Candid Catholic Convos

I f the phrase "pick up your cross" has ever stirred frustration in you, especially at a time when it feels like too much to carry, today's episode is for you. We're chatting with retired priest Father John McFadden, who ministers to prisoners at the Camp Hill State Correctional Facility about what we can do when we feel trapped by the heaviness of our personal crosses.

  Year over year, the Hispanic population in Central Pennsylvania grows, creating vibrant communities in York and Adams counties. And if you watch the news, they’ll tell you this is a bad thing, that the things that make us different are things to be feared. The reality is we’re more alike than you think. Today we're chatting with Father Michael Rothan, the Spanish Apostolate of Hanover, to talk about what makes his ministry unique and share with us all the ways the Catholic faith can be made beautiful in different cultures.

  Spring is here, and that means so is Lent! Father Paul Clark joins us to chat about some best practices to make these next forty days more fruitful and draw us closer to Christ.

  Sports are, in so many ways, like a religion. Like religion, sports can convey important lessons about culture and values. But as much as you could compare sports to organized religion, practicing your actual faith on the field, at least on a national level, was strongly discouraged, until a few weeks ago. So it begs the question – are faith and athletics intrinsincly linked? To unpack this, Eric Kindler, the athletic director for Trinity High School, and Jordan Hill, Trinity’s head football coach and former NFL player in his own right, join me to talk about their journeys of faith and how in informs their leadership with the next generation of players.  

  If you’re like me and your kids are in Catholic School, or maybe your kids are older but they attended Catholic school in the past, or you yourself went to Catholic School, then you know this week is a big one – it’s Catholic Schools Week. Today we're joined by Daniel Breen, superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Diocese of Harrisburg, to explain to us why Catholic education is fundamental in building a strong foundation for our children and the amazing things happening with the future of Catholic Schools in our Diocese.

  Today we’re continuing our conversation with Father Jonathan Sawicki picking up right where we left off last week. We’re finally going to answer the question why can’t women be priests, as well as dive into the infallibility of the Bible, apocryphal texts, and the difference between being good versus being saved.

  For those who’ve never experienced it, who’ve maybe only heard that the Catholic church is strict or full of rules or elitist, why would someone WANT to become Catholic? And going a step further, why is it that the Catholic church is seen as having this overarching authority, a predominant presence, if it’s not respected as an institution? Today Father Jonathan Sawicki joins us to unpack these notions, diving deep into the history and tradition of the Catholic Church.