Dr. Paul Thigpen’s latest book on Saints Who Saw Hell

We spoke to Dr. Paul Thigpen, whose latest book is about saints who saw visions of hell.  Since the Early Church, Catholic saints and other visionaries have reported horrific scenes of eternal punishment. Dozens of saints throughout history have described the terrors of hell and relayed horror of being separated from God for eternity, so that we may see for ourselves and repent. A convert to Catholicism, Paul has served the Church as an author, an award-winning journalist, historian, apologist, catechist, and member of the National Advisory Council of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

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Show Notes 
Saints Who Saw Hell: And Other Catholic Witnesses to the Fate of the Damned

Wilmington's Pro-Life Vigil

For our second October show and in honor of the Catholic Church’s Respect Life Month, we speak to several men and women who stand and pray every week at the pro-life vigil held at the corner of 17th Street and Hospital Plaza Drive which is less than a block from Wilmington’s only abortion clinic, a Planned Parenthood facility called Wilmington Health Center of Wilmington, NC.  According to its website, the clinic offers surgical abortions up to 13 weeks/6 days and medical abortions up to 10 weeks. In this show, we speak to several of those who pray there weekly for both an end to abortion and for those women who are abortion minded. They share their witness to the sanctity of all human life and how supportive so many people are of their efforts to save the lives of the innocent unborn.

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Catholic Author Sally Read

Our guest is Sally Read, Catholic author and poet, who, in 2010, converted from atheism to Catholicism as told in her book, "Night's Bright Darkness," the subject of our March 2017 show. In her newest book, “Annunciation: a Call to Faith in a Broken World,” Sally writes a letter to her daughter about the urgency of faith based around a meditation on the Annunciation. Sally currently lives with her husband and daughter near Rome, Italy.

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Show Notes

Catholic evangelst Jesse Romero

Our guest is Jesse Romero, a long-time Catholic evangelist and a retired veteran of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. He has his undergraduate degree from Mount St. Mary’s College in LA and a graduate degree in Catholic Theology from Franciscan University of Steubenville. He speaks frequently around the country and is the popular host of two radio shows. Jesse will talk about his newest book, The Devil in the City of Angels: My Encounters with the Diabolical.

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Show Notes

End of Life Issues with Fr. Jeffrey Kirby, STD

My guest is Father Jeffrey Kirby STD, a pastor of Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church in Indian Land, SC, who has written many books including his newest book, We are the Lord's: A Catholic Guide to Difficult End-of-Life Questions. This book is a succinct, quick-reference guide that addresses the difficult questions when someone is ill and/or dying and serves as a guide to the Church's teaching in this area framed by divine wisdom and biblical principles. In this show, we talk to Father Kirby about the dignity of each person as God's child, redemptive suffering, discerning the dying process, nutrition/hydration, and proxy and advanced directives.

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Show Notes

We are the Lord's: A Catholic Guide to Difficult End-of-Life Questions
Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church
Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church on Facebook

Dr. Monica Miller

My guest is Dr. Monica Migliorino Miller, a nationally-known pro-life leader and founder and director of Citizens for a Pro-Life Society; she has been very active in the pro-life movement since 1976. She is a professor of Theology at Madonna University in Livonia, MI and the author of several published books and articles including, "Sexuality and Authority in the Catholic Church" and "Abandoned--The Untold Story of the Abortion Wars." In this show, we will talk about her book, Abandoned, and her current pro-life work.

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Show Notes

Citizens for a Pro-Life Society
Sexuality and Authority in the Catholic Church
Abandoned--The Untold Story of the Abortion Wars
Red Rose Rescue
Images of Abortion

Charles Fraune

My guest is an old friend to many in Wilmington, Charles Fraune. After discerning that God was not calling him to the priesthood, Charles met and married Theresa, started an ever-growing family, and began a career as a Catholic high school theology teacher and as a Catholic author. We will chat about his current book, Swords and Shadows. Show Notes The Retreat Box The Retreat Box on Facebook Swords and Shadows

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Trafficking Victim's Mother Speaks

Our guest is Susan Young, Senior Technical Adviser for a VA organization fighting human trafficking called Just Ask Prevention. Susan is the mother of four children, and her daughter was the victim of human trafficking, but all four were victimized by members of MS-13, an organized crime gang that runs trafficking rings around the country. Susan will share the horror that her family lived through, she will talk about how any family can be targeted by traffickers, and she will speak about how her faith in God and His divine purpose for her and her family is the key to surviving their victimization.  Show Notes justaskprevention.org

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15 Years of Wilmington Catholic Radio

We celebrate the 15th anniversary of Wilmington Catholic Radio which went on the air in July 2004. We chat with Board members Bill Hamilton, Jim Edens, and Greg Decker. Bill will recount his idea for founding the radio station after he heard the Apparitions of Our Lady tape by Bud McFarland, Sr.  Bill felt called to learn more about his faith, and the idea for a Catholic radio station in Wilmington was born. Bill invited Jim Edens to join the Board and enlisted Greg Decker's help whose expertise in computers was the perfect fit when the Board had a vacancy. Over the years, these men have worked tirelessly to expand the coverage of Catholic radio including Southport.

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An Education in Music

My guest is Ekin Ustunel, an accomplished pianist, accompanist, and co-worker of my son, Daniel Paparozzi, who left her native home of Turkey to purse her dream of studying piano in the United States. Though she was an accomplished pianist and studied piano at a conservatory for 12 years, Ekin had never heard or played an organ. While a graduate student at UNC Greensboro, she fell in love with the church organ and Christian liturgical music. She is currently the pianist/organist at a church in Mt. Hope UCC in Whitsett, and she is getting a second Master's degree studying Injury Preventive Keyboard Techniques. During the show, we will hear snippets of her piano and organ performances including pieces from Rachmaninoff, Schubert, and others. Show Notes Her Website Snippets:   Rachmaninoff   Chopin   Schubert

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Author Rose Sweet

Our guest is Rose Sweet, a popular speaker and author of numerous books on relationship healing and strengthening. In her work, she draws on the timeless beauty of the Catholic faith to inspire singles, married, divorced, remarried, stepparents, and anyone looking for authentic love and lasting happiness. Rose's new book is entitled, "A Catholic Woman's Guide to Happiness." In this charming book of heartwarming stories, Rose guides the reader into an adventure into the interior life to discover happiness that never fades. Show Notes A Catholic Woman's Guide to Happiness Rose Sweet's website

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International Food Festival

Celebrating the Fifth Year!

Our guests are St. Mark parishioners Laura Sterner, chair of the 2019 International Food Festival at St. Mark, and Kellie Vaughn, the marketing coordinator for the festival. The festival will take place on Saturday, April 27th, from 10 a.m to 4 p.m. on the campus of St. Mark Catholic Church, 1013 Eastwood Road, Wilmington. In this show, we will learn about the history of the festival, what foods will be served this year, what games the kids will be offered, the music, and the many volunteers and sponsors that support the festival every year.

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Show Notes

St. Mark Catholic Church
International Food Festival

Ignited By Truth

For our first show in March, our guests are those who will be speaking at this year’s Ignited by Truth Conference which will be held in Raleigh at the NC State University’s Reynold’s Coliseum on Saturday, April 6th, with Mass celebrated by Bishop Luis Rafael Zarama beginning at 8 a.m. This year’s speakers are Father Larry Richards, Father Dwight Longenecker, Women of Grace’s Sue Brinkman, Religious Peritus Adam Blai, Dr. Peter Kreeft of Boston College, and Dr. Tim Gray, President of the Augustine Institute.

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Show Notes

Ignited By Truth 

Dr Tim Gray
President of the Augustine Institute

Dr Peter Kreeft
Professor of philosophy at Boston College

Susan Brinkmann
Director of New Age Research at Women of Grace

Fr. Larry Richards
Founder of “The Reason for Our Hope Foundation”

Adam Blai
Peritus of Religious Demonology

Fr. Dwight Longenecker
Former Anglican Priest, noted author, and blogger

Infertility to Parenthood

My guest is Cynthia Wallace, formerly from Wilmington, who is a nurse and mother of two. For 12 years, Cynthia and her husband, John, found themselves infertile; their journey took them to the Pope Paul VI Institute for its Catholic based medical intervention, and four months later, their first child was conceived. We learn about their journey and about the Pope Paul VI Institute.

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Salud Hondu
and its annual fundraiser, One Cup of Tea

For our second show in February, Carolina Catholic will get an update about the work of Salud Hondu, the Wilmington based non-profit organization that provides the health care needs of an impoverished area of central Honduras. Its sixth annual fundraiser, One Cup of Tea, will take place on Saturday, March 30th, at 2 pm; this year’s theme is The Secret Garden, the novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Our show’s guests are Penny Cromer, fundraiser chair, John Cromer, MD, president of Salud Hondu, and Laura Vinson, the Executive President of Salud Hondu.

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Show Notes

Salud Hondu

March for Life

Carolina Catholic hears from Catholics and others speaking and/or attending the 45th annual March for Life in DC including our president and vice president, members of the U.S. Senate and House, and a doctor who did abortions as an OB/GYN and has changed her mind about abortion. This was one of the largest in the history of the March for Life with an estimated 650,000 people in attendance, and most of those at the March were our youth.

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St. André Bessette, the Miracle Man of Montreal

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Catholic World News' Phil Lawler

We spoke with Philip Lawler, editor and founder of Catholic World News, whose latest book from Tan Publishers is entitled, The Smoke of Satan: How Corrupt and Cowardly Bishops Betrayed Christ, His Church, and the Faithful . . . and What Can Be Done about It. In his book, Philip talks about what has happened in the Catholic Church in 2018 and how we, as faithful Catholics, can support our holy priests and our beloved Church during this time of crisis.   Show Notes The Smoke of Satan NC bishops’ statement on the crisis: Former Bishop of Raleigh, now Bishop of Arlington, Michael F. Burbidge: "I know Archbishop Viganò.... We need to review Archbishop Viganò’s letter carefully, comprehensively, thoroughly. Evidence needs to be given. But the bottom line is we need to know the truth. What is the truth? It demands a comprehensive review. All the faithful need to hear the answer to those questions. Who knew what and when?" Bishop of Raleigh Luis Rafael Zarama, JCL: I support the goals recently outlined by the USCCB to investigate, report and resolve recent accounts that have come to light and to do so under criteria that include independence and high­ level involvement of the laity. Bishop of Charlotte Peter Joseph Jugis: “Over the past few weeks, we have been presented with a lot of shameful revelations about the conduct of leaders and others in the Catholic Church,” Bishop Jugis said. “I have been hearing from many people who feel betrayed and wonder what is going to happen next to our beloved Church.” Bishop Jugis said he “fully” supports the statement by Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Read the statement. In that Aug. 16 statement, Cardinal DiNardo called for an investigation into the allegations against Archbishop McCarrick, “an opening of new and confidential channels for reporting complaints against bishops,” and “better procedures” to resolve complains made against bishops.

