Today on "Kresta in the Afternoon" - October 15, 2012

Talking about the "things that matter most" on October 15

4:00 – Kresta Comments

4:20 – St. John of Avila Now a Doctor of the Church
Pope Benedict XVI urged the world’s bishops last week to try to bring back Catholics who have left the church as he opened a three-week Synod to reinvigorate the church’s evangelization mission. At the opening Mass, Benedict named two new “doctors” of the church, conferring one of the Catholic Church’s highest honors on the 16th-century Spanish preacher, St. John of Avila, and the 12th-century German mystic, St. Hildegard of Bingen. They join the ranks of only 33 other church doctors who have been singled out over the course of Christianity for their contributions to and influence on Catholic doctrine. Fr. Rob Jack wrote his thesis on St. John of Avila and is here to discuss this new Doctor of the Church.

5:00 – Kresta Comments

5:20 – Controversial Long-Time Senator Arlen Specter Dies at Age 82
Former U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, who has been called “one of the few truly wild cards” in politics died Sunday after a long battle with cancer. Specter died of complications from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma at his home in Philadelphia. He was 82. The veteran Pennsylvania politician had overcome numerous serious illnesses over the past two decades, including a brain tumor. He had been in the public eye since serving as a member of the Warren Commission, which investigated the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. We look at his life and fascinating political career with a man who knew his career quite well – Paul Kengor.

5:40 – On The Scene at the Synod on the New Evangelization
Opening the Thirteenth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, last week Pope Benedict emphasized that “the Church exists to evangelize” Discussing the synod’s theme – “The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith” – Pope Benedict preached that “At various times in history, divine providence has given birth to a renewed dynamism in the Church’s evangelizing activity.” Stating that “there is a clear link between the crisis in faith and the crisis in marriage,” the Pope added that “matrimony is a Gospel in itself, a Good News for the world of today, especially the dechristianized world.” We talk to journalist Kris McGregor who is in Rome covering the events.