Ask any Catholic over 60, “Who made you?” and he or she will probably reply, “God made me.” Catholics of my generation learned the truths of their faith from the Baltimore Catechism. Catechisms have been part of Catholic faith formation since the 16th century and the Council of Trent. In 1997, the Universal Catechism of the Catholic Church was promulgated by Pope John Paul II, and this year, the long-awaited United States Catholic Catechism for Adults was published. To help us get to know this important resource, American Catholic Radio is focusing on how our original catechism came about and what the new U.S. Catholic Catechism is all about. Joan McKamey, who edits a newsletter on the new Catechism for St. Anthony Messenger Press, will visit on “Exploring Our Faith.”

Included in the U.S. Catholic Catechism are profiles of famous American Catholics, and  we thought that from time to time it might be interesting to have our listeners get to know some of them. In the next two programs, we’ll meet Dorothy Day and Cardinal Joseph Bernardin as substitutes for our usual “Saint of the Day” feature. John Feister will visit with Monsignor Ken Velo, who served as the late Cardinal’s executive assistant.

Help your listeners learn about the new Catechism and their faith via ACR!

Father Greg Friedman, O.F.M.

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Highlights from this episode include:

Joseph L. Bernardin

Paula Jordan teaches music therapy to disabled kids. She is blind by birth, has two sighted children and plays flute in the music ministry at her Presbyterian church and a Catholic church.

Does performing household chores on Sunday break the command to keep that day holy? Can nuclear war ever be justified? Does Original Sin allow God to punish us for something we didn’t do?

The Seamless Garment

Msgr. Kenneth Velo, personal assistant to Cardinal Bernardin, talks about the Consistent Ethic of Life, or Seamless Garment of Life, and Cardinal Bernardin’s contribution developing that concept.

Highlights from this episode include:

Servant of God Dorothy Day

Donna Ecker works for Bethany House in New York, a community that is part of the lay Catholic Worker movement founded over seventy years ago by Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin. It operates a hospitality house for homeless women and children.

Do Muslims and Jews worship a different God than Christians? Why does Paul say that wives should be submissive to their husbands? Do demons possess the mind or just the spirit?

Catechism

Religious educator, editor and producer Joan McKamey talks about the new United States Catholic Catechism for Adults.