Open Forum

The callers choose the topics during Open Forum, peppering our guests with questions on every aspect of Catholic life and faith, the moral life, and even philosophical topics that touch on general religious belief.

Questions Covered:

• 04:19 - In Catholic social teaching what is the role of government? Does libertarianism fit within Catholic teaching?
• 09:05 - What is the Church’s teaching on organ donation?
• 13:29 - I’ve heard that Spain instituted the Inquisition even though the pope had reservations about it. Did the Church do anything wrong when it comes to the Inquisition, or was it just the state or individuals?
• 23:06 - What happened to people who died before Jesus saved us? Did the Neanderthals have souls?
• 30:00 - The children of Fatima were so innocent compared to people today, but Mary still told Francesco that he had sins to make up for. If Mary reprimanded a holy childlike Francesco, how do we have any hope of getting to Heaven?
• 41:03 - Do other religions have a belief in or concept of Purgatory?
• 47:42 - If we receive grace through the sacraments through the merits of Jesus’ death and resurrection, how is it that people received the sacrament of baptism and the Eucharist before Jesus died?
• 52:13 - How do I respond to the objection to the sacrifice of the Mass that the Bible says Christ was sacrificed “once and for all”?

Resources Mentioned:

• The Origins of the Inquisition in Fifteenth-Century Spain by B. Netanyahu