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Dr. Allen Hunt of Dynamic Catholic

Our guest is Dr. Allen Hunt, Catholic author and speaker, who is coming to Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Southport on Saturday, February 16, 2019. Dr. Hunt will give a talk entitled, Find Your Greatness, a talk which will help us to reach our full potential as Catholics, help us create a personal life plan, and help us develop a vibrant spiritual life! Show Notes Dynamic Catholic Find Your Greatness

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Christmastime with Dr. Bill Bennett

Our first guest is Dr. Bill Bennett, former Secretary of Education and author of the bestseller, The Book of Virtues, who will chat with us about his newest book, The True St. Nicholas: Why He Matters to Christmas. In this show, we learn about the historical saint, miracles attributed to him, and the legacy of this saint that is so much a part of our current Christmas traditions. In the second part of this show, we celebrate the 200th anniversary of one of the most beloved Christmas carols of all time, Silent Night, which was first sung on December 24, 1818, and we learn about the worldwide anniversary celebrations of this beloved carol.   Show Notes

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Molly Lewis

We talked with Molly Lewis, daughter of Tom and Tara Lewis, who is working in New York City as a filmmaker with both the Frassati Fellowship and the Community of the Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal. In her work, on October 6, 2018, Molly filmed the tenth anniversary of Witness for Life, a silent, prayerful pro-life witness led by members of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, Sisters of Life, and members of the Frassati Fellowship, in front of Planned Parenthood's Margaret Sanger Center in New York City. In this show, we learn about the Sisters and their work with the poor and the Frassati Fellowship, which is a Catholic community of young adults helping one another grow in faith. We also learn about how Molly and fellow filmmaker, Jake Hart, came to make this powerful video.

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Coming Home

We talked with St. Mark parishioner, Amanda Gandolf, who came home to the Catholic Church over 15 years ago, and since then, she has dedicated her life to helping others in many ways including her work in the pro-life movement, in her prison ministry as a dog trainer, and as a member of the Divine Mercy Prayer Team and the Board of the Sacred Heart Radio Association.

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A Slice of Smith Life

We talked with Tracy Bua Smith, a parishioner of St. Mark and a native of Wilmington, who is a homeschooling mom, a Catholic blogger, and a devout Catholic. Tracy talks about her years homeschooling her children in their Sacred Heart Homeschool, her eight years on her blog, A Slice of Smith Life, her marriage and five children (called her Cupcakes), and being a faithful Catholic woman and pro-life witness to the sanctity of all human life. Show Notes A Slice of Smith Life

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Kathi Ambrose

We chat with Kathi Ambrose, a parishioner of Immaculate Conception, who is a long time pro-lifer originally from New York where she began her work in the pro-life movement when the New York decided to pass laws to allow abortions to be performed in NY. Overnight, Kathi went from being a housewife to a leader in the fight against abortion. After abortion was legalized, first in NY and then in the USA, Kathi worked tirelessly and courageously to protect the rights of the unborn and help women facing crisis pregnancies.

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Miracles of New Mexico

Mario and Judi Paparozzi visit two sites of miraculous occurrences in New Mexico, the Loretto Chapel where it is alleged that St. Joseph built a miraculous staircase for the Sisters of Loretto, and the Sanctuario de Chimayo, called the Lourdes of America, where many miraculous healings have happened over the past century. In addition, we also learn about a church in NM, Our Lady of Guadalupe in Hobbs, where a large statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe has been shedding tears which have the fragrance of roses; this is currently under investigation by the Diocese of Las Cruces.

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Marjorie Dannenfelser and the Susan B. Anthony List

Carolina Catholic chats with Marjorie Dannenfelser, the president of the Susan B. Anthony List, whose mission is to end abortion by electing national leaders and advocating for laws that save lives, with a special calling to promote pro-life women leaders. Marjorie, a native of Greenville, NC, is a convert both to Catholicism and the pro-life movement, and she founded the Susan B. Anthony List in 1992 in order to ensure that pro-life Americans know where their lawmakers stand on protecting the rights of our unborn brothers and sisters.  

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Show Notes

Catholic Author and Architect W. Michael Campbell

For our second show in July, Carolina Catholic interviews W. Michael Campbell, AIA, author of the book, Modern Times: A Blueprint for Healing Our Culture of Denial, Dependence, Debt, and Decadence. Michael is a NJ architect whose firm specializes in designing and restoring religious buildings. In his book, Michael provides the reader with simple solutions for returning to the timeless truths that make our nation a place of peace and prosperity for many. In addition, Michael shares his own spiritual journey and those principles that can restore an individual, as well as a nation, to spiritual well-being. He volunteers in a diocesan pro-life ministry, Mary’s Child Pro-Life Ministry, where he serves as the incoming president.  

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Show Notes

Modern Times: A Blueprint for Healing Our Culture of Denial, Dependence, Debt, and Decadence

Civic Participation and Careering

Carolina Catholic did two interviews about two books for Catholics, Reclaiming the Republic, by former VA State Assemblyman and Congressional Aide Bob Marshall, and Careering, A Practical and Spiritual Guide: How to Find and Maintain Work in Today’s Economy by Paul Dean and Dana Gower, parishioners at St. Andrew the Apostle in Apex and Knights of Columbus Local 6650. In the first interview, Bob Marshall shares his work in the Virginia House of Delegates and working for Congress where he helped craft laws protecting religious liberty, the unborn, and traditional marriage, and in his book, he shares what he learned while working in politics and how we are all called to be civic activists. In the second interview, former Fortune 500 company employees, Paul Dean and Dana Gower, share their tips about surviving in our careers if we’re fired or downsized by our companies.

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Show Notes

Reclaiming the Republic

Careering, A Practical and Spiritual Guide: How to Find and Maintain Work in Today’s Economy

Priests for Life priest, Fr. Stephen Imbarrato

Carolina Catholic interviewed Father Stephen Imbarrato, a priest associate of Priests for Life and a priest in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, NM about his years as a priest and a pro-life activist. Father Imbarrato is no stranger to the pain of those who have been involved in abortion; he lost twin children, Thomas and Mary, when he encouraged his former girlfriend to have an abortion in the 1970s, and he was the first man to speak for the Silent No More campaign on the steps of the United States Supreme Court in 2004. Father spoke at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Southport the weekend of June 2-3 at all the Masses and in the Parish Hall. 

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Show Notes

Priests for Life

Fr. Stephen's Bio

EWTN TV Show - Defending Life

Pro-Life Witness: Protest ABQ

Defending Life

Pro-Life Witness

Carolina Catholic goes on Safari

Carolina Catholic talks to Chris Batley, a parishioner at St. Therese Catholic Church in Wrightsville Beach, about her pilgrimage/safari to several countries in Africa the past April which included a visit to Kibeho, Rwanda, the site of an apparition of Our Lady of Kibeho. In 2001, the local bishop of the Catholic Church officially recognized the visions of three schoolchildren as authentic.

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Baby's Breath

Carolina Catholic chats with Bonnie McGonegle, who writes under the pseudonym, B.D. McDuff, who wrote a book of Catholic fiction called Baby’s Breath. Baby’s Breath is the story of two women who have been friends since childhood, and how the choices they make as they face the challenges of life can lead them to Heaven or not.

Links

Baby's Breath Baby's Breath (a pro-life suspense novel)

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Blessed Jerzy Popieluszko

Carolina Catholic talked with Father Fessio, president and founder of Ignatius Press, about one of its newest releases, Blessed Jerzy Popieluszko: Truth versus Totalitarianism. Father Jerzy was the Catholic chaplain for Solidarity who bravely preached on the truth of the Catholic faith, so that Poles could be free to worship God again, and who was brutally murdered in 1984 by three agents of the Security Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to silence his voice. We also talked with Daniel Rabourdin who produced and directed The Hidden Rebellion, a docu-film about one of the world’s first genocides, the slaughter of the noble Catholics of the Vendee region of France during the French Revolution. This docu-film gives an eye-opening picture of this first progressive genocide done in the name of "social justice."

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Show Notes

Blessed Jerzy Popieluszko

Daniel Rabourdin and The Hidden Rebellion

Luis Rafael Zarama, Bishop fo Raleigh

Carolina Catholic had the great privilege of interviewing Bishop Luis Rafael Zarama, the sixth Bishop of Raleigh, who is the former Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Atlanta. Bishop Zarama was appointed by Pope Francis to be the head of the Diocese of Raleigh on July 5, 2017, and he was installed on August 29, 2017 at Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral in Raleigh. In this show, we learn more about Bishop Luis Rafael, his call to the priesthood, his education including his Canon Law degree, his years as a priest and auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Atlanta, and his appointment and installation as the Bishop of Raleigh in 2017.

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Troy Guy

I will chated with Troy Guy, a recent convert to Catholicism, who is a nuclear engineer working in the aerospace industry with degrees in physics and electrical and nuclear engineering. He wrote a book giving a historical and Biblical defense to Catholicism detailing his conversion called Evangelical Catholic: A journey through the Biblical and historical evidence that led yet another evangelical Protestant to the Apostolic Church!

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Show Notes

Discover His Church

Father Carlos Miguel Viego

Carolina Catholic talked with Father Carlos Miguel Viego, a Wilmington native and an alumnus of St. Mary Catholic Grammar School which he attended in the 1970s. He is a priest in the Diocese of Newark, NJ. 

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Show Notes

March for Life
Jeanne Mancini, President, March for Life bio
Love My Life Youth Rally 
Mary Beth Phillips, Respect Life Ministry Coordinator, Diocese of Raleigh contact info:
  Phone: 919-719-8267
  Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Carolina Catholic observes the 45th year of legal abortion in the USA

We will talked to national, state, and local pro-lifers about the upcoming 45th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade on January 22, 1973 which legalized abortion in America and the great strides our Church and pro-life leaders have made in combating abortion over these four and a half decades.

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Show Notes

March for Life
Jeanne Mancini, President, March for Life bio
Love My Life Youth Rally 
Mary Beth Phillips, Respect Life Ministry Coordinator, Diocese of Raleigh contact info:
  Phone: 919-719-8267
  Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

New Mexico Christmas

Carolina Catholic reports from beautiful Santa Fe, New Mexico about the different Christmas traditions observed in this state where host, Judi Paparozzi, attended the College of Santa Fe, a Christian Brothers’ college. From luminarias or farolitos to foods like tamales, biscochitos, and posole, New Mexico observes traditions created from the various cultures that live in this beautiful state like those of the Spanish, Native American, Mexican, and Anglo-American. Combined, these cultures celebrate the birth of our Savior in a unique yet reverent manner that truly reflects the joy of Christ’s birth.

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Show Notes

Stories of Conversion and Carthusians

For our first December show, Carolina Catholic chats with two authors from Ignatius Press: Matthew Arnold who wrote “Confessions of a Traditional Catholic” and “a priest” who wrote “Report from Calabria: A Season with the Carthusian Monks.” The author of this book, an American priest, chose to honor the customs of the Carthusians to remain anonymous. In Matthew’s book, he shares his conversion story and the roads that led him to the Extraordinary Form of the Mass. In the priest’s book, he documents the four months he lived with the Carthusians, the history of their order, and the daily regimen of these monks.

