This week on The Open Door (November 29th), panelists Jim Hanink, Mario Ramos-Reyes, and Valerie Niemeyer continue their discussion of the art of translation, Eastern Catholicism, and the relation between Thomism and Ressourcement theology with special and returning guest Professor Matthew Minerd. He is a Ruthenian Catholic, raised Roman Catholic in a mixed American-Slavic and Appalachian cultural context in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Matthew is a husband and father, a seminary professor, and a translator. - Has your work as a translator triggered new questions for you about biblical translations? Are there any translations that you think are especially helpful? - You are an Eastern Catholic and teach in an Eastern Catholic seminary. What do Western Catholics especially need to know about Eastern Catholic spirituality? - After Vatican II there were major changes in the Roman liturgy. Some now prefer what Benedict XVI presented as the Extraordinary Rite; others have embraced the liturgy of Eastern Catholicism. How have Eastern Catholics reacted to the liturgical changes in the West? - What are some distinctive theological influences in Eastern Catholicism? - Has Eastern Catholicism experienced special difficulties in addressing the relation between Church and State? - Some speak of Jacques Maritain as the single most influential Thomist of the last century. Was he open to Ressourcement theology? - You have a leadership role in the American Maritain Association. Where do you see the spirit of Jacques and Raïssa Maritain active today? - Maritain was deeply engaged in the politics of his time. Does Thomism offer a foundation for constructive politics? - What’s your view of the American Solidarity Party? - Could you tell us a bit about your current projects?

This week on The Open Door (November 15th), panelists Jim Hanink, Mario Ramos-Reyes, and Valerie Niemeyer discuss the art of translation, Eastern Catholicism, and the relation between Thomism and Ressourcement theology. Our special guest is Professor Matthew Minerd. He is a Ruthenian Catholic, raised Roman Catholic in a mixed American-Slavic and Appalachian cultural context in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Minerd is a husband and father, a seminary professor, and a translator. - You have become, in recent years, a distinguished translator. How did this come about? - Some say that to translate is to betray: Traduttore, traditore! It’s a provocative charge, but could it be that where there is smoke there is fire? - Is the art of translating a kind of interpretation? Does it involve compromises - You are an Eastern Catholic and teach in an Eastern Catholic seminary, Ss. Cyril and Methodius. What do Western Catholics especially need to know about the Eastern Catholic heritage? How does it serve the Universal Church? - Do you have any distinctive challenges in presenting Thomism to Eastern Catholics? - How are you working to resolve the tension between Thomism and the Ressourcement of the Nouvelle Théologie? - Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange has been dubbed “the sacred monster of Thomism.” Your recent translations of his books are Thomistic Common Sense: The Philosophy of Being and the Development of Doctrine, The Order of Things: The Realism of the Principle of Finality, Philosophizing in Faith, Essays on the Beginning and End of Wisdom, and The Sense of Mystery: Clarity and Obscurity in the Intellectual Life. What is your own assessment of Garrigou-Lagrange? - Some speak of Jacques Maritain as the single most influential Thomist of the last century. You are active in the American Maritain Association. Where do you see the spirit of Maritain active today? - Maritain was deeply engaged in the politics of his time. Does Thomism offer a foundation for constructive politics? - What are some of your current projects?

