why is it so common for people to struggle with the seemingly bad science that is on display in the opening chapters of the first book of the Bible? Fr. Robert Barron answers the question.
5:40 – Benedict's Creative Minority
Sam Gregg
4:00 – Kresta Comments – God and Natural Disasters
Hurricane Katrina, the Haiti Earthquake, the Indonesia Tsunami, The Japan Tsunami. After all of these tragic events, the question is always raised; "Why does God allow natural disasters?" As we see in Deuteronomy, James and Numbers, God sometimes causes natural disasters as a judgment against sin. So is every natural disaster a punishment from God? Al has some answers to these questions being asked right now.
4:20 – The Nuclear Threat in Japan
The first American researcher to investigate the Chernobyl reactor meltdown on site, along with Russian and Ukrainian scientists in the years after that disaster, says what's happening in Japan has not reached the magnitude of Chernobyl yet. Dr. Alexander Sich says the closer comparison is Three Mile Island. But he says he IS concerned about reported levels of radiation leaking from crippled reactors. Dr. Sich joins us.
4:40 – Kresta Comments – The US House Hearings on Muslim Radicalization in America and Rep. Keith Ellison's Disingenuous Testimony
Last week Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) testified at a hearing on Islamic radicalism by weeping his way through a speech about whata-buncha-nasty-bigots Americans are. He chose as his case in point Mohammed Salman Hamdani, a Pakistani-born Muslim American who rushed to lower Manhattan on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, to assist in rescue efforts, and died in the collapse of the World Trade Center. Did his account check out with reality? We have the tape and the facts.
5:00 – The Power of the Sacraments
In her own inspiring style, Sr. Briege McKenna explores the marvelous ways God acts through the sacraments, and explains how nothing can substitute for the grace of receiving the grace of the sacraments. The book is entitled The Power of the Sacraments and Sr. Breige is here to discuss it.
5:20 – The Problem of Genesis
One of the most important principles of Catholic Biblical interpretation is that the reader of the Scriptural texts must be sensitive to the genre or literary type of the text with which he is dealing. Just as it would be counter-indicated to read Moby Dick as history or "The Waste Land" as social science, so it is silly to interpret, say, "The Song of Songs" as journalism or the Gospel of Matthew as a spy novel. By the same token, it is deeply problematic to read the opening chapters of Genesis as a scientific treatise. So why is it so common for people to struggle with the seemingly bad science that is on display in the opening chapters of the first book of the Bible? Fr. Robert Barron answers the question.
5:40 – Benedict's Creative Minority
Sam Gregg
March 15, 2011
Abuse Probe Needed Nationwide
Misconduct by government employees is the subject of this news release by Catholic League president Bill Donohue: On March 13, the New York Times ran a lengthy front-page story, "At State-Run Homes, Abuse and Impunity," that shows how common it is for state employees servicing the developmentally disabled to abuse residents. Because they are protected by the Civil Service Employees Association, it is almost impossible to fire them. Though it is against the law not to report cases of abuse to the police, "fewer than 5 percent were referred to law enforcement." Moreover, "In 25 percent of the cases involving physical, sexual or psychological abuse, the state employees were transferred to other homes." In many serious cases, the same employee was moved more than once.
On March 12, the New York Daily News ran a story on "rubber room" teachers in New York City. Hundreds of teachers have been removed from the classroom for misconduct—it is almost impossible to fire them because they are protected by the teachers' unions—and currently there are 83 who have a criminal case pending against them. And as we know from previous stories, moving abusive teachers around from school district to school district is so common in the profession that it is called "passing the trash."
On March 2, the New York Post ran a story by Michael Goodwin detailing how approximately 500 teachers "have been convicted of criminal offenses, including assault, sex crimes, kidnapping, burglary, prostitution and lewdness." He adds that "many arbitrators are reluctant to fire teachers for almost any reason."
In New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo has removed the two top officials in state-run homes, and has ordered a probe of the agencies.
I am writing to every governor asking for an investigation of all public-run agencies and schools. It is obviously not just a New York State problem, and it sure isn't just a problem in the Catholic Church.
