This week (7-1) on Faith On Trial

Last week we thought the Supreme Court delivered a landmark religious liberty ruling in Fulton v. Philadelphia. Despite the 9-0 decision on favor of Catholic Charities of Philadelphia, the decision might not be a sweeping as first thought.

This week, Sarah Parshall Perry, a legal fellow at the Meese Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at the Heritage Foundation will join Deacon Mike and Gina to dissect the case to see if it lived up to its hype.

Faith On Trial airs at 10 a.m. Central every Thursday and can be heard on 1150 AM; 88.5 & 94.5 FM, and streaming on IowaCatholicRadio.com, where you can also listen to past programs. This week we’ll also be discussing our new podcasts. Join us this week.

“Woke” Volleyball Headed To Court

By Deacon Mike Manno

(The Wanderer) – Kylee McLaughlin, 22, was a star volleyball player, a model student, and a committed Christian. She was a standout on the University of Oklahoma volleyball team. During her high school years in Texas she was named the Female Gatorade Volleyball Player of the Year for the state of Texas. Naturally she was recruited by numerous universities that played intercollegiate volleyball.

She accepted a full scholarship to Oregon State University where she was named the Pac 12 Freshman Volleyball Player of the Year while maintaining a 4.0 grade point average (straight A). However, the distance from Oregon to her home in the Dallas metroplex of several thousand miles imposed a financial hardship on her family, and she decided to transfer, ultimately choosing the University of Oklahoma (OU).

At Oklahoma, she continued her outstanding athletic career, being named the all-Big 12 co-setter of the year during her first year there. She was also selected as national player of the week and received multiple honors, including being selected for the all-academic Big 12 and University of Oklahoma student-athlete of the year.

She continued her success during her second year, Big 12’s all-academic team, conference first team honors, and she was selected as captain of the women’s varsity volleyball team. With that background she was well on her way to playing volleyball professionally and to later coach.

But it all came crumbling down around her.

According to the federal lawsuit she filed against the University of Oklahoma and her coaches, everything changed for the volleyball team during the COVID pandemic of 2020. During that time, the team schedule necessarily changed and team meetings turned to discussions about white privilege and social justice, rather than volleyball.

It was during that time the coaches — now codefendants — required the team to watch a documentary called “13” on racism and slavery. After viewing the documentary one of the coaches asked her for her opinion, to which she replied that she agreed that slavery was wrong and slaves had been mistreated, and she agreed with the statistics that were shown in the film. However, she opined that she thought that at the end of the video it was “slanted left” and took some unwarranted shots at President Trump.

Pressed to comment on the video’s statement that black incarceration was higher than for other racial groups, she replied that she thought blacks were incarcerated mostly for marijuana and other drugs. Thereafter the team was instructed to discuss the video in small groups.

After one of the group discussions, one of Kylee’s teammates posted on social media her support of Black Lives Matter and included a copy of what Kylee said in response to her coaches’ question on the film and added, “Things a racist person says.” She was now being publicly called a racist.
There started a spiral of abuse against Kylee by her coaches and the university.

When she commented on social media that she thought it was silly that the Athletic Department at the University of Texas wanted to get rid of the fight song, “The Eyes of Texas,” for being a racist song, disagreeing that it was racist, she was forced to apologize to the Texas coach. Her coaches then told her to look into herself to identify her white privilege.

The head volleyball coach then sent a text to all the players stating, “We can disagree and still love each other unless your disagreement is rooted in my oppression and denial of my humanity and right to exist.” Later at a meeting with university officials and players, she was called a racist and homophobe.

Kylee’s sin, apparently, was not being a racist — she had never shown any indication of that — but of disagreeing with the “woke” culture and critical race theory advocated by the defendant coaches. She was told by her coach that she “did not fit in the culture of the program” and, on the basis of teammate comments, they could not trust her. [Editor’s Note: The word “woke” in this new usage is defined in Wikipedia as “a term that refers to awareness of issues that concern social justice and racial justice.”]

She was given three options: keep her scholarship, redshirt only with a coach, not the players, and attend equity and inclusion training; keep her scholarship and leave the team; or transfer to another school.

This became extremely emotional for Kylee. She decided to take the first option and redshirt with the coach only. The team was notified and a member of the team told the baseball team that Kylee had been kicked off the team for being a racist. Ultimately the redshirting with the coach fell through and Kylee’s emotional health began to deteriorate.

To make matters worse the coaching staff moved Kylee’s roommates out and required her to be in an “Individual Growth Plan,” where she would receive “online training about homosexuality, unlearning classism, ableism, trans and homosexual negatives, and sexism.” She was also forced to take courses on diversity and intra-culture communications. Finally the university forced her to enter the NCAA’s transfer portal and she transferred to the University of Mississippi.

According to the lawsuit: “Defendants’ actions in branding plaintiff as a racist and homophobe have not only caused plaintiff to transfer to the University of Mississippi to complete her eligibility and to pursue a master’s degree, they have also stigmatized plaintiff in universities like OU where critical race theory, diversity, inclusion, and woke culture are instructionally widespread.”

The lawsuit alleges violations in Kaylee’s First and Fourteenth Amendment rights, violation of federal law, and suppression of her free speech: casting her in a false light while invading her privacy; intentional infliction of emotional distress; and interference with a contractual relationship and prospective economic advantage, and an additional state claim.

The university and coaches “have chilled and continue to chill” her right to engage in protected expressions. And that she “has suffered economic loss, emotional distress, humiliation, embarrassment, injury to her reputation, and lost enjoyment of life.” The suit alleges that the harassment was intentional, and it has violated the contract she had with the university as a student-athlete and caused interference with her prospective career as a professional player and coach.

She is asking for “actual damages in a sum in excess of $75,000” from each defendant, punitive and exemplary damages, costs and attorney fees.
Interestingly, the two coaches, Lindsey Gray-Walton, and Kyle Walton (Gray-Walton’s husband), are being sued in both their official and individual capacities, which, if granted, could require the coaches to make payment to Kaylee from their own pockets. The case was filed at the end of May.
We’ll see what happens. But it does not put OU and its “woke” administrators in a good light.

(You can reach Mike at: DeaconMike@q.com and listen to him every Thursday at 10 a.m. CT on Faith On Trial on IowaCatholicRadio.com.) 