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Show Notes

	Confessions of a Traditional Catholic by Matthew Arnold
	Report from Calabria: A Season with the Carthusian Monks Monks by A Priest

Carolina Catholic Reports From Rome

For our first November show, Carolina Catholic reports from Rome where we tour the four Papal Basilicas which include St. Peter’s, St. John Lateran, St. Paul Outside the Walls, and Saint Mary Major, the first Marian Church in the world. In addition, we share how to tour Catholic Rome, Ancient Rome, and Romantic Rome! Finally, we report from Rome’s observation of the 100th Anniversary of the Miracle of the Sun in Fatima as we processed with Catholics from around Italy into the Vatican with the statue of Our Lady of Fatima that was blessed by Pope Francis on May 13, 2017 with his prayer that the faith be preserved in Italy.

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Show Notes

Judi's Roman Holiday Tour Notes

Carolina Catholic Addresses Life Topics

For our shows in October, Carolina Catholic will explore some difficult topics that face or have faced our Church. In our first show, we chat with Father Lawrence Carney, the Walking Priest, who takes the message of the Gospel to the streets of St. Joseph, Missouri, and then we also chat with Father Joseph D. Fessio, S.J., Founder of Ignatius Press, and we will be learning about one of its newest publications, The Priest Barracks: Dachau 1938 to 1945.

In our second show, we will learn about Room At The Inn, a Catholic crisis pregnancy center located in Greensboro, NC. Room At The Inn is a unique, comprehensive program helping homeless single pregnant women with or without previous children. Room At The Inn helps not only during pregnancies but also after the birth of their babies and is part of Catholic Charities USA.

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The Epidemic of Human Trafficking 

Carolina Catholic explores human trafficking, the second largest crime in the world. In the first show, Dr. Mario Paparozzi, chair of the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice at UNCP, and your host, Judi Paparozzi, who teaches law and criminal justice classes including Human Trafficking, gives an overview on what it is and how this crime touches all of us. On the show, Judi chats with human trafficking expert, Detective Bill Woolf, who cracked one of the largest trafficking rings in the United States and has produced a documentary warning our youth about the dangers of trafficking. 

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Marian Pilgrimages

Carolina Catholic talked to Chris Batley who just returned from a pilgrimage in July celebrating the 100th anniversary of Fatima which also included visits to Lourdes, Garabandal, Santarem, Nazaré, and Santiago di Compostela. Her hosts were well-known Catholic authors, Ted and Maureen Flynn. In this show, we learn about the Marian apparitions in Fatima, Lourdes, and Garabandal, the story of Our Lady of Nazaré statue, and the Eucharistic Miracle in Santarem. We also talk about why pilgrimages are a great source of spiritual enrichment.

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Learning about Opera

Carolina Catholic chats with Professor Nancy King, Artistic Director of Opera Wilmington and Associate Professor of Vocal Studies at the UNCW, about Opera Wilmington’s Summer 2017 production of Bizet's Carmen. So many opera composers like Mozart, Puccini, and Rossini wrote many sacred pieces including Masses for the Catholic Church which are performed around the world. For example, Giacomo Puccini wrote Messa di Gloria or Mass of Glory. In this show, we will learn about opera, the mission of Opera Wilmington, and this summer's opera, Carmen. Daniel Paparozzi will join in the fun!

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Show Notes

Opera Wilmington website

Opera Wilmington schedule

St. Mary Gospel  Choir

Carolina Catholic talked to Jacque Chandler and Warren Murphy of the St. Mary Gospel Choir; Jacque is the president of the choir, and Warren is the music director. This year, the Gospel Choir celebrates its 30th anniversary. In this show, we learn about the history of the choir, its founding members, its 30th anniversary celebration on September 10th, and hear excerpts from its 30th anniversary CD.

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Entering the Contemplative Life

Carolina Catholic talks to Elena Ainley who will enter the St. Scholastica Priory, a community of Catholic Benedictine contemplative nuns, on June 30, 2017. Elena shares how God called her from her career and marriage and toward the contemplative life with the Benedictines. We learn about her community and the hospitality of the Priory, as well as what her daily life will be living in a cloistered community. 

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Show Notes

St. Scholastica Priory

2017's Pro-Life Victories

For our first July show, Carolina Catholic talks to Maureen Ferguson of The Catholic Association and Jeanne Mancini, President of the March for Life, about the pro-life victories that have occurred since the beginning of 2017 that have effects not only in the United States but also around the world with the defunding of UNFPA, the reinstatement of the Mexico City Policy, and other pro-life victories.

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Show Notes

March for Life
The Catholic Association

Maureen Ferguson

Jeanne Mancini

Conversion and Courage

Carolina Catholic talks to Jim and Gini Mulligan, members of the Basilica Shrine of St. Mary, about their remarkable lives and Gini's conversion to the Catholic faith. Gini and Jim married when she was a Methodist, and Gini details how she was led slowly and beautifully into the Catholic faith and raised their large family as Catholics. Joined by two heroes and former POWs from the Vietnam War, their fathers, Retired Colonel Sam Johnson, USAF, and Captain James Mulligan, USN, Gini and Jim are the only children of POWs from the Vietnam era who married. Their fathers were two of eleven members of the USAF and USN who endured over six years as POWs singled out for the harshest of torture earning the nickname, the Alcatraz Gang, while in the "Hanoi Hilton." Each night, the brave men sent code to one another via tap, tapping out GBU, God bless you.

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Show Notes

Fatima

In honor of the 100th anniversary of the apparitions of Our Lady in Fatima, Portugal which began on May 13, 1917, our first May 2017 show features an interview with the Marketing Director for Ignatius Press, Anthony Ryan, about the newest book on Fatima, the Fatima Mysteries, Mary's Message to the Modern Age, and we will also learn about the book, Trust, In Saint Faustina's Footsteps, about the powerful Divine Mercy message and the saint of Divine Mercy, Sister Faustina Kowalska.

Fatima Mysteries, Mary's Message to the Modern Age

The apparitions in 1917 of the Blessed Virgin Mary to three peasant children in Fatima, Portugal, are perhaps the most important private revelations in the history of the Church. At the height of World War I and on the eve of the Russian Revolution, Our Lady appeared in Fatima to warn us of another even greater world war, the spread of Communism, and a terrible persecution of the Church unless people returned to God. She asked for us to offer daily prayer and sacrifice for conversion of the world and salvation of souls.

Because of the prophetic nature of Our Lady's messages and their potential significance for the entire world, they have been the subject of much study and controversy, and they have influenced the decisions not only of many individuals, but also of Popes, Bishops, and heads of state.

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of these important apparitions and messages for the modern world, renowned author-photographer team Grzegorz Górny and Janusz Rosikon traveled throughout Europe to tell the story of Fatima and its impact on the destiny of both individuals and nations. With stunningly beautiful four-color photographs on every page, and in-depth detail and insights on all aspects of the story and message of Fatima, they probe the mysteries of Fatima and their continued relevance for our modern age.

Trust, In Saint Faustina's Footsteps

This is a story about Saint Faustina - the greatest Christian mystic of the twentieth century - and her devotion to the Divine Mercy, which has become the fastest spreading religious devotion in the world.

This lavishly illustrated book is essentially a love story about God’s immense love for his people and the reciprocation of this love by the humble Polish nun declared a saint by Pope John Paul II.

In fulfilling the mission entrusted to her, Sister Faustina met with many obstacles, but she came through all her trials victoriously. The power of her message about God’s infinite mercy, forged in the fire of adversity, has accomplished seemingly impossible things. Although coming from the spiritual visions of just one person, devotion to the Divine Mercy has spread throughout the world like lightning, bringing to mind the parable of the mustard seed: from one small seed grew a great tree with many branches.

This book is also a story about Jesus Christ, who is not remote and abstract, but who enters human history, who enters the events of our lives and forges relationships with us. The work of Jesus Christ is very real and so, too, is this book marked by reality.

To follow in the footsteps of Saint Faustina, the author and photographer moved from place to place real places in eastern Europe such as Warsaw, Krakow, Plock and Vilnius. They encountered real people, such as Blessed Michal Sopocko and Blessed John Paul II. They recorded their observations and impressions in beautiful prose and gorgeous photographs in order to bring the realness of these places and people to as wide an audience as possible.

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Show Notes

Ignatius Press

Divine Mercy Academy

Divine Mercy Academy of Wilmington is a classical Christian high school opening in August of 2017. For more information about the school, new student registration, or getting involved through giving, check the links at the end of this page.

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Show Notes

Divine Mercy Academy website
Divine Mercy Academy on Facebook

Ignited By Truth 2017

For our April shows, Carolina Catholic chats with some of the presenters at the 2017 Ignited by Truth Conference in Raleigh including these speakers: Abby Johnson,  Ken Hensley, Father Philip Bochanski, Greg & Julie Alexander, Dana Catherine, Leah Darrow, and Marcellino & Anthony D'Ambrosio.

Abby Johnson is a convert to the pro-life movement and Catholicism who spent many years as a manager of a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic. Author and speaker Ken Hensley, a former Baptist minister, details his conversion to the Catholic faith. Father Philip Bochanski is the Executive Director of Courage International. The Alexanders run a multi-faceted ministry created to strengthen Catholic marriages. Catholic singer/songwriter Dana Catherine, a graduate of UNC-CH, is a youth minister and performs her music around the country. Former model Leah Darrow runs a ministry encouraging chastity and modesty in young women. And the D'Ambrosio twins are Catholic speakers/musicians who provide powerful, music-filled retreats for youth around the country.

Four different shows featuring the IBT speakers will air beginning on the weekend of April 8th, Saturdays at 11 a.m. and Sundays at 6 p.m. Each weekend, we will present a new IBT show featuring two of the speakers.  

Show 1

Ken Hensley

Ken Hensley, noted Catholic author, speaker, and apologist, was a Baptist minister for eleven years before resigning his pastorate in 1996 to enter the Catholic Church along with his wife, Tina. Ken currently works with the Coming Home Network International, serving the needs of converts and those curious about the Catholic faith. He also teaches Old and New Testament courses at St. John’s Seminary for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, and blogs from Callingallconverts.com. With Patrick Madrid, Ken co-authored The Godless Delusion: A Catholic Challenge to Modern Atheism.

With an MA in Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA, Ken has a deep knowledge of theology, Sacred Scripture, apologetics, and Reformation history, with the unique ability to make complex theological issues accessible to the average person.

Like many Protestants, Ken admired Martin Luther as a humble pastor whom God used to reform the Church and spent his early life learning about him. To mark the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation in Sept of 2017, Ken will be leading a pilgrimage to Germany with Steve Ray to explore the life and teaching of Martin Luther.

Ken and Tina have been married for 34 years. They have two children and seven grandchildren and live in Fillmore, California.

Abby Johnson

Abby Johnson has always had a fierce determination to help women in need. It was this desire that both led Abby to a career with Planned Parenthood, our nation’s largest abortion provider, and caused her to flee the organization and become an outspoken advocate for the pro-life movement.

During her eight years with Planned Parenthood, Abby quickly rose in the organization’s ranks and became a clinic director. She was increasingly disturbed by what she witnessed. Abortion was a product Planned Parenthood was selling, not an unfortunate necessity that they fought to decrease.

All of that changed on September 26, 2009 when Abby was asked to assist with an ultrasound-guided abortion. She watched in horror as a 13-week baby fought, and ultimately lost, its life at the hand of the abortionist. At that moment, the full realization of what abortion was and what she had dedicated her life to washed over Abby and a dramatic transformation took place.

