The Faith Full Catholic Podcast tells true stories about the Catholic faith in today's world through compelling, narrative audio journalism. Episodes include interviews, narrative storytelling, and a blend of high-quality production techniques. The independent, listener-supported project is hosted and produced by Tony Ganzer. He's a long-time public media journalist and writer by trade, and a Catholic by choice and upbringing. Ganzer has reported on many things over 15 years in the US and…
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Catholic Bishops in the Philippines say online gambling has become a new plague or virus that is destroying families, and even causing a kind of slavery. While illegal gambling has always existed in the shadows of society, this new crisis takes place in the smartphones of anyone, including children. The cure to this plague needs to come from every level of society, including at the parish level:…
A cemetery in northern France tells us something about Catholicism in this country. I've been here many times over the last 15 years…a tiny slice of this village's lifetime, stretching to the 12th century. In 2013, broken crucifixes and stones littered the grounds of St. Martin church. Flowers and vegetation reclaimed many plots, and at least to me the site felt forgotten. But something changed,…
You may not realize it, but the Catholic faith was one of the great targets of the French Revolution, birthing martyrs and saints from persecution and bloodshed. Sixteen Carmelite nuns were beheaded in 1794 for remaining true to their vows, and nothing more. During the so-called Reign of Terror which saw revolutionaries sniffing out real and imagined conspiracies, these nuns were expelled from…
My house almost caught fire, and I had no idea of the danger until it was over, pieced together by burn marks on a wall and other clues around an old boiler system. I called a specialist to look at it, and he said bluntly: he's come to believe things happen for a reason, and our house is still standing for a reason. I always try to express gratitude to others and to God, but as we come into the…
It's been 12 years since St. Kateri Tekakwitha ("The Lily of the Mohawks") was declared a saint by the Catholic church, in October 2012. She was a Mohawk/Algonquin woman who lived in the late 17th century in present-day New York and Quebec, declaring herself a virgin for Christ. Her sainthood has sparked both pride and soul-searching within and beyond Canada's First Nations. St. Kateri's earthly…
What does it mean for a baby to be "incompatible with life?" Even before a baby is born, doctors are doing tests, reviewing ultrasounds, and monitoring the mother closely for unexpected results or problems. If the unborn baby has too serious a condition, parents might be told by doctors that their baby is "incompatible with life." That's to say, it's not expected to live long, if at all, and…
To hear of a man crushed by a giant crucifix, it should rightly give us pause. Years ago I heard of a man who prayed before a statue of Christ on the cross every day, asking God's mercy for the man's wife who was battling cancer. His wife made it through, and after enduring the pain and emotional exhaustion of that fight, the man wanted to clean the statue in appreciation. Except, the statue fell…
The chapel of Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours (Our Lady of Good Help) is Montreal's oldest stone church, sitting for hundreds of years as a beacon of hope. It celebrates a special milestone this year, 250 years, having acted as a refuge for residents, pilgrims, sailors and travelers arriving by the St. Lawrence River and Seaway. Today we'll explore together a fascinating chapter of Catholic history in…
Christian duty and panhandlers. What's the right thing to do? For a long time I've struggled when approached by panhandlers, people on the street asking for money. I want to help, but I don't want to be taken advantage of, or feed an addiction, or endanger myself. As a Catholic, as a Christian, I know helping the less fortunate is central to my faith. In one of the most famous passages from…
Just to mention aliens turns some people off, but to a Christian, to a Catholic, thinking about extraterrestrial life can hold tremendous value. If you replace the word "alien" with "the other" then we start down a familiar path. Does "the other" exist in the universe? Would "the other" mean us peace or harm? Should I will the good of "the other?" Faith Full is a Catholic podcast hosted by Tony…
Angels seem mysterious and familiar all at the same time. Angels are by definition different than you and I are—they're spiritual beings, without bodies, but can be present in our world. St. Augustine says "angel" is the name of their office, or what they do: they are servants and messengers of God. In this episode we hear about what another saint, St. Aloysius Gonzaga, thought about angels in his…
War and Catholicism. On today's episode we'll hear from a Catholic Bishop and a former member of the British armed forces talk about how our duties as Christians, striving to walk the path to Heaven, square with the hell of war? Our conversation is driven by a powerful scene in the movie Kingdom of Heaven. This episode features Bishop Neal Buckon of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, and…
This episode is the third connected to The National Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help in Champion, WI. This is the first and only Church-approved Marian Apparition site in the United States. Faith Full is a Catholic podcast hosted by Tony Ganzer. This episode talks about needing to take mini-pilgrimages in our everyday life, and not just wait for big trips. You can stop for a moment of prayer…
This episode is the second about The National Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help in Champion, WI. This is the first and only Church-approved Marian Apparition site in the United States. This episode features Fr. Edward Looney, and Fr. John Broussard. We also learn about the Peshtigo fire on 1871. Visit the episode page:…
This episode is the first of three about The National Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help in Champion, WI. This is the first and only Church-approved Marian Apparition site in the United States. In 1859 the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to a Belgian immigrant, Adele Brise. Mary identified herself as "The Queen of Heaven who prays for the conversion of sinners," and told Adele to teach children their…
Switzerland is one of the world's wealthiest countries, and poverty doesn't manifest itself in the same way as in other places. The numbers of people needing food and shelter are exponentially less, even when considering Switzerland's size. But there can be another kind of poverty, a spiritual poverty . In this short episode of the Faith Full Podcast we talk a little about the poor in spirit , and…
When you think of Legos, you no doubt envision the small bricks that ignite children's imaginations by their possibilities. You sift through a box of tiny pieces looking for one to make that spaceship just right, or house a little more functional. John Kraemer takes that to a different level. He doesn't just build a church, it's a working model of parish life for a Lego world not unlike our own.…
"T he Church hasn't always been good at dealing with people who are, quote unquote different. It's difficult." Fr. Jamie Dennis is one of what he estimates are only 10 Catholic priests in the U.S. He's a fascinating person, who lives in a train caboose, and runs his own railroad, on his family farm near Owensboro, KY. He talks to us about why the Latin Mass and Byzantine Liturgy are more…
For some Catholics who are blind, the experience of the Mass can be very different than for sighted people. In normal times, it can be a tactile experience. But not during the pandemic. In Scripture, Jesus is recorded as saying where two or three are gathered together in His name, there He is in the midst of them. And that goes for times when the two or three need to be two or three meters apart…
The world remains gripped by a pandemic; an unseen, but very present coronavirus has caused us to rethink a lot of things: how we work, how we spend time, how we show respect and communicate. I've been sitting on a fun anecdote for a while, and thought these dark days are as good a time as any to share. So coming up: the story of a giant Jesus Christ (in hot air balloon form) and the two German…
In times of struggle for the institution of the Catholic Church, some look for inspiration and intercession from the Saints. St. Jean Vianney is said to have faced regular attacks by Satan, yet his ministry in the face of those attacks positioned him as the Patron Saint of Parish Priests, having walked the Earth during a time of great difficulty for the Catholic church in France. The incorrupt…
Hundreds of years ago a man dressed as a bear murdered a Catholic freedom fighter in Switzerland. The details of the crime are somewhat important, but more so are the details of a Protestant pastor who converted to Catholicism on account of his idea of authority and power. The crime stemmed from a time fraught with religious division during which moderation seemed extinct. It's a sharp contrast to…
If a loved one dies, it's natural to want to hang on to something to remind you of them—maybe a ring, maybe a favorite book or picture. That's the same idea, in a very basic way, behind the relics of the saints held in high esteem by many faith traditions. And in Pittsburgh, oddly enough, there is said to be the largest Catholic collection of relics outside of Rome. Join us for a visit to Saint…
Even if our grief and heartache have sapped our strength, as Sirach said , the Catholic faith teaches that God provides love and support and grace, that we desperately need. Our last episode followed the story of Fr. Cirilo Nacorda who had been captured by Jihadist militants. His story was relayed to Faith Full host Tony Ganzer by his grandfather before his death. In this half-episode we hear a…
The story of Fr. Cirilo Nacorda is one layered with nuance, spirituality, and humanity. Over the course of two decades, the Catholic priest has lived through two hostage situations; has helped organize Christian militias uniting against Jihadist militants, and armed himself because of the perceived hopelessness of the situation; and has faced what he saw as deep corruption in the Philippines. The…
"How many slaves work for you?" It was the provocative, uncomfortable start to Sister Anne's Victory's TEDx talk a few years ago. If you were to judge her by her looks, you might think she was a grandmother or retiree. But Sister Anne is at the forefront of a major effort to shine light on the practice of human trafficking. She's a member of the Catholic Sisters of the Humility of Mary, and also…
Episode 1 of the Faith Full podcast brings the story of a late-night Denny's encounter bringing together blackjack and a random theology exchange. We share what we believe about God and about Christianity, glancing over ideas like Sola fide and Once Saved, Always Saved. By the end of the exchange, I realize that a large part of the restaurant has been listening to our exchange, and appreciated the…