This week's Faith On Trial program: IRS and pro abortion lawmakers

This week’s program deals with the IRS denial of religious group’s tax-exempt application because its biblical view is too Republican. Lea Patterson, legal counsel with First Liberty Institute join us for that discussion. And what do churchgoing Catholics feel about their bishops and pro-abortion Catholic politicians who are still receiving Holy Communion? Brian Burch, president of Catholic Vote explains what his organization has found during its latest poll on the subject. And look for information on our new podcast!

Catholic bishops vote to write a document on the meaning of Holy Communion

Statement of Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops  

June 21, 2021  

“Last week, my brother bishops and I voted overwhelmingly to issue a teaching document on the beauty and power of the Eucharist. The doctrine committee of the bishops’ conference will now begin drafting this document and, in the months ahead, the bishops will continue our prayer and discernment through a series of regional meetings and consultations. In November, the bishops will gather to discuss the document draft.

“The Eucharist is the heart of the Church and the heart of our lives as Catholics. In the Holy Eucharist, Jesus Christ himself draws near to each one of us personally and gathers us together as one family of God and one Body of Christ.

“As bishops, our desire is to deepen our people’s awareness of this great mystery of faith, and to awaken their amazement at this divine gift, in which we have communion with the living God. That is our pastoral purpose in writing this document.

“I invite everyone in the Church to pray for the bishops as we continue our dialogues and reflections. I pray that this will be a time for all of us in the Church to reflect on our own faith and readiness to receive our Lord in the Holy Eucharist.”

This week (6-24) on Faith On Trial

Can the IRS deny a religious group tax-exempt status because its biblical view is too Republican? Lea Patterson, legal counsel with First Liberty Institute will join us for that discussion. And what’s the skinny on Catholic views on pro-abortion Catholic politicians receiving Holy Communion? Brian Burch, president of Catholic Vote will reveal their polling on the matter. 

We’re also going to be discussing changes in our program and the addition of a new pod cast to complement Faith On Trial: FOT-xtra. So join us this Thursday at 10 a.m. Central time on Iowa Catholic Radio, 1150 AM; 88.5 & 94.5 FM and streaming on our website, IowaCatholicRadio.com, where you can listen to all or our old programs. 

U.S. Catholic Bishops Aren’t Playing Politics With Communion, Biden Is

U.S. Catholic Bishops Aren’t Playing Politics With Communion, Biden Is: Let’s dispense with the idea that this is complicated. Catholic teaching is clear: politicians who support abortion should not receive communion. Period.

Catholic Democrats Lecture The Bishops

By Catholic League president Bill Donohue

Seems like everyone is lecturing the bishops these days.

The latest to do so are 59 Democrats who identify as Catholics. Leading the charge is Rep. Rosa DeLauro. On June 18, she issued a "Statement of Principles" that chastises the bishops for addressing the issue of Catholic public figures who reject core Catholic moral teachings; 73% of the bishops voted to consider a document on the suitability of these self-identified Catholics to receive Holy Communion.

DeLauro has a long history of telling the bishops what to do.

In 2006, she issued a "Statement of Principles," signed by 55 self-identified Catholic Democrats, saying that one can be a Catholic in good standing and promote abortion rights. In 2007, she was one of 18 self-professed Catholic Democrats to criticize Pope Benedict XVI on this subject. In 2015, she led a contingent of 93 self-identified Catholic Democrats telling Pope Francis what issues he needs to address when he comes to the United States: the right to life was not among them, but climate change made the cut.

In the latest "Statement of Principles," DeLauro and company say they are proud to be part of the Catholic tradition that "expresses a consistent moral framework for life," adding that they "agree with the Catholic Church about the value of human life." Yet virtually all the signatories have a pro-abortion voting record.

DeLauro has voted for human embryonic stem cell research, a process that involves the killing of nascent human life. She opposes making human cloning for reproduction against the law. She has consistently voted against bans on partial-birth abortions, and has a 100% rating from NARAL on pro-abortion legislation.

The "Statement of Principles" expresses dismay over poverty, saying what is needed is greater "access to education for all." Yet DeLauro has voted against requiring able-bodied welfare recipients to work. In other words, she wants to keep the poor on the dole instead of enabling them to work themselves out of poverty.

She has also voted against every school choice bill ever proposed, making it risible for her to suggest that she wants "access to education for all." In fact, she voted against reauthorizing the Washington D.C. opportunity scholarship program, the initiative that has worked so well for poor African Americans.

DeLauro and her self-identified Catholic Democrats have made their biggest media splash saying how hypocritical it is of the bishops to focus on abortion and not the death penalty, both of which the Catholic Church opposes. Perhaps that is because they are not equal.

It is estimated that between 1973 and 2019, 61,628,584 innocent children were killed in their mother's womb. The number of convicted criminals who were executed during that time was 1,512.

Curiously, the "Statement of Principles" encourages "alternatives to abortion."

But why are alternatives needed if abortion does not kill? Is there something lurking inside these pro-abortion self-identified Catholic Democrats that is giving them pause? We need to know what it is, because if they do, in fact, understand that abortion kills innocent human life, they would be getting off easy if the bishops simply denied them Communion.

[Rep. Cindy Axne, who represents the southwestern part of Iowa in the House of Representatives, was a signatory to the letter. Her campaign web page lists her as an “active” parishioner at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in West Des Moines. You can contact Rep. Axne at her Washington office: 202-225-5476.]

More Lawsuits To Note

By Deacon Mike Manno

(The Wanderer) – It’s getting more and more difficult trying to follow all the legal cases involving religious liberty as time goes on. Unfortunately, for most of us, attention is directed to key cases at the Supreme Court, with hopes that the new conservative balance there will help protect the rights of believers.

So to sort through some of the cases that haven’t reached the Supreme Court, but could, I thought I’d give you an advance look at three of the cases that have not arrived at the Supreme Court — yet.

The first is a new case, filed just days ago as I write this: Catholic Healthcare International v. Genoa Charter Township (Eastern District of Michigan). The suit centers around a proposal by Catholic Healthcare to create a prayer campus on a 40-acre property which was to have a modest 95-seat chapel with parking for 39 cars. The plans for the chapel — St. Pio Chapel — would put it about 600 feet off the nearest public road. The rest of the property is to be preserved for trails to “allow people to find peace in the natural surroundings.”