Desperate and confused, Abby sought help from a local pro-life group. She swore that she would begin to advocate for life in the womb and expose abortion for what it truly is.

She is a frequently requested guest on Fox News and a variety of other shows and the author of the nationally best-selling book, Unplanned, which chronicles both her experiences within Planned Parenthood and her dramatic exit.

Today, Abby travels across the globe sharing her story, educating the public on pro-life issues, advocating for the unborn, and reaching out to abortion clinic staff who still work in the industry. She is the founder of And Then There Were None, a ministry designed to assist abortion clinic workers out of the industry. To date, this ministry has helped over 300 workers leave the abortion industry.

Abby lives in Texas with her husband and five precious children.

Links

abortionworker.com
And Then There Were None

Show 2

Abby Johnson

Abby Johnson's interview continues from Show 1. 

Father Philip Bochanski

Father Philip Bochanski is the Executive Director of Courage International, Inc., an apostolate of the Catholic Church, that provides pastoral care and spiritual support for men and women who experience same-sex attractions and who desire to live chastely. Founded in New York in 1980, Courage has become a mainstream Catholic apostolate helping thousands of men and women find peace through fellowship, prayer, and the sacraments.

Prior to being named as executive director in 2016, Fr. Bochanski helped implement the apostolate’s “Courage Study Days” to form priests about Catholic teaching on homosexuality, how to be clear and compassionate in presenting Catholic teaching, and how to provide authentic pastoral care to men and women with same-sex attractions. He also oversees existing and new chapters of EnCourage, a ministry to parents, friends, and family members of loved ones with same-sex attractions.

A native of Philadelphia, Fr. Bochanski received his MA in theology from Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary and was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in May 1999. He presently lives in the Diocese of Bridgeport, Connecticut, where the headquarters of Courage International, Inc., is located. He is an award-winning author and has published several books, articles and audio lectures on such topics as Church history, spirituality, evangelization and pastoral care.

Links

couragerc.org/
everlastinghills.org/movie/

Show 3

Marcellino and Anthony D’Ambrosio

Marcellino and Anthony D’Ambrosio are dynamic Catholic Youth Speakers and Musicians who provide powerful retreats, talks, and worship experiences through their ministry program, Crossroads Pursuit, created in 2010. They are the twin sons of well-known Catholic Theologian and Speaker, Dr. Marcellino D’Ambrosio and Crossroads Pursuit is the youth apostolate of their father’s Crossroads Initiative ministry.

The D’Ambrosio’s unique talks incorporate music and comedy, and their remarkable witnesses give teens the inspiration to be counter-cultural. Marcellino and Anthony know personally the particular challenges confronting youth today and are unafraid to challenge cliques, social structure, and the idolization of appearance. They promote sexual abstinence, the value of family, true masculinity and femininity, and above all a radical love in the person of Jesus Christ.

Marcellino began doing youth ministry in college at Ave Maria University. He was a high school Youth Director at a parish for three years before moving to campus ministry. Marcellino now serves as the Director of Music for the Catholic Center at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX.

Anthony D’Ambrosio began youth ministry as a Totus Tuus teacher in Wichita, Kansas. He currently works in Youth Ministry at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Frisco, Texas. Since he began there in 2010, the youth group has grown by 400%.

Dana Catherine

Dana Catherine is a 23-year-old Catholic Christian singer/songwriter who finds abundant joy in allowing the Lord to use her and her music for His greater glory. She independently released her debut album, Glorious Horizons, in September 2015. After signing with a new Christian record label, Rekindle Records, Dana recently released her first single, “My Savior in Me,” which she penned after leading Praise and Worship Adoration one night.

Dana has been featured as a guest on Sirius XM and her music can be heard on radio stations across the U.S., including Catholic Playlist Show and Immaculate Heart Radio. She travels throughout the U.S. to encourage and inspire others with her songs and witness, performing and speaking at retreats and youth rallies. She also travels extensively within the Raleigh Diocese for youth events. When she’s not traveling, she serves as a Youth Minister at Saint Catherine of Siena Parish in Wake Forest.

Growing up in a Catholic family, Dana always had a strong faith, but it wasn’t until she went to college at UNC Chapel Hill that her relationship with God truly deepened and she began to understand that true and lasting happiness, peace, and purpose is found in Christ alone.
Only then did she realize that God was calling her to step out and share His truth and love with others using the musical gifts she was given.

For as long as she can remember, Dana loved to sing and began to write songs around the time she was in middle school. Dana describes her songs as prayers from her to God and through her “prayer songs” she hopes to inspire listeners to place all their trust in God and completely surrender their hearts and lives to Him.

Show 4

Greg and Julie Alexander

Greg and Julie are authors, speakers, and marriage disciples. After years of living their marriage as prescribed by the world, they found themselves on the brink of divorce. Providentially they encountered a wonderful priest who encouraged them to discover God’s plan for marriage. Indebted to God, they now dedicate their lives to helping others receive the tools to live a joy-filled marriage.

To this end, the Alexanders have created a multi-faceted ministry, including The Alexander House, whose mission is to provide practical tools for couples to live marriage and relationship successfully, through healing education and enrichment, based on God’s plan and the teachings of the church. They have developed a parish-based program and, along with their teams of Marriage Disciples, reach out to thousands of couples in crisis.

Greg and Julie have presented numerous workshops, seminars and talks to thousands of participants across the country. They have appeared on various productions aired on EWTN, including as guests on “Life on the Rock” and as co-hosts of their own show, “Marriage Works in Christ.” They have written two books, Marriage 911 and Growing in Love Through Prayer.

Greg and Julie are happily married and have seven children and three grandchildren.

Links:

thealexanderhouse.org

Leah Darrow

As a star on America’s Next Top Model and subsequent years as a professional model in New York City, Leah had it all: fame, beauty and money. But deep inside she knew she was missing the one thing that could satisfy her: The Father’s love.

Leah is the author of Reclaiming Beauty: A 5 Step Guide To A More Beautiful You.

As a full-time apologist and speaker for Catholic Answers from 2010-2013, Leah brought her experience of both reality TV and the fashion world to the masses. Now she travels the world to help young people find real happiness and explore authentic relationships by reclaiming their worth, to know real Truth, Beauty, and Love, in light of Saint Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body.

Leah has a BA in psychology from the University of Missouri-St. Louis and is currently working toward her MA in theology at the Augustine Institute in Denver, Colorado. She and her husband, Ricky, live in St. Louis, MO with three beautiful children ages, 3, 1, and 7 months.

Links:

leahdarrow.com

Listen to the Shows

Show 1: Ken Hemsley and Abby Johnson

Sally Read: A Modern Conversion Story

Sally Read, an award winning poet, psychiatric nurse, and a former anti-Catholic atheist converted to Catholicism in nine months; she details her conversion to Catholicism in her book, Night’s Bright Darkness: A Modern Conversion Story.

While writing a book about women, she spoke with a Catholic priest, and this encounter led her on a spiritual journey in which she discovered Christ, and finally, His Church on earth. Within nine months, she was received into the Catholic Church at St. Peter’s in Rome. In her journey to the Catholic Church, she experienced a life-changing encounter with Christ which embedded deeply in her a great desire for the Eucharistic Christ. 

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Show Notes

Night's Bright Darkness: A Modern Conversion Story
Conversion Story

Salud Hondu
and its annual fundraiser, One Cup of Tea

Carolina Catholic chats with members of Salud Hondu, a mission based in Wilmington that supports a medical clinic, the Clinica de Santa Maria, in Reitoca, Honduras.  Our guests are Laura Vinson, Dr. John and Penny Cromer, and Millie Moore.

In this show, we speak to the wonderful volunteers of Salud Hondu for the fourth year about their work in Reitoca at the Clinica Santa Maria and the fundraiser for the clinic called One Cup of Tea, which will be held on Saturday, March 25th from 2 to 4 p.m., in the Upper Room 1871 located at 412 Ann Street in downtown Wilmington. This year’s One Cup of Tea is inspired by the works of author, Jane Austen.  All proceeds from this event go directly to support the work of the doctor and medical staff of Clinica Santa Maria which serves the medical needs of a poor and rural area of central Honduras.You can read more about Salud Hondu and its work at www.saludhondu.org.

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Show Notes

Salud Hondu

Paul Abbe's Conversion Story

For our first March show, Carolina Catholic chats with Paul Abbe, Director of Adult Religious Education at St. Mark Catholic Church and a former Lutheran pastor who converted to Catholicism.

In this show, we learn about Paul’s upbringing in a devout Lutheran family in Iowa, his years in the United States Air Force, his work as a Lutheran pastor here in NC, and how his deep yearning for the truth of Christ led him to begin his journey home to the Catholic faith. In this fascinating interview, we learn about the reasons Paul began to challenge the pillars of the Reformation and how his deep study of Catholicism led him to the Catholic Church.

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Show Notes

TBD

March for Life

For our first February show, I was joined by Christine Vayo as we traveled to DC for the 44th annual March for Life and got the opportunity to visit with Christine's cousin, Father Christopher Murphy, and his friend, Father Paul Scalia, both of the Diocese of Arlington. Father Scalia is the son of former Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia; in this show, we talk about his father's legacy and the homily Father Scalia gave at his dad's funeral. In addition, both priests talk about the challenge of sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with clarity in charity in a nation divided by so many issues. Both priests commented on how important it is to witness to the truth of Christ clearly but with a loving and kind heart. 

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Show Notes

Father Scalia's bio
Father Murphy's parish
Homily of the SCOTUS Justice Antonin Scalia by Fr. Scalia video
Homily of the SCOTUS Justice Antonin Scalia by Fr. Scalia transcript
Article about Father Scalia's homily

Salud Hondu
and its annual fundraiser, One Cup of Tea

Carolina Catholic features the work of Salud Hondu and its 2018 One Cup of Tea fundraiser which will take place Saturday, March 10th, at 2 pm.  This year’s theme is The Orient Express circa 1945. Our guests are Penny Cromer, fundraiser chair; John Cromer, MD, president of Salud Hondu; and Laura Vinson, Board member. Salud Hondu is a mission based in Wilmington that supports a medical clinic, the Clinica de Santa Maria, in Reitoca, Honduras.  

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Show Notes

Salud Hondu

Michael Accurso

Director of Liturgical Music for the Diocese of Raleigh

For our second January show, we chat with Michael Accurso, the Director of Liturgical Music for the Catholic Diocese of Raleigh and Sacred Heart Cathedral in Raleigh. A New Jersey native, Michael is a conductor, organist, composer, and vocalist, and he enjoys an active schedule in academics, concert performance, commissions, and liturgical music. He is currently completing his doctorate in choral conducting at the University of Notre Dame. This past year, Bishop Burbidge commissioned him to write a hymn for the dedication of Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral, which is to take place on July 26, 2017. The hymn is entitled, I Will Praise Your Name Forever, a congregational hymn honoring the Holy Name of Jesus, based on Psalm 145.

