Today on "Kresta in the Afternoon" - April 16, 2012

Talking about the "things that matter most" on April 16, 2012

4:00 – Kresta Comments – Andrew Sullivan’s Jesus
The most recent Newsweek magazine cover story (published during Holy Week) is entitled “Forget the Church: Follow Jesus,” by pseudo-Catholic pseudo-conservative homosexual commentator Andrew Sullivan. His basic argument is that because of scandal, politics, and other social factors Christianity is on the brink of extinction and we need to embrace HIS version of Jesus to save the faith. Not unlike Deepak Chopra and Eckhart Tolle who each have recently presented their own new definitions of Jesus. Al analyzes this trend.

4:20 – Traditional (Orthodox) Catholicism Is Winning
In his Holy Thursday homily at St. Peter's Basilica on April 5, Pope Benedict XVI denounced calls from some Catholics for optional celibacy among priests and for women's ordination. The pope said that "true renewal" comes only through the "joy of faith" and "radicalism of obedience." And renewal is coming. After the 2002 scandal about sexual abuse by clergy, progressive Catholics were predicting the end of the celibate male priesthood in books like "Full Pews and Empty Altars" and "The Death of Priesthood." Yet today the number of priestly ordinations is steadily increasing. We look at the trends and data which indicates that fidelity is a recipe for growth. Anne Hendershott has done the research and she joins us today.

4:40 – TBA


5:00 – The General Election Begins
That sigh of relief you heard coming from the direction of Boston was Mitt Romney's campaign operation, now that it no longer needs to expend any more resources trying to drive Rick Santorum from the contest for the Republican presidential nomination. Aside from the money and brainpower that the Romney campaign can now target at President Obama as it rotates fully to general-election-campaign mode, the GOP front-runner has, even more important, finally freed himself from his last significant anyone-but-Romney challenger. Paul Kengor is here to analyze Santorum’s departure and the general election.

5:20 – Kresta Comments – USCCB Statement on Religious Liberty
“We are Catholics. We are Americans. We are proud to be both, grateful for the gift of faith which is ours as Christian disciples, and grateful for the gift of liberty which is ours as American citizens. To be Catholic and American should mean not having to choose one over the other. Our allegiances are distinct, but they need not be contradictory, and should instead be complementary. That is the teaching of our Catholic faith, which obliges us to work together with fellow citizens for the common good of all who live in this land. That is the vision of our founding and our Constitution, which guarantees citizens of all religious faiths the right to contribute to our common life together.” Thus begins the USCCB statement “Our First, Most Cherished Liberty.” Al comments on this tremendous document.

5:40 – Pope Benedict XVI Celebrates His 85th Birthday Today
Brotherly love is not uncommon, but the over-80-year-old bond between Monsignor Georg Ratzinger and his brother Joseph – Pope Benedict XVI – is of one of the rarest and most fascinating fraternal relationships ever written about. In “My Brother the Pope,” Msgr. Ratzinger provides German writer Michael Hesemann with the only living witness to the early days and formation of brothers who were ordained as Catholic priests together on the same day in 1951 – after surviving Nazi Germany and World War II. Michael joins us today on the 85th birthday of our Holy Father.