In addition to the chapel, which would host Eucharistic adoration, there is incorporated into the plan movable Stations of the Cross, which have already been placed on the property. All in all, the building plans only call for the use of approximately five of the forty acres, which will maintain the rural character of the property.

While the planning for the property is consistent with similar uses in the area, and the property is zoned for such use, the property owner still needs approval by the township. Catholic Healthcare’s application for a permit was approved by the township’s planning commission by a 4-3 vote, but was rejected by the township 5-2 without legal justification, based “upon amorphous, subjective considerations that were contrary to the facts and which permit an anti-religious/anti-Catholic animus to drive the township’s decision,” according to the lawsuit.

In addition to the denial, the township has told Catholic Healthcare that it now must remove the Stations of the Cross that are currently on the property as well as an image of Santa Maria delle Grazie (Our Lady of Grace), and one of St. Padre Pio, in other words, according to the suit, “Defendants demand that plaintiffs cleanse the property of anything religious.”

Interestingly, on Faith On Trial, our radio program, Robert Muise, co-founder and senior counsel for the American Freedom Law Center which is representing Catholic Healthcare, said that “there was quite bit of anti-Catholic sentiment that was expressed at the township meetings and on social media.”

In a written statement, he also said, “The Township’s rejection of our clients’ right to religious worship on CHI’s private property is not in keeping with our proud tradition of accommodating people of faith, and, in fact, it violates our clients’ fundamental rights protected by the United States and Michigan Constitutions and federal statutory law.”

The second case is School of the Ozarks, Inc., d/b/a College of the Ozarks v. Joseph R. Biden, Jr. et al. (Western District of Missouri). Shortly after taking office, Mr. Biden issued an executive order that requires religious colleges to place biological males into female dormitories and to assign them as female roommates. In response the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development “hastily issued” — without notice or ability to comment — a directive prohibiting the college from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in dormitories. It also prohibited the college from making any statements to the contrary concerning the dormitories.

The college immediately filed a pre-enforcement suit seeking protection from the new directive, claiming: “The Directive imposes an immediate and binding legislative rule under the Fair Housing Act, prohibiting all regulated entities, including the College, from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity both in occupancy of their dwellings and in policies governing those dwellings.”

In late May a federal judge, Roseann Ketchmark, an Obama appointee, ruled against the Christian college, thus requiring it to allow shared dorm rooms and shower facilities with students of the opposite biological sex. The judge’s ruling was based on what she termed the college’s lack of standing.

But on our radio program, Ryan Bangert, vice president of legal strategy for the Alliance Defending Freedom who is representing the college, challenged that claim. He said that pre-enforcement claims, such as the school was pursuing, are specifically authorized by federal law.

Additionally Bangert pointed out that President Biden’s order to the federal agencies directed it to interpret the word “sex” to include “gender identity and sexual orientation”; however, the Federal Fair Housing Act does not include that language. And HUD, as it proceeded to adopt the president’s interpretation, failed to follow the mandate of the federal Administrative Procedures Act, which requires public notice of a proposed change and an ability for the public to comment. Had it done so, the sweeping problems with it would have been presented to the agency to at least consider, he said.
“The Fair Housing Act hasn’t changed. What has changed is HUD,” Bangert told our audience.

Said the school’s president, Dr. Jerry Davis: “Religious freedom is under attack in America, and we won’t stand on the sidelines and watch. To threaten religious freedom is to threaten America itself. College of the Ozarks will not allow politicians to erode the essential American right or the ideals that shaped America’s founding.”

If the school fails to comply it could face fines of up to six figures.

The third case is from the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, People v. Griepp. The case began after former New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman filed an injunction against a pro-life group from Brooklyn for “sidewalk counseling” outside abortion clinics. The state has a Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances law which prohibits intentional interference with access to a clinic by force, threats of force or physical obstruction. Specifically protected by the law are peaceful pro-life activities.

The state brought action against the group, Church@The Rock, and its pastor, Rev. Kenneth Griepp, back in 2017. The attorney general’s motion for an injunction against Pastor Griepp and his church was for their activities outside an abortion facility in Queens. Attorneys for the Thomas More Society argued that the case was without merit and it was an assault on the First Amendment rights of pro-life sidewalk counselors.

In the initial court ruling, the lower court, in a 103-page opinion denied the state’s request for an injunction and allowed the sidewalk counselors to continue their ministry outside the clinic. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals then overturned the lower court’s decision which had protected the sidewalk counselors.

The Thomas More Society, on behalf of the pro-life group then petitioned the circuit court for a rehearing. At the end of May the appeals court, in a 119-page opinion, took the extraordinary step to vacate its earlier opinion. Statistics for the Second Circuit indicate it only grants about 0.0003 percent of petitions seeking a rehearing en banc — that is, approximately three out of every 10,000 petitions.

Stephen Crampton, Thomas More Society senior counsel, said, “It appears that even the judges in the majority on the panel found their original opinion indefensible. We are pleased that the fundamental First Amendment rights of our clients have been restored and look forward to returning to the district court and finishing the case once and for all.”

We’ll keep watching and see what happens.

(You can reach Mike at: DeaconMike@q.com and listen to him every Thursday on Faith On Trial at 10 a.m. Central on IowaCatholicRadio.com.)

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Religion Clause: College Seeks Injunction Pending Appeal To 8th Cir...: In February of this year, the Department of Housing and Urban Development issued a Directive  interpreting the Fair Housing Act as barring d...

Religion Clause: Christian Organization Appeals IRS Denial of Non-P...

Religion Clause: Christian Organization Appeals IRS Denial of Non-P...: In a determination letter ( full text ) issued May 18, 2021, the Internal Revenue Service preliminarily concluded that it should deny a Sect...

This week’s program on Faith On Trial:

Teachers and administrator place on leave by school district for expressing disagreement with policies concerning gender identity. Brad Dacus, president of the Pacific Justice Institute, comments; and how much did a church “profit” from the pandemic? And why does the county want its financial records. Attorney Mariah Gondiero from the Advocates for Faith and Freedom will answer.