Listen to the Show

Show Notes

Michael's website
NC Catholic interview
Diocesan Sacred Music website
Video: I Will Praise Your Name Forever

Vivian Dudro

Editor for the Ignatius Press and Magnificat children’s books

For our first January 2017 show, we chat with Vivian Dudro from both Ignatius Press and the Magnificat about the latest children’s books released by these Catholic publishers. Over the last 35 years, Vivian has written news articles, book reviews, and columns for various Catholic media, including the National Catholic Register, and the Catholic San Francisco. In this show, we are introduced to the following new releases:  A Missal for Toddlers, My Little Catechism, two books on St. Teresa of Calcutta, and two books on Advent and Christmas.

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Show Notes

A Missal for Toddlers 

My Little Catechism
A Gospel Advent Calendar 

Mother Teresa of Calcutta
Mother Teresa, The Smile of Calcutta 
 

Father Jeffrey Kirby, STD

Luke: The Gospel of Mercy

We chat with Father Jeffrey Kirby, S.T.D., a priest of the Diocese of Charleston, SC, about his new Bible study, Luke: The Gospel of Mercy. Father Kirby is the Administrator at Our Lady of Grace in Indian Land and St. Joseph’s in Chester. He earned his doctorate in Sacred Theology (STD) in Rome in 2016; his thesis was Facilitating a Program of Conscience Formation among Medical Personnel. He has served as the diocesan vicar of vocations, written four other books, hosted a Catholic radio show, serves as an adjunct professor at Belmont Abbey, and he received the 2016 Order of the Palmetto, South Carolina’s highest civilian award, for his work in vocations. In this show, we learn more about Fr. Kirby and Dr. Thigpen’s Bible study on the Gospel of Luke.

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Show Notes

Luke: the Gospel of Mercy
Fr. Kirby's website
Catholic Scripture Study International's announcement
Tan Books' announcement 

Broken Land

We interviewed Gail Koop, an author and a poet, who has written her autobiography called, Broken Land: God's Message in a Bottle, about her conversion from secularism to Christianity and how her conversion helped her realize the mistakes she made in life including two abortions that she had as a young woman. In this riveting interview, Gail shares how God spoke to her about her past life and led her to share her story so that other young women could avoid the same mistakes that she made.

After thirty years as a business writer, Gail's focus has been on faith-based writing. Her poetry, articles and short stories have appeared in various publications. She lives with her husband and two rescued dogs on Long Island. 

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Show Notes

Gail Koop's website
Broken Land: God's Message in a Bottle

Ignatius Press

This show features the marketing director for Ignatius Press, Anthony Ryan. Ignatius Press is a Catholic publishing house based in San Francisco. Anthony discusses two recent publications from Ignatius: the first book is an in-depth biography of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati called A Hero for our Times, and the second book, Guadalupe Mysteries: Deciphering the Code, is an almost encyclopedic investigation of the miraculous image of Our Lady of Guadalupe on St. Juan Diego's tilma, with stunning photographic, scientific, mathematical, and medical research that will astound its readers! Both books are perfect for Christmas gifts.

Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati: A Hero for Our Times, author Cristina Siccardi

In this definitive biography, Cristina Siccardi situates the appealing figure of young Pier Giorgio Frassati in early 20th century Turin, Italy. In the ancient capital of the Kingdom of Italy where the memory of Savoy is still alive there are two contrasting forms of enterprise: one of older stamp, attentive to the values of patriotism and integrity; the other tending toward ever more acquisitive forms of capitalism.

In this environment Pier Giorgio, the young heir of Senator Alfredo Frassati, founder of the newspaper La Stampa, makes his own choice for the social doctrine of the Catholic Church, seeking not so much to solve general problems but to make Christ and the Church more present to those in need. That was the motivation for his assisting in many charitable works of the St. Vincent Society, his support for the Popular Party, and his development of a spirituality of engaged and diligent action. His devotion to friendship and to sports was extraordinary, with a special love for mountain hiking, which was for him both enjoyable exercise and the contemplation of creation, as well as a symbol of his striving for perfection in virtue.

Other important aspects that will passionately engage readers of this book include the story of the famous Frassati family, and the marked contrasts among its members--especially the bond of division/union between father and son. Alfredo Frassati, a man of notable accomplishments, will discover, when his widely beloved son dies, a completely new dimension of the world. There follows a spiritual deepening, year after year, which leaves its traces in several letters to Giovanni Battista Montini, the future Pope Paul VI. This book describes an extraordinary itinerary of holiness, but also a key to understanding the history of Italy in the 20th century.

Guadalupe Mysteries: Deciphering the Code

Our Lady of Guadalupe is the most beloved symbol of Mexican Catholicism, and devotion to her is widespread in the USA. While she has entranced and encouraged Mexican Catholics for several centuries, believers and even nonbelievers the world over are inspired and intrigued by her. Millions of pilgrims visit her shrine in Mexico City every year. Both Pope John Paul II and Pope Francis have traveled there to pray for her motherly intercession. And scientists from many disciplines have studied the amazing attributes of her mysterious image.

In this glorious, lavishly illustrated book, the renowned author-photographer team Grzegorz Gorny and Janusz Rosikon take the reader on an illustrated pilgrimage to Our Lady of Guadalupe. They tell the amazing story of her apparition to Juan Diego in 1531 and its dramatic impact upon the destiny of an entire people.

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Show Notes

Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati: A Hero for Our Times
Guadalupe Mysteries: Deciphering the Code

Hector Molina

We talked with Ignited by Truth Speaker Series presenter, Hector Molina, a Catholic speaker and evangelist, who will present two talks on our faith at St. Mark Catholic Church on Saturday evening, October 22nd, from 6:30-9:30 pm. In this show, we learned about Hector's work and faith, and about his talks including, “Abide in Christ! Heeding the Universal Call to Holiness” and “Go and Bear Much Fruit! Heeding the Universal Call to Mission.”  This is the first ever Ignited by Truth in Wilmington. 

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Show Notes

Ignited By Truth
Hector Molina personal page
Casting Nets Ministries
Follow Hector on Twitter
and on Facebook

St. Paul Street Evangelization

We talked with St. Paul Street Evangelization (SPSE) founder, Steve Dawson, and St. Mark parishioner, Peter Lamporte, about the mission of SPSE and Steve's recent trip to Wilmington and St. Mark Catholic Church. The St. Paul Street Evangelization, founded in May 2012, is a grassroots, non-profit organization, dedicated to responding to the mandate of Jesus to preach the Gospel to all nations by taking the Catholic Faith to the streets. Steve is the president and national director of SPSE, and Peter sits on its national Board of Advisers.  

Listen to the Show

Show Notes

St. Paul Street Evangelization website
Catholic Street Evangelization: Stories of Conversion and Witness

The Movies with John Lewis

We chatted with St. Mark parishioner, John Lewis, about seven popular secular films or film franchises that have been released over the past five years that reflected our Catholic values. We examine the Star Wars movies, the Kung Fu Panda trilogy, Les Miserables, the 2015 remake of Disney's Cinderella, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, and The Hobbit and Captain American trilogies. John found deep spiritual meaning in all of these films that he feels speak to younger generations giving a positive Christian message to all.

Listen to the Show

Show Notes

Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens

Kung Fu Panda trilogy

Les Miserables

Cinderella (2015)

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

The Hobbit trilogy

Captain America trilogy

The Beauty of Adoption

We talk to Sharon Tonn, a St. Mark's parishioner, who shares her life affirming story about her crisis pregnancy at age 20, the adoption of her firstborn, Peggy, and the incredible miracle of their reunion 44 years later. In this show, Sharon describes being sent to a home for unwed mothers run by the Catholic Church, the birth and subsequent adoption of her daughter through Catholic Social Services, her lifelong longing to see her daughter again, and the wonderful reaction of her other children to the news about the reunion of Sharon and her firstborn child, Peggy.

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Show Notes

Servant of God Luisa Piccarretta
 

Dr. Grazie Pozo Christie on Ben Hur

For our first show in September, we speak again with Dr. Grazie Christie, a medical doctor, mother of five, and a policy advisor for The Catholic Association.  She writes and speaks in both Spanish and English about Catholicism, religious freedom, and the intersection of faith and science. In a recent article that she wrote entitled, "Ben Hur will make you want to be a better person," Dr. Christie describes the plot of the newest movie version of the 1880 book by General Lew Wallace, the deep and lasting impact that this retelling of the story of Judah Ben Hur had on her, and how we can all grow deeper in our faith as Christians when we learn to forgive the unforgivable.

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Show Notes

Opinion: "Ben-Hur' will make you want to be a better person
NY Post opinion piece
The Catholic Association
The Catholic Association - Who We Are
The Catholic Association on Facebook
 

Singing in Austria!

The hills and the churches are alive and singing in Austria! For our first show in August, Judi Paparozzi's son, Daniel, chats about his three trips to Austria singing in stunning Catholic churches in Vienna, Sankt Pölten, and Krems where he has performed under the baton of Erwin Ortner, conductor of the Austrian Imperial Choir and the Schoenberg Choir, a former member of the Vienna Boys Choir, and professor of music in Vienna.  As Austria is a very Catholic country, these concerts have taken place in Catholic churches, seminaries, and at Mass. We will hear parts of Verdi’s Requiem as well as some of the music performed during Mass.

Listen to the Show

Show Notes

Laudate Dominum
ICAK’s Facebook Page
Opera Wilmington
Erwin Ortner
Wolfgang Reisinger
Ursula Langmayr

Human Trafficking Epidemic

Mario and Judi Paparozzi talk about the rising epidemic of human trafficking happening right here in the United States and even in Wilmington, NC.  Judi teaches this subject at UNC Pembroke and hosted its first annual Human Trafficking Conference this past November. In this show, she and Mario talk about the ten things every American should know about human trafficking including topics such as what grocery products are made with child labor, the use of child suicide bombers, the connection between terrorism and trafficking, and how to recognize human trafficking in our midst.

Listen to the Show

Show Notes

Ten Things You Should Know About Human Trafficking

Dr. Grazie Pozo Christie

Dr. Grazie Pozo Christie, a medical doctor, mother of five, and a policy advisor for The Catholic Association.  She writes and speaks in both Spanish and English about Catholicism, religious freedom, and the intersection of faith and science.  As a Hispanic, she brings a special focus on social issues that affect the growing Latino population, such as the state of the family and the real needs of the poor and marginalized.  As a physician, she is able to address complex subjects relating to government health policy and its true impact on the people it purports to help. We focus in this show on her May 9, 2016 opinion piece in the New York Post entitled, “The ACLU’s deadly anti-Catholic vendetta," which challenges this report from the ACLU: Health Care Denied

Listen to the Show

Show Notes

NY Post opinion piece
The Catholic Association
The Catholic Association - Who We Are
The Catholic Association on Facebook
C-SPAN Video from March For Life Rally, January 22, 2015

Jeff Cavins

Jeff Cavins is recognized both nationally and internationally as an exciting public speaker and bible teacher. He communicates the Catholic faith at a level that everyone can understand, taking theological truths and expressing them in a practical way.

He is the creator of the popular Great Adventure Bible Study series published by Ascension Press. The foundational study, The Bible Timeline: the Story of Salvation, has enabled students to understand the chronological flow of Scripture. Other Great Adventure Bible Studies taught and recorded by Jeff include Matthew, Acts, Revelation, Psalms and James. Over 6000 groups have used these studies in the US and other countries, and they have helped hundreds of thousands of Catholics and other Christians engage in scripture in a life changing way.

