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Defending St. Damien From Ocasio-Cortez

In this episode of The Catholic Talk Show, the guys discuss the comments of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez equating St. Damien of Molokai with white supremacy.

Episode 99:
In this episode, we will discuss:
• Responding to Rep. Ocasio-Cortez
• Why St. Damien’ life is very opposite of supremacy
• Why do leftists accuse the Church of colonialism?
• Why lumping all “white men” together is dangerous
• Why the Church is facing more and more persecution
• and much more!

Show Links
Molokai Movie – Watch on YouTube
More About Saint Damien



17 comments on Defending St. Damien From Ocasio-Cortez

  1. Elizabeth Cronin says:

    Thank you for defending St. Damien. Please send a summary to AOC.

  2. Andrea says:

    Hi guys,
    I too have seen an inspirational movie on the life of St. Damien. It made a great impact on me since I saw it when I was younger. I agree RS that people are going wild about statues or icons lately. People get carried away with their emotions if unchecked. Protestors are addicted to protesting and don’t want to stop so they are looking around for other causes such as iconic statues.

    AOC sometimes does not do her homework and her video was proof of that. I also think she likes to be controversial. Yes, she is somewhat of an accomplished human being who gets wrongheaded at times. Other times she is attacked by the GOP and she won’t lie down and be a floor mat to any male, and we know that the GOP want women to be second class citizens. She is disastrously wrong on this particular matter however. Thank you for not giving this a pass. She had to be called to account and I hope she is listening and learning about her abysmal ignorance. The amazing love of a man to go into a leper colony to heal and be with the ostracized was a monumental act of bravery. An act almost of divine love or the conduit to divine love.

    It is very dangerous out there for Christianity to be packaged with Colonialism and it is an attack on Christianity. This is a dangerous precedent. There are those who hate Christians out there and you have to ask why. I find it scary as these attacks are direct. RD you are right and we all need to remember this even during your broadcast – the only way to unite is through love not hate. It is hard not to hate when attacked unfairly. The amount of hate that I read in some comments in national online newspapers as far as Christianity stem from Trump’s hypocritical group of evangelists surrounding him or flanking him. Or that is the excuse used to condemn Christianity as a whole because Trump is surrounded by religious sycophants.

    No offense Fr. Rich I understand all lives matter but it is also a political movement afoot to trash BLM and take away its call for specific justice for specific people. You fell right in line with what they want to have go away or 400 years of original sin against black lives. Don’t turn your back on black lives matter. That’s what the opposing movement wants you to do.

    A personal attack on AOC was uncalled for Fr. Rich and RS. I know your zeal brought you to it but you should have risen above trying to attack her and intimating that she will be in her job to make money like so many of them in Congress have. You don’t know that. We know that as fact with the Trumps, the McConnell’s, and so many others mostly in the GOP.

    “The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which heaven itself has ordained.” President George Washington

    “The greatest kindness one can render to any man consists in leading him from error to truth.” St. Thomas of Aquinas – I am hoping that AOC sees the light and the error of her ways as far as Fr. Damien.

    RD you are so right we need to have less toxic news in our lives. I am guilty of following it too much and it is working against my spiritual development and I don’t even follow social media like FB and Twitter. They are an insidious. I agree with you RS that the trend is not going to stop as far as attacking the Catholic Church and the tenets of Christianity. Turning the cheek and fasting and prayer are important Fr. Rich. They lead us to meditation on God.

    Fr. Rich another beautiful personal story to share with us, thank you. God bless that guy and stay away from Finnegan’s!

    Sad that the only female to be found for the Catholic Talk Show was one who strayed away from Christianity. Call her back to Christianity. Do not condemn her. Now the next podcast should have a woman guest or theologian on the show.

    All three of you found this a subject to be all riled up about. Channel that. Take your own words to heart, Fr. Rich and guys. Be thoughtful. Be mindful. Be charitable. Enlighten AOC with your message. Do not condemn her.

    Stay safe and healthy

    1. Cece says:

      Did the Fr. Rich person really say all lives matter? If so I think I’m going to be avoiding this Catholic Talk Show. Too often we see prominent Catholics who ought to know better give into partisan mentality, which results in making them look like the type of hypocrites Jesus would have rebuked. If this guy can’t see past his political views to know that black lives matter and the overwhelming evidence of systemic racism in this country, then it’d be better if he just stayed silent instead of giving Catholics a bad name.