High Court Rules 9-0 For Religious Liberty

By Catholic League president Bill Donohue

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled today that Catholic foster care agencies can reject gay couples from adopting children. This is a huge victory for religious liberty and a resounding defeat for LGBTQ activists.

It was these activists who launched a contrived assault on the rights of Catholic social service agencies—no gay or transgender couple had ever complained that they were discriminated against by these Catholic entities—and now their effort to impose their secular beliefs on Catholics has been rejected.

Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the six members who joined his majority opinion (others offered their own opinions), noted that the Catholic agency named in the lawsuit only sought "an accommodation that will allow it to continue serving the children of Philadelphia in a manner consistent with its religious beliefs; it does not seek to impose those beliefs on anyone else (my italics)."

The First Amendment guarantees religious liberty, and that provision means little if it only means the right to worship. The right to freely exercise one's religious beliefs in the public square is central to religious liberty, and while that right—like all other constitutional rights—is not absolute, it must be seen as presumptively constitutional.

This decision makes it more difficult for LGBTQ activists to argue that sexual orientation and sexual identity are analogous to race. They are not. Race is an ascribed characteristic, and as such it is an amoral attribute. Sexual orientation (at least when it is behaviorally operative) and sexual identity are achieved, and to that extent they are normative, thereby making them legitimate categories for moral judgment.

We await all the anti-Catholic bigots who will maintain that we have too many Catholics on the Supreme Court. Hope they notice that two Jews and one Protestant were on the same side as the Catholic justices.

Assisted Suicide: Targeting Older & Disabled Americans

 

Critical Race Theory: Coming to a School Near You?

 

This week (6-17) on Faith On Trial – stories from the Left Coast

Teachers and administrator place on leave by school district for expressing disagreement with policies concerning gender identity.  Brad Dacus, president of the Pacific Justice Institute, comments, and

How much did a church “profit” from the pandemic? And why does the county want its financial records. Attorney Mariah Gondiero from the Advocates for Faith and Freedom will answer.

Faith On Trial, every Thursday at 10 a.m. (Central) on Iowa Catholic Radio, 1150 AM: 88.5 & 94.5 FM and streaming live on IowaCatholicRadio.com where you can also listen to previous programs, or download our free and convenient app.

Threats To The Nation

By Deacon Mike Manno

(The Wanderer) – Last week I tried to cover some of the threats to our Church by the forces of darkness. This week I’d like to turn my attention to our nation. Both topics, considering the state of the world today, can be unsettling to consider. I understand that. Bear with me, however, for one last column on the topic, for a while anyway.

I don’t necessarily want to date myself, but I grew up partly during the time of the Red Scare when people were finding Communists behind every corner and under every bed. I remember finding out about most of those things as a kid watching the old black-and-white television news programs. I have vague memories of Douglas Edwards, Huntley-Brinkley, and John Cameron Swayze whose Timex watches would “take a licking and keep on ticking.”

Communism, air raid drills, and all that scary stuff — but that’s over, of course. We learned to live with the Red Menace, ultimately deceiving ourselves that we were too smart to be overtaken. After all, we had a Red-busting FBI to protect us — we kids knew about that since we saw it nearly every week at the movies.

But as time went on we began to realize that our childhood comforts might not be that comfortable after all. I remember watching the antiwar marches when I was in college and wondering why so many of my friends were starting to parrot the Red line, even quoting Chairman Mao. A lot of it didn’t make much sense to me, except that there was a growing group of people who always seemed to blame America for everything; at the time they were mostly members of far-left fringe groups that sprang up on college campuses advanced by people who didn’t want to get drafted.

They burned their draft cards, I put on the uniform. They were just going through a growing phase, or so I thought.

Until the past few years. Then things started to come together for me. I’ve watched — on my color TV — marchers taking to the street with a completely different agenda than I had seen before. Their talking points and political pronouncements started to resemble the extension of things I had heard watching those old Senate hearings on TV.

Then things started to really bother me — like replacing education with indoctrination and differing standards for certain sets of people. I remember at one of the colleges in which I taught we were told not to fail certain students even if they didn’t attend class and turned in poor work. Journalism turned from an honorable profession to another indoctrination outlet. Then there came those with same-sex attractions demanding equality in marriage; the rise of the transgender movement, and the embrace of a shifting morality that accepted literally everything as normal.

Of course there was the attack on religion by newly self-proclaimed gurus of the left, the expansion of welfare programs which for too many eliminated the need for work. That was followed by attacks on some of our most valued institutions. And the biggest of all, in my opinion, has been the weakening of the family and the rise of the abortion state.
The problem with all of this was that most of it seemed so unconnected. The divergent groups pushing each of the above movements seemed only loosely connected to one another. But behind the groups there was an explanation that most folks pooh-poohed, not because it was wrong but because it seemed so silly. It was the Red Menace; Communist infiltrators, their fellow travelers and their useful idiots. All ready to undermine our way of life.

There is a quote attributed to Joseph Stalin, although its authorship is disputed, which is worth noting: “America is like a healthy body and its resistance is threefold: its patriotism, its morality, and its spiritual life. If we can undermine these three areas, America will collapse from within.” From that time, during the Red Scare, there was a book written by a former FBI agent, W. Cleon Skousen, The Naked Communist (1958), as a warning for Americans. It didn’t exactly corroborate the Stalin quotation, but it did introduce those who were interested to the history and “theology” behind Communism.

The author listed 45 goals that the Communist Party outlined for success in the United States. I’ve taken some of them directly from the book. See if you recognize anything:

“Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for socialism and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers’ associations. . . . Use technical decisions of the courts to weaken basic American institutions by claiming their activities violate civil rights. . . . Infiltrate the press. . . . Gain control of key positions in radio, TV and motion pictures. . . . Continue discrediting American culture. . . . Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them ‘censorship’ and a violation of free speech and free press. . . . Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV. . . . Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as ‘normal, natural, and healthy’. . . . Infiltrate the churches and replace revealed religion with ‘social’ religion. . . . Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the ground that it violates the principle of ‘separation of church and state’. . . .

“Discredit the American Constitution by calling it inadequate, old-fashioned, out of step with modern needs. . . . Discredit the American founding fathers. . . . Support any socialist movement to give centralized control over any part of the culture — education, social agencies, welfare programs, mental health clinics. . . . Transfer some of the powers of arrest from the police to social agencies. Treat all behavioral problems as psychiatric disorders which no one but psychiatrists can understand or treat. . . . Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce. . . .”

