Today on "Kresta in the Afternoon" - May 17, 2013

Talking about the "things that matter most" on May 17

4:00 – Prominent Catholic professor claims IRS audited her after speaking against Obama
Startling allegations are emerging in the midst of the Internal Revenue Service scandal. Dr. Anne Hendershott, a devout Catholic and a noted sociologist, professor and author, says that she believes she may have been one of the IRS's targets. Hendershott claims that the IRS audited her in 2010 and demanded to know who was paying her and "what their politics were." She joins us.

4:20 – Another Gosnell? New Horror in Texas
Just days after a Philadelphia jury found abortionist Kermit Gosnell guilty of the murder of three newborn children and the negligent death of a patient, evidence of similar atrocities has surfaced in Houston, Texas. Three former employees of abortionist Douglas Karpen have come forward to give their testimony. The Susan B Anthony List has catalogued numerous instances, across multiple states, of abortion industry negligence and brutality. The latest news from Texas is, arguably, the most disturbing evidence to be unearthed. Today SBA List President Marjorie Dannenfelser has asked the media to cover the story, acknowledging that the testimony is overwhelmingly hard to bear. She joins us. 

4:40 – Kresta Comments 

5:00 – Pray for Me: The Life and Spiritual Vision of Pope Francis, First Pope from the Americas
From the founder and editor of Inside the Vatican magazine, the world's most well-informed, comprehensive monthly on the Roman Catholic Church, comes this enlightening introduction to the life and spiritual teachings of Jorge Mario Bergoglio, now Pope Francis, the first Pope of the Americas. On March, 13, 2013, 115 Cardinals elected for the first time a Pope from outside of Europe. Pope Francis, a native of Argentina, is not just the first Pope from the Southern Hemisphere, he is also the first Jesuit to ever hold the Chair of Peter. This means a bridging of the Northern and Southern hemispheres and religious traditions in a way we've never seen before, signifying a new global vision for the 1.2 billion people who call themselves Catholic. Robert Moynihan joins us.

5:40 – Pope Francis and the Least Among Us
On May 8, Pope Francis said “Poverty, which teaches solidarity, sharing, and charity and which is also expressed in a soberness and joy of the essential, to put us on guard against the material idols that obscure the true meaning of life. Poverty, which is learned with the humble, the poor, the sick, and all those who are at the existential margins of life. Theoretical poverty doesn't do anything. Poverty is learned by touching the flesh of the poor Christ in the humble, the poor, the sick, and in children.” We discuss Pope Francis’ focus on the least among us and how we can respond with Jim Cavnar of Cross Catholic International Outreach.