Today on Kresta - July 22, 2011

Talking about the "things that matter most" on July 22

4:00 – One Question for the Bishops About “Faithful Citizenship” in 2012
Every four years the Catholic bishops publish a document entitled “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship.” If tradition holds, a new version of “Faithful Citizenship” is due to be approved at the bishops’ annual Baltimore meeting in November. We’re told that no substantial edits are being made to the 2008 version of the document, so that we can expect the 2012 version to be roughly the same as its predecessor. If so, our next guests say this is a problem and needs to be remedied. Deal Hudson and Matt Smith are here to tell us why.

4:20 – The 10 Habits of Happy Mothers: Reclaiming Our Passion, Purpose, and Sanity
Arguing that many moms have gone overboard in their quest for perfection, Dr. Meg Meeker, pediatrician and mother of four, presents 10 "new habits" that will help moms maintain their passion, purpose, and sanity. Meeker addresses understanding your value as a mother, maintaining key friendships, valuing and practicing faith, saying no to competition, creating a healthier relationship with money, making time for solitude, giving and getting love in healthy ways, finding ways to live simply, letting go of fear, and embracing hope. Meg is with us.

5:00 – Bishop Cistone Makes Pastoral Visit to Ethiopia, Kenya
The Most Rev. Joseph R. Cistone, Bishop of Saginaw, has returned from a pastoral trip to Ethiopia and Kenya. As a member of the Catholic Relief Services Board of Directors, he was invited to visit several countries where CRS maintains emergency and long-term relief, food and clothing distribution centers and medical facilities. He joins us today to discuss the trip.

5:20 – Saints Preserved: An Encyclopedia of Relics
Articles like a finger, a lock of hair, a crucifix, a chalice—if such items belonged to a saint, they are considered to be relics and as such are venerated by the Catholic Church. Anyone who thinks that relics are remnants of the Middle Ages should log on to eBay. On any day of the week the online shopper will find a thriving business in the sale of these items, ranging from the dust from the tomb of Christ to splinters of the True Cross to bone fragments of countless holy men and women. In Saints Preserved: An Encyclopedia of Relics, author Thomas J. Craughwell takes us on an exhilarating journey through the life and death of more than three hundred saints and along the way enlightens us about the sometimes strange bits and pieces that the saints left behind.

5:40 – Pregnancy Center Leader Delighted by Ruling Against NYC Law
In March of this year, New York’s City Council approved a bill that tries to dictate what privately funded, pro-life pregnancy centers say to their clients. The bill demands that pro-life centers insert boilerplate language promoting abortion and contraception into their ads, and even into their conversations with pregnant women. Pro-life leaders charged that the bill violates New Yorkers’ right to free speech, and is designed simply to hamper the operations of pregnancy centers and increase the number of abortions in the city. Last week a federal judge approved a request filed by two pro-life legal groups for the New York pregnancy centers for a temporary injunction against a law. Chris Slattery, founder of Expectant Mother Care in NYC is here to explain this great victory.

5:45 – Judge Rules: Catholic Charities Will Continue to Receive Child for Adoption/Foster Care Services from Illinois State
This Monday, in response to an emergency motion brought by attorneys for Catholic Charities, attorneys for the State of Illinois, Office of the Attorney General, announced in court that the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) would reverse course and resume the referral of new foster care cases to the Charities. After Catholic Charities won a preliminary injunction last week, DCFS responded by ceasing referrals of children in need of foster care and adoption services to the Charities. The Charities' emergency motion presented today sought to clarify that the status quo under the preliminary injunction included the continuation of new referrals. Peter Breen, attorney with the Thomas More Society is here to discuss it.