Today on Kresta - June 15, 2009

Talking about the "things that matter most" on June 15
Live from the Acton Institute in Grand Rapids, MI

3:00 – Kresta Comments

3:20 – Talking Jesus: Obama vs. Bush
There’s an important article in the Politico, titled, “Obama Invokes Jesus More Than Bush.” President Barack Obama, says the article, has mentioned Jesus Christ “in a number of high-profile public speeches,” more so than did President George W. Bush, and in much less “innocuous contexts.” Obama has done so in order to promote certain policies, especially his economic policies, and “to connect with a broader base of supporters.” He does this via various “targeted messages.” Most remarkable, the article considers whether Obama is using the bully pulpit to pursue “an even larger goal” of resurrecting the Christian left, of appealing to disillusioned conservative evangelicals, and to attract “swing Protestants” and “swing Catholics.” In other words, Obama is doing the things, faith-wise, that Bush was angrily accused of doing. Is it true, and if so, what does it mean. Political scientist Paul Kengor has the analysis.

3:40 – Archbishop Burke and Catholic Media Responsibilities
In the Decree on the Media of Social Communications, Inter Mirifica , the Second Vatican Council Fathers spoke of the need for “A truly Catholic press with the clear purpose of forming, supporting and advancing public opinion in accord with natural law and Catholic teaching and precepts.” Enter Catholic News Service (CNS) — an agency of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops that was created more than forty years before the Council specifically for the purpose of carrying out this very mission. Today, CNS is the world’s largest Catholic news organization of its kind, generating news items and editorial pieces that are reprinted in more than 200 Catholic publications worldwide. Mission accomplished, right? Well, not exactly. CNS’ failure to consistently apply reliably Catholic editorial standards had become so problematic that Archbishop Raymond Burke, Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura at the Vatican, has taken the extraordinarily bold step of criticizing CNS from Rome. “The bishops need to look at our Catholic News Service; they need to review their coverage of the Church’s moral and social teachings and give some new direction,” he said. We look at it with a man who has written extensively on the subject, Louis Verricchio.

4:00 – Walking Across America for the Conversion of Youth
It was in the heart of Iowa, where Jon Leonetti was born and raised, that he fell in love with his Catholic faith. As the host of the Catholic radio show, Martyrs of the Third Millennium, Jon was ready to take the message of the New Evangelization from the air waves to the streets. Inspired through reading the lives of the saints Jon has realized that in order to live his Catholic faith to the fullest, he has to give it all. That is why he has chosen to walk, over 3,500 miles, asking young people to take on a new way of living, one where they are lost in the love of Jesus Christ. Through this journey in faith, Jon and his friend Jesse are encouraging young people to live their lives as a Martyr of the Third Millennium, one who continually dies to self and lives for something greater, our God. We catch up with them in IL.

4:20 – Were the Iranian Elections Fixed?
Defeated Iranian presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi appeared in public today for the first time since an election that has divided the nation, joining hundreds of thousands of supporters who defied a ban to stage a mass rally in Tehran. "God willing, we will take back our rights," Mousavi shouted from the roof of a car amid a vast sea of Iranians, young and old, who packed into central Tehran to protest Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's re-election.Iran , battling one of its worst political crises since the Islamic revolution three decades ago, faced a growing international backlash over the validity of the election and the subsequent crackdown on opposition protests. Iran's supreme leader ordered a probe into allegations of vote-rigging in the election that returned Ahmandinejad to power, denting Western hopes of a change in domestic and foreign policy of the oil-rich Shiite-dominated nation. Ahmadinejad has defended the results of an election that gave the combative hardliner another four years in power. We talk with Ali Alfoneh of the American Enterprise Institute

4:40 – Acton University
Acton University is a unique, four-day exploration of the intellectual foundations of a free society. Guided by a distinguished, international faculty, Acton University is an opportunity to deepen your knowledge and integrate rigorous philosophy, Christian theology and sound economics. As we kick off our week-long broadcast from the Acton Institute in Grand Rapids, MI, Acton’s Communication Director, John Couretas, is with us to look at what the Institute does and what we can expect to encounter as we speak to the presenters at this week’s Acton University.

5:00 – NY: Cash for Eggs
New York’s Empire State Stem Cell Board (ESSCB) has approved a plan that would pay women to provide human eggs for research purposes. Bucking a national trend seen in states like California and Massachusetts, which prohibit payment for eggs for research, the ESSCB Ethics Committee voted for state research funds to be provided to researchers who pay women for their eggs, making New York the only state in the union to tacitly endorse a cash-for-eggs scheme. At its meeting on June 11, the ESSCB approved providing state money for direct payments to women to try to obtain human eggs for research. Fr. Thomas Berg of the Westchester Bioethics Institute is our guest.

5:00 – Concluding the Year of St. Paul
Zealous for the God of Israel, Saul of Tarsus pursued murderous threats against the disciples of Jesus. But Saul's zeal was turned upside down when he was knocked from his "high horse" and humbled by the hand of God. As we conclude this year of St. Paul, we are joined by Steve Ray, who will take you on the road with St. Paul through Israel, Syria, Turkey, Greece and Italy. Fall from a horse in the desert and dangle over the Damascus Wall in a basket. Cling to driftwood in the sea and stride along ancient Roman roads. You'll better understand the life, ministry, and sufferings of Paul the Apostle.