Today on Kresta - March 24, 2010

Talking about the Things That Matter Most on Mar. 24


4:00 – They Can Take it Away, But Will They Pay?
The barren, rocky lot down an Alexandria, Virginia, alley doesn’t look like much, but it’s worth millions. Charlie Hooff’s family owned the land for more than 40 years before the government decided to take it by eminent domain in order to expand operations for the Alexandria Sanitation Authority (ASA). Hooff had negotiated with the ASA years before, but when the parties couldn’t reach a deal, Hooff decided to take it onto the open market. He says he had an offer in the neighborhood of $48 million, which evaporated once the government announced it would take the land. The ASA wound up offering Hooff $20.4 million, but he’s refusing to accept that as final. Hooff points to the $48 million offer, along with appraisals he’s contracted which he says put the value in the range of $44 to $51 million. We look at this eminent domain case with Charlie Hooff.

4:20 – The Truth About The Shroud of Turin: Solving the Mystery
The Shroud of Turin, one of history’s most controversial and perplexing relics, is set to draw a crowd more than 5 times as big as the Olympic Games drew in Vancouver. Two million people are expected in Turin, Italy to see the ancient burial cloth when it goes on display in April. While some believe that purported image of Jesus is a fake, investigative journalist Robert K. Wilcox, author of The Truth About The Shroud of Turin: Solving the Mystery, says the authenticity of the burial cloth of is no longer overshadowed by doubt. Wilcox approaches the subject as a journalist and has interviews with scientists and researchers using cutting-edge technology to look into the scientific facets of this historical mystery and reveal the latest evidence behind the claim that the shroud is actually the cloth that was placed over Jesus’ tortured body. He joins us.

4:40 – The Loser Letters: A Comic Tale of Life, Death and Atheism
A wickedly witty satire, The Loser Letters chronicles the conversion of a young adult Christian to atheism. With modern humor rivaling that of the media lampooning Onion, found on college campuses all over America, A. F. Christian's open letters to the "spokesmen of the New Atheism" explain her reasons for rejecting God and the logical consequences of that choice. Along the way she offers pithy advice to famous atheists such as Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens, in the hope of helping them win over more Christians. Amid the many current books arguing for or against religion, social critic and writer Mary Eberstadt's contribution is truly unique: a black comedy about theism and atheism that is simultaneously a rollicking defense of Christianity. Mary is with us.

5:00 – Who are These Fake Catholic Groups and Whose Side are They On?
Some of the biggest supporters of the health reform bill—replete with public funding for abortion—are self-described “progressive” Catholic organizations, such as Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, Catholics United, and Catholic Democrats. These Catholic organizations, along with the Catholic Health Association have created confusion for Catholics because at the same time the USCCB has strongly opposed the current health care reform bill because of its inclusion of public funding for abortion, these Catholic organizations are providing “official” Catholic support for the bill. Anne Hendershott says this duplicity should surprise no one. She has been researching these groups, their leadership and their funding and she joins us today.

5:20 – Direct to my Desk - Is your political hangover keeping you from or driving you to Christ?
As a Catholic, a believer in the Resurrection, what I do know is that my work, in season and out of season, in good times and in bad, is to stay focused on Christ and his Church turning neither to the right or the left. How well any of us do this is for God to decide but that we should do it and encourage and exhort each other to so do is undeniable. There will be a lot of discussion for some time to come over what this health care bill means in the long run for Americans and their relationship to their government. Catholics are especially endowed by historical altar/throne or church/world or Christ/Caesar debates to make vital contributions to these discussions as long as we don't fold or opt out of the game. Those Catholics who understand that to be a good American citizen is to first be a faithful citizen of the Kingdom of God will remember in the words of the prophet Isaiah that, ultimately, "the government shall be upon Christ's shoulders." We shouldn't let Sunday's shameful disregard for the unborn as an excuse to abandon faithful citizenship. We should see it as one more open door to bear witness to the priorities of the Kingdom of God. Despair, hysteria, blameshifting, demonizing are rarely helpful in such a witness. We look at whether your political despondence is keeping you from or driving you toward Christ.