Jeff is the founding host of EWTN’s weekly program “Life on the Rock” as well as Relevant Radio’s daily show, “Morning Air.” He is author of several books including the best-selling book, My Life on the Rock: A Rebel Returns to the Catholic Faith and I’m Not Being Fed: The Food That Satisfies the Soul. Walking with God: A Journey Through the Bible is co-authored with Dr. Tim Gray and gives an insightful overview of the Bible. His latest books are Praise God and Thank Him: Biblical Keys for a Joyful Life and When You Suffer: Biblical Keys for Hope and Understanding both published through Servant Books.

Jeff received an MA in Theology from Franciscan University of Steubenville. He is on the board of the Archbishop Harry J. Flynn Catechetical Institute at the St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota, where he has served as director for 6 years. He is also a Fellow of the Augustine Institute in Denver, Colorado, and the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology in Steubenville, Ohio. Jeff resides with his wife, Emily, and their daughters in Minnesota.

Show Notes

Show Notes

Jeff & Emily Cavins
The Great Adventure Catholic Bible Study

Carolina Catholic goes to the Movies

For its second May show, Carolina Catholic's host, Judi Paparozzi, and fellow film buff and St. Therese parishioner, Tom Lewis, share their mutual love of the cinema and bring you their top 20 best Catholic movies. Tom's list includes such classics as On the Waterfront, Angels with Dirty Faces, The Cinderella Man, I Confess, The Cardinal, The Scarlet and the Black, Come to the Stable, and other movies that have deep Christian symbolism. Judi's list is a bit more of the traditional religious movies like The Song of Bernadette, The Robe, King of Kings, Miracle of Our Lady at Fatima, Ben Hur, and others that impacted her faith deeply. Tom and Judi explore the casts, the plots, the key scenes, and the values that each movie brings to life on the big screen, and all of these movies have proven good viewing for the whole family.

Show Notes

Richard Lane

For our April show, we will spoke with Catholic lay evangelist, Richard Lane, who gave a retreat at St. Mark Catholic Church this past Lent. A convert to the faith in 2003, two years later Richard began proclaiming the Gospel as a street corner evangelist, passing out Bibles and crosses in the streets of St. Louis. Since that time, he has been featured on “Catholic Answers Live", Ave Maria Radio, Relevant Radio, Our Sunday Visitor, the National Catholic Reporter, as well as EWTN's "The Journey Home”. He is the son of the late Dick "Night Train" Lane, a National Football League Hall of Fame cornerback.

Richard devoted his talks in 2016 to the teaching about the Jubilee Year of Mercy based on the teachings of Pope Francis in his Papal Bull of Indiction  Misericordiae Vultus and the edicts of the Holy Father for all the faithful during this glorious year of mercy.

Listen to the show

Show Notes

Richard Lane on Facebook
Richard Lane Ministries
Misericordiae Vultus
Conversion Story

Redeemed in the Spirit

For our second April show, we spoke with Debbie Kotas, a member of St. Mark Catholic Church.Debbie spoke about how several deep conversion experiences in her life kept her faith alive and growing to this very day despite major challenges and adversities that would have derailed anyone's faith journey. Instead, through these trials, Debbie found great strength and comfort in her Catholic  faith.

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Saint Maximilian Kolbe

Carolina Catholic teamed again with Billy Atwell, Director of Communications for the Diocese of Raleigh, and we leared about St. Maximilian Kolbe and the upcoming relics tour with the Very Reverend James McCurry, the minister provincial of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual of Our Lady of the Angels Province in the United States. Father McCurry, an author and expert of the life of St. Maximilian Kolbe, speaks about his friendship with the man whose life was saved in Auschwitz by this saint, Franciszek Gajowniczek, the life of St. Maximilian, and the relics tour gracing our diocese over the next few weeks.

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Show Notes

St. Maximilian Kolbe Bio
Franciscan Friars Conventual, Our Lady of the Angels Province
The Very Reverend Father James McCurry, OFM Conv. Reflection
Relics Tour - UNC-CH Newman Center March 3, 2016

Respect Life Month

Carolina Catholic reports from the Love My Life Rally in Raleigh on January 16, and the March for Life in Washington DC on January 22. In this show, we chat with Bishop Michael F. Burbidge, Msgr. David Brockman, Diocesan Communications Director Billy Atwell, and others who attended the North Carolina Rally and the March for Life; the Love my Life Rally which attracted over 1,300 youth from our diocese; and the March for Life which was attended by thousands of youth from across the country who join the 100,000+ marchers who come to DC annually to stand up for life and peacefully protest the Supreme Court's decision, Roe v. Wade, which was decided on January 22, 1973. Since that fateful day, the lives of 58 million unborn children have been lost to abortion.

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Salud Hondu

Carolina Catholic visited with members of Salud Hondu, a mission based in Wilmington that supports an on-going medical clinic, Clinica de Santa Maria, in Reitoca, Honduras. In this show, we speak for the third year about its work in Reitoca, its upcoming fundraiser on March 12th (the Third Annual One Cup of Tea, an afternoon tea inspired by Downton Abbey in the historic Upper Room 1871), and a ministry called, The Shoe that Grows, which provides adjustable, quality sandals that can grow over the years.

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Show Notes

Salud Hondu
Salud Hondu's Current Fundraiser
Current Fundraiser Flyer

Theology of the Body

For its first show in 2016, Carolina Catholic had the privilege of interviewing world renowned expert in Pope Saint John Paul's Theology of the Body, Christopher West, who spoke at St. Mark Catholic Church on December 9, 2015. In this show, we learn about what led Christopher to his vocation as a Catholic author and speaker;  he also summarizes his talk, God, Sex, and the Meaning of Life, in which he explores the ancient but forgotten truth that our deepest desires are meant to lead us to the infinite, God.

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Show Notes

The COR Project
Christopher West
The Theology of the Body
Theology of the Body Institute
God, Sex, and the Meaning of Life talk at Duke University’s Catholic Center, October 2015

Carolina Catholic: Bishop Burbidge and the Year of Mercy

In this show, Bishop Burbidge prepares us for the upcoming Year of Mercy, and Billy Atwell, Director of Communications for our diocese and the host of A Catholic Life, will join Judi Paparozzi in an interview of our Bishop.  In April 2015, Pope Francis announced an extraordinary jubilee, a Holy Year of Mercy, to highlight the Catholic Church's "mission to be a witness of mercy."  The year will begin on December 8th to commemorate both the Feast of the Immaculate Conception and the 50th anniversary of the closing of the Second Vatican Council, which called the Church to bring God’s mercy to everyone. The motto for this year is “Merciful like the Father.” Some of the many events to celebrate this year of Mercy will include the openings of Holy Doors throughout the world including the Basilica Shrine of St. Mary, pilgrimages, a jubilee indulgence, 24 hours for the Lord, Missionaries of Mercy, and the World Youth Day in Krakow, Poland.

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Show Notes

Year of Mercy (Vatican)
Year of Mercy (Diocese of Raleigh)

Carolina Catholic's Christmas Show

For its Christmas show, host of Carolina Catholic, Judi Paparozzi, will be joined by some of her family members who will share their Advent and Christmas traditions as well as sing some of their favorite Christmas carols. From favorite Christmas movies to the Italian vigil meal on Christmas Eve to attending Mass as a family, the Paparozzi Family will share many of their favorite memories of Christmases past and how these traditions hold great meaning for each of them.

And as music is such an important part of their family, they will perform some of those carols that mean so much to all of us as we celebrate the birth of Christ.

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Show Notes

Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs by Francis X. Weiser, S.J.:  http://www.strobertbellarmine.net
Religious Customs in the Family by Francis X. Weiser, S.J.
Catholic Customs and Traditions by Greg Dues
The Catholic Home by Meredith Gould
The Essential Advent & Christmas Handbook AND Advent Begins at Home by Liquori Press
Christmas Traditions in the Catholic Home

Year of Mercy
with Father Donald Calloway, MIC

For our November show, Carolina Catholic speaks with Father Donald Calloway, MIC, a convert to Catholicism and a member of the Congregation of Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception. Before his conversion to Catholicism, he was a high school dropout who had been kicked out of a foreign country, institutionalized twice, and thrown in jail multiple times. After his radical conversion, he earned a B.A. in Philosophy and Theology from the Franciscan University of Steubenville, OH, M.Div. and S.T.B. degrees from the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, DC, and an S.T.L. in Mariology from the International Marian Research Institute in Dayton, Ohio. Father's incredibly honest story of conversion from a hopeless drug abuser to an inspiring priest shows the depth of the mercy of Our Lord. Father also explains the importance of the Year of Mercy, beginning this December 8th on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, and the message of mercy for all of us.

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Show Notes

Year of Mercy
Marians of the Immaculate Conception

Books by Fr. Calloway

No Turning Back
Under the Mantle: Marian Thoughts from a 21st Century Priest
Rosary Gems
The Virgin Mary and Theology of the Body
Marian Gems: Daily Wisdom of Our Lady
Purest of All Lilies
Mary of Nazareth:The Life of Our Lady in Pictures
 

Carolina Catholic talks to NC's Values Coalition

For its October show, Carolina Catholic talked with Tami Fitzgerald, the executive director for the North Carolina's Values Coalition and the former chairwoman of Vote FOR Marriage NC, the official referendum committee that successfully passed the North Carolina Marriage Amendment (DOMA). She successfully lobbied the General Assembly to get the Marriage Amendment placed on the ballot in May of 2012 and then led the Vote FOR Marriage NC Referendum Committee as its chairwoman, resulting in passing the Marriage Amendment by 61%.  In this show, Tami speaks about the Planned Parenthood videos released this past summer, the Obergefell decision, and SB 2, a new law which allows North Carolina magistrates the right to be recused from performing any marriage upon any sincerely held religious objection.

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Show Notes

NC Values Coalition

A Talk with a Convert

For our September show, Carolina Catholic had the great privilege of chatting with Dr. Elizabeth Loparits, the vocal and instrumental accompanist at UNCW’s Department of Music. An accomplished pianist from Hungary, Elizabeth shares her story of her family’s and country’s struggle under Communist rule where all forms of religious worship were suppressed. Born and baptized a Catholic, Elizabeth would sneak into churches where she felt at peace and at home. Searching for many years, she finally “came home” to the Catholic faith at St. Therese Catholic Church where she attended RCIA, and, at the Easter Vigil 2015, she received the Eucharist for the first time. Elizabeth was confirmed by Bishop Burbidge this past May. 

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Gender Identity

For our August show, Carolina Catholic addressed the issue of gender identity with Deacon Patrick Lappert, M.D., a plastic surgeon, a retired Naval captain, a USMC fighter pilot, and Chaplain for Courage for the Diocese of Birmingham. As a plastic surgeon and as a Catholic deacon, Dr. Lappert will share how his work as a plastic surgeon and a Catholic deacon is at the nexus of this issue where many seek medical and surgical options. In addition, Dr. Lappert will share his own conversion story from atheism to the Catholic faith and his ordination as a permanent deacon. 

