#12134 Will the Pope Allow Women Priests or Same-Sex Weddings? - Karlo Broussard

Summary

Catholic Answers Live #12134 – Will the Pope Allow Women Priests or Same-Sex Weddings? (April 2, 2025)

Host: Cy Kellett
Guest Apologist: Dr. Karlo Broussard
Segment 1 Guest: Cameron Riecker, Catholic YouTuber

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Episode Overview

This episode of Catholic Answers Live centers on “the whys of Catholic belief,” inviting both Catholics and non-Catholics to call in with challenging questions about Catholic doctrine, practice, and contemporary Church controversies. Special focus and lively discussion center on recent concerns about Synodality, women priests, same-sex marriage, the Pope’s authority, and the formative power of Catholic fatherhood. Key discussions also touch upon Marian devotion, moral dilemmas in bioethics, patron saints, and cremation.

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Cameron Riecker Segment: Outreach to Young Men, Marian Devotion, and Apologetics (00:00–12:58)

Introduction to Cameron Riecker (00:00–03:13)

• Cameron Riecker shares his “revert” journey to Catholicism, sparked by apologetic debates with his Protestant girlfriend in college.
• His outreach is especially aimed at young men, intended to inspire authentic Catholic fatherhood.
• Notable Quote:

  “If you want to win the family, you absolutely have to win fatherhood.” (03:25, Cameron)

Men, Chastity, and Marian Devotion (03:25–09:52)

• Riecker observes that most viewers of his YouTube channel are young men, a group he says is both especially endangered by, and especially hungry for, transcendent truths.
• Points to the spiritual battle over sexuality and the devastating impact of internet pornography on boys as young as 8 or 9.
• Notable Quote:

  “I was exposed to this when I was 8 years old. I had no idea what it was, and it got its claws into me…” (07:41, Cameron)

• Shares a personal story: his grandmother’s devotion to Our Lady of Fatima and how Marian intercession led his family back to the faith.
• Advocates for the daily Rosary, especially for men:

  “If there’s one piece of advice that anybody should get... it’s to pray the Rosary daily.” (08:43, Cameron)

Marian Doctrine and Ecumenical Challenges (09:52–12:32)

• Discusses how Marian doctrines are often a bigger stumbling block for Protestants than Catholic teaching about the papacy.
• Argues this makes sense:

  “The more a creature is like Christ, the more they will resemble him as a stumbling block.” (11:29, Cameron)

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Call-In Q&A With Dr. Karlo Broussard

Pope Francis, Synodality, Women Priests & Same-Sex Marriage (14:28–20:17)

Caller: Maricela, IL
Key Issues: Concerns about the role of laity in synods, progressive bishops, and fears about possible changes to core doctrines.

• Clarification: The Synod of Bishops (est. 1965 by Pope Paul VI) has always had consultation from bishops (not just cardinals) and has always permitted lay input—but decisive authority remains with bishops.
• On Women Priests & Same-Sex Unions:

  “There is no... the Holy Spirit will not allow the Pope to officially, you know, make those things binding... that's infallible teaching.” (17:17, Karlo)

• Karlo acknowledges Catholics' legitimate concerns about some episcopal appointments and reassures the faithful that the Holy Spirit will protect the Church from doctrinal betrayal.
• Notable Moment:

  “We can trust in the Holy Spirit governing and guiding the Church ultimately.” (19:15, Karlo)

What Makes a Marriage Valid? (20:35–24:33)

Caller: Abraham, GA

• Broussard: Explains that validity in marriage is about the objective bond created by God—not just subjective feelings or consent. Valid consent, form (canonical witness for Catholics), and intent are required.
• On Marriages Outside the Church:

  “If a Catholic tries to get married without an official witness of the Church, well, then it's going to be invalid...” (22:45, Karlo)

Why No Definitive Church Position on Frozen Embryos? (24:33–32:47)

Caller: Luka, FL

• Summary: The Church recognizes no morally clear, licit solution for thousands of frozen embryos. “Prenatal adoption” (implanting in another woman) involves moral challenges similar to surrogate motherhood.
• Relevant Document: Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Dignitas Personae (2008).
• Notable Quote:

  “There seems to be no morally licit solution regarding the human destiny of the thousands and thousands of frozen embryos.” (29:55, Karlo)

Does Catholic Teaching Prioritize Neighbor Over Family? (33:12–39:09)

Caller: Peter, MD

• Karlo refutes the dichotomy, explaining that “neighbor” includes family and kin, with an ordered progression: God → self → family → kin → non-family neighbors.
• On Testament Transition: The New Testament expands Old Testament love of neighbor to include not just kin but all, even enemies (cf. Matthew 5).

