2021 is almost a wrap! Join us as we sit down and review the biggest Church and State stories from the year that was. We cast a glance back at the inauguration of America’s second Catholic president, the ensuing debates around “Eucharistic coherence”, Year 2 of the COVID pandemic, the mother of all Synods - and more!
Our guest is Dr. Robert Royal, Founder and President of the Faith & Reason Institute in Washington, D.C. and Editor-in-Chief of The Catholic Thing. He is a regular guest on EWTN’s flagship news program, “The World Over”, and has written, edited, or translated 15 books.
00:00 - Introduction
02:30 - The hand of Providence in a pandemic that drags on (and on...)
04:20 - Highs and lows of the response to COVID
05:25 - Seeking clarity and consistency in the Church's take on vaccines
07:30 - Moral imperatives vs. prudential judgments
11:00 - No pause button on the Church's mission in pandemic times
14:55 - The "anti-Catholic" Catholic in the Oval Office
19:05 - The Pope and the President
22:50 - JFK and JRB - two sides of "the church doesn't speak for me"
26:30 - Recent USCCB reflections on "The Mystery of the Eucharist"
30:10 - The struggle to sanctify the public square
35:00 - Receiving the Gift of the Eucharist
38:35 - Goals and (tempered) expectations for the Synod on Synodality
42:30 - Whither Tradition in synodality?
47:30 - The Traditional Latin Mass - flourishing and suppression
53:10 - Hopes for the new year
54:25 - Conclusion
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Documents/Websites referenced
Dr. Robert Royal (biography)
@RobertSRoyal
Archive of Dr. Royal’s columns at The Catholic Thing
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, “Note on the morality of using some anti-COVID-19 vaccines” (December 21, 2020)
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, “The Mystery of the Eucharist in the Life of the Church” (November 2021)
General Secretariat for the Synod of Bishops, Synod 2021-2023
Pope Francis, Apostolic Letter Traditionis Custodes(July 16, 2021)
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Please note that this podcast has been edited for length and clarity.