Today on Kresta - April 3, 2009

Talking about the "things that matter most" on Apr. 3

3:00 – Joker One: A Marine Platoon's Story of Courage, Leadership, and Brotherhood
Upon graduating from Princeton with high honors, Donovan Campbell joined the United States Marine Corps, despite pleas from friends and family to choose a safer, more lucrative profession. Campbell was inspired in large part by his Christian faith, which he believed called him to serve others and, in doing so, to live out the example of Jesus Christ. Campbell has served three combat tours and has become highly decorated in the process. Throughout his new book, Campbell describes how his Christian faith molded his concept of leadership. Believing that Jesus Christ’s willing sacrifice provided Christians with a strong servant-leadership model, Campbell sought to copy that model while leading his men. How can the Christ-like servant-leader model be applied in other areas of life? He’s here to tell us.

3:40 – Mt. Soledad Cross in Court AGAIN!
If you thought this story had already come to a conclusion – multiple times – you are in good company. So did we. However, the fight over the Mt. Soledad Memorial is back in court again. Arguing that removing the memorial would cause “real, irreparable harm” to war heroes and their families, the Thomas More Law Center has filed a brief opposing a legal challenge to the constitutionality of California’s historic Mt. Soledad cross which honors veterans of the U.S. armed forces. Over 2,100 plaques honoring individuals or groups of veterans are displayed near the Mt. Soledad cross, which is the centerpiece of the veterans’ memorial. Some of the plaques display Stars of David in honor of Jewish veterans. A large American flag flies at the memorial’s base. Attorney and former marine Brian Rooney is here to discuss the case.

4:00 – Pope initiates Apostolic Visitation of the Legion of Christ
Pope Benedict XVI is appointing a team of prelates for an apostolic visitation to the institutions of the Legion of Christ. The work of the apostolic visitors will consist in getting to know the operations and apostolates of the congregation. The visitors will then compile a report of their findings and submit it to the Holy See. The decision of the Holy Father was communicated to the Legion by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Pope's secretary of state, in a letter sent to the general director, Father Alvaro Corcuera. The letter was released this week on the congregation's Web site. We talk with well-know Legionarre priest Fr. Thomas Williams.

4:20 – Iowa Becomes the 3rd State to Legalize Gay “Marriage” Is it Time Privatize Marriage Entirely?
The Iowa Supreme Court this morning upheld a lower court ruling that marriage should not be limited to one man and one woman. The ruling means gay couples can legally marry in Iowa beginning April 24. Supreme Court Justice Mark Cady, who wrote the unanimous decision, at one point invoked the court’s first-ever decision, in 1839, which struck down slavery laws 17 years before the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the right of a slave owner to treat a person as property. Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse of the Ruth Institute is here to discuss the decision and make her case that privatizing marriage is not the answer to the same-sex marriage debate.

4:40 – Kresta Comments

5:00 – Direct to my Desk