Patron Saints vs. Pagan Pantheons (41:33–46:12)

Caller: Daniel, CA

• History: Patronage arose in the early Church after Constantine. Churches built over martyrs’ tombs were “under their patronage.” Over time, devotion to holy men and women with a particular affinity (trade, profession) emerged.
• Difference from Pagan Pantheons: Saints are not deities:

  “We do not believe the saints are deities like the Greeks thought... They are creatures of the one Creator.” (42:13, Karlo)

How Was Mary Sinless as a Human? (46:41–47:50)

Caller: Mia, OH

• Broussard: By special grace, not by her own power.

  “Mary was sinless throughout the entirety of her life... due to God’s grace.” (47:46, Karlo)

Why Must Cremated Remains Not Be Kept at Home? (48:08–50:55)

Caller: Dawn, WA

• Reasoning: The Church mandates remains be kept in sacred spaces (cemeteries) for respect, memorialization, inclusion in communal prayers, and to guard against irreverence or superstition.
• Ref: Ad resurgendum cum Christo (CDF, 2016).

Why Believe in the Old Testament God? (51:05–54:26)

Caller: Timothy, OR

• Broussard: Belief is grounded in the miraculous confirmation of revelation—first by Moses (miracles) and ultimately by Christ’s Resurrection.
• Moral difficulties: What may seem “immoral” is often a misreading, or based on limited human perspective. For specifics, see Karlo’s article: God and the Death of Innocents.

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• “If you want to win the family, you absolutely have to win fatherhood.” (03:25, Cameron Riecker)
• “There is no... the Holy Spirit will not allow the Pope to officially, you know, make those things [women priests, same-sex weddings] binding...” (17:17, Karlo Broussard)
• “We do not believe the saints are deities like the Greeks thought... They are creatures of the one Creator.” (42:13, Karlo Broussard)
• “Mary was sinless throughout the entirety of her life... due to God’s grace.” (47:46, Karlo Broussard)
• “There seems to be no morally licit solution regarding the human destiny of the thousands and thousands of frozen embryos.” (29:55, Karlo Broussard)

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Key Timestamps

• 00:00–12:58
  Cameron Riecker on apologetics for young men, chaste living, and daily Marian devotion.
• 14:28–20:17
  Synodality, Pope Francis, Church authority, women priests, same-sex marriage.
• 20:35–24:33
  Criteria for valid Catholic marriage.
• 24:33–32:47
  Moral impasse over the fate of frozen embryos.
• 33:12–39:09
  Order of love: neighbor vs. family in Catholic moral teaching.
• 41:33–46:12
  Origins and theology of patron saints.
• 46:41–47:50
  Mary's sinlessness and the role of grace.
• 48:08–50:55
  Church rules on cremation and why remains must not be kept at home.
• 51:05–54:26
  Apologetics for believing in the God of Abraham amid Old Testament moral questions.

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Tone:
Conversational, respectful, clear, and pastoral—typical of Catholic Answers Live. The host and Dr. Broussard are patient and charitable, particularly with non-Catholic callers and those wrestling with doubts or complex issues.

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Conclusion

This episode tackled contemporary fears about radical changes in Church doctrine, clarifying the boundaries of papal authority and the enduring nature of infallible teaching on sacraments and morality. It also addressed difficult moral puzzles, provided practical pastoral advice (praying the Rosary, building up fatherhood), and affirmed the reasons behind Catholic distinctives on issues from Marian doctrine to cremation. The enduring message: trust in the Holy Spirit’s guidance, seek reasoned answers, and engage the tradition and wisdom of the Church.

