Today on "Kresta in the Afternoon" - February 12, 2013

Talking about the "things that matter most" on Feb. 12

4:00 – The Next Pope Needs To Be An “Evangelical Catholic”
“The Catholic Church is on the threshold of a bold new era in its two-thousand year history. As the curtain comes down on the Church defined by the 16th-century Counter-Reformation, the curtain is rising on the Evangelical Catholicism of the third millennium: a way of being Catholic that comes from over a century of Catholic reform; a mission-centered renewal honed by the Second Vatican Council and given compelling expression by Blessed John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI.” That is the description of George Weigel’s new book “Evangelical Catholicism: Deep Reform in the 21st-Century Church.” Is this a blueprint for this transition between Benedict XVI and our next Pope? George joins us.

4:20 – Direct to My Desk: The Vatican In Transition

5:00 – Canon Law And The Resignation of Pope Benedict XVI
The resignation of Benedict XVI portends no problems for Church governance. We know exactly when the vacancy in the Apostolic See will occur (2 pm, Eastern time, Thursday, Feb. 28) and we know what laws will govern the Church during said vacancy (ap. con. Universi Dominici Gregis). Up until then the pope is fully the pope, and after that, he isn’t; most heads of Roman dicasteries will immediately cease functioning in their offices, and canonical clocks will start ticking, culminating in the next papal conclave in mid-March. This is the canon law interpretation from Dr. Ed Peters and he talks about what we are facing.

5:20 – The Papacy of Pope Benedict XVI
Fr. Sean Sheridan is both a civil and canon lawyer and professor at Franciscan University. He joins us to discuss Pope Benedict XVI’s push for the New Evangelization, the conclave and how that will unfold, Benedict’s image change from Rottweiler to a pastoral pope, his most important writings and more.

5:40 – The Next Pope Needs To Be An “Evangelical Catholic”
“The Catholic Church is on the threshold of a bold new era in its two-thousand year history. As the curtain comes down on the Church defined by the 16th-century Counter-Reformation, the curtain is rising on the Evangelical Catholicism of the third millennium: a way of being Catholic that comes from over a century of Catholic reform; a mission-centered renewal honed by the Second Vatican Council and given compelling expression by Blessed John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI.” That is the description of George Weigel’s new book “Evangelical Catholicism: Deep Reform in the 21st-Century Church.” Is this a blueprint for this transition between Benedict XVI and our next Pope? George joins us.