Today on Kresta - June 18, 2009

Talking about the "things that matter most" on June 18
Live from Acton University in Grand Rapids, MI

3:00 – Truth and Fiction: Economic History of the Great Depression
Most people believe that the New Deal saved the United States from the worst ravages of the Great Depression, despite mounting historical evidence that this is a highly questionable proposition. Kishore Jayabalan outlines an alternative understanding of the causes of the Great Depression and the manner in which the New Deal prolonged rather than alleviated its effects.

3:30 – 10 Lessons I Learned From Pope John Paul II
Andreas Widmer is the co-founder of the SEVEN Fund, a non-profit run by entrepreneurs whose goal is to dramatically increase the rate of innovation and diffusion of enterprise-based solutions to poverty. He recently contributed two chapters to the book In the River They Swim: Essays from Around the World on Enterprise Solutions to Poverty. We talk about the problem of worldwide poverty. We also get 10 lessons that Andreas learned from Pope John Paul II as a member of the Pontifical Swiss Guard from 1986-1988, protecting John Paul II.

4:00 – Subsidiarity and Serving the Poor
As a former Marxist, Ismael Hernandez has a unique view of subsidiarity and serving the poor. He is here to define a Catholic understanding of subsidiarity, apply it to the context of human spiritual, moral, and material need, and elaborate on the unique ability of private charity to address such needs using local knowledge and resources unavailable and unsuited to public agencies.

4:30 – Pope Benedict XVI and His Vision for Europe
Why do Europeans and Americans see the world so differently? Why do Europeans and Americans have such different understandings of democracy? Sam Gregg outlines Benedict XVI's diagnosis of Europe's contemporary crisis of identity, clarifies his proposals for European renewal, and assesses the chances of realizing this vision.

5:00 – Pope Benedict XVI and His Vision of Liturgy
Pope Benedict XVI has made a key personnel change in the Roman Curia, appointing an American Dominican, Father Augstine DiNoia, as secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship. Father DiNoia - who will become an archbishop as he assumes his new role - replaces Archbishop Albert Malcolm Ranjith, who has been named Archbishop of Colombo in his native Sri Lanka. We talk with expert liturgist, Fr. John Zuhlsdorf, about this move as well as the Holy Father’s wider vision for authentic liturgy.

5:30 – Universal Health Care – Or a Private Sector Solution?
Reform of the American health care sector is urgent. The current trend of ever increasing health-care spending, superimposed upon technological advancement and an aging demographic, is unsustainable. Approximately 15 percent of Americans lack health insurance and millions are underinsured or struggling with medical bills. Employer based medical care is disintegrating. Well-intentioned leaders often advocate for ‘comprehensive’ or ‘universal’ reform with more government or employer involvement in health care. Yet our government has a record found wanting in the defense of human dignity. Broad mandates threaten those whose consciences are committed to the sanctity of life. Furthermore, approximately 50 percent of medical spending is already government funded and expenses continue to escalate. Medicare faces insolvency by 2019, or earlier. United States firms struggle to compete in the global marketplace against firms not similarly responsible for medical benefits. How ought health care be reformed? We attack that question with an M.D., Dr. Donald Condit of the Acton Institute.