Transcript

[A]

Buying or selling your home. Real Estate for Life can connect you with a pro life real estate agent. When Real Estate for Life receives a referral fee, they donate 65% to Catholic Answers. Learn more at realestateforlife.org welcome back to Catholic Answers Live. I am Cy Kelly. Your host, Dr. Carl Broussard is our guest. All of our lines are currently full, and I do have to ask the folks on the line to hang on for a quick second. We'll get back to our topic, which is why? Why do Catholics believe what we believe? And we're welcoming both Catholics and non Catholics to ask that question. I'll give out the number as lines open up. I hope you'll get in there. 888-31-8-7884. But we want to welcome Cameron Riker, who's, you know, on this show, you've noticed lately we've been talking to some of the folks who really show promise of carrying the torch when us old people are not here in Catholic media. And some of the apologists who were really the founders of the new Apologetics movement, they won't go on forever. So we need lots and lots of young people to get involved. And Cameron is one of those over at YouTube doing fantastic work in that regard. Cameron Reicher, thanks very much for being here with us.

[B]

Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me. This is surreal. When I started my YouTube channel a little over a year ago, I never thought I'd be on Catholic Answers.

[A]

We never thought you would either. We're shocked. But nobody thought I would make it this far. None of us did. No. We were rooting for you, but we just didn't think you would. But you're not one of these converts. You're kind of a revert. Do I have that? Is that the right way to talk about you?

[B]

That would probably be the best way, yeah. I was a lukewarm Catholic, going to Mass on Sundays, but that was really about it for a good portion of my life. And then it wasn't until I started dating a Protestant woman in college and she started questioning my faith. And I was like, I have no idea. These are good questions. I should probably know the answer. And so that's how I got into apologetics. It was actually through dating a Protestant woman who was trying to make me UN Catholic.

[A]

Ah, isn't that funny? And did that go anywhere? Are you two married now or.

[B]

No, no, that relation ended. Then I went to seminary, and then I just turned out of seminary, then shortly thereafter met my wife. And we have two Beautiful children out here in Phoenix, Arizona. So we've just been very blessed. God has been very good to us.

[A]

That's funny, because we believe very strongly in dialogue as part of the process of evangelization and apologetics and all that. And listening to other people is really important. But her challenge to proved fruitful for all of us, because now we're getting all this great material that you're covering. Who do you feel like you're reaching? Who's listening to your program, who's watching your videos, and who's commenting and getting it.

[B]

Yeah. So if I just go and look at my audience on social media, you can see all the analytics, but it's largely young men, which is great, because that's kind of who I was aiming at to start with.

[A]

Good.

[B]

I say this all the time on my channel, and you guys. You guys probably know this as well, but our lady of Fatima revealed that the final battle between the kingdom of heaven and Satan is over marriage and the family. And I think if you want to win the family, you absolutely have to win fatherhood. If you don't win fatherhood, it doesn't matter if you win motherhood, it doesn't matter if you win. Every other aspect of the battle is inconsequential compared to fatherhood. You've all seen the studies, probably with the Pew Research Institute. This is off the top of my head, so don't quote me for being exact here, but it's something like 85% of the children will continue to go to church if the father is faithful and the mother is not. Something like 15% will keep going to church if the mother is faithful and the father is not. And then obviously, if both parents are faithful, that's the number one best outcome. But that's my goal, is to give young men the tools, the resources that they need to be able to know, love and serve Jesus Christ in his Catholic Church.

[A]

I'm glad that you're reaching that audience because there's a lot of bad people reaching that audience. There's a lot of people who have nothing, but, you know, they're selling sex, they're selling anger, they're selling, you know, all kinds of things to young men. And I think, you know, we probably all go through stages in our life where we might be vulnerable to that. But most men, that's not what they want. They don't just want the angry. They don't just want the alluring. They want reality. They want the truth. Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. And I think we're starting to see that in incredible numbers, especially here in America. I feel like the people that I talk to for the first time, you know, I'm 29, so my experience is very, very limited, maybe. But for the first time in my life, it feels like whenever you bring up the Catholic Church, you bring up apologetics, there's a tremendous amount of interest and draw towards the Catholic Church. I think that just comes from the spirit of God moving and especially moving young men to get their butts back in church where they belong. So it's been a beautiful experience. You know, it's one of the reasons that my channel has taken off and done really well is because I'm preaching to a very hungry audience. And that hunger has been inspired by the Holy Ghost, I believe.

[A]

I don't know what kind of Wild west stuff you're doing, but you can't say. But on the radio, don't say that. What's the matter with you? Get your act together.

[B]

I'm used to YouTube. I'm used to YouTube.

[A]

Do they have any standards over there at YouTube?

[C]

None.

[A]

None whatsoever.

[B]

That's why I'm here.

[A]

All right. Okay. So I'll tell you what, I am going to blow it if I try to give the. Here's where you can get Cameron Riker's work. Here's where you can sit. So why don't you give all that. And then I got some more questions for you.

[C]

Of course.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. If you want to check out my work, my main platform is on YouTube, and that is simply my name, Cameron Riker. I was very creative with the title. I know, but just my name, Cameron Riker. R I E C K E R. And then you can figure out how to follow me on Instagram or X from there. But my main platform is YouTube.

[A]

All right, and what do you like your topics? What are the big Cameron Riker topics? What am I going to you to hear?

[B]

Yeah, so I do a fair amount of apologetics, mostly against Protestant claims because that's kind of what I grew up dealing with. So I have the most familiarity with that. And then additionally, I do a lot of. Of help for young men, specifically for young men who are trying to live virtuously and overcome lust.

[D]

Right.

[B]

Because, yeah, like you were saying. You just mentioned this earlier.

[C]

Right.

[B]

That's where a lot of men have turned to these past couple decades. And so I'm trying to help undo some of that damage and try to lead men back to chastity so that they can lead their families to heaven.

[A]

Praise God. That's all about you. Know, I wonder you will know more about this than me because I think the primary, like, media, I don't know, challenge to chastity for people my age was like when MTV came on and it was all scantily clad women and all. It's so far beyond that that I'm almost embarrassed to even mention that. But what you say, like, men need escape from this. Many of them were captured when they were 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 years old. Is that what you're finding?

[B]

Yes. Yes. I have talked to dozens, if not hundreds of young men, and the vast majority of them all say the same thing. I was exposed to this when I was 8 years old. I had no idea what it was, and it got its claws into me and I've been struggling to quit it for 10 years, 20 years. I mean, some of the guys I talked to have just been. I mean, it's a substance, like, it's a real addictive substance. People don't understand that, but it's.

[A]

Oh, man.

[B]

Yeah, it's brutal. It's brutal. Some of these guys have been fighting this for years.

[A]

I don't know when our society's gonna get our act together and realize this idea that you can just put this stuff for free everywhere on the Internet, it's not gonna hurt children, is a sick and selfish idea and we need to stop it. I'm glad there's people like you to help people recover. You know who I think really loves men and really helps them recover is our mother Mary. I think she doesn't. She's not a guilt tripper. She'. Mean, she's understanding and helpful when it comes to these things.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

She knows exactly what she's doing. And if there's one piece of advice that anybody should get from watching my YouTube videos, it's to pray the rosary daily. My grandmother. I'll just tell you a brief story as to why. Why I think that. But my grandmother had a large devotion to Our lady of Fatima, and she ended up passing away in July 2017. And she died while me and several of my family members were all praying a Divine mercy chaplet around her. About 3pm in the afternoon, she died holding a rosary in her hand. And after she passed away, I feel like from her intercession in heaven, my entire family started to drift closer and closer to the faith. And that was really one of the catalysts for me as well, specifically with entering seminary. But my grandma passed on to us a real devotion to Our lady of Fatima. And what Our lady asked for is prayer. The Rosary daily. So that's one of the messages that I try to spread as much as I possibly can on my channel is young men especially need to take up the gauntlet, need to step into that role as the priest, prophet and king of their households and lead their families in prayer, specifically recitation of the Holy Rosary, because that's what heaven asked for in 1917.

[A]

Wow. Wow. Cameron Riker with us, just to start the hour here, do check out Cameron Riker. And it's R I E C K E R. I think it's same spelling as Commander Riker, the most famous Riker, but I'm not sure if it's the same spelling, but I think so.

[B]

I'm just old enough to get that joke.

[A]

Yeah, probably the first time you've ever heard that, right? Some smart alec. Probably every time you turn around somebody. So tell us what you. But give us a little sample of what you might say about Mother Mary to people when you're making your videos online.

[B]

So a couple of the points that I think really need to be emphasized right now and no offense at all to any Protestants who may be listening, but this is just my observation and my opinion about this is it seems like whenever you're discussing different elements of the faith with Protestants, the one that hits a chord more than any other topic is the Blessed Virgin Mary. And I have a theory as to why that is. But my theory is that right now the Blessed Virgin Mary has been given a tremendous amount of power by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, especially since Fatima. All these Marian apparitions In the past 500 years, we're just seeing an increase and a flourishing in Marian devotion. And I think that Satan is smart and he knows that right now, if anybody belongs to Mary, they're outside of his clutches. So what does he do? He tries to stir up before they have time to think about it, before they have any time to engage in it rationally and look at the arguments. He tries to stir up as much negative emotion towards Our lady as possible.

[C]

Right.

[B]

And that's just been my own experience with it. But this also should not be unexpected because the more a creature is like Christ, the more that they will resemble him. And so if you look at the two biggest obstacles to the Catholic faith, for most Protestants, it's Mary and the papacy. And that shouldn't surprise us because the more a creature is like Christ, the more they resemble him and the more that they will resemble him as stumbling block. So the two greatest aspects of our faith, the two greatest creatures in our faith would be the Blessed Virgin Mary, conceived without sin, assumed in heaven, etc. All the things that the church teaches. The closest creature to Christ imaginable as far as holiness goes, and then the Pope, who is the closest creature to Christ imaginable as far as authority goes. So the fact that those two are the main stumbling blocks, it's not unexpected for me.

[C]

Right.

[B]

It's exactly what I would expect with.

[A]

That very, very well made, Cameron Riker. I'm so grateful that you came on to talk with us. I hope many, many, many people will find you and the work that you're doing. God bless you as you go forward.

[B]

God bless you. Thank you guys for having me on. This has been awesome.

[A]

I think you passed the audition, man. Can we get you to come on again? I think you passed.

[B]

I would be thrilled. I would be thrilled your people can reach out to my people.

[A]

Oh, I don't have people, Cameron. But okay.

[C]

That's okay. I don't either.

[B]

I don't either.

[A]

All right, well, we're just gonna potty mouth a little bit, get that cleaned up and then we'll get you back on. Thanks, Cameron.

[B]

That sounds beautiful. God bless you. You too.

[A]

We're gonna take a quick break. Be back with Dr. Carla Broussard. Check out Cameron Reicher on YouTube. Right back with more CATHOLIC Answers Live. Your questions. Catholic Answers Live. Underwriting for Catholic Answers Live is provided.

[C]

By Real Estate for Life.

[A]

Real Estate for Life connects home buyers and sellers to real estate agents while supporting pro life organizations on the [e-mail] proclaiming the faith changing lives.

[C]

The year was 1996. EWTN launches EWTN.com, one of the first Catholic websites in the world. In the late 1990s, it becomes one of the first entities in the world to do video streaming over the Internet.

[A]

To learn more about Mother Angelica's life and the history of EWTN, visit ewtn.com/mother angelica. Welcome back to Catholic Answers Live. About a million people on the phone line right now. I want to talk to our guest, Dr. Carla Broussard. Carla, thanks for coming back for another hour.

[C]

Thank you for having me, man. Yeah, it was great listening to you and Cameron.

[A]

Yeah, he's a cool cat, isn't he? I really like him.

[C]

Well spoken.

[A]

Very much so. Yeah. And I guess we're just going to get right back to the phones, if you don't mind, because we really do have them stacked up here. Carlo.

[C]

Sure. Let's give it a shot.

[A]

All right, let's Go to Maricela in Illinois, listening on the Covenant Network. Maricela, so glad that you're here. Go ahead with your question for Dr. Broussard.

[D]

Okay. Why does the pope not follow? I believe it was Pope Paul VI laid out that the Senate of the Church would be made up of cardinals and would appoint some. And he has appointed laity to be making up the studying points and the rules and everything for the Senate, synodology they call it now, instead of senate and even becoming priests and homosexual marriage. And in the rules, it seems that they're setting up and they don't let questioning of the issues, et cetera, and they removed any cardinal like Cardinal Burke or listen to the African bishops.

[C]

All right, Marisella, so I can touch on a couple of points there with regard to the synod of bishops that you were referring to. Established by Pope St. Paul II in 1965, it was an institution of an institution that would refer to bishops coming together in a collegial spirit fostered by the Second Vatican Council, aiming to promote closer union and collaboration between the Pope and bishops worldwide, such that bishops would come together, have a topic to discuss, and then be in conversation with the pope and what to do to move forward on those issues. Now, you mentioned made up of cardinals, but the synod of bishops, maybe, perhaps cardinals would be involved, but not necessarily restricted to cardinals as established by St. Paul VI. Now, with regard to Pope Francis and this synodality approach and this model within the church, it's not that laity are going to be making rules because that prerogative belongs to the bishops as successors to the apostles who have the authority to bind and loose. Laity, non ordained, do not have that authority. But at its heart and at its essence, the approach is to involve laity, to express their ideas, to share their talents and their skills, their wisdom, and to give a voice to the laity in order for those in proper legitimate authority, namely the bishops and ultimately the bishop of Rome, to hear that voice, to hear those concerns, to take those concerns into consideration as they exercise their legitimate authority to bind and loose and govern the Church. That's what the synodality approach is at its essence. Now, that doesn't mean it's going to always be carried out perfectly according to its essence. Will there be abuses? Yes, because there are many people who are trying to rob Holy Mother Church of what is true, good and beautiful, and they're going to try to usurp that to their own end in living out this particular model. But at its essence, in principle, there's nothing wrong with it. Now, Maricela, you brought up issues of like will the pope allow women priests and quote unquote, same sex marriages? And the answer will be no. There is no. The Holy Spirit will not allow the Pope to officially, you know, make those things binding on the consciences of Christians because with regard to the male only priesthood, that's infallible teaching. The church's opposition to same sex sexual activity and same sex romantic relationships conflicts with infallible teaching and divine revelation concerning the sacrament of marriage and what matrimony is. And so we can rest assured, Maricela, that that is protected under the charism of infallibility. And the Holy Spirit will protect this current pope and all popes to come from teaching such erroneous things. And Pope Francis has not taught such erroneous things even in his non infallible teaching in his ordinary magisterium. He hasn't done so. And so you can rest assured with that.

[A]

Cy, I just want to see Maricela, what do you think?

[D]

Well, I think that's fine, but he has been pointing very progressive bishops around and young ones and everything that. And the what is this meeting coming up that they're going to be voting on or whatever, you know, in a couple months?

[A]

I don't actually know.

[C]

Yeah, I don't know. So I was about to ask you, what is she referring to? But with regard to the appointees, Maricela, this is something that a Catholic can be legitimately concerned about. There does seem to be some appointees of some bishops who have publicly said things that would seem to conflict and do conflict with Catholic teaching. And so we're left kind of wondering, man. Pope Francis has made these very strong statements in opposition to certain false ideas publicly on the record. But yet he has these appointees of individuals who seem to sympathize with false ideas. And so that's a legitimate cause of concern for Catholics. And we can affirm that. And we trust in the Holy Spirit governing and guiding the church ultimately. And we trust that God will bring good from whenever imprudential appointees Pope Francis may have made. And so that's what I'll say to that.

[A]

Marisela, thank you very much for the call. I hope that that was helpful to you. We've got lots on the lines though, so I'm going to keep going. Thank you very much. I can get to Abraham before I have to take a break. Abraham in Atlanta, Georgia, watching on YouTube. Glad you're here, Abraham, go ahead with your question.

[B]

Hello.

[D]

My question is what does the church consider a valid marriage and as a Catholic, what. What wouldn't be a valid marriage?

[C]

Okay. All right, so to the first question. What constitutes a valid marriage? What we mean by that, Abraham? If that's what the question pertains to, like what is a valid marriage? What we mean is that the bond or the relationship of husband to wife and wife to husband is created by Almighty God. It's an objective, real thing in reality, independent of what someone happens to think. So that's what we mean by valid marriage. Remember how Jesus says in Matthew, chapter 19, what God has joined together, let no man put asunder. A valid marriage is God has joined together. Right? So God has related the man to the woman as husband to wife and the woman to the man as wife to husband. And in order for that reality to come into existence, well, there are certain conditions that have to be met. And I can't articulate all of them right now, but just off the top of my head, one would be that the two individuals need to be intending the reality of marriage as we know by human reason alone and as revealed by Jesus Christ. They need to be intending that if they intend some other union that ain't marriage, well, then, guess what? They're not going to get married. God's not going to join them together because they're intending something else that God doesn't intend. And so proper consent and intention for the marriage has to be present. And in order to. For them to make. To intend that, they have to freely choose it. Like, there can't be anything that's going to be forcing them, so to speak, whether emotionally or psychologically or physically, to make them make that choice. So they have to be free and entering into the union now. And the last condition I'll share here is. Touches on the second part of the question, like what's going to make it not valid for us as a Catholic? Well, if we're a Catholic, then we are subject to what is called canonical form, Abraham. But what that means is that there is an official church witness, Holy Mother Church, like mama's witness it, so to speak, whether it's going to be a bishop, a priest, deacon, or even a layperson appointed by a bishop to represent in his stead to officially witness this union and thereby it be a valid marriage. All Catholics are bound by that form. And so if a Catholic tries to get married without an official witness of the church, well, then it's going to be invalid. Which means God did not join the man and the woman together as husband and wife.

[A]

That do it for you, Abraham?

[D]

Yeah. Because I have, that I have heard about, like every Catholic agrees, I think on the second part that if you're married outside of church without permission, then it wouldn't be valid. Right.

[C]

At all.

[A]

I don't know that everybody's heard that.

[C]

But yeah, yeah, well, yeah, like, to that part of the question, not everybody has heard that because there are a lot of Catholics, Abraham, who get married with. Without the church officially witnessing it and they think they're getting into a valid marriage. Like they just don't know any better. Or there are some Catholics who know that. Yeah. And they just say, I don't care, you know, and they do it anyway. But to the second part of the question, would that be invalid? And the answer is yes, if a Catholic attempts a union outside of the church, and what that means is without an official witness of Holy Mother Church, then that union will not be a valid marriage.

[A]

Abraham, thank you again. All the lines continue full. So on we go. We'll go to Florida this time. Luka is listening on our website, catholic.com, luca, welcome. Go ahead with your question.

[D]

Hey, good evening, guys. So my question is like, you know, if the church is so staunchly, you know, like pro life, right. Like, why hasn't it issued, as far as I know, right. Why hasn't it issued a very clear position on how frozen embryos should be handled?

[C]

Yeah, well, the short answer to that question, Luca, because there is no clear moral licit way to handle the situation. Have you read the then called Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith's Instruction Dignitas Personae on Certain Bioethical questions in 2008? Have you read that yet?

[D]

Well, I've read like excerpts because I was doing some, you know, reading about this question. So I've read like relevant excerpts that I've posted about that. But it just seems that it's such a prominent, you know, like, principle like respect and the protection of human life. And that should be, you know, a very facing position.

[C]

Yeah. Well, Luca, this testifies to the situation itself being such that it doesn't allow. So the Church currently has judged a moral way forward with this. So in that very document concerning quote, unquote, prenatal adoption, it states that the proposal for prenatal adoption presents various problems not dissimilar to those mentioned above, which would be like, for example, surrogate motherhood. So the things that rule out surrogate motherhood, the congregation is saying, are going to rule out prenatal adoption. Now, there's more to be said on the other side of the break, so hang tight.

[A]

Right back with more. CARLO broussard, CATHOLIC ANSWERS live each Catholic is obliged to spread and defend the faith by word and deed. Well, we're here to help. Join special guests Chris Stefanik, Dr. David Anders, father Jeff Kirby, and all your favorite Catholic ANSWERS apologists this September 25 through 28 in beautiful San Diego for the Catholic Answers Conference. Our theme, go make disciples. Enjoy four days of faith, fun and fellowship. Use promo code early to save $50 when you register today at CatholicAnswersConference.com.

