Headline News and Catholic Social Teaching

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This episode looks at the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, a conflict which has focused on the disputed territories of Gaza and the West Bank, and what Catholic Social Teaching has to say to us and to those who are engaged in this conflict.
Notes and references:
Global Conflict Tracker - Israeli-Palestinian Conflict - step-by-step overview from the Council on Foreign Relations
Israeli-occupied territories - maps and historical timelines for the past 80 years
Understanding Israel & Palestine: A Current Events Resource Guide: Maps
Pope calls for end to West Bank violence, pursuit of two-state solution - August 17, 2026
Address of Pope Leo XIV to members of the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See - January 9, 2026
The Pope, the Holy See and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict - summary of statements from recent Popes - May 14, 2025
Book of Matthew, Chapter 5 - see verse 9
How Catholics Should Approach the Arab Israeli Conflict - March 3, 2026
Disambiguating Zionism, Anti-Semitism, and Israel - March 31, 2026
Catholics Can Be Zionists – But they can't say modern Israel is the same as the Israel of the Bible - February 27, 2026
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This episode looks at recent news related to housing availability and affordability, one of the most challenging social and economic issues of our time, and how Catholic Social Teaching can guide our response to the need for more affordable housing.
Here are notes and references:
21st Century ROAD to Housing Act Implementation Tracker
The Success of the New Federal Housing Law Now Rests on States and Localities - August 4, 2026
Letter to the Senate on the ROAD to Housing Act - October 28, 2025
America’s Housing Shortage Is Turning Into a Moral Crisis - July 27, 2026
Home Prices Surge to Five Times Median Income, Nearing Historic Highs - October 6, 2025
No State Has an Adequate Supply of Affordable Rental Housing - Interactive map
Catechism of the Catholic Church, see #2211
Affordable Housing and Homelessness - USCCB advocacy resources
Sollicitudo Rei Socialis 1987 - see #17
Amoris Laetitia 2016 - see #44
Holy See: Urban planning must address homelessness to promote human dignity - July 28, 2026
Overview of Catholic Charities activities related to affordable housing
University of Notre Dame - Church Property Conversion Tracker
Parishes turn former convents into affordable housing for teachers - Feb 12, 2024
Vacant East Village church to become 500+ affordable housing units - August 1, 2024
Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church - see #177
Populorum Progressio - 1967 - see #23
Thoughtful commentary about Catholic Teaching on Private Property, moral theologian provides overview of Catechism treatment of possessions, and "What Catholics Should Do With Their Money" from a Franciscan priest who recommends three books for additional study
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In this episode, we look at several recent news items related to in vitro fertilization, or IVF, a procedure for getting pregnant that is growing in popularity and usage in the United States and around the world, and why the Catholic Church teaches that IVF is not morally acceptable. 
References and notes:
Senate Democrats reintroduce "Right to IVF Act" - July 23, 2026
Expanding Access to In Vitro Fertilization - Executive Order - February 18, 2025
Trump Administration proposes rule to expand access to fertility benefits - May 10, 2026
Recent state legislative IVF activity in Georgia and Tennessee and in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas
Inside IVF clinic embryo mix-up
Opinion poll - Americans overwhelmingly say access to IVF is a good thing - May 13, 2024
For the First Time, More Than 100,000 Babies Born Through IVF in the U.S. in a Single Year - March 24, 2026
Begotten Not Made: A Catholic View of Reproductive Technology - 1998 USCCB document
What Is the Catholic Church’s Position on IVF? - Feb 28, 2024
Donum Vitae - February 22, 1987
Dignitas Personae - September 8, 2008
Catechism of the Catholic Church - see #2374-2379
More human embryos destroyed through IVF than abortion every year - Updated Sept 26, 2025
Description of the Church's position on IVF, suggesting that embryo adoption might be morally acceptable - December 9, 2020
Catholic Ethicists Discuss the Fate of the Estimated 1 Million Human Embryos on Ice - Jan 17, 2023
The Magisterial Liceity of Embryo Transfer - Perspective from a Catholic theologian who supports embryo adoption - 2015
Moral Contraindications to the Adoption of Abandoned, Frozen Human Embryos - June 11, 2023
Exploring the state of the Catholic debate over embryo adoption - August 5, 2025
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This episode brings together two news stories related to eradicating poverty, stories that didn't get a lot of attention but stories that have profound and practical significance for our lives as followers of Christ.
Here are references and notes:
Roadmap for Eradicating Poverty Beyond Growth presented to the UN Human Rights Council June 25, 2026
Opinion Piece originally published in The Guardian June 10, 2026
Pope Leo in 'Dilexi te': Faith cannot be separated from love for the poor - Oct 2025
Summary of Dilexi te from CAPP-USA
Dilexi te full text in English
Summary of the Roadmap for Eradicating Poverty Beyond Growth from The Tablet, UK Catholic magazine
Caritas Europe on why the Roadmap is a key milestone - April 22, 2026
The European Laudato Si’ Alliance welcomes the newly launched Roadmap for eradicating poverty beyond growth - April 22, 2026
Maryknoll Missionaries Office of Global Concerns Action Alert Regarding the Roadmap - June 23, 2026
Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations - Call for the eradication of poverty - July 8, 2026
Country Overshoot Days 2026 - Marking the date when the planet’s annual biocapacity budget would be used up if everyone on Earth consumed as much as the residents of that particular country.
Learning to Live Simply - September 7, 2023
Guide to Minimalism as a Catholic
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