Anything ring a bell?

Here’s what the book’s author had to say by way of warning: “The conquest of the United States by Marxist forces has been an important part of the plan of Communist leaders for many years: ‘First we will take Eastern Europe; then the masses of Asia. Then we will encircle the United States of America which will be the last bastion of Capitalism. We will not have to attack it; it will fall like an overripe fruit into our hands.’ This clearly reflects the Marxist intent to overthrow the United States by internal subversion.

“The biggest mistake of the West has been allowing itself to drift into a state of mental stagnation, apathy, and inaction. In some circles, motivations of patriotism, loyalty, and the traditional dream of ‘freedom for all men’ have been lying dormant or have been paralyzed by a new kind of strange thinking.”

How are these predictions working out? Are you seeing it in today’s politics and society? If not, classify yourself as one of Comrade Stalin’s useful idiots. But if you can see the path we are on, you know we all need to do something.

Mr. Skousen not only gave us a warning, he also listed several things that we might do to stem the Red Tide, that is, if it is not too late:

For parents: “Stay close to your children to make sure they are being trained to think like Washington and Lincoln, not like Marx and Lenin . . . don’t forget their spiritual needs. . . . Take your children to church, don’t send them. Be sure they are getting true religious values, not modernistic debunking.”

For educators: “Don’t be misled by the current atheistic drive to take God out of the classroom. . . . Teachers who believe that teaching atheism is a necessary part of a good education are not really qualified to teach in a Judaic-Christian culture. They are entitled to be atheists but, as public employees, they are not entitled to teach it. If they do, they are violating an important constitutional principle.”

For the media: “In fulfilling the task of exposing crime, corruption, and inefficiency in the American culture, be careful not to destroy confidence in American institutions. Because the negative forces in our society are more likely to be ‘news’ than the positive accomplishments, it is easy to overemphasize the negative side and provide extremely damaging propaganda to the enemy.”

And for ministers: “Watch for those who would use the principles of peace, brotherhood, tolerance, and Christian charity to obscure the conspiratorial aspects of Communist ‘peace.’ The peace of Communism partakes of the prison and the grave. Remind professional pacifists who have accepted the paralyzing peace propaganda of the Communists that the same Jesus who taught ‘love thy enemy’ never advocated surrendering to him.”

Sounds a lot like the 1950s, and that’s what scares me. It sounds so much like the 1950s that good men are likely to dismiss this as a relic of a bygone era in our history not having anything to do with today’s reality; a curiosity of a time and place long ago that we needn’t bother with.

That should be enough to keep the frog in the pan for now. Oh heck, let’s just cancel the whole thing.

(You can reach Mike at: DeaconMike@q.com and listen to him every Thursday at 10 a.m. Central on Faith On Trial at IowaCatholicRadio.com.)

 

Private and Catholic Schools and Parents’ Rights Victorious in Wisconsin Supreme Court

(June 11, 2021 – Madison, Wisconsin) The Wisconsin Supreme Court handed a major victory to the private schools and parents of Dane County, Wisconsin, on June 11, 2021. Dane County, in which the state capitol of Madison is located, sought to ban private and religious schools from providing in-person, in-classroom education to students and families that desire it.  

“This has been an overreach of major proportions by a local health official who ignored the fundamental constitutional right to the free exercise of religion for parents, students, and school personnel by ordering these institutions to shut down and prohibiting in-person education,” explained Thomas More Society Special Counsel Erick Kaardal. “It was a slap in the face to educational choice, an affront to families who believe that children should be in school, and a direct violation of parental rights.”  

Kaardal worked directly with St. Ambrose Academy, one of the schools that petitioned for relief, and was part of the legal team representing the independent schools and their constituencies.   

Public Health Officer of Madison and Dane County Janel Heinrich issued Emergency Order #9 on August 21, 2020, reacting to fears about the potential spread of COVID-19. As amended on September 1, 2020, that order purported to prohibit schools throughout Dane County from providing in-person instruction to students.  

Thomas More Society Executive Vice President and General Counsel Andrew Bath responded to the Wisconsin Supreme Court decision, stating, “This was an illegal order by a local public health officer, and the court saw that right away, first issuing a preliminary injunction in September 2020 that prohibited the county from enforcing it, and now settling the matter decisively. They have declared it both statutorily and constitutionally unlawful and have additionally affirmed that local health officers do not have the statutory authority to close schools.”  

The Wisconsin Supreme Court noted in this decision that, “The framers of the [Wisconsin] constitution, backed by Wisconsin residents, chose to describe the religious freedoms that they should be entitled to in greater detail than were given in the federal constitution.” The court observed that Wisconsin's framers used “the strongest possible language” in the protection of those freedoms, stating that, “The right of every person to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of conscience shall never be infringed…nor shall any control of, or interference with, the rights of conscience be permitted.”  

The court held that the individuals and schools involved proved that they had a sincerely held religious belief, and that such belief was burdened by the application of the law at issue. The Public Health Office of Madison and Dane County was unable to show that their order to close schools was based on a compelling state interest or that it could not be served by a less restrictive alternative.  

Read the Supreme Court of Wisconsin decision issued June 11, 2021, regarding three cases, James v. Heinrich, Wisconsin Council of Religious and Independent Schools, et al. v. Heinrich, et al., and St. Ambrose Academy, Inc., et al. v. Parisi, et al., vacating Public Health Officer of Madison and Dane County Janel Heinrich's order restricting or prohibiting in-person instruction, declaring it both statutorily and constitutionally unlawful, and declaring that local health officers do not have the statutory authority to close schools, here [https://thomasmoresociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/St.-Ambrose-decision-fro-WI-Supreme-Court.pdf]  

This week's Faith On Trial program -- listen here.

The College of the Ozarks challenged the Biden Administration over rules compelling it to open dormitories to “trans” persons. The district court dismissed the suit, so what are the appeal grounds? Ryan Bangert, senior counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom, will answer.

