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A Catholic Take

The Station of the Cross Catholic Media Network

A Catholic Take: What you need to know, right now. A bold synthesis of inspiration and information. Keeping you up to date on news & issues from a Courageous Catholic perspective with Joe McClane. Live, Monday-Friday across the Station of the Cross Catholic Media Network.

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  • 73 episodes
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  • Avg 1 hr 24 min
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  • Monday · 1 hr 23 min

    The Learjet Fell at 400 MPH. Someone Was Praying the Our Father. (Audio)

    November 2nd, 2026 - A Learjet 60 fell from 35,000 feet to a Palm Beach County road in about a minute on Sunday. Nine people died. In the final seconds of the air-traffic audio, under the mayday calls, a man's voice is praying the Our Father. On All Souls' Day, Fr. John Brancich, FSSP, on what a Catholic can do with sixty seconds – and what you should be doing now. First, one day before the midterms: Mike Koeniger on the House and Senate map, the polling fight, and Tucker Carlson's late-Sunday post claiming the Trump administration "may be within days of launching a nuclear strike on Iran." What he actually said, what nobody has confirmed, and what the Catechism says about it. Links, Show Notes & More - https://thestationofthecross.com/act Email Us! ACT@TheStationOfTheCross.com

  • Friday · 1 hr 23 min

    "Better Things to Do Than Convert": Cardinal Vesco Doubles Down on Barron (Audio)

    October 30th, 2026 - Dr. Anthony Stine (Return to Tradition) joins Joe to take the whole week apart: the cardinal who won't convert, the Vatican worship office that calls kneeling for Communion "extremism," and the new Pew report that says there's no clear evidence of a youth revival — even as 41% of 18-to-22-year-olds say they're in church every month. Also today: the Vatican confirms Pope Leo XIV mailed in a ballot for Tuesday's U.S. midterms from New Lenox, Illinois — the first pope in history to vote in a secular election. Plus, a new installment of "Their Catholic Story": "The Man in the Garden." Links, Show Notes & More - https://thestationofthecross.com/act Email Us! ACT@TheStationOfTheCross.com

  • Thursday · 1 hr 23 min

    "No Holy War"? Fr. Murray on Pope Leo, a Cardinal Who Won't Convert & a Prefect Nobody Read (Audio)

    October 29th, 2026 - A cardinal says the Church is "not there to convert." The Prefect of the Doctrine of the Faith admits nobody read his document. And Pope Leo XIV tells an interfaith meeting at Assisi that "there is no such thing as a holy war" — three weeks after the feast of Our Lady of Victory. Fr. Gerald Murray joins Joe McClane to take all three. Plus, Nick Cavazos on the midterms five days out: Democrats +9 on the generic ballot, Texas a toss-up, and abortion on the ballot in four states. Links, Show Notes & More - https://thestationofthecross.com/act Email Us! ACT@TheStationOfTheCross.com

  • October 28 · 1 hr 33 min

    Constantine Ended Christian Persecution 1,714 Years Ago Today. It’s Back. (Audio)

    October 28th, 2026 - Edward Clancy, Director of Outreach for Aid to the Church in Need USA, walks through “Persecuted and Forgotten? 2024–2026” — the Yelewata massacre in Nigeria (200 killed in one night), girls abducted and forcibly married in Pakistan and Egypt, North Korea’s prison camps, China’s crackdown on the underground Church, and why 56% of the 18 countries surveyed got worse. Plus, Joe tells the story of Constantine: the sign in the sky, the Chi-Rho on the shields, the bridge that collapsed under Maxentius, the Edict of Milan, St. Helena, Nicaea, and a deathbed baptism. Links, Show Notes & More - https://thestationofthecross.com/act Email Us! ACT@TheStationOfTheCross.com

  • October 27 · 1 hr 36 min

    Moscow Rejects Ukrainian Baptisms — Fr. Jason Charron Responds (Audio)

    October 27th, 2026 - The Russian Orthodox Church says a Ukrainian Orthodox baptism is not a baptism. Fr. Jason Charron, a Ukrainian Catholic priest, joins Joe on what Moscow just decreed. What it means for “one Lord, one faith, one baptism” — and for the Catholics of Ukraine who live next door to it. Links, Show Notes & More - https://thestationofthecross.com/act Email Us! ACT@TheStationOfTheCross.com

  • October 23 · 1 hr 21 min

    Rome's "Inclusion" Doesn't Include You: Latin Mass Pilgrims Locked Out (Audio)

    October 23rd, 2026 - The DDF's new document is titled Come to Me. One day after it dropped, the Vatican told the Latin Mass pilgrimage: not you. Dr. Anthony Stine of Return to Tradition joins the show on Venite ad Me, the St. Peter's ban, and what this week tells us about where Rome is headed under Pope Leo. Links, Show Notes & More - https://thestationofthecross.com/act Email Us! ACT@TheStationOfTheCross.com