[C]

When the resurrected Jesus appeared to disciples on the road to Emmaus, they didn't recognize him until the breaking of the bread. The same is true today in the Holy Eucharist. We really meet Jesus in the Eucharist is really Jesus. Author Joe Heschmeyer explains how knowing Jesus in the Eucharist is the key to understanding all of Christian faith. Order your copy of the Eucharist is Really Jesus [e-mail] or get it at a good Catholic bookstore near you.

[A]

What was the church like in its infancy? In a word, Catholic. And Joe Heschmeyer has the receipts in his best selling book, the Early Church Was the Catholic Church. He gives you the details from the historical records of of the first two centuries of Christianity. Right now, get a copy for just $10 plus free shipping. If you live in the continental United States, get more information and order. The early church was the Catholic [e-mail] why do Catholics pray to dead people, bow to statues, venerate relics?

[C]

And where do we find any of.

[A]

This stuff in the Bible?

[C]

In the delightful book the Saints pray.

[A]

For your, Dr. Carlo Broussard convincingly defends.

[C]

The ancient Christian belief rooted in Scripture, that the saints care for us, that they are allies.

[A]

Order your copy of the Saints Pray for your [e-mail] or ask for it.

[C]

At a good Catholic bookstore near you on Wednesday's Take Two with Jerry and Debbie. Our topic is 20 years ago today. Do you remember how it felt when Pope St. John Paul II died? Now back to CATHOLIC ANSWERS Live.

[A]

Welcome back, Catholic Answers Live. Dr. Carla Broussard is our guest. And Carla, you were in the middle of answering a question about embryos, about what to do with frozen embryos. Luca in Florida is our caller. Luca, are you still there with us?

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

All right, Carlo.

[C]

All right, Luca. So before the break, what I was trying to articulate was as dignitas personae articulates the path moving forward for quote, unquote, prenatal Adoption to take the frozen embryo and implant within a woman's womb in order to gestate the document. That then congregation with the doctrine of the faiths identifies that path forward as being immoral. And it says that it presents problems, moral problems like surrogate motherhood. Okay, so that's one reason why we can't move forward with regard to that. And then it talks about, well, what other sort of solutions. It then says that thousands of abandoned embryos represent a situation of injustice which in fact cannot be resolved. There seems to be no morally licit solution regarding the human destiny of the thousands and thousands of frozen embryos. And so basically what you have is the Church saying, given the complexity of the situation, the Church is saying we currently do not see a morally licit path to move forward. Now your question is why isn't. Why doesn't the Church have a clear position on it? And I guess the short answer would be is just because of the nature of the situation itself. Where we have a situation where we currently don't see a moral path forward. Even many philosophers would argue even the very act of keeping them frozen themselves is an immoral solution. And others would argue that to let them thaw out and naturally and die, that would be immoral. Although you have other philosophers who would argue against that and say that is the morally licit solution to move forward. But at least with regard to the then called then the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Church is saying no morally solicit solution to move forward is seen. And so I can't answer like why the Church doesn't see it more clearly. The only thing I can say is given the complexity of the issue, and that's just kind of part and parcel of moral issues, man. There are some things where we as human beings put ourselves in certain situations where to see the right moral path forward is extremely difficult. That doesn't mean there is no morally correct path forward. But what it does mean is just the Church is simply saying we can't see currently a path forward on this. Now, I would recognize that you check out a resource Luca, that you might be interested in. I found it very helpful. Dr. Irene Alexander, a philosopher from I think she's at the University of Dallas. In the journal Nova Ed Vetera, she wrote an article entitled Is Artificial Impregnation Opposed to the Unity of A New look at the Question of Embryo Adoption. And what she does there is to try and defend that statement into Dignitas Personae, which says that there are moral problems with prenatal adoption and defends that statement and why that is not a moral path forward, which leaves us with just the more complex situation. These other paths don't seem to be morally legit either. And she also, in a less scholarly way has a two part interview entitled Embryo Adoption Parts One and Two at the YouTube channel. Dr. Dr. So you might want to check out that as well. And so all I can say to your question, Luca, is just to parrot what the church is saying there in 2008. It just simply does not see a moral path forward. And so that's why the church doesn't have a clear position on this issue.

[A]

And I am