Respect Life Radio

RLR Interview with Emma Waters: Pro-Natalism is Not Enough

"Reducing babies to one among various competing goods—a child, a yacht or a house—reinforces our society’s disinclination to value them as ends," writes Emma Waters in her new article called "Pro-Natalism is Not Enough" on the First Things website. "Civilization depends on individuals recognizing that building a family and nurturing children is an essential part of the human journey. Promoting marriage, which is consistently the best predictor of birthrates, is the surest long-term strategy to reverse declining fertility." Emma is a Senior Research Associate for the Richard and Helen DeVos Center for Life, Religion and Family at The Heritage Foundation. Her work focuses on family, bioethics and reproductive technology policy. 

Her work may be found in First Things, Fox News, Newsweek, World Magazine, RealClear Policy, RealClear Health, The Federalist, the Institute for Family Studies, Problematic Women podcast, The American Conservative, The American Mind, The Daily Signal, Washington Examiner, Washington Times and more. 

Read the full article at https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2024/08/pro-natalism-is-not-enough and follow Emma through the Heritage Foundation  https://www.heritage.org/staff/emma-waters and on Twitter/X at @emlwaters.

RLR Interview with Ruth Berghorst: Contemplating the Seven Sorrows of Mary

"Our Lady faced so many more trials and sorrows than we will ever face in our lives," Ruth Berghorst shares, drawing from her personal devotion and insights from her latest book, Contemplating the Seven Sorrows of Mary, co-authored with Dr. Joseph Hollcraft. Ruth explains how devotion to Mary’s sorrows reveals a path to overcoming temptations and trials. The book explores the spiritual practice of mental prayer, with guidance on the Chaplet of the Seven Sorrows of Mary, responding to Our Lady’s request for believers to stay close to her heart and pray for the salvation of souls. Ruth, a devoted wife, mother, grandmother and Catholic convert, has spent over a decade mentoring young women in their spiritual journeys. Her deep love for the Passion of Christ and the sorrows of Mary fuels her mission to help others find hope and strength through redemptive suffering. This episode offers a heartfelt glimpse into Ruth’s personal faith journey and her dedication to sharing Our Lady of Sorrows' transformative grace.

Learn more about Contemplating the Seven Sorrows of Mary here.

RLR Interview with Dr. Regis Martin: March to Martyrdom: Seven Letters on Sanctity from St. Ignatius of Antioch

"The teaching that best describes St. Ignatius of Antioch....is that the only way to find yourself is if you're prepared to lose yourself and to give everything over to God," explains Dr. Regis Martin. Drawing from his latest book, March to Martyrdom: Seven Letters on Sanctity from St. Ignatius of Antioch, Dr. Martin highlights three key themes from St. Ignatius’ writings: the embrace of impending martyrdom, the call for unity in the Church, and the fight against heresy. With profound love for Christ, St. Ignatius of Antioch serves as a model for how we must humble ourselves and conform our lives to the truth of Christ. Dr. Martin has been a professor of dogmatic and systematic theology at Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio, since 1988 and is a regular panelist on Franciscan University Presents.

Learn more about Dr. Regis Martin here. 

RLR Interview with Philip F. Lawler: Martyrs in Training

"God doesn't ask us to do anything we can't do. But that doesn't mean He won't give us some challenges along the way," says Phil Lawler, editor of Catholic World News (CWN). Phil is also the author and editor of 12 books on political and religious topics, with his essays, book reviews, and editorial columns featured in over 100 newspapers across the United States and internationally. In his recent article, Martyrs in Training, Lawler explores how life’s struggles, exemplified through trials faced in difficult marriages, shape us into "martyrs in training." He explains that these challenges are not only meant to strengthen us but also to forge heroes in all shapes and sizes.

Learn more about Phil Lawler here.

RLR Interview with Dr. Anne Hendershott: Keeping Catholicism Weird in Crisis Magazine

"They act like we're the evil ones, the subversive ones," says Anne Hendershott, Professor of Sociology and Director of the Veritas Center for Ethics in Public Life at Franciscan University of Steubenville, OH. "They call us the bad people, the evil people when they are the ones promoting evil." Dr. Hendershott is the author of The Politics of Envy (Crisis Publications, 2020). In her new article Keeping Catholicism Weird in Crisis Magazine., Anne asserts that being a faithful Catholic in the modern world seems weird to those who have embraced the modernist radical materialism that permeates so much of the culture.  

Learn more about Dr. Hendershott here.

RLR Interview with Vicki Owens: Emmaus Catholic Hospice

"We are unapologetically Catholic and we bring our faith with us to every interaction with patients, their families and neighbors," said Vicki Owens, MS, BSN, RN is a nurse and has provided exceptional health care in the Denver area for over 42 years. Vicki is currently the Chief Executive and Nursing Officer for Emmaus Catholic Hospice in Denver, Colorado. The mission of Emmaus Catholic Hospice is to provide Catholic home hospice care, support and education that honors the dignity of each person we serve. Building on their loving service in Colorado for 100 years, Dominican Home Health Agency is now Emmaus Catholic Hospice. Emmaus Catholic Hospice adheres to Ethical and Religious Directives (ERDs) for Catholic Health Care Services issued by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). This asserts that “patients should be kept as free of pain as possible so that they may die comfortably and with dignity, and in the place where they wish to die.”