  • October 22 · 1 hr 44 min

    Venite ad Me: 7 Red Flags in the Vatican's New Document - Answered by Today's Gospel (Audio)

    October 22nd, 2026 - Rome's new document says "God does not bless division." Today's Gospel has Our Lord saying He came to bring it. Which is it? Joe reads "Venite ad Me - Considerations on the Transmission of the Faith in an Epochal Change" - the last document Pope Francis asked for, approved by Pope Leo XIV on August 21, 2026, and signed by Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández - against the Gospel for Thursday, October 22: Luke 12:49-53. Fire on the earth. Division in the house. And a text that quotes the fire twice (¶30, ¶77) and warns catechists off anything "scholastic," "dogmatic," or "moralistic" (¶80). The red flags, with paragraph numbers so you can read them yourself. And the good in it, because there is some - the family as "the first and most essential place" for handing on the faith (¶31), parents as "our first catechists" (¶36), and the honest admission that automatic transmission of the faith inside Catholic homes is ending (¶38). Links, Show Notes & More - https://thestationofthecross.com/act Email Us! ACT@TheStationOfTheCross.com

  • October 21 · 1 hr 21 min

    Bishop Strickland Reacts: Fr. Ripperger, the St. Michael Ban, Women Deacons (Audio)

    October 21st, 2026 - Three stories, one bishop. Joe poses the week's hardest Catholic headlines to Bishop Joseph Strickland and asks what he sees: Fr. Chad Ripperger's one-year "fast" from public speaking, a Tennessee bishop dropping the St. Michael Prayer after Mass, and a new Vatican official renewing the call for women deacons after the Church has already said no. Underneath all three is the question Bishop Strickland has been asking on his podcast, If You Only Knew Him: do we actually know Jesus Christ? Links, Show Notes & More - https://thestationofthecross.com/act Email Us! ACT@TheStationOfTheCross.com

  • October 20 · 1 hr 28 min

    Fr. Ripperger Told to Go Quiet for a Year. Why? (Audio)

    October 20th, 2026 - The best-known exorcist in the English-speaking world has been asked to go quiet for a year, and his archbishop won't say why. Steve Cunningham of Sensus Fidelium, who has published Fr. Chad Ripperger's talks for a decade, joins Joe on what Denver actually said, what LifeSite says, and what happens to hundreds of hours of recorded teaching. Plus: a Vatican cardinal says Pope Leo's encyclical made the "Spirit of Assisi" ordinary Church teaching, one week before the Pope is due in Assisi for the 40th anniversary of the 1986 interreligious prayer meeting. Mark Lambert of Regina Unscripted reads the four sentences in question. Links, Show Notes & More - https://thestationofthecross.com/act Email Us! ACT@TheStationOfTheCross.com

  • October 19 · 1 hr 20 min

    Bishop Stops the St. Michael Prayer After Mass (Audio)

    October 19th, 2026 - A Tennessee bishop has told his parishes to stop praying the St. Michael Prayer together at Mass. The prayer was written by Pope Leo XIII, and it's being set aside under Pope Leo XIV. Michael Matt of The Remnant joins Joe on the Knoxville directive, Bishop Rob Mutsaerts' talk at the 2026 Catholic Identity Conference, and the riots spreading from France across Europe while too many bishops sit on the fence. Plus: Pope Leo is home after lung cancer surgery, and Michael Haynes of the Catholic Herald brings the latest on his recovery and on the 30 theologians just named to advise the Vatican on doctrine. Links, Show Notes & More - https://thestationofthecross.com/act Email Us! ACT@TheStationOfTheCross.com

  • October 16 · 49 min

    Vatican Officials Tried LEAKING The Third Secret Of Fatima. No One Listened. (Audio)

    October 16th, 2026 - Did the Vatican reveal the entire Third Secret of Fatima in 2000, or was an important warning about apostasy within the Church left unexplained? Guest host Michael Hichborn is joined by Dr. Anthony Stine of Return to Tradition to examine statements attributed to bishops, cardinals, and Padre Pio concerning the Third Secret of Fatima and its alleged warning of a crisis of faith originating within the Church's own hierarchy. What did these figures reportedly reveal, and how do their statements compare with the Vatican's published interpretation? Links, Show Notes & More - https://thestationofthecross.com/act Email Us! ACT@TheStationOfTheCross.com

  • October 15 · 50 min

    NYC Eucharistic Procession: Young Catholics Return to Tradition? (Audio)

    October 15th, 2026 - Thousands of Catholics filled the streets of New York City for a public procession with the Blessed Sacrament. But could this remarkable display of faith reveal something bigger about the future of the Catholic Church? Guest host Mike Koeniger welcomes Nicholas Cavazos, known as The Traditional Thomist, to examine what the procession—and the young, diverse crowd following Christ—might tell us about a growing conservative movement among younger Catholics. Why are traditional expressions of the faith attracting young people? Could the very things older generations believe will draw people into the Church actually be driving them away? And what does the ongoing tension between conservatism and modernism mean for Catholicism today? Links, Show Notes & More - https://thestationofthecross.com/act Email Us! ACT@TheStationOfTheCross.com

  • October 14 · 1 hr 25 min

    Fr. Gerald Murray: Can Catholics Still Support the Death Penalty? (Audio)

    October 14th, 2026 - The Pentagon plans to execute Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan by firing squad on December 3 and livestream it. Days later, Pope Leo XIV called the death penalty "inadmissible." Fr. Gerald Murray joins Joe on the question Catholics are arguing about: can a faithful Catholic still support capital punishment? Links, Show Notes & More - https://thestationofthecross.com/act Email Us! ACT@TheStationOfTheCross.com

  • October 13 · 1 hr 22 min

    Sister Lucia's Last Free Interview: Fatima's 1957 Warning (Audio)

    October 13th, 2026 - 109 years after the Miracle of the Sun, Sister Lucia's last free interview still stands as Fatima's sharpest warning: the gravest danger isn't war, it's losing our souls. And before visits to her were restricted, she told Fr. Agustín Fuentes the devil's first target: souls consecrated to God. Links, Show Notes & More - https://thestationofthecross.com/act Email Us! ACT@TheStationOfTheCross.com

  • October 12 · 1 hr 22 min

    Columbus Wanted the Gold — to Free Jerusalem (Audio)

    October 12th, 2026 - Christopher Columbus wrote that he hoped the gold of the Indies would let Ferdinand and Isabella "undertake the conquest of the Holy Sepulcher." Pope Leo XIII wrote in 1892 that "the Catholic faith was the strongest motive" for his voyage. So why is he remembered as a villain? This Columbus Day, Joe reads Columbus in his own words, walks through the 800-year war he was born into (Constantinople fell when he was not yet two, and the Turks invaded Italy at Otranto in 1480), and answers the seven strongest charges against him, conceding what's true and correcting what isn't. Plus, our regular Monday visit with Mike Koeniger. Links, Show Notes & More - https://thestationofthecross.com/act Email Us! ACT@TheStationOfTheCross.com

  • October 9 · 1 hr 22 min

    Cardinal Burke Out, Cardinal Cupich In: Rome's Amoris Laetitia Meeting (Audio)

    October 9th, 2026 - Cardinals Cupich, McElroy, Tobin and Fernández are on Pope Leo's personal guest list for Rome's Amoris Laetitia meeting. Cardinal Burke is not — and neither is any cardinal who signed the dubia. Michael Haynes joins us to discuss that and more. Plus, Bishop Athanasius Schneider's exclusive: Amoris Laetitia is "against divine law" and must be explicitly corrected - Dr. Anthony Stine weighs in. Links, Show Notes & More - https://thestationofthecross.com/act Email Us! ACT@TheStationOfTheCross.com

  • October 8 · 1 hr 27 min

    The Woman at the Well: Flirting or Fulfillment? (Audio)

    October 8th, 2026 - A rabbi alone at a well with a woman who has had five husbands. Flirting? No. Isaac, Jacob and Moses all found their brides at a well, and in John 4 Jesus sits down at Jacob's well at high noon. Plus, Nicholas Cavazos on the Amoris Laetetia Summit. Links, Show Notes & More - https://thestationofthecross.com/act Email Us! ACT@TheStationOfTheCross.com

  • October 7 · 1 hr 29 min

    Ex-Pastor Keith Nester: God Wants Everyone to Be Catholic (Audio)

    October 7th, 2026 - Keith Nester spent more than 20 years as a Protestant pastor. Today he explains why God has one plan of salvation for all mankind — and why that plan is the Catholic Church. Plus, on the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary: the Battle of Lepanto, October 7, 1571, and what happened when the sun came up. Links, Show Notes & More - https://thestationofthecross.com/act Email Us! ACT@TheStationOfTheCross.com

  • October 6 · 1 hr 22 min

    Fr. Gerald Murray: Amoris Laetitia, 10 Years of Confusion (Audio)

    October 6th, 2026 - Ten years after Amoris laetitia, and on the eve of Rome's summit marking its anniversary, Fr. Gerald Murray makes his case: it brought confusion where there had been clarity, and no Pope has the power to change what Christ taught. A release-day interview on his new book, A Papacy of Confusion! Links, Show Notes & More - https://thestationofthecross.com/act Email Us! ACT@TheStationOfTheCross.com

  • October 2 · 49 min

    2026 Fall On Air Appeal - Day Five (with Fr. Robert McTeigue)

    October 2nd, 2026 - We welcome back Fr. Robert McTeigue, S.J. to cover the headlines from a Catholic perspective and raise funds to keep The Station of the Cross on the air. Because we are a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, all donations are tax-deductible! To make a donation, call 1-877-711-8500 or visit thestationofthecross.com Links, Show Notes & More - https://thestationofthecross.com/act Email Us! ACT@TheStationOfTheCross.com

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