On Raymond Arroyo’s EWTN Interview with Donald Trump

Last updated on: April 30, 2021 at 3:21 pm By Brian Fraga

Okay, so it wasn’t exactly Peter Jennings sitting down to interview Ronald Reagan. But did you really expect Walter Cronkite-type reportage from someone who last September tweeted almost verbatim from the White House’s own (accidentally-leaked) talking points during the Ukraine phone call scandal? Raymond Arroyo’s interview last week with President Donald Trump on EWTN was not intended to be journalism if we understand that term to mean an objective-critical presentation of facts with context, all intended to educate the viewer... Read more

Gloria Purvis of EWTN Tells Our Sunday Visitor “Racism is Demonic.”

Last updated on: June 24, 2020 at 4:04 pm By Brian Fraga

I had a GREAT interview this week for Our Sunday Visitor with Gloria Purvis, the host of the EWTN radio show “Morning Glory.” Gloria, who is active in Black Catholic social justice and pro-life ministries, has been speaking out pretty strongly lately on topics related to racial justice, systemic racism, bigotry and discrimination in the Church and wider society. Her tweets and radio segments are eliciting some strong responses, some of them very negative and hate-filled. Excerpt: Our Sunday Visitor:... Read more

Rooting Out Racism Will Be Difficult.

Last updated on: June 24, 2020 at 2:06 pm By Brian Fraga

I don’t exactly have a green thumb. If potted plants could file charges, I’d likely be serving a prison sentence right now for forced dehydration. But I’ve learned enough recently in preparing a patch in my backyard for a new vegetable garden that you need to till and clear the land, which underneath can often be a tangled, layered mess of old hardened roots. If you live in a city, chances are you might also find “urban fill” – demolition... Read more

A Q&A with Lamar Hunt, Jr. of the Kansas City Chiefs Family.

Last updated on: June 19, 2020 at 10:58 am By Brian Fraga

Every month, I have the privilege of interviewing Catholic “news-makers” – business leaders, bishops, entrepreneurs, ministry leaders, authors, etc. – for Legatus Magazine, a monthly publication for the association of Catholic business owners and C-Level executives. I often profile those Catholic leaders for a 650-word Q&A profile called “Five Minutes With.” The interviews are great, but a problem I find is the short format of the profile in the print magazine results in a lot of interesting stuff the subjects... Read more

How Black Catholic Leaders Have Been Responding to the George Floyd Video.

Last updated on: December 8, 2020 at 7:23 pm By Brian Fraga

Since late May, I’ve interviewed and spoken with several black Catholic leaders in the course of my reporting on racism and the Church’s response to the systemic bigotry and discrimination experienced by black-and-brown-skinned people in the United States. The breaking point for many protesters marching in the streets was the horrific video of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, having his neck pinned by the knee of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who is white, for nearly nine minutes. Before... Read more

Real Talk: White American Catholics Have a Racism Problem.

Last updated on: April 30, 2021 at 3:21 pm By Brian Fraga

This may shock you, though it sadly shouldn’t: White American Catholics can be racist. Yes, even those who attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation, who pray the Rosary everyday, listen to Catholic radio and walk at the March for Life every year. People who profess to follow Jesus Christ, who tout their Catholic bona fides on social media and buy their favorite apologist’s latest book. White Catholics – practicing and non-practicing – can be racist, sometimes overtly... Read more

After “AKA Jane Roe,” An Examination of Conscience Is In Order

Last updated on: June 16, 2020 at 5:12 pm By Brian Fraga

“What we did with Norma was highly unethical. The jig is up.” That eye-opening comment from evangelical minister Rob Schenck in the new FX documentary, “AKA Jane Roe,” marks a dramatic final revelation in the story of Norma McCorvey, the plaintiff in Roe V. Wade, the case that led to the U.S. Supreme Court legalizing abortion in 1973. Claiming to have undergone a pro-life conversion in the mid-1990s, McCorvey was held up for years by pro-life leaders as a dramatic example... Read more

A Former Court Reporter’s Take On The Cardinal Pell Case

Last updated on: April 11, 2020 at 5:40 pm By Brian Fraga

There may well have been too much reasonable doubt to sustain Cardinal George Pell's conviction. The problem is we have to take the Australian high court's word for it. Read more

No, God Did Not Send Coronavirus To Punish Us For Sin.

Last updated on: April 4, 2020 at 10:33 am By Brian Fraga

You can tell a lot about a person based on how they understand God. Whether they see Him as Abba, the loving father of Jesus Christ, or the severe taskmaster that many still believe the God of the Old Testament to be, will shade the spiritual lens that people use to make sense of the world, especially when tragedies come and pandemics hit. I think of the late Rev. Jerry Falwell, the political-religious culture warrior who saw God’s vengeance in... Read more

Coronavirus Is Serious, So Stop Messing Around

Last updated on: March 25, 2020 at 5:45 pm By Brian Fraga

I had a great squad leader when I was a young U.S. Army infantryman. In many ways, he was the model non-commissioned officer. Competent. Professional. Tough, but fair. He treated his soldiers with respect, and could even cut up with us when we were all out in the field. But if he felt that you were goofing off or not taking your job seriously, he knew what to say to get your attention. “Stop f—— around.” That Army Staff Sergeant,... Read more