Today on Kresta in the Afternoon - March 27, 2012

Talking about the "things that matter most" on March 27

4:00 – The Sacred Heart for Lent: Daily Meditations
As we continue through the season of Lent, Fr. Thomas Williams is here to help us have the most productive lent possible. The Sacred Heart for Lent: Daily Meditations offers an entry for each day of Lent, beginning with Ash Wednesday and ending with Easter Sunday. The simple meditations, based on Sacred Scripture, are meant to accompany a Christian's journey through Lent by helping us to know Christ's heart more intimately, love him more deeply, and imitate him more perfectly. Just because we are closing in on the end of Lent, it’s not to late to make the most of it.

4:40 – Kresta Comments

5:00 – HHS Mandate Confusion: It’s Not About Access To Contraception
Just as the Civil Rights movement of the 60’s confirmed, discrimination against any person or entity on the basis of who they are, directly contradicts our founding principles; our unalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Discrimination on the basis of who we are and what we believe is absolutely unacceptable. We talk to David Wilson about what the HHS Mandate is and is not.

5:20 – In 3 Decades, 1,000 Missionaries Slain
According to a report published Wednesday by the Rome-based Fides news agency, at least 1,000 missionaries were killed in the period from 1980 to 2011. In the years 1980-89 there are 115 deaths among missionaries recorded. This number is below the true total, Fides said, as it only refers to confirmed cases. In the following decade there was a sharp increase in deaths, for a total of 604. In the period 2001-11 there were 255 recorded deaths among missionaries. In the most recent year, 2011 there were 26 missionaries killed: 18 priests, 4 women religious, and 4 laypeople. We talk about the circumstances and most dangerous locations for missionaries with religious freedom expert Paul Marshall.

5:40 – Obamacare Faces the Supreme Court: Is the Individual Mandate Constitutional?
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday began three days of potentially landmark oral arguments over the constitutionality of the sweeping health care law championed by President Barack Obama, with a majority of justices appearing to reject suggestions they wait another few years before deciding the issues. In one of the most politically charged cases in years, the health care reform case drew people who waited in line starting Friday for the chance to attend, and sparked competing news conferences by supporters and opponents of the 2010 law. Attorney Rob Muise joins us to analyze.