Today on Kresta - June 3, 2009

Talking about the "things that matter most" on June 3

3:00 – Kresta Comments

3:40 – The Foundations of Religious Life: Revisiting the Vision
In keeping with the vision set forth in Vatican II, the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious has maintained a more traditional form of religious life. While most religious orders are now facing marked decline in novitiates and the aging of their members, the communities of the CMSWR are experiencing growth on a worldwide scale. In this visionary manifesto, and on the heels of the Vatican’s Apostolic Visitation of Women’s Religious Orders, Sr. Mary Nika Schaumber is here to articulate a vision for the future of women religious, suggesting that their commitment to a more radical gospel-based life and ministry is what attracts young women to religious life.

4:00 – Pro-Life Movement to Blame for Tiller Killing?
A man has been shot to death -- an act of violence that everyone should abhor. No pro-lifer may kill as a protest against abortion. But in the flood of blame against pro-lifers on the slaying of Dr. Tiller comes one that stands out for its crass stupidity and bumptious irresponsibility. Catholic Democrats, one of the many groups providing Catholic cover for President Barack Obama, is headed by Dr. Patrick Whalen. Catholic Democrats issued a statement about Tiller's death referencing Deal Hudson, Fr. Frank Pavone, and George Weigel; Whelan then makes the following comment: "It is not enough to denounce violence. Any Catholic public figure who insults someone else with the 'pro-abortion' label is actually hurting the anti-abortion cause by obstructing common ground solutions, sowing division within our Church, and contributing to the penchant toward violence that was on display again today. Whalen is here to defend those comments.

4:20 – Arkansas' Lone Jihadist: How Alone Is He?
In an armed attack outside the Army-Navy Career Center which handles recruiting, in Little Rock, AR, Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, 23, killed one soldier wounded another. Muhammad, an American citizen who is a convert to Islam and previously known as Carlos Bledsoe, already had been under investigation by the FBI at the time of the shootings. He had traveled to Yemen, received indoctrination from radical clerics, according to a watch group, and possessed a false Somali passport. He was charged in the death of Pvt. William Long, 23, while a prosecutor said Muhammad admitted shooting Long and another soldier "because of what they had done to Muslims in the past." Here we have a new case of an individual U.S. citizen who committed an act of terror in the name of his ideology (Government officials have called it inaccurately a "political and religious motive") against U.S. military targets. Do we see a pattern here? Are we witnessing a repeat and copycats? Dr. Walid Phares is with us.

4:40 – Kresta Comments - Ten Terms NOT Useful to Engaging Muslims Worldwide
As President Obama considers his speeches in the Muslim majority Middle East this week, and as the U.S. national security establishment reviews its foreign policy and public diplomacy, we look at words and concepts that are not useful in building relationships with the Muslim world. Obviously, we are not going to throw out all of these terms, nor should we. But we do need to be very careful about how we use them, and in what context.

5:00 – Direct to my Desk - Building a Summer Reading List
As you prepare for vacations, and the dog days of summer, many are looking for that perfect book to take to the beach, the cabin, or the sofa. We ask for your recommendations and Al has some of his own.