In Genoa Charter Township, Michigan, a Catholic health group wants to put a small chapel on a 40 acre tract of land it owns in a wooded area The township refused to allow the use and told the group to take down its Stations of the Cross. Robert Muise, co-founder and senior counsel for the American Freedom Law Center, will discuss the case.

Planned Parenthood Fails Attempt to Thwart Texas “Sanctuary for the Unborn”

(Lubbock, Texas) Thomas More Society attorneys are applauding a federal court’s dismissal of Planned Parenthood’s challenge to a Lubbock, Texas, ordinance that declares the city a “Sanctuary for the Unborn.” A June 1, 2021 order from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas dismissed the abortion giant’s lawsuit against the city for lack of jurisdiction.

In September 2020, a committee of Lubbock residents filed a petition proposing an “ordinance outlawing abortion within the City of Lubbock, declaring Lubbock a sanctuary city for the unborn.” The city’s charter allows for voter-proposed ordinances to be put up for a city-wide vote. On May 1, 2021, the voters passed the ordinance with 62% supporting the measure. The ordinance became effective on June 1, 2021—the same day the court issued the order dismissing Planned Parenthood’s lawsuit against Lubbock. 

A similar bid was undertaken in March 2020 by the American Civil Liberties Union to sue various Texas communities after municipalities across the state adopted ordinances banning abortion and making their towns “sanctuaries for the unborn.” That move also failed. 

Thomas More Society Special Counsel Erick Kaardal believes that the “sanctuary cities for the unborn” have solid footing in Texas law. 

“The State of Texas has never repealed its pre-Roe v. Wade statutes that outlaw and criminalize abortion unless the mother’s life is in danger,” Kaardal explained. “The Texas legislature’s recently passed Texas Heartbeat Act is consistent with this, and the Act will take effect on September 1, 2021.” 

The now-active ordinance declares that Lubbock, Texas, is “a Sanctuary city for the Unborn” and that “abortion at all times and all stages of pregnancy is declared to be an act of murder.” Accordingly, the ordinance declares that it is unlawful to procure or perform an abortion or to aid or abet an abortion within the city limits. 

The Lubbock ordinance also creates a private-enforcement provision. That allows any citizen of Texas to sue anyone that procures, performs, or aids and abets an abortion, other than the unborn child’s mother. 

“Cities have the right to regulate businesses and practices within their bounds. A municipality may choose to allow gambling, or even prostitution, or may criminalize it,” explained Kaardal. “Abortion is a business, driven by profit, and is required to abide by municipal regulations.” 

Read the order dismissing the case, Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas v. City of Lubbock, Texas, issued June 1, 2021, by the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas – Lubbock Division, here [https://thomasmoresociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/49-Order-Dismissing-Case-for-Lack-of-Jurisdiction-6.1.2021.pdf]. 

About the Thomas More Society

The Thomas More Society is a national not-for-profit law firm dedicated to restoring respect in law for life, family, and religious liberty. Headquartered in Chicago, Omaha, Rancho Santa Fe, California, and Fairfield, NJ, the Thomas More Society fosters support for these causes by providing high quality pro bono legal services from local trial courts all the way up to the United States Supreme Court. For more information, visit thomasmoresociety.org.

Faith On Trial for Thursday June 10

 What will the College of the Ozarks do? The college challenged the Biden Administration of rules compelling it to open dormitories to “trans” persons, thus requiring it to allow men who identify as women to use the women dorms, locker rooms, etc. The district court dismissed the suit, so now what will the college do? Thursday Ryan Bangert, senior counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom, will answer.

In Genoa Charter Township, Michigan, a Catholic health group wants to put a small chapel on a 40 acre tract of land it owns in a wooded area. In addition it wants to place trails for nature walks where people can meditate and pray while on the walks. The township, however, refused to allow the use and told the Catholic group to take down the Stations of the Cross that it had already put up. Robert Muise, co-founder and senior counsel for the American Freedom Law Center, will discuss the case, which was just filed Monday of this week.

Faith On Trial, 10 a.m. Central on IowaCatholicRadio.com where you can listen live and listen to earlier programs. Locally it is on 1150 AM; 88.5 & 94.5 FM.

Time To Take A Stand And Defend The Faith

By Deacon Mike Manno

(The Wanderer) – I am, what one would call, a cradle Catholic. I was born, baptized, and sent to Catholic schools by parents who not only took their faith seriously, they endeavored to instill that faith in me. For the most part, I guess, it worked. I graduated from a Catholic high school and went to a Jesuit college.

I was Catholic. And later, at the suggestion of my family and several parishioners, I began studying for the diaconate and was ordained. Over the years I have developed a great love for the Church, its history, and its teachings; and from early on I developed a great devotion to Our Blessed Mother and spent much time researching her apparitions and the messages that accompanied them.

I don’t know if it would be correct to call me a Catholic nerd, but I am anything but an apostate.

Thus it saddens me to read daily stories of how the Church and many of its leaders have undermined the faith of the laity; and how many of that same laity are now in a not-so quiet rebellion against some of the most fundamental teachings of the Church. Bishops are contradicting other bishops, priests are being censored for speaking truth, and the faithful accepts lay leadership that hasn’t the vaguest idea of what the Church is and what makes it different from all other Christian dominations, and have no grasp of the rich tradition and history that is the Catholic Church.

And, of course, I wonder why.

If you are a regular reader of this column, you’ve seen some hints over the five or so years I’ve been writing this. So I’m going to try to put it together in thumbnail fashion, starting with the answer: The Prince of this World, also known as Satan. He’s known by many other names, but Satan, or the devil, will do for our purposes.

He is successful today because he has found many helpmates who have, by design or ignorance, behind the scenes wreaked havoc with the Church we love. We know the devil has been busy trying to defeat the Church since the time of the apostles, but lately it seems that he has turned up the heat.

After the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century, with its near-fatal blow to the Church in Europe, the movement began to splinter into various cults. There was then an increasing voice for a “new world order” based on natural — not spiritual — values. This new “religion” was to replace Catholicism and was fostered through secret societies throughout the Continent. The chief opponent of the Church was the Freemasons.

[In 1859 there was published a secret document of the Italian Carbonari, an anti-clerical sect with connections to Freemasonry, The Permanent Instruction of the Alta Vendita. The document, which fell into the hands of both Pius IX and Leo XIII, outlined the Masonic plan to infiltrate the Church and to place one of their own or a supporter on the Chair of Peter.]