This week on The Open Door (November 1st), panelists Jim Hanink, Mario Ramos-Reyes, and Valerie Niemeyer discuss India, religious freedom, and Thomism. Our distinguished and welcome guest is Prof. Timothy Samuel Shah of the University of Dallas. By training and personal passion, he is a scholar of politics and political philosophy, specializing in religion and global politics, religious freedom, and the history of moral and political theory. With his wife, Rebecca Shah, he is based in Bangalore, India. With Rebecca, he has established several initiatives in partnership with the University of Dallas, including a Jacques and Raïssa Maritain Program on Catholicism, Public Life and World Affairs. Under the auspices of the Maritain Program, Prof. Shah coordinates a monthly online Thomistic Study Circle, which involves numerous expert and amateur Thomists from around the world, and which seeks to re-enliven an appreciation of the Angelic Doctor’s timeless teaching and relevance, especially for public affairs. Most recently, he and Rebecca established a Program for Indo-American Understanding and Friendship at the Gupta College of Business at the University of Dallas. The program, among other things, seeks to promote deep dialogue and genuine understanding between Hinduism and Catholic Christianity. In addition to serving as a Distinguished Research Scholar in the Politics Department at the University of Dallas, Shah also serves as Director of Strategic Initiatives for the https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fcivilizationalvalues.org%2Ftimothy-samuel-shah-biography%2F%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR3DzfUkyyyMh5zHEsR34RT2auEAfX4zXSl5JqDLUf71Vm_ZZGOGjFf-tfI&h=AT2S2zJ9TfcM-OL9fqddIK6zAv-ElkUz2N7EiLMN-W7_KpX4LKhsoja7mfB5k0AuBawg1sRnBq4nV34pgy883LOGUSV9mQ9hA3-XC55BOOhOAXswMKkHqNjYIY3mAOEfxxfo39kg96q2cTfMCA&__tn__=-UK-R&c[0]=AT2xu4zWfnI4fNsvFp_p09YJP5qeYuXINiT1C9ocDwCbucsxt25U5pbaLixS_PNYrE7O7d6_yTyeqz2ssXxdQNa69IwplQJPbB66-Ll-h-fBqKklkVj6Vzv54B1JArYy1qmBuOBU3YUbt4bya48uRzUojdwR7T-e56mDng5Jn1as7MWg-dlTqdjRwfq3rtLze0BmdJzO3bmqHjua2tjIqr4, an organization he founded with senior leaders of the world’s largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama in Indonesia, in order to strengthen and preserve a rules-based international order founded upon respect for the equal rights and dignity of every human being. 1. Prof. Shah, Tim if we may, how can Americans better understand India, now the most populous nation in the world? 2. What might Mahatma Gandhi think of India today? 3. Commentators are calling attention to the political and military implications of the developing relations between India and the United States. Can you explain for us something of what’s at stake? 4. India’s Supreme Court recently declined to recognize same sex marriage, insisting that it was a matter for the legislature. What factors went into this decision? 5. How did you come to have a special interest in religious freedom? What are some of the key challenges to religious freedom today? 6. Could you tell us about how you came to the University of Dallas? How is it a distinctive institution? 7. At the yearly conference of the American Maritain Association you presented a paper warning of the “siren song” of Catholic integralism. Why are you critical of this phenomenon? 8. It has been said that everyone is born either a Platonist or an Aristotelian. But you are a keen Thomist. How did this happen? Were you, perhaps, trying to combine the best of Plato and of Aristotle? 9. Is there a Catholic-Hindu dialogue in India? Is there a Catholic-Muslim dialogue in India? 10. Pope Francis has said that we are already in the midst of World War III. What do you think he meant? Do you agree with him?

This week on The Open Door (October 18), panelists Jim Hanink, Mario Ramos-Reyes, and Valerie Niemeyer dig deeper into arguments for and against the existence of God. These arguments matter greatly, and we think they have a necessary place in Christian evangelization. Is Christianity true? We confess that it is! But if God doesn’t exist, then it is not. Our welcome and returning guest is Patrick Flynn. He’s the author of the new book The Best Argument for God (Sophia Institute Press, 2023). A writer, podcaster, and speaker, Flynn lives in Wisconsin with his wife, five children, and a Saint Bernard. He is the host of Philosophy for the People. - We’ve discussed the problem of evil. Do naturalists face what we might term “the problem of good”? How might a naturalist account for the good that people do? - Is there a naturalist strategy for explaining the beauty we find in human creativity? In the natural world itself? - Could it be that in the end one simply chooses to believe or not to believe? - Pope Francis recently wrote an Apostolic Letter on Blaise Pascal. The Letter makes no reference, though, to Pascal’s Wager. How would you evaluate it? - What is a worldview? Does everyone have a worldview? Can one change one’s world view on rational grounds? - How does scientism differ from science? - Is there only one universe? If so, does it show any signs of being “fine-tuned”? - What is the principle of sufficient reason? - How might one challenge the principle of sufficient reason? - Does the principle of sufficient reason support the existence of God? If so, how?