Bio

Patrick W. Lappert, M.D. is a Permanent Deacon in the Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama. He has been married to Patrice Ann Oberst for 34 years. They have 6 grown children. Deacon Lappert was raised in a Jewish home, but lived most of his adult life as an atheist. He converted and was received into the Catholic Church in 1995. Deacon Lappert was trained and Board Certified first as a general surgeon, then as a Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon. He is a veteran of the Naval Service, retiring with the rank of Captain, USN, after serving for 24 years. In addition to being the Chief of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery for the Portsmouth Naval Hospital, he also served the Surgeon General, USN, as the Specialty Leader for Reconstructive Surgery. Dr. Lappert established the Craniofacial Reconstructive Surgery Unit, as well as the Wound Care Center for the largest medical treatment facility in the world. Additionally, Dr. Lappert served for 3 years with the United States Marine Corps, flying in the F4 Phantom wit VMFA-451.

Deacon Lappert divides his time between his private practice of plastic surgery and serving as deacon at Annunciation of the Lord Catholic Church in Decatur, AL. He is also Chaplain for Courage in the Diocese of Birmingham. 

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Show Notes

Courage
Deacon Lappert talk for Courage

From Hollywood to Holy Vows

For our July shows, Carolina Catholic had the privilege of meeting and interviewing Mother Dolores Hart from the Abbey of Regina Laudis in Bethlehem, CT, and her assistant, Judith Pinco, a singer and a convert to Catholicism who is now Mother’s assistant.

In the first show, we talked with Mother about her career in Hollywood in films like Loving You and King Creole with Elvis Presley and what led her to abandon her acting career and embrace the monastic life at the Abbey.

In our second show, we interview Judith Pinco about her career in the music industry, her days as a hippie and a Hindu, and the circuitous path she took to find her way to the Catholic faith and the Eucharist.

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First show 

Second show

Show Notes

Abbey of Regina Laudis
Monastic Art Shop at Regina Laudis
The Ear of the Heart: An Actress' Journey from Hollywood to Holy Vows
Women in Chant
God is the Bigger Elvis

Hospice Care

In the second show, Carolina Catholic welcomes back Jan Rack, a local  RN, who will speak about hospice care and our Church's teaching on what we need to include when we prepare "living wills" or "advance directives for health care," a document that the Diocese of Raleigh provides on its website.

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Show Notes

Catholic Advance Medical Directives

Theology of the Body

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Show Notes

Father Michael's Bio

Fr. Michael was born in Stanford, CA on May 2, 1984 to Stephen and Christina Burbeck. His family moved to North Carolina when he was five years old, and he grew up in Apex. He was baptized in Penny Road Church of the Nazarene at the age of ten and attended that church for several years before growing dissatisfied with it. Following a profound conversion experience while traveling in Europe, he was received into full communion with the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil in 2003 at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church in Cary.

Following some time away from school, Father attended North Carolina State University and graduated with a B.S. in Economics in 2006. While there, he was involved with the Newman Center where he became further convinced that God was calling him to the priesthood. After being accepted as a seminarian for the Diocese of Raleigh, he did a pastoral year at St. Ann’s in Clayton and then entered St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia in 2007. While at the seminary, Father developed a love for sacred music and Liturgy, first singing in and then directing one of the seminary choirs. As a seminarian, he was assigned at Saint Anthony of Padua in Southern Pines, Immaculate Conception in Clinton, and here at Saint Mark. He also spent a spirituality year in residence at Our Lady of Guadalupe in Newton Grove with Fr. Pat Keane, two months in Guatemala and Honduras for Spanish immersion and missionary work, and two summers of intensive spiritual formation at the Institute for Priestly Formation in Omaha, NE.

Father has an older brother who lives in England with his wife and two children, and his parents split their time between their homes in Carolina Beach and England. In his free time, Father Michael enjoys music and the arts, reading, the outdoors, horseback riding and the occasional game of basketball or round of golf. His interests are the spirituality of St. Ignatius of Loyola, Sacred Liturgy, Canon Law, and theology and spirituality in general.

Quick Answers:

What is “Theology of the Body?"    

• It is 129 catechesis given at Wednesday General Audiences from 1979-1984 plus 6 more that were written but not delivered in public that treat the Song of Songs and Book of Tobit.
• The cycle was interrupted on May 13^th 1981 by the assassination attempt and again in 1983 for a special holy year.
• A central part of the ordinary magisterium of Pope St. John Paul II

    Why is it called “Theology of the Body?"

• The original manuscript was published with the title “Man and Woman He Created Them”.
• Within the text, JPII gives the title: “Human Love in the Divine Plan: The Redemption of the Body and the Sacramentality of Marriage.”
• But he described the work as “reflections on the theology of the body”, which is the name that has stuck in English.

What is it about?

• The human person, especially human sexuality.
• Called theology of the body because he is fighting against a common view point that regards the human person as primarily spiritual, as if the body were incidental or merely a tool to be manipulated.
• JP II’s proposal instead is that the body is integral to the human person and that it actual helps reveal to us the mystery of the human person and human sexuality.

Other Resources:

Theology of the Body.net
Natural Family Planning
Saint Mark Catholic Church

Courage International

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Show Notes

Courage International

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For our second March show, Carolina Catholic chats with Fletcher Armstrong, PhD, director of the Southeast region office of the Center for Bio-ethical Reform, a pro-life ministry whose aim is to change the hearts of Americans on the horrors of abortion. Its mission is to convince millions of Americans that abortion is so evil, it should be against the law. On this show, we will hear the compelling argument, learned from the Civil Rights Movement, that if our nation learns about abortion, it will work to outlaw it.

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Show Notes

Pro-life Training Academy: Sunday, March 22 from 2  to 6:45 pm at the Warwick Center, Ballroom 1, 629 Hamilton Drive, UNC Wilmington campus. RSVP: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

Pro Life On Campus - Home page for the pro-life, anti-abortion on-campus activities of the Center for Bioethical Reform in Knoxville, TN. 

What We Do - AbortionNO

The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till

For our March show, Carolina Catholic is honored to present its 100th show with our shepherd, Bishop Michael F. Burbidge, Bishop of Raleigh. Bishop Burbidge has been a frequent guest on this show beginning in January 2008 on a show entitled, Meet Bishop Burbidge. In addition to interviews with him, we have featured him at the March for Life and standing up for the Defense of Marriage Act. In this show, we talk to him about Pope Francis' visit to Philadelphia this coming September, the highlights of 2014 including the ordination of Father Michael Burbeck, the diocesan Pastoral Plan, the groundbreaking of the Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral, Philip Johnson and his article about Brittany Maynard, the Bishop's Lenten advice, and the crisis in the Middle East.

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Watch the Show

Show Notes

• Diocese of Raleigh

For our December Carolina Catholic show, Father Patrick Keane, Pastor of St. Mark Catholic Church, shared the story of a Naval Chaplain to the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War, Servant of God Vincent R. Capodanno, a Maryknoll missionary. Father Capodanno died serving the men he loved, the "grunts" of the Marine Corps. Known as the "Grunt Padre" to the men he served, this holy man gave his life while trying to protect the life of a corpsman. His heroic service and death earned him the Congressional Medal of Honor, a Purple Heart, Bronze Star, and the love and admiration of the Marine Corps. A book on his life, The Grunt Padre, is a beautiful testimony to his courage, humility, and love that those who served with him witnessed first-hand.

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Show Notes

Video: Father Capodanno Mass - September 4, 2014 The 2014 Mass took place on September 4 in the Crypt Church of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC. The Father Capodanno Mass is held annually for the repose of his soul on the anniversary of his death. Father Capodanno died giving physical and spiritual assistance to wounded and dying Marines of the 1st Marine Division during battle with the North Vietnamese Army. Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA was the principal celebrant.