(See https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03330c.htm for more on the Freemasons and also the Alta Vendita.)

Then, one morning in 1884, during the papacy of Leo XIII, the Pope appeared discombobulated and seemed to lose consciousness after saying morning Mass. His aides came to his assistance and after the episode passed he told them what had happened.

He said he had witnessed a conversation between God and Satan during which Satan boasted that he would be able to destroy the Church if only God would give him the time. God granted his request and gave him one hundred years. The Pope then had a vision of Hell and saw the Archangel Michael respond to prayers of the faithful. He penned the Prayer to St. Michael which he directed should be recited after each Low Mass worldwide. That prayer was recited until it was removed from its place during the reforms of Vatican II in 1964. Recently, there have been moves to restore it to its place, however.

Let’s move a bit further ahead in time. In 1904 Maria Asunta Isabella Visono — later known as Bella Dodd — was born in Italy and was soon taken to the United States. With a bright mind Bella graduated from college, attended graduate school at Columbia, and finally received a law degree from New York University. It was during her schooling that she left her native Catholicism and ultimately became an adviser for the local teachers union and finally a member of the Communist Party where she ultimately rose to membership in the party’s national committee.

Dodd, who later reconverted to Catholicism and renounced Communism, claimed that in the late 1920s and 1930s, in response to directives that were sent from Moscow, the party was to place party members in seminaries and Church organizations in order to destroy the Church from within. She also claimed that she, herself, placed numerous fellow-travelers into U.S. seminaries.

That’s all interesting to hear, a little scary, but interesting. So, how does all this fit into what is going on now? Consider:

[Starting in 1624 Our Lady appeared to Mother Mariana de Jesus Torres in her convent in Quito, Ecuador and, among other messages, told her, “Thus I make it known to you that from the end of the 19th century and shortly after the middle of the 20th century… the Catholic spirit will rapidly decay; the precious light of the faith will gradually be extinguished…” The series of apparitions are known as the Our Lady of Good Success.

In 1846 the Mother of God appeared to two children in La Salette, France. She told the children: “Lucifer, with a great number of demons will be unchained from Hell. By degrees they shall abolish the faith, even among persons consecrated to God. …

[T]he abomination shall be seen in holy places, in convents, and then the demon shall make himself the king of hearts. … Rome will lose the faith and become the seat of the Antichrist.”

Among those who have read the Third Secret of Fatima (1917), including Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, have stated that it concerns a great apostasy at the highest levels of the Church. Cardinal Mario Ciappi, who read the Third Secret and was personal papal theologian to Popes John XXIII, Paul VI, and John Paul II, said, “In the Third Secret it is foretold, among other things, that the great apostasy in the Church will begin at the top”]

In Akita, Japan, Mary told Sr. Agnes Sasagawa in 1973, “The work of the devil will infiltrate even into the Church in such a way that one will see cardinals opposing cardinals, bishops against bishops. The priests who venerate me will be scorned and opposed by their confreres…the Church will be full of those who accept compromises and the demon will press many priests and consecrated souls to leave the service of the Lord.”

(The Most Rev. John Shojiro Ito, bishop of Niigata, recognized “the supernatural character of a series of mysterious events concerning the statue of the Holy Mother Mary” and authorized “the veneration of the Holy Mother of Akita” within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Niigata in a 1984 pastoral letter.)

Pope St. Pius X, seeing the Church under siege from modernism, wrote in Pascendi Dominici Gregis (Feeding the Lord’s Flock) in 1907:

“[T]hey put into operation their designs for [the Church’s] undoing, not from without but from within. Hence, the danger is present almost in the very veins and heart of the Church, whose injury is the more certain from the very fact that their knowledge of Her is more intimate. Moreover, they lay the ax not to the branches and shoots, but to the very root, that is, to the faith and its deepest fibers.”

Pius XII warned, “I am worried by the Blessed Virgin’s messages to Lucy of Fatima. This persistence of Mary about the dangers which menace the Church is a Divine warning against the suicide of altering the faith.”

And of course there is Pope Paul VI’s comment in 1972 when the 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae was being rejected by priests, bishops, and the culture: “The smoke of Satan has entered the Church.”

Of course I could go on but I think you get my point. Satan is using every weapon available to him to infiltrate the Church to destroy it. And we wonder now why there is so much confusion going on, why many bishops won’t take firm stands on major doctrinal issues facing the Church, and instead wish to “dialogue” with dissenters instead of insisting on orthodoxy.

And just what would we “dialogue” about? Questioning the humanity of a baby in the womb? Discussing why a person can pick his gender and change it at will? Or why your teen daughter is forced to shower with the boy down the block after gym class? Is that what some call “relativism”?

Anyway, it’s time to take a stand and shoe the infiltrators out. Bishops, clergy, and laity must hold fast to the universal truth of the Catholic faith. It might not make us popular, but as Jesus said, if they hate us it’s because they hated Him first. Kinda puts you in good company, doesn’t it?

(Items in brackets not included in original publication. You can reach Mike at: DeaconMike@q.com and hear his radio program, Faith On Trial, every Thursday at 10 a.m. Central, on IowaCatholicRadio.com.)

 

Faith On Trial – Thursday June 3

Guests: Tyson Langhoffer, senior counsel, the Alliance Defending Freedom on Jack Denton the FSU student who was removed from his position as president of the student senate over comments made in a Catholic chat-room; and the case of Lydia Booth, the third grader who was told by her school that she could not wear her “Jesus Loves Me” mask. And: Matt Lamb, assistant editor, the College Fix, on actions taken by the Colorado State University student senate against an off-campus crisis pregnancy clinic.

Most Popular U.S. Worldview Disregards Biblical Values

By Deacon Mike Manno

(The Wanderer) – An “overwhelming majority of American adults lack a cohesive, coherent worldview, and instead substitute a patchwork of conflicting, often irreconcilable beliefs and values as they navigate life,” according to the newly released American Worldview Inventory 2021 by the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University.

The report is made up of three surveys: The first found that only 6 percent of American adults have a truly biblical worldview; the second found that the most popular worldview is that of “moralistic therapeutic deism, which recognizes the existence of an uninvolved God, and where being happy and feeling good is the polestar; and the new generation of Millennials seek a nation without God, the Bible, and churches.”

The results are a warning of things to come as the millennial generation comes of age. Beliefs and behaviors of the younger generations “threaten to reshape the nations’ religious parameters beyond recognition,” says the report, warning that a “radical spiritual revolution” has created this generation of Millennials.

The findings confirm a decade’s long decline in the prevailing Judeo-Christian culture formerly found throughout the United States.

The project’s lead researcher, sociology professor Dr. George Barna, found that nearly nine of ten adults (88 percent) embrace an impure, unrecognizable worldview that blends ideas from multiple perspectives, which Barna call “syncretism.”

Rather than developing an internally consistent and philosophically coherent perspective on life, Americans embrace points of view or actions that feel comfortable or seem most convenient. Those beliefs and behaviors are often inconsistent, or even contradictory, but few Americans seemed troubled by those failings,” the survey reported.

The survey was taken last February among a nationally representative sample of 2,000 adults in half-hour long personal interviews. It has an error rate of plus or minus two percentage points. It compared the generational attitudes of Millennials (born 1984-2002), Generation X (1965-1983), Baby Boomers (1946-1964), and Builders (1927-1945) and their worldviews. It found:

“Together, Gen Xers and Millennials (i.e., two generations currently in their late teens through mid-50s) emerged with many beliefs that stand in sharp contrast to those held by Boomers and Builders (the two generations in their mid-50s and older). The younger pair of generations is substantially more likely than their elders to believe the following:
“Horoscopes provide useful guidance for their life; Getting even with those who offend or harm them is defensible; God is not involved in people’s lives; Allowing people to own property facilitates economic injustice; Karma is a viable life principle; The Bible is ambiguous in what it teaches about abortion; Human beings have developed over a long period of time from less advanced life forms to our current condition; and the Bible is not the accurate and reliable (i.e., inerrant) word of God.

“In fact, the two younger adult generations are considerably more likely than older generations to rely primarily on Moralistic Therapeutic Deism for worldview guidance which typically conflicts with core biblical teachings. They are also significantly more likely than people from older generations to argue that traditional moral perspectives are irrelevant today, making a series of formerly rejected behaviors now considered to be morally acceptable. Those included lying, not repaying loans, taking illegal tax deductions, speeding, and committing suicide, or allowing for euthanasia.

“The two younger generations are also much less likely than their older counterparts to accept the Golden Rule,” according to the survey, or to accept that “wealth is provided by God for its possessors to manage for His purposes.”

The survey notes that Millennials have gone further than any other recent generation to cut ties with traditional Christian views and biblical teachings:

“Gen X and the Millennials have solidified dramatic changes in the nation’s central beliefs and lifestyles. From a nationwide perspective, the Christian Church has done shockingly little to push back. The result is a culture in which core institutions — including churches — and basic ways of life are continually being radically redefined,” said Dr. Barna.

In expanding on his comments, he continued, “The family unit and traditional family practices have been reshaped, with some long-term, fundamental family ideals and practices outlawed. The responsibilities of government have been significantly broadened and transformed. The influence of the Christian church has diminished while the influence of arts, entertainment, and news media has exploded. As millions of parents discovered during the pandemic, public schools have become indoctrination farms rather than places for teaching basic life skills.”

Barna lamented the direction that Millennials have embraced. “Millennials are leading the way toward the new worldview emphases in America,” he stated. “The research reveals that their rhetoric is often inconsistent with their behavior. Because people do what they believe, if behavior does not coincide with stated beliefs we know that people do not truly hold those beliefs.

“For example Millennials champion the concept of tolerating different points of view. Yet we see in the research that their behaviors — such as promoting getting even, situational treatment of other people, or censoring specific viewpoints or policies — conflict with their alleged embrace of tolerance and diversity. In fact, Millennials are twice as likely as older adults to specify that the people they respect are those who hold the same religious and political views as they do. The attitudinal and behavioral evidence related to a variety of beliefs and related behaviors suggests that they are not a tolerant generation despite their self-image and public promotion as such.”

“More importantly,” Barna continued, “the millennial generation in particular seems committed to living without God, without the Bible, and without Christian churches as foundations in either their personal life or within American society. In the sixties and seventies, Baby Boomers opened the floodgates of questioning cultural foundations. Baby Busters, or Gen X, continued that cultural transition, though less emphatically. Millennials are emulating the aggressiveness of the Boomers in their determination to reshape culture according to their preferences.

“It is hard to imagine a louder, clearer, and more direct challenge to the future of the Christian faith in the United States,” Barna concluded. “If Christian churches, pastors, schools, and individuals believe that a biblical Christian faith is important — not just for themselves but also for our nation and the world beyond it — time is running out to aggressively and strategically act on that belief, before those who so vehemently disagree succeed in destroying the freedom and opportunity to preserve the ways of God.”

Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, commented on the report: “These results are the logical fallout of what happens when God and truth are jettisoned. Having rejected any external basis for truth, the nucleus of one’s moral compass reverts to oneself. That being the case, happiness and comfort become paramount, and anything that stands in the way of their fulfillment is verboten.”

The American Worldview Inventory 2021 is an annual survey that evaluates the worldview of the U.S. adult population. Begun as an annual tracking study in 2020, the assessment is based on several dozen worldview-related questions drawn from eight categories of worldview application, measuring both beliefs and behavior. The eight are: Biblical Theism (or a biblical worldview), Secular Humanism, Postmodernism, Moralistic Therapeutic Deism, Nihilism, Marxism (along with its offshoot, Critical Race Theory), and Eastern Mysticism (also known as “New Age”).

This new research revealed “that across all four generations the category in which Americans are least likely to think and act biblically is the dimension of ‘Bible, truth, and morals’.”

Obviously, this does not bode well for the future of the world nor our children. It does suggest, however, that our family and religious values can easily be undermined by a Marxist approach to education, a complicit media and entertainment industry, and politicians who value their next election more than they value the worth of the next generation.

Prayer would not be a bad option for us to follow, especially Eucharistic adoration.

(You can reach Mike at: DeaconMike@q.com and listen to him every Thursday at 10 a.m. Central Time on Faith On Trial on IowaCatholicRadio.com.)