Catholic Answers Focus

Joe Heschmeyer, author of The Eucharist is Really Jesus, explores the misunderstood topic of indulgences. He explains the historical context and biblical perspectives on indulgences, addressing misconceptions and highlighting the fine line between legitimate spiritual generosity and the improper commodification of spiritual goods that tarnished the reputation of indulgences in the past. Cy Kellett: Hello and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding and defending your Catholic faith. I am Cy Kellett, your host, and anyone who has ever found themselves in the pos…

Michael Lofton, author of Answering Orthodoxy, joins us for a conversation about the first millennium of Christianity. Is it true that the pope was once considered just the first among equals, or was there always something more about the role of the Bishop of Rome? …

In his new book, Building a Civilization of Love: A Catholic Response to Racism, Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers is boldly honest about the Catholic Church and racism in the United States. But he is also hopeful because he believes there is an answer to the evils of racial division in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He joins us for a conversation about racism and Catholicism.   …

Joe Heschmeyer delves into the Catholic doctrine of original sin, responding to a Reddit user’s query about its compatibility with the innate goodness of humanity. He discusses the impact of original sin on relationships with God, fellow humans, creation, and oneself, shedding light on the theological nuances and the need for redemption.   …

Karlo Broussard joins us to talk about his new book, The New Relativism: Unmasking the Philosophy of Today’s Woke Moralists. We discuss issues related to moral shaming and accusations of being judgmental, hateful, and bigoted, particularly concerning lifestyle choices associated with the LGBTQ+ community. Karlo explores the underlying moral relativism behind such accusations and offers critiques of this approach, emphasizing the importance of open and reasoned discussion on moral issues. Cy Kellett: Hello and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers Podcast for living, understanding and d…

Whatever the world might say, Christian moral teaching is about more than sex. Andrew Petiprin joins us for a conversation about the Christian perspective on money, particularly in a consumerist culture. How is a Christian to live when “happiness” is on sale everywhere?   …

Joshua Charles, from the “Becoming Catholic” blog, describes his discovery that when the Church Fathers talked about heresy, the things they described sounded remarkably similar to his own Protestant beliefs. Cy Kellett: Hello, and welcome to Focus Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding and defending your Catholic faith. I am Cy Kellett, your host. Very happy to welcome Joshua Charles this time. I think maybe, possibly, the first White House speechwriter we’ve ever had on here, although I couldn’t guarantee it. I’m not sure. But you can find his work …

Cy Kellett welcomes Keith Nester, a former Protestant pastor who converted to Catholicism. They discuss the challenges faced by converts and how to help them navigate their first year in the Catholic Church. Keith also shares insights into the beauty of the Mass and the importance of understanding the “why” behind Catholic practices. Cy Kellett: Hello and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers Podcast for living, understanding and defending your Catholic faith. I’m Cy Kellett, your host, and we make it our business here at Catholic Answers to try to explain and defend the fa…

Scholar Jared Staudt joins us for a conversation about the social value of Christianity. Does it do any good for anyone? Does it have a good record as a movement? Cy Kellett: Hello and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers Podcast for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic faith. We’re going to talk a little bit about whether Christianity has been good for the world or bad for the world, but try to guess which side we’re going to come down on. Maybe share some ideas with you about how Christianity has actually been quite good for the world. You might even be surprised…

Church councils have shaped and formed the Faith for every living Christian, whether Catholic, Orthodox, or Protestant. So what is the basis for the councils, and what do we make of their teaching. We get answers from Paul Senz, author of “Church Councils: 100 Questions and Answers.” Cy Kellett: Hello and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers Podcast for living, understanding and defending your Catholic faith. I’m Cy Kellett, your host, and this time we welcome Paul Senz, the author of Church Councils: 100 Questions and Answers, a new book from Catholic Answers Press. And i…

With the 50-year anniversary of the original film, The Exorcist, and the release of a sequel coming out, we figured this would be a great time to sit down and talk to, contributing apologist, Tom Nash to discuss the film that caused such a stir.     …

Protestantism has some explaining to do about its own traditions. Did the new theologies of the reformers actually make sense? Do they make sense today? John Martignoni joins us.   …

If Catholics are right about John 6, every Christian is under divine command to celebrate the Eucharist. So is the Catholic Church right? Karlo Broussard joins us to explain why Catholics aren’t wrong. Cy Kellett: Hello, and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic beliefs. A lot going on as far as the Eucharist goes. We have all this kind of bad news that we’ve had in recent years about Catholics not accepting the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, or maybe not even knowing the teaching, which is, in some ways, eq…

What is the Gospel of Thomas? Is there just one such gospel? What can it teach us about Jesus? Tim Staples joins us.   Cy Kellett: Hello and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers Podcast for living understanding and Defending Your Catholic Faith. One of the most popular conversations we’ve ever had here if the internet is to be believed, and I think in this case it is. One of the most popular conversations we’ve ever had here at Catholic Answers was a conversation with Tim Staples about the Book of Enoch. So we thought, well, let’s go back to Tim and ask him about othe…

Everywhere you will find misconceptions about the Church’s role in slavery. Even most Catholics do not know the truth about what the Church did, and did not do, regarding slavery. Best-selling author Paul Kengor joins us to share some of the surprising true story. Cy Kellett: Hello, and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers Podcast for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic faith. I’m Cy Kellett, your host, and one of the things, among the many, that modern people accuse the church of is the accommodation to slavery or maybe even an encouragement of slavery. And so, i…

Are you “sex positive”? If not, get ready to be called a closed-minded bigot. Theologian Angela Franks, from St. John’s Seminary in Boston, gives us a Catholic critique of the “sex positivity” movement. Cy Kellett: Hello, and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers Podcast for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic faith. I’m Cy Kellett, your host, and today, a very special opportunity to get to talk with Dr. Angela Franks, who is a professor of theology at St. John’s Seminary in Boston, and a well-known speaker and author, as a matter of f…

The idea that Scripture is the sole rule of faith is central to the thinking of man Protestants, who see Tradition as a watering down of scriptural purity. But Catholics have good reason to reject this view. Author Casey J. Chalk explains. Cy Kellett: Hello and welcome to Focus, the Catholic Answers podcast for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic faith. I am Cy Kellett, your host. And one of the things you have to be able to defend as a Catholic is the Catholic understanding of the Bible, of what the Bible is and how the Bible is to be used. And even in some cases, how passages…

Christians often think that Christianity is purer–more Christlike–when it is less doctrinal. Tim Staples explains the dangers of this grave error.   …

What does it mean that Jesus “rose from the dead?” Did his body literally come back to life? What kind of life? Joe Heschmeyer discusses common errors about the Resurrection, and the beautiful truths we often miss. Cy Kellett: Hello and welcome to Focus the Catholic Answers Podcast for living, understanding, and defending your Catholic faith. I’m Cy Kellett, your host, joined in studio this time by Joe Heschmeyer. We usually connect with him via the internet. Joe, welcome. Joe Heschmeyer: Hi. It’s good to be here in person. Cy Kellett: I’m awfully glad to have yo…

With “Oppenheimer” filling up the cinemas, and today being the anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, we take a look back at an earlier episode we produced about the morality of dropping the atom bomb. Can a Catholic assent to blowing up entire cities? What about when to do so will save perhaps millions of lives? Catholic Answers President Chris Check joins us as we consider again America’s use of Atomic weapons to end a long, bitter war with Japan. Cy Kellett: Why would a Catholic support nuking Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Chris Check is next. Cy Kellett: Hello, and welcome t…