Today on Kresta - March 15, 2011
Talking about the "things that matter most" on March 15
4:00 – The Most Human Human: What Talking with Computers Teaches Us About What It Means to Be Alive
Computers playing chess. Computers playing Jeopardy! What does this technology teach us about what it means to be alive? In a fast-paced, witty, and thoroughly winning style, Brian Christian documents his experience in the 2009 Turing Test, a competition in which judges engage in five-minute instant-message conversations with unidentified partners, and must then decide whether each interlocutor was a human or a machine. The program receiving the most "human" votes is dubbed the "most human computer," while the person receiving the most votes earns the title of "most human human." Ranging from philosophy through the construction of pickup lines to poetry, Christian examines what it means to be human and how we interact with one another, and with computers as equals.
4:20 – The Kingdom and the Cross
We believe a lot of false narratives about the nature of God, things like "God helps those who help themselves"; "God blesses the righteous"; "God might not be out for your good, and you might be missing something." But James Bryan Smith points us to the truth of who God is, revealed by Jesus: A God who loves to help the helpless. A God who doesn't play favorites, whether righteous or unrighteous. A God who is, in his essence, self-sacrificing--even to death--to save a people he loves. We look at Christ's work on the cross and what it all means about who God is and how we're to live as his people.
4:40 – Japan, the Nuclear Reactors and the Media's Fear Card
AP: "Dangerous levels of radiation leaking from a crippled nuclear plant forced Japan to order 140,000 people to seal themselves indoors Tuesday after an explosion and a fire dramatically escalated the crisis spawned by a deadly tsunami." Nuclear expert Jack Spencer says "not so fast." Is the media hyping this nuclear threat to a lever that is just not warranted? Jack has the answers.
5:00 – Baby Joseph Doing Well After Transfer to US Hospital
The baby who was hours from being pulled off life support at his Canadian hospital has been rescued by the national director of Priests for Life and taken to the U.S. for treatment. Thirteen-month-old Joseph Maraachli, who is currently kept alive by a respirator and was denied a tracheotomy in order to go home, arrived in the U.S. early Monday morning with Fr. Frank Pavone and his parents. Fr. Frank joins us.
5:20 – An Evening of Tribute to Joe Scheidler
Joe Scheidler is one of the Grandfathers of the Pro-Life Movement. He was called the Green Beret of the pro-life movement by Pat Buchanan. His book on his methods of fighting abortion, CLOSED: 99 Ways to Stop Abortion was a seminal book for pro-lifers. Joe also produced the definitive videos on sidewalk counseling, No Greater Joy, and Face the Truth. He was the chief defendant in a RICO lawsuit brought against him, his pro-life action league, and other pro-life activists by the National Organization for Women and two abortion clinics. In April, pro-life activists from across the country, including Al, will gather in Chicago to honor the life and work of Joe Scheidler. We talk with Monica Miller , one of the organizers of the event.
5:40 – TBA
4:00 – The Most Human Human: What Talking with Computers Teaches Us About What It Means to Be Alive
Computers playing chess. Computers playing Jeopardy! What does this technology teach us about what it means to be alive? In a fast-paced, witty, and thoroughly winning style, Brian Christian documents his experience in the 2009 Turing Test, a competition in which judges engage in five-minute instant-message conversations with unidentified partners, and must then decide whether each interlocutor was a human or a machine. The program receiving the most "human" votes is dubbed the "most human computer," while the person receiving the most votes earns the title of "most human human." Ranging from philosophy through the construction of pickup lines to poetry, Christian examines what it means to be human and how we interact with one another, and with computers as equals.
4:20 – The Kingdom and the Cross
We believe a lot of false narratives about the nature of God, things like "God helps those who help themselves"; "God blesses the righteous"; "God might not be out for your good, and you might be missing something." But James Bryan Smith points us to the truth of who God is, revealed by Jesus: A God who loves to help the helpless. A God who doesn't play favorites, whether righteous or unrighteous. A God who is, in his essence, self-sacrificing--even to death--to save a people he loves. We look at Christ's work on the cross and what it all means about who God is and how we're to live as his people.
4:40 – Japan, the Nuclear Reactors and the Media's Fear Card
AP: "Dangerous levels of radiation leaking from a crippled nuclear plant forced Japan to order 140,000 people to seal themselves indoors Tuesday after an explosion and a fire dramatically escalated the crisis spawned by a deadly tsunami." Nuclear expert Jack Spencer says "not so fast." Is the media hyping this nuclear threat to a lever that is just not warranted? Jack has the answers.
