Church Militant Feed for The Download

Archbishop John Wester of Santa Fe, New Mexico, recently commended John Podesta, Joe Biden's new climate envoy. In this episode of The Download, hosts Rodney Pelletier, Kyle Kopy and David Nussman discuss this development, as well as a story out of Spain involving a controversial poster advertising Holy Week rituals. They also talk about the meaning of Lent, since Ash Wednesday is just around the corner.

In this episode of The Download, hosts Bradley Eli, Rodney Pelletier and Kyle Kopy discuss how the charge against Michael Cassidy was recently upgraded to a felony. They also discuss the feast of St. Blaise, as well as controversial comments from a prominent archbishop about priestly celibacy.

In this episode of The Download, hosts Bradley Eli, Rodney Pelletier and Kyle Kopy discuss abortion and so-called transgenderism. They also talk about Septuagesima and Candlemas.

In this episode of The Download, hosts Bradley Eli, Kyle Kopy and David Nussman discuss recent news stories involving allegations of sexual abuse. They also talk about recent Vatican documents intended to deter corruption, as well as the death of Catholic reporter George Neumayr and the upcoming feast of St. Francis de Sales.

In this episode of The Download, hosts Bradley Eli, Rodney Pelletier and David Nussman discuss a series of news stories touching on family matters and threats to family life. One of those stories is the tragic death of a Catholic married couple, leaving behind six children under the age of 10.

Video feeds of the New Year's celebration at Times Square showed a pair of gay men kissing at the stroke of midnight. Also on New Year's Eve, prominent actor Shia LaBeouf received the sacrament of confirmation. In this episode of The Download, hosts Bradley Eli, Rodney Pelletier and Kyle Kopy discuss a few news items of interest for the first Saturday in 2024.

January 1 is the Feast of Mary, Mother of God. It is a holy day of obligation — though some bishops' conferences might rescind the obligation when it falls on a Monday. It's also the day when Catholics remember Our Lord's circumcision. Baby Jesus would have been circumcised about a week after His birth. Meanwhile, the Holy Name of Jesus is celebrated at Mass either on Jan. 2 or Jan 3 — depending on whether it's the Traditional Latin Mass or the Novus Ordo. In this episode of The Download, hosts Bradley Eli, Rodney Pelletier and Kyle Kopy discuss Our Lord's circumcision, Mariology, martyrdom and various other topics.

Scripture tells us that in King Herod's attempt to kill Jesus, he had all babies in and around Bethlehem murdered. In this episode of The Download, hosts Bradley Eli, Rodney Pelletier and Kyle Kopy discuss these victims of infanticide, known as the Holy Innocents. They should be invoked as patron saints of the pro-life movement.

Today, Dec. 27, is the Feast of St. John the Evangelist. In this episode of The Download, hosts Bradley Eli, Rodney Pelletier and Kyle Kopy discuss the life and writings of this apostle and evangelist.

In the secular world, the Christmas season begins some time in November and ends some time in late December. But for Catholics, the Christmas season begins on the evening of Dec. 24 and lasts until at least the Epiphany (Jan. 6). In this episode of The Download, hosts Bradley Eli, Rodney Pelletier and Kyle Kopy discuss the various feasts of Christmastide.

The liturgical books for Christmas give us three different Masses — one for Mass offered at or around midnight, one for Mass offered around the time of sunrise and one for Mass offered during the day. In this episode of The Download, hosts Bradley Eli, Rodney Pelletier and Kyle Kopy unpack the theological significance of the gospel readings from the three Masses.

In the old calendar, today (Dec. 21) is the feast of St. Thomas the Apostle, often called "doubting Thomas." In the new calendar, it's the feast of St. Peter Canisius, a Doctor of the Church. In this episode of The Download, hosts Bradley Eli, Rodney Pelletier and Kyle Kopy discuss the two saints.

Bishop Mario Vaccari, head of a small diocese in Tuscany, has temporarily suspended the practice of picking godparents for baptism and a sponsor for confirmation. He expressed concern that the roles were being used for secular purposes, far removed from their profound spiritual meaning. In this episode of The Download, hosts Bradley Eli, Rodney Pelletier and David Nussman discuss what it means to be a godparent at a child's baptism or a sponsor at a child's confirmation.

Today, environmental activists in Germany vandalized Christmas trees on display in seven cities. It's the latest stunt by climate activists meant to highlight their fears that fossil fuels could lead to irreparable harm to the environment in just the next few years. In this episode of The Download, hosts Bradley Eli, Rodney Pelletier and David Nussman discuss climate change, Christmas trees, leftist activism and more.

Recently in Nashville, a juvenile was physically assaulted by members of his own family for becoming a Christian. In this episode of The Download, hosts Bradley Eli, Rodney Pelletier and Kyle Kopy discuss violence against Christians and how Catholics can respond to various kinds of persecution. 

This Sunday is the third Sunday in Advent — also called Gaudete Sunday. In this episode of The Download, hosts Bradley Eli, Rodney Pelletier and Kyle Kopy discuss how Catholics can make these last few days of Advent a spiritually fruitful time of preparation for Christmas.

In Vatican City over the weekend, a panel of judges convicted Cdl. Angelo Becciu of financial crimes. In this episode of The Download, hosts Bradley Eli, Rodney Pelletier and Kyle Kopy discuss financial problems at the Vatican.

Tomorrow (Wednesday, Dec. 20) is one of the Ember Days. The Ember Days are days traditionally set aside for prayer and fasting — on a Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. There's one set of Ember Days for each of the four seasons in the northern hemisphere. In this episode of The Download, hosts Bradley Eli, Rodney Pelletier and David Nussman discuss this Catholic tradition and the importance of fasting.

New data from the Centers for Disease Control seems to suggest that teenagers are less likely to fornicate if they live in a home where both parents are present. In this episode of The Download, hosts Bradley Eli, Rodney Pelletier and Kyle Kopy discuss family life and chastity.

Today, Dec. 8, is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. It is a holy day of obligation. In this episode of The Download, hosts Bradley Eli, Rodney Pelletier and Kyle Kopy talk about the four Marian dogmas, Mariology and devotion to the Blessed Mother.