This week on The Open Door (October 4th), panelists Jim Hanink, Mario Ramos-Reyes, and Valerie Niemeyer discuss arguments for and against the existence of God. We think that these arguments matter, and we want to think hard about them. After all, we want to know whether Christianity is true, and if God doesn’t exist then it isn’t! Our welcome guest is Patrick Flynn. He’s the author of the new book The Best Argument for God (Sophia Institute Press, 2023). A writer, podcaster, and speaker, Flynn lives in Wisconsin with his wife, five children, and a Saint Bernard. He is the host of Philosophy for the People. Among the questions we will ask are the following. Please feel free to ask your own! - Does Athens have anything to do with Jerusalem? What did Justin Martyr think? - When does a reason constitute an argument? When does an argument constitute a proof? - Does an experience of the presence of God take the place of an argument for God’s existence? - Just what is classical theism? - Are there any challenging arguments against the existence of God? - What is naturalism? Is it scientific? - How do you understand the concept of a worldview? - How does scientism differ from science? - Does the principle of sufficient reason support the reality of God? - Is there only one universe? If so, does it show any signs of being “fine-tuned”?

This week (September 20th ) on The Open Door, panelists Jim Hanink, Mario Ramos-Reyes, and Valerie Niemeyer will discuss religious freedom. Our special guests are Andrew Kubick and Nathaniel Hurd, both of the Religious Freedom Institute. Kubick is Deputy Director, National Center for Religious Freedom Education, and a Research Fellow in Bioethics and Medical Conscience. He has a Ph.D. in Bioethics from the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum. He has published in The Catholic Journal on Religious Freedom and Health Care, Dignitas, Ethics & Medics, National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly, Public Discourse, and St. John Paul II Journal of Bioethics. Nathaniel Hurd is Director of the North America Action Team and Senior Fellow for Public Policy for the Religious Freedom Institute. He holds a Masters of International Affairs from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University. Hurd worked as Senior Policy Advisor for the U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe. In addition to advising Senators and Representatives, he directed hearings, monitored elections in Europe, and represented the United States with the United Nations and World Bank. He has spent time overseas with many survivors of violence who were forced to flee from their homes. The questions for our visitors include the following. Feel free to suggest others! - What led to your interest in, and professional commitment to, religious freedom? - Why should governments have a special regard for religious freedom? Isn’t it sufficient to secure civil liberties? - Do you have a working definition of religion? - Do you recognize a right not to profess a religion? - Many see religion as a private affair and are willing to recognize it as such. Does religion, properly understood, have a public dimension? If so, what follows? - How is it that religion often becomes entangled with nationalism? - Should Christians advocate for the religious freedom of Muslims? Of Buddhists? - A noted liberal scholar, the late John Rawls, contends that treating one’s faith as the overarching good of one’s life is a form of fanaticism. Indeed, he identifies St. Ignatius Loyola as a fanatic. How would you respond to Rawls? - In today’s world, is the secular state a political safe haven for religious freedom? - What are the prospects for religious freedom in Pakistan, Nigeria, and China?