5:00 – Baby Joseph Doing Well After Transfer to US Hospital
The baby who was hours from being pulled off life support at his Canadian hospital has been rescued by the national director of Priests for Life and taken to the U.S. for treatment. Thirteen-month-old Joseph Maraachli, who is currently kept alive by a respirator and was denied a tracheotomy in order to go home, arrived in the U.S. early Monday morning with Fr. Frank Pavone and his parents. Fr. Frank joins us.
5:20 – An Evening of Tribute to Joe Scheidler
Joe Scheidler is one of the Grandfathers of the Pro-Life Movement. He was called the Green Beret of the pro-life movement by Pat Buchanan. His book on his methods of fighting abortion, CLOSED: 99 Ways to Stop Abortion was a seminal book for pro-lifers. Joe also produced the definitive videos on sidewalk counseling, No Greater Joy, and Face the Truth. He was the chief defendant in a RICO lawsuit brought against him, his pro-life action league, and other pro-life activists by the National Organization for Women and two abortion clinics. In April, pro-life activists from across the country, including Al, will gather in Chicago to honor the life and work of Joe Scheidler. We talk with Monica Miller , one of the organizers of the event.
5:40 – TBA
March 14, 2011
Allentown Catholic Diocese anticipates new structure to welcome Anglicans
A priest of the Archdiocese of Washington has told a Pennsylvania newspaper that the decision over whether to establish a personal ordinariate of former Anglicans in the United States is now in the hands of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. "I wish I were able to offer a definitive timeline," said Father Scott Hurd, who is assisting Cardinal Donald Wuerl, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith's delegate for the implementation of Anglicanorum Coetibus in the United States. "The decision is reserved to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and we are awaiting their decision."
Father Hurd indicated that an affirmative decision is likely.
"A number of people have been motivated because they have experienced a widening chasm between their beliefs and the practices and policies of the Episcopal Church," he added. "But really this is about the movement of the Holy Spirit leading these people. Instead of it being a rejection of something, it's an embrace."
Vatican creates online presence for John Paul II as beatification nears
Vatican City, Mar 14, 2011 (CNA/EWTN News)
With the help of Facebook and YouTube users, the Vatican hopes to create a broad audience for material on the life and teachings of the soon-to-be beatified Pope John Paul II.
The Vatican's television center and Vatican Radio have teamed up with the Pontifical Council for Social Communications to produce two new webpages on YouTube and Facebook.
The Facebook page offers audio and video content to prepare "friends" and any other passersby for the beatification of the late-Pope on May 1, 2011.
The viewer can see videos from the Vatican's YouTube sites that recount various milestones on Pope John Paul's path to beatification, including the Jan. 14 announcement of the upcoming ceremony in Rome.
Beatification is a step on the road to sainthood and John Paul II's "cause" was approved this year by Pope Benedict XVI after a miracle was attributed to his intercession. The miracle involved a French religious sister who was cured of Parkinson's disease after praying for his help.
One more miracle must be approved before official recognition of his sainthood and subsequent "canonization" in the Church.
The Facebook page also offers a series of year-in-review video clips—beginning with Pope John Paul II's election to the papacy in 1978—that are gradually being uploaded to YouTube. The videos present images from papal trips and speeches to highlight the major events of the individual years.
According to a statement from the Vatican, the projects carry the seal of the Vatican and has the objective of "accompanying" the faithful on the route to the May 1 beatification. Through the intitiative, they hope to make a part of the "vast documentary patrimony" of the Vatican television and radio archives available for greater access.
Father Federico Lombardi, SJ, Vatican spokesman and director of both the radio and television centers, told Vatican Radio on March 14 that the webpages were created to put people back in contact with John Paul II through images and words.
Videos are available in five languages for the moment, including English.
Fr. Lombardi said that that they "would be happy if all those who, also from other sites and personal Facebook pages, wish to link together to share this wealth of images and sounds."
For him, the memory of the late-Pope lives on with youth today, but social networks do even more to make his presence more easily accessible in a multimedia format.
"We must seek to emit a huge wave of positivity, of friendship, of spiritual values through the open paths of social networks," said Fr. Lombardi. "And what could be more beautiful and powerful than the image and voice of a Pope who was so loved by all of humanity?"
He welcomed the collaboration of all people, young and old, to spread the "positive messages, the messages of hope through social networks" and new technologies.
The new pages, located at www.youtube.com/giovannipaoloii and www.facebook.com/vatican.johnpaul2, are now available online.
Planned Parenthood Exposed...Again
WARNING: Extreme (bleeped) language
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