To learn more about Emmaus Catholic Hospice visit, https://emmauscatholichospice.org/

RLR Interview with Jim Valois: The Inspiring Story of Charlene Marie Richard

Jim Valois holds a B.A. in Theology from Franciscan University of Steubenville. His articles and book reviews have been featured in The Wanderer Newspaper, Soul Magazine (World Apostolate of Fatima, USA), and Catholic Life Magazine. He is the author of Our Lady's Prophecies and reverted to the Catholic faith from Evangelicalism while studying at Franciscan University. Jim is a husband and father of two adult children. He has worked in business and previously served in youth ministry in both teaching and administrative roles.

In this discussion, Jim shares the inspiring story of Charlene Marie Richard, a young Cajun Catholic farm girl who died over 60 years ago at the age of 12 after a painful battle with leukemia. Charlene was known for her bright, generous and exuberant spirit. Even in her suffering, she served God by offering up her pain to help others—a practice known as redemptive suffering. Many believe she is a saint, with over 1,600 testimonials of miracles attributed to her intercession. Jim highlights how saints and holy people have historically offered their suffering to God for the redemption of others. He adds, "We may not always feel like we can offer up every single time we experience a suffering, but even if we could do it some of the time....direct it and offer it and give it to God and let him do what He can do with it." 

Jim Valois books can be found here: https://catholicexchange.com/author/jim-valois/

RLR Interview with Ed Van Buskirk: If U Love Me, a Catholic apostolate dedicated to teaching the wisdom of the Ten Commandments (Part 1)

"Early primers for learning how to read included the 10 Commandments... but in 1980, someone had a problem with it and raised it to the Supreme Court, which ruled that the 10 Commandments should not be part of the public space. Now there's something really critically missing now," said Ed Van Buskirk, the Founder and President of If U Love Me, a Catholic apostolate dedicated to teaching the wisdom of the Ten Commandments. "Now in our culture, we don't know the truth of God's moral laws. They've been pushed to the side and we look around and say we need something to tell us what is right and wrong so, in our mere human wisdom...relativism has become the order of the day and it's caused a lot of hardship, division and isolation. It leads us away from God." Van Buskirk is the author of the book and video course on the Ten Commandments, God’s Recipe for a Wonderful Life and creator of the “God’s Recipe for School and Family,” a program that teaches the Ten Commandments to school children and their families. He speaks nationwide and has been featured at the Kansas City-St. Joseph diocesan Eucharistic Congress. He also has written numerous articles that have appeared in Catholic Exchange.

Learn more about Van Buskirk's ministry at https://ifuloveme.org.

RLR Interview with David Deavel - Solzhenitsyn and American Culture: The Russian Soul in the West

"If you don't know what you're talking about, you won't be able to convince anyone to take you seriously, no matter how pious you seem or how good your works are. If people can see that you lack understanding, they won't listen," asserts David Paul Deavel, an Associate Professor of Theology at the University of St. Thomas-Houston. Prof. Deavel is a prolific and widely published writer.

In addition to his book Solzhenitsyn and American Culture: The Russian Soul in the West, his academic work has appeared in journals such as Chesterton Review, Chicago Studies, and Faith and Reason. In his new article, which he discusses with Deacon Geoff, "Theology is Not Trivial Pursuit," Deavel argues that "Simply knowing doctrines is not the same as living them. Even believing them to be true isn’t enough. 'You believe that God is one,' St. James writes in his Epistle; 'you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder' (James 2:19). But knowing that 'God is one' is not a mere obscure factoid for a trivia game."

Deavel was recently named Chair of the Theology Department. He assumes this leadership role at a time when the department is pioneering a new curriculum for its M.A. program in Historical Theology and continues its collaboration with St. Mary’s Seminary to form priests, deacons, and laypeople equipped to serve Christ and His Church with both head and heart.

Read his latest article at https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2024/08/01/theology-is-not-a-trivial-pursuit/

RLR Interview with Patrick O'Hearn: The Holy Eucharist is Not Loved

“It's like the more we worship ourselves, and we certainly see this on social media, the less we worship God,” says Patrick O'Hearn, a devout Catholic, husband and father. "Most of the time I'm just telling Jesus what I think, even complaining to him. How often do I say to the Lord "What do you want from me? What do you need from me?" In his new new article in Catholic Exchange, How the Eucharist is Not Loved, Patrick confronts the reality that most Catholics fail to spend enough time adoring and revering our Lord. Patrick is an author, literary consultant, speaker and a freelance editor, previously serving as TAN Books' acquisitions editor for two years. He grew up in the Midwest and spent close to three years in a Benedictine Monastery before discerning the call to marriage. He graduated with a master's in education from Franciscan University of Steubenville and a bachelor's in marketing from St. Ambrose University. "

To learn more, visit https://patrickrohearn.com.