In this episode of The Open Door, panelists Jim Hanink, Mario Ramos-Reyes, and Valerie Niemeyer discuss how to best respond to people who are devalued due to intellectual or physical impairment, mental disorders, age, and poverty. Our welcome guest is Jo Massarelli. She leads Social Role Valorization workshops both in the United States and internationally. She has also evaluated dozens of human service programs for schools, hospices, prisons, and homeless shelters. Massarelli and her husband Marc Tumeinski are members of a voluntary community responding the needs of the homeless in Worcester, Massachusetts. - Valerie Niemeyer was blessed to meet Jo and her husband, Marc Tumeinski, in Omaha after the interview with Marc on The Open Door. Henry, Valerie's 18 year old, joined her and met a few of Jo's colleagues. Could you tell us about that weekend event? Why did it happen in my home city of Omaha? - Can you tell us more about Wolf Wolfensburger? How did he influence you? - What is the status of the social role valorization movement here and abroad? - What are the goals of the International Social Role Valorization Association? How might folks support its work? - You are part of a local Catholic Worker community. What can you tell us about it? - What connections do you see between Wolf Wolfensburger and Dorothy Day, the co-founder of the Catholic Worker Movement? - Do folks in the social role valorization movement and the Catholic Worker movement face similar challenges? - What patterns contribute to greater or lesser "success" within the two movements? And how would you define "success" in these contexts? - Tell us about your conference this summer. And what's on the agenda for next summer's conference? - Any last thoughts, invitations, or reading suggestions for our audience?

In this episode of The Open Door , without special fuss, and certainly without making a scene, we’ll explore the life and times of the man behind the scenes. Our welcome guest is our producer and, indeed, the producer of the full range of WCAT Radio & Television programs. The President of En Route Books and Media, the peripatetic Sebastian Mahfood, OP, Ph.D., will join us! Though his heart is in East Texas, St. Louis is the launching pad of his projects and peregrinations. He lives there with his wife, Dr. Stephanie Mahfood, and their children, Alexander and Eva Ruth. Among the questions we’ll be asking are the following. - Dr. Mahfood, Sebastian, could you tell us about your roots and introduce us to your family? - How did you become a lay Dominican and what does it mean for you? - Back in the day, and our audience should hear it directly, you wrestled professionally. Were you, even then, a voice from the periphery? - Turning away from the distractions of youth, you left the ring for the groves of academe. Your tenure at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary and Holy Apostles College & Seminary was rich: teacher, administrator, and pioneer developer of on-line academic programs. Could you share with us the highlights of your career? - You’ve authored half a dozen books of special interest. To name a few: Catholic Realism, The Narrative Spirituality of Dante’s Divine Comedy and Missionary Priests in the Homeland: Our Call to Receive. Could you explain their themes to our audience? - The Open Door, we understand, is your longest running WCAT Radio program. How did it start? What is its future? - You are not one to let the grass grow under your feet. Could you tell us about your travels, especially in Africa and Europe? - Before your retirement, what was the nature of your work as a professor of interdisciplinary and intercultural studies? - How does the Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology feature in your professional life? - What's next for your publishing house and radio station? Some links: https://www.enroutebooksandmedia.com https://www.wcatradio.com https://www.faithscience.org

In this episode of The Open Door , panelists Jim Hanink and Valierie Niemeyer interview Lauren Onak, the new vice presidential candidate of the American Solidarity Party. Lauren was born and raised in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. She studied English Literature at Barnard College of Columbia University and received a Masters in Adolescent Education from Hunter College. Onak is a stay at home mom to three young children and lives in the Boston suburbs. She teaches natural family planning and is active in several community organizations. Among the questions we’ll be asking are the following. Please feel free to ask your own! - Lauren, can you share some of your back story with us? Back before you joined the American Solidarity Party? - Tell us about your discernment process when invited to represent the American Solidarity Party as vice presidential candidate alongside Peter Sonski. Why did you say yes to such a weighty commitment? - The American Solidarity Party believes strongly in the principle of subsidiarity, a principle that reflects the social teaching of the Catholic Church. How do you explain subsidiarity to folks who aren’t familiar with it? - How do strong communities relate to this principle of subsidiarity? - We also affirm the importance of solidarity, and living it out both personally and collectively. Can you give us some examples of what solidarity looks like or could look like from the personal to the national and even international level? - Dorothy Day, the co-founder of The Catholic Worker Movement, once said that we don’t want to trade one poverty for a worse poverty. What do you think that she meant? - At one point Day also said that more than ever she believed we need to foster personal responsibility. How can we balance that with concrete expressions of personal and collective solidarity? - How does the evangelical counsel of a personal and even communal commitment to voluntary poverty relate to this dynamic? - As a stay-at-home mother, how have you sought to strengthen the communities in which you live? What are your hopes for the future in that regard? - What’s it like so far on the campaign trail?

In this episode of The Open Door (July 26th), panelists Jim Hanink and Mario Ramos-Reyes talk about children’s literature, writing for a popular audience, and Lady Philosophy. Our guest is Susanna Spencer. She has a Masters in Theology from Franciscan University of Steubenville. Spencer is both a writer and the content and theological editor for https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fblessedisshe.net%2F%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR2XNcXFCMTo09_Cdh-hoBo9OZn39wdgkipLHdE2G8LEymcNOJNKqn4umjU&h=AT0RxqJaI-BcItu2P0cOWdl3i9lTb_jXjsmVhxCi_icBfi-yQGh6a8W2we4xdQEGeqjT61yFXFePz4RXYuRAU1azMRjNH_d_39auKXaxEW1AEIvps_SnyU9676JLfaiI-_ft&__tn__=-UK-R&c%5B0%5D=AT18XAnxP0Cn6U5ZNPHRZPh8dLbwjh7Sk756abT1w0-0DAaNs4xAM_Zvn0BCb0iPfK95qkAXpzgYu5qSFMOkOCQyS6oHU9rzAgae5cKLE81fghgLSaUqb-bu7HHo9Y5fKmW0y6hLpV-Q5JlfyY4KO-o939ppcBRGyuRCZKI. In addition, she co-authored the children's book, Rise Up: Shining in Virtue. She lives in St. Paul, Minnesota with her philosophy professor husband and four children. You’ll find her online at her https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncregister.com%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dsusanna%2520spencer%26fbclid%3DIwAR1plv5mKFeI6SnHDJDMVghfq93SuHCT38dhCf_sOv6oVoBQ5kFx9c2qrXg&h=AT2oB6LEHqqBLaRC0GU8juZrqL2Z59Ke7m1PJse1KkH9maCeOZEkBZR5GML9y-x31L_b96fqpRPm1XYgN262fUZKFh8RV_G5ImZ_iglcg7exdr9gU2KCTDRdRzed5CsUKR9R&__tn__=-U-UK-R&c%5B0%5D=AT18XAnxP0Cn6U5ZNPHRZPh8dLbwjh7Sk756abT1w0-0DAaNs4xAM_Zvn0BCb0iPfK95qkAXpzgYu5qSFMOkOCQyS6oHU9rzAgae5cKLE81fghgLSaUqb-bu7HHo9Y5fKmW0y6hLpV-Q5JlfyY4KO-o939ppcBRGyuRCZKI author page. The following are among the questions we’ll be asking. - What led you to study theology at Franciscan University? And how did you find the experience? - Could you introduce us to Blessed is She? How does being both a writer and editor work? - You’ve just published, with Blessed is She, your first book, Seek His Kingdom: A Meditation on Matthew. How did it come about? - Have you used your co-authored children’s book, Rise Up: Shining in Virtue, with your own children? How does St. Thomas Aquinas inspire this book? - Let’s go from the particular to the general! What is your favorite literature for children? And how do you form your children in the Western tradition through literature? - As a frequent book reviewer, what are some of your favorite books and who are your favorite authors? - What’s it like to live with Lady Philosophy”? Just who is she? And can Athens have anything to do with Jerusalem? - You are hard at work on a book about virtue ethics. What are the key themes that you are exploring? - You’ve noted that you write for a popular audience. Might we say that Scripture is written for a popular audience? And did Shakespeare write for a popular audience? - Let’s close with a bonus question. Are there way more mosquitoes in Minnesota than out-of-staters suppose?