Today on Kresta - November 15, 2010

Talking about the "things that matter most" on Nov. 15

Live from the US Conference of Catholic Bishops Meeting in Baltimore, MD

4:00 – Miami Archbishop Visits Cuba for Seminary Opening
The first Roman Catholic seminary to be built in Cuba since the 1959 revolution opened officially this week with President Raul Castro in attendance. Also in attendance was Archbishop Thomas Wenski who led a small delegation of Miami-area priests to last Wednesday's ceremony. "It demonstrates that there is a future for a church that serves as a witness of hope, which is what Cuba needs in this moment," Wenski said before his departure. The seminary 10 miles from Havana is proof of a changing relationship between the Castro regime and the church. Pope John Paul II blessed the first stone for the complex when he visited Cuba in 1998, although construction did not begin in earnest until 2006. Archbishop Wenski joins us.

4:20 – Cool It
“Cool It” is a new documentary released this weekend that centers on Danish political scientist, lecturer and author Bjorn Lomborg, called one of the 75 most influential people of the 21st Century by Esquire magazine, and his practical approach to solving global warming. It escapes the typical political banter on this topic and demonstrates that while climate change is a very important world issue, a light bulb won’t solve the problem and our responsibility for stewardship of the earth is really about care for our fellow man. We talk with producer Terry Botwick.

4:40 – Looking for the King: An Inklings Novel
It is 1940, and American Tom McCord, a 23-year-old aspiring doctoral candidate, is in England researching the historical evidence for the legendary King Arthur. There he meets perky and intuitive Laura Hartman, a fellow American staying with her aunt in Oxford, and the two of them team up for an even more ambitious and dangerous quest. Aided by the Inklings-that illustrious circle of scholars and writers made famous by its two most prolific members, C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien-Tom and Laura begin to suspect that the fabled Spear of Destiny, the lance that pierced the side of Christ on the cross, is hidden somewhere in England. Thus begins Looking for the King: An Inklings Novel. Author David Downing joins us

5:00 – Cross International Catholic Outreach – The Kobonal Haiti Mission
The US Bishops’ Conference received an update on the situation in Haiti today and the U.S. Catholic Church’s emergency relief efforts so far, as well as plans to aid long-term reconstruction, including rebuilding of Church structures. The situation is tenuous to say the least. Haiti’s cholera toll has risen above 900, including dozens of deaths in the teeming capital, as the epidemic showed no sign of abating just two weeks ahead of presidential elections. Hurricane Thomas last week lashed Haiti with fierce winds and rain, leaving six people dead and closing the main airport. And this is all on top of the massive earthquake that killed 250,000 people in January and left the country in ruins. Jim Cavnar of Cross International Catholic Outreach is here with us in Baltimore to look at his partnership with Ave Maria Radio, the progress that has been made, and the work that remains.

5:20 – USCCB Meeting: An Overview
The annual Fall General Assembly of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is meeting this week at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront Hotel. At the assembly today the bishops heard addresses by the president of the USCCB, Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, and the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, Archbishop Pietro Sambi. On Tuesday, they will elect the next president, vice president, treasurer-elect and general secretary of the USCCB, as well as the chairmen-elect of six committees. Here to discuss these agenda items and more is features correspondent for the National Catholic Register Tim Drake.

5:40 – USCCB Exorcism Conference A Great Success
More than 100 Roman Catholic priests and bishops gathered in Baltimore for a conference on exorcism in advance of the USCCB meeting. The two-day conference was organized by Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Ill. Paprocki said the main goal of the conference is to help priests and bishops decide when exorcism is appropriate and educate them on the issue. We talk to Bishop Paprocki about temptation, possession, and exorcism.