Cause for Canonization
Capodanno Guild
Homily by Archbishop Timothy Broglio

Brief Bio

• Born on Staten Island, New York on February 13, 1929; baptized April 28, 1929
• Parents were Vincent and Rachel nee Basile.
• Father was from Gaeta, Italy and Mom was from Sorrento
• Parents from Brooklyn but moved to Staten Island.
• Youngest of seven children (and one baby who died at birth)
• Grew up in an Italian American family on Staten Island (10 children)
• Five sisters: Mary, Pauline, Elinor, Dorothy and Gloria
• Three brothers: James, Philip and Albert
• One died at birth
• Devout Catholic family; St. Michael in Mariners Harbor
• Archdiocese of NY was first seat of military vicar of the armed forces (1917).
• Also home to Catholic Foreign Missionary Society in America (Maryknoll)
• Dad (53) died when Vincent was 10 (February 13, 1939 on Fr. V’s birthday)
• Public grammar school (PS 44). Voted best looking/dressed; 1943
• Favorite song: The Star Spangled Banner (hero MacArthur)
• Graduated from Curtis High School, Staten Island/ daily Mass
• Worked in insurance for a year after high school and attended Fordham University at night
• Met William Richter; daily Mass; made retreat together; felt calling
• Entered the Maryknoll Missionary Seminary in Ossining, NY in May 1949
• MM Junior Seminary Latin School in Clarks Summit PA (The Vénard)
• Maryknoll College in Glenn Ellyn, Illinois (first/third years)
• MM Junior College in Lakewood, NJ (sophomore)
• BA in Philosophy in 1953; novitiate year 1954
• Seminary at Maryknoll in Ossining
• Ordained a Roman Catholic priest in June 14, 1958 by Cardinal Spellman
• Father Capodanno's first assignment as a missionary was with aboriginal Taiwanese in the mountains of Taiwan (Formosa) where he served in a parish and later in a school.
  • 1958: Sent to Taiwan to work with Hakka-Chinese in Miaoli (Hakka means guests); Bishop Ford had lived among the Hakka. 
  • 1959: Sent to Tunglo Parish. Called “shen fu” (spiritual father).
  • 1960: Assigned to Ching An (mountain village) youth hostel for boys
  • Mom died in 1961.
  • 1961: Acting pastor of Holy Rosary Parish, No. Miaoli.
  • 1962: Pastor in Tunglo.
  • 1963: Pastor at Ch’ng An.
  • 1964: Six month furlough after six years: Holy Land
• After seven years, Father Capodanno returned to the United States for leave and then was assigned to a Maryknoll school in Hong Kong.
  • 1965: Sent to Hong Kong (Cantonese). Upset. Began series of letters to join the Navy Chaplains to serve Marines in Vietnam. Refused four times.
  • Compelled by two factors: 1. Go where he is needed; 2. Go deeper as a priest and missionary. (Note: Marine Corps relies upon Navy for chaplains and medical personnel.)
  • Trained in Hawaii.
•  Military service
  • In November 1965, Father Capodanno received his commission as a lieutenant in the Navy Chaplain Corps. Sworn in LT December ’65.
  • Went to Newport RI January 1966 for Naval Chaplains School (2 mos.).
  • He was assigned to the First Marine Division in Vietnam in April 1966.
  • Arrival in Vietnam: Holy Week 1966 at zenith of Vietnam War
  • Anti-war feeling in USA was common.
  • First stop: Da Nang, HQ for 3rd Marine Division: waited for assignment.
  • Assigned to regimental HQ for 7th Marines in Chu Lai (50 miles south)
  • Three battalions were the 1/7, 2/7, and 3/7 (batt # 1st/reg #)
  • Battalions /into companies: 1/7 A, B, C, D; 2/7 E, F, G, H; 3/7 I, K, L, M.
  • Assigned to 1st Battalion, 7th Marines/ had to serve all as only priest.
  • Wanted to be one of the grunts. Grunt Marine: should only be used by enlisted infantry Marines (18 and 19 year olds), but Fr. V wanted honor to be with them as their “Grunt Padre.”
  • Spent 16 months as the Grunt Padre in Vietnam and was loved by all.
  • 12-1966: 1st Medical Battalion, Chu Lai. Stabilize wounded. Wanted out.
  • January 1967: 1st extension granted. June 1967: visited family last time.
  • June 1967: Chaplain for the 1st Battalion/5th Marines in the Que Son Valley.
  • Marines fighting NVA (not the Viet Cong or VC). Fierce battles.
  • Marines in 1/5 saw Father as one of them, a Marine. Served all 5th Marines.
  • July 1967: 2nd extension requested: denied. Two mos. Extension: denied.
  • August 1967: Assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines; 3/5 doing search 7 destroy sweeps.
  • Pistol story: forced to carry; rusted; cleaned it for his men.
  • Did bunker duty with his men. Celebrated 3 Masses on Sunday, 9-3. Last Mass was at bottom of Hill 327.
  • September 4, 1967: Father stayed with unit all night/prayed into a.m.
    • 4:30 am: Operation Swift* (routine maneuver at first) in the Thang Binh District of the Que Son Valley, elements of the 1st Battalion 5th Marines encountered a large NVA unit of approximately 6,000 men near the village of Dong Son. The outnumbered and disorganized Company D was in need of reinforcements.
    • 6:55 am: Company B committed to the battle; arrived 8:20 a.m.
    • 9:14 a.m.: 26 Marines were dead; Father got word of seriousness of situation. Went to 3/5.
    • 9:25 a.m.: Companies M & K committed; Father to go with them for aid.
    • 12 noon: M & K hiked to Dong Son. Father gave absolution/Communion.
    • 2:45 p.m.: 1st Platoon, M company were attacked by NVA; 2nd Platoon arrived. Battle became a slaughter. Radio operator begged for aid.
    • Father ran up to aid radio operator; radio was heavy; ran through hail of bullets. Tear gas dropped, but Father gave mask away. Rendered aid and sacraments to wounded/dying Marines.
    • Aided Sgt. Peters, squad leader w/died. Fr. V. hit with shrapnel/R. shoulder.
    • Aided 5 more Marines. Rescued Sgt. Manfra who survived. Saved his life.
    • Fr. V wounded 2nd time: shrapnel in arms, hands, and legs.
    • 6:30 PM: desperate situation: last heroic act: Corporal Tancke’s account:
    • Wounded in the face and hand (fingers missing), he went to help a wounded corpsman (Armando Leal) only 15 meters from a VC enemy machine gun and was killed. Jumped from cover, ran 20 feet to Leal. Jumped in front of machine gun. Father and Leal were killed instantly. 27 bullet holes in spine, neck, back. Had his right hand over breast pocket/like holding Bible/smiling.
    • “3/5: Number 21 is KIA” 21 is code for chaplain.
    • Marines openly wept. Whole Corps seemed to mourn his loss.
    • Criticism: Martyr’s complex? NO, it was an act of love for his grunts/faith.
    • Father V. was 38 years old when he died on 9-4-67.

For our January show, Carolina Catholic interviewed Judy Landrieu Klein whose book, Miracle Man, chronicles the last 82 days of her husband's life. This book tells the story of her husband, Bernie Klein, and his conversion experience arising out of a near death encounter with Jesus during a six week coma brought on by a massive heart attack. It is a story of love, endurance, fear and faithfulness which culminates in an affirmation of God’s love and mercy for Bernie. Judy, a Catholic theologian and a "revert" to Catholicism, is a writer, professor, public speaker, and blogger.

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Show Notes

Books by Judy

Miracle Man
Living Water: Understanding the Gift of New Life through Baptism
Sez Who: Why Church Authority Established by Christ is So Important to Us Today

Blogs

Judy's Blog Holy Hope
CatholicMom.com
Catholic Writers Guild

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Show Notes

March for Life
Office of Human Life and Dignity | Diocese of Raleigh
Thomas More Society
New Hanover County Pro Life Council

Photos

For our second February show, Carolina Catholic chats with Dr. John Cromer, his wife, Penny Cromer, and Millie Moore about SaludHondu, a Wilmington-based non-profit organization which provides support for ongoing medical care in central Honduras. In this area of 80 mountainous communities, SaludHondu's clinic provides 50,000 men, women and children access to the medical services, equipment, supplies, and medications that these people so direly need.   Many of the people live in extreme poverty, but they live by faith and the hope of a better life.  And the care given by SaludHondu’s Honduran medical staff is sustained, dependable, and available to all. 

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Show Notes

SaludHondu
SaludHondu's Current Fundraiser

For our second November show, Carolina Catholic speaks to Cindy and Andrew Geppert, local parishioners, musicians, and Cursillistas, who have been involved in the Catholic Cursillo Movement for 20 years beginning in the Diocese of Charlotte. The Cursillo Movement approaches evangelization as a natural act of being Christ-like within each of our daily activities realizing that while most people would like to live their lives in a Christ-like manner, the pressures of the world often make this difficult. The Cursillo Movement provides a method and a technique to provide us with the tools, the mentality, the strength, and the support to make this natural type of evangelization possible.

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Show Notes

Cursillo Booklet

The September Carolina Catholic show discusses the Penitentiary of New Mexico's Old Main Prison which was the scene of a devastating riot in February 1980. The prison is now a museum, and Mario and Judi Paparozzi took a tour of the prison in August 2014. In this show, they will talk about their years in corrections, Judi's work at this prison before the riot, and what led to and happened during the most deadly riot in American history. We will also share several miracles that happened during the riot in the prison's Catholic chapel.

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Show Notes

Videos

Documentary of riot
Raw footage of riot
Prison crucifix returned to diocese

Books

The Penitentiary in Crisis by Mark Colvin
The Hate Factory by Georgelle Hirliman
The Devil's Butcher Shop by Roger Morris

Photos

Aerial view of the prison
Layout of the prison

For August, Carolina Catholic went into the mountains of North Carolina to interview Father George David Byers, a priest living as a hermit in the mountains of Transylvania County in the Diocese of Charlotte. With Bishop Jugis’ permission, Father George lives in the mountains at his Holy Souls Hermitage where he prays for priests, writes, and assists rural parishes on weekends. In our first show, we will be learning about this priest, his 20 years in Rome, and his four years as a hermit. In our second show, we will be discussing his thesis and writings on Genesis 2 & 3 where he discusses his scientific and theological study of the Bible on the topic of original sin. 

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First Show -

Show Notes

Suffering Children - Part 1
Suffering Children - Part 2
Suffering Children - Part 3
When Jesus was in Prison
Pope Francis and the Judas Crisis

For October, Carolina Catholic chats with Mary and Richard Fimbel, co-chairs of Andrew's Toy Box, a foundation they started to help sick children smile. This is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing special "care packages" filled with toys, crafts and books to children with life-threatening illnesses like their grandson, Andrew Fimbel, who died at 5 1/2 months from Spinal Muscular Atrophy, the number one genetic killer of children under two. The ministry passes on the comfort, love and support that Andrew and his family received in a special way when they needed it most. 

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Show Notes

Andrew's Toy Box

...

For November, Carolina Catholic talks with Tim Staples, Director of Apologetics and Evangelization at Catholic Answers, a radio program which airs on Wilmington Catholic Radio. Tim spoke here in Wilmington, at Wilmington Catholic Radio's fourth radio conference, on the topic of evangelization. As director of apologetics, Tim is called to present a rational basis for the defense of one’s faith against objections. In this show, we will hear about Tim's conversion to the Catholic faith and his newest book, Behold Your Mother: A Biblical & Historical Defense of Marian Doctrines, which was just released.

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---

Carolina Catholic chats with Bob Kinsman, the Cape Fear Deanery coordinator for the Diocese of Raleigh’s COR Seminar on St. John Paul II's Theology of the Body.   The COR Seminar will be presented by author, Christopher West, at St. Michael the Archangel, in Cary on Saturday, July 26th from 8:30 am till 1:30 pm beginning with Mass celebrated by Bishop Burbidge. In this show, we learn about Christopher West, his book, the Theology of the Body Explained, and how Theology of the Body seeks to equip men and women to learn, live and share the beauty of the divine plan for human life, love, and sexuality in a new evangelization.

 

From the Diocesan website:

The COR Seminar Live

Join us on Saturday, July 26 for The COR Seminar Live presented by Christopher West!

It is the fruit of two decades of his searching for the best way to introduce people to the life-changing vision of John Paul II’s Theology of the Body. “Cor” is Latin for heart. Through a creative blending of live music, film clips, and Christopher’s dynamic presentation, The Cor Seminar–Live! will take participants on an exhilarating journey into the “cor” of God’s plan for human life, love, marriage, and sexuality – and, through that, into the Mystery at the “cor” of, well, everything.... See more at: http://www.christopherwest.com/the-cor-seminar-live/#sthash.zk1iJBy4.dpuf.

Or, watch this you-Tube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbvn873-e28.

Through a creative blending of live music, art, movie clips, and Christopher West’s dynamic presentation, The Cor Seminar unfolds:

• the “why” of human existence in a way you’ve never heard before
• the reason we have such deep longings and desires and what to do about it
• living hope of the satisfaction of our deepest longings and desires
• God’s plan for marriage and sexual union as a foreshadowing of the eternal bliss of heaven
• the hope of healing our deepest hurts and redeeming our deepest sorrows
• the redemption of our sexuality as the key to building a true culture of life and love

Target audience

The Cor Seminar is intended for anyone and everyone with a “hungry heart” – young, old, married, single, priests, religious, seminarians, Catholics and non-Catholics, believers and non-believers. All are welcome, including teens. However, as a benchmark, Christopher generally gears his presentation towards a young adult and older audience.

Why come?

The most common response to this seminar is: “I was raised in the Church and never heard this before, why not!!?” The tragedy is that we can go to church our whole lives and never really know who we are, whey we’re hear, what our faith holds out to us. The Theology of the Body provides the interpretive key that makes everything the Church teaches “click,” and we come to see a vision of life and love so beautiful, so grand, it takes our breath away.

What does my ticket price cover? The ticket price covers the cost of hosting and promoting the seminar as well as the materials you receive as part of the seminar. It also helps support the global mission of The COR Project in sharing John Paul II's Theology of the Body around the world.

Is there something I can do to prepare for the seminar?

Prayerfully read Fill These Hearts, Christopher West's most recent book. Watch the seminar/book trailer here: http://youtu.be/pbvn873-e28. When inviting others to the COR Seminar we encourage you to show people this trailer on your iphone or smart phone.

If you would like to register, click here. Please note that tickets are $29 or $20 if 10 or more are purchased!

If any questions, contact local Event leaders at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or (919) 589-COR4. 

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