Respect Life Radio

David Deavel: What Solzhenitsyn can teach a divided America

"Gradually, it was disclosed to me that the line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either — but right through every human heart — and through all human hearts," wrote Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, the Russian dissident, author and Nobel Prize winner, who died in 2008.

In this episode of Respect Life Radio, the life and legacy of Solzhenitsyn is recounted by David Deavel, Ph.D., co-editor of the recently released book, "Solzhenitsyn and American Culture: The Russian Soul in the West" (Notre Dame Press) and editor of "Logos: A Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture."

Deavel was previously a guest on Respect Life Radio in a two-part series on 
"A Catholic critique of socialism." Part 1 is at this link and Part 2 is at this link.  

Anne Hendershott: Overcoming the politics of envy

"There's a whole lot of envy going on and we're seeing symbols of envy," said Anne Hendershott, professor of sociology at Franciscan University, director of the Veritas Center for Ethics in Public Life and author of the recent book, "The Politics of Envy," published by Sophia Institute Press. Follow her @AnneHendershott on Twitter. 

 

 

 

 

Michael Warsaw of EWTN: Voting for life is preeminent issue

"People have to vote for life. There's no question about that. Life is the preeminent issue," said Michael Warsaw, chairman and CEO of Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN), the world's largest religious media network, and publisher of the National Catholic Register. "That is part of the vision, and the difference in vision, between the two parties and their candidates. And that is what we need to be voting for when we cast our ballot."

Warsaw wrote a recent column in the National Catholic Register titled, "Voting for a Vision, Not a Person." 

Kathleen Beckman: A Family Guide to Spiritual Warfare

"How is my relationship doing with my loved ones and what can I do to help each and every single person in my family experience the love of God, the affirmation and the encouragement? And are there any living within my home who are not experiencing true liberation in Jesus Christ — or are they bound up in something, whether it's pornography or other things...," said Kathleen Beckman, author of A Family Guide to Spiritual Warfare: Strategies for Deliverance and Healing.

Beckman is a "Catholic evangelist, best-selling author, writer, speaker, radio host, and Ignatian retreat director," according to her website, kathleenbeckman.com. 

Raymond Arroyo: Discovering "The Spider Who Saved Christmas"

"The Spider Who Saved Christmas" speaks to children as a "thrill ride of a story but to adults, it tells a very different tale about family and love and sacrifice," said Raymond Arroyo, author of the new book about the legend, which is the number one bestseller in Catholicism on Amazon.com.

Arroyo is "an internationally known, award-winning journalist, producer, and New York Times Bestselling author," according to his website, as well as managing editor of EWTN News and anchor of The World Over. Follow him on Twitter @RaymondArroyo. 

 

Dr. Kathi Aultman: The goal of late-term abortion is a child's death

Late-term abortion is "not what the normal OB/GYN would do," said Kathi Aultman, M.D., a former abortionist. "Even when the mother's life is in danger, you wouldn't do a late-term abortion. You would do a C-section or an induction and deliver the baby. And you would try to take care of the baby the best you can. Even if the baby has fetal anomalies, you would deliver the baby and take care of it. You wouldn't try to do a late-term abortion. It actually takes two to three days to be able to do a late-term abortion anyway...Why would you do something like that unless your ultimate goal is the death of the child?"

Aultman is a "retired Board-Certified OB/Gyn and is currently an Associate Scholar with the Charlotte Lozier Institute." Among her writings is, "Why I Am No Longer An Abortionist."

Earlier in the interview on Respect Life Radio, she said, "I suddenly saw myself as a mass murderer. I understand how the Nazis could do what they did. Because I was doing it. It all came down to whether or not you feel a group is human or not. They didn't feel the Jews and the Russians and the others were human. And I didn't feel fetuses were human. So I didn't have any remorse — at the time. I didn't feel guilty — at the time. It wasn't until then when I realized what I had been doing. And that's when I became prolife."

Proposition 115 on the Nov. 3 ballot would end late-term abortion in Colorado, with an exception for the life of the mother. For more on Prop. 115, go to RespectLifeDenver.org and also see YesProp115.com. For an archive of past episodes of Respect Life Radio, go to RespectLifeRadio.com.

Paul Kengor: What the Devil and Karl Marx have to do with America now

"The deliberate infiltration of churches in the United States — I hope people can kind of sweat it through the awful stuff on Marx and Lenin and Engels (in the book) — and get to that because that takes us really to where we are right now," said Paul Kengor, professor of political science at Grove City College and author of books, including "The Devil and Karl Marx: Communism's Long March of Death, Deception, and Infiltration," recently published by TAN Books.

Listen also to a previous Respect Life Radio interview with Kengor, "Understanding the Marxist moment in America 2020."

 

 

Matthew Franck: The future of Roe vs. Wade is up for grabs

"The overturning of Roe vs. Wade would not — in itself, overnight — change the law of abortion in this country," said Matthew J. Franck, an author and Associate Director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions, and Lecturer in Politics, at Princeton University. "It would return to the people the right to make the laws concerning abortion in this country. It will wind up being made very differently in different states. It'll be different in Colorado, and New Jersey...in Florida and New York, in Arizona and Illinois." Follow him @MatthewJFranck on Twitter.

Proposition 115 on the Nov. 3 ballot would end late-term abortion in Colorado, with an exception for the life of the mother. For more on Prop. 115, go to RespectLifeDenver.org and also see #YesOn115. For an archive of past episodes of Respect Life Radio, go to RespectLifeRadio.com.

Deacon Geoff Bennett: How to vote as a faithful Catholic

Learn "how to vote as a faithful Catholic, but really how to vote as a faithful citizen who is based, and rooted, in the moral foundations of our Church," said Deacon Geoff Bennett, the host of Respect Life Radio. "It is critical that we get involved in the political process. We are not just observers; we need to be participants. We're not going to call on one political party or the other. But look, what they stand for should dictate who we should vote for. Everybody should defend life, from conception through natural death. Those are kind of non-negotiables. And we're going to talk about why this is so important."

For more background, see "Voting as a Catholic" from the Colorado Catholic Conference, as well as information on Colorado ballot initiatives, including Prop. 115 to end late-term abortion, which all four Colorado bishops endorsed in this letter.

Catholics, hear Sister Dede Byrne on life, then vote your well-formed conscience

"The life issue supersedes politics, it's really ethical, moral, spiritual, human," said Sister Dierdre Byrne, who gave galvanizing pro-life remarks at the Republican National Convention in August. "My intention was not to be a political speaker up there on the podium, but someone who is just representing the Catholic Church and its response, and relationship, to the life issues..."

Sr. Byrne, highlighted by the National Catholic Register as "Surgeon, Soldier, Sister, Servant," belongs to the Little Workers of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary.