A Christmas Day Message From Bethlehem
We begin on this Christmas Day and go to Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus Christ whose parents were poor, undocumented immigrants who could not afford housing and discuss how the Palestinians were the first Christians who kept the faith alive for its first seven centuries until Christianity took hold in Europe and eventually around the world. Joining us from Bethlehem is the Reverend Mitri Raheb, a prominent theologian and the founder and president of Dar al-Kalima University in Bethlehem. Reverend Raheb served as the pastor of the Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem from 1987 until 2017. His books include I am a Palestinian Christian and Faith in the Face of Empire: The Bible Through Palestinian Eyes. We discuss his article at Global Ministries, “Christmas Message from Bethlehem — ‘Do not be afraid.'”
The Outsized Influence of the Catholic Far Right on the Supreme Court and Project 2025
Then we examine the outsized political influence of far-right Catholicism in particular on the Supreme Court and behind the scenes in putting forth the blueprint for the next Trump Administration, Project 2025. Joining us is James Carroll, Founding Member of Writers for Democratic Action and a Fellow at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the author of ten novels and eight works of nonfiction. A former priest who has been a civil rights worker, an anti war activist, and a community organizer in Washington and New York, Carroll served as Catholic chaplain at Boston University and then left the priesthood to become a writer. He was named Best Columnist by the Catholic Press Association and received the first Thomas Merton Award. His recent books include CHRIST ACTUALLY: The Son of God for the Secular Age and his latest is The Truth at the Heart of the Lie: How the Catholic Church Lost Its Soul.