      1. Andrea says:

        Cece,
        I feel exactly the same way you do. When I heard him make that comment I immediately started processing another persona for him. I am so disappointed in him right now and a little tired of their coming off so arrogantly about issues at times. All 3 of them. I am still going to watch but I don’t know for how much longer as the show is deteriorating in some ways. They are feeding into each other too much. The other problem I have is with Patreon. Once a subscriber good luck at stopping the process!

      2. Trevor Dravolnik says:

        I love Catholic Talk Show, but this was the low point. Btw, in light of the mass grave issue at all these Canadian residential schools, lets maybe re-think “literacy” (in English and in western studies) as the barometer of “progress” and humanity.

    2. Michael Reyes says:

      Thank you for this comment

  3. Tim says:

    Are there any places left on Earth that at one time or another have NOT been colonized?? This is getting unreal!

  4. AOC represents the persons who call themselves Catholic and truly are not. There are many out there who “have ears and do not hear and eyes but do not see”. Remember, when the apostles asked Jesus, how many would be saved. He said, ‘few”.
    Thank you guys for defending our true faith.

    1. Andrea says:

      LUKE 10:25-28
      On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26″What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” 27He answered, “‘Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.'” 28″You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

  5. FHL says:

    “Fasten your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bumpy night!”
    Bette Davis (as Margo) – All About Eve (1950)

    Levity works wonders for me. But I’m an outsider, with zero interest in USA politics. I do, however, admire the lives of the saints with my whole heart, and support Father Damien’s selfless heroic sacrifice to miinister to those whose morality had hit rock bottom, not just their physical plight. It encouraged meto immediately revisit the Archdiocese of Toronto online resource, which combines quotes from Fides et Ratio, JPii, regarding Spiritual Works of Mercy, with bold scriptural backup and boundaries for putting it into contemporary context. A dose of hope amidst hbp conflict. Our Lady of the Snows, pray for us.

    1. FHL says:

      The most sinister element in the film, which I watched after the ‘top Catholic movies’ episode, was him shouting his Confession to the bishop from one boat to another in French so onlookers wouldn’t understand. His bishop wouldn’t go near him, but the Sacrament was of vital importance to Father Damien, both as salve and as spiritual rocket fuel. The lack of support from his own community of priests in Hawaii did not feed bitterness, the humiliation merely merged with his prayer and the Corporal Works of Mercy he carried out daily. He was already in Heaven long before he drew his last breath.

      (Sorry for any typos, reading glasses elsewhere.)

    2. Andrea says:

      FHL,
      I have loved old movies since I was a kid and you quoted a classic line from a classic. Thank God, as a fellow North American, you have zero interest in USA politics. I never did until Trump came along. I would register Independent and then vote for the candidate who best supported my interests and policies and move along in life. Now forgettaboutit! Everything is politicized including your morning coffee. I swear I am losing my hair because of the state of American politics.

      I was interested in Fides et Ratio and read that it is an encyclical from JPII on faith and reason. Sounds worth reading to me. Thanks for the tip. I also read about our Lady of the Snows and how today is her feast day. How lovely.

        1. Andrea says:

          FHL,
          Thank you! I went out to the EWTN web site and did a search and the encyclical popped up in its entirety. I plan to read it probably more than once so as not to miss any of its information or nuances. The man had a brilliant mind.

          From the first few pages I have read so far it appears to be about ‘being’ and our search for God using both faith and reason. Our search for wisdom, hence the study of philosophy. How man has learned about his physicality in a physical universe. Our search for purpose, etc. In a very small way it reminds me of my book Thoughts on God which I wrote as a thank you to God. I was writing about my personal search as far as finding God, getting a response from God, and then faith that it was God who responded. I had written that God is not afraid of the truth seekers and JPII had made that statement as well! Fides et Ratio has much personal meaning to me and I can’t wait to finish reading it. I am heading into Chapter 4.

          1. FHL says:

            There would be world peace if everyone on the planet had a copy of Viktor Frankl’s ‘Man’s Search For Meaning’. These 15 words can literally save lives, not just metaphorically:
            “Suffering ceases to be suffering when it has meaning. And that meaning is Jesus Christ.”

            Father Damien of Molokai was a man who believed it, and practised it, with confidence, courage, prudence, and humility.

  6. Mark Graff says:

    Ryan
    Very concerned to hear one of your angels is hospitalized.
    If possible please update your fans and us Patrons continually pray for your team,
    your families and your mission.

  7. Dr.Cajetan Coelho says:

    Prayer, mortification, abnegation and humility were his powerful strengths. He led a frugal, simple and an austere life among persons afflicted by Hansen’s Disease. Saint Damien of Molokai continues to inspire men and women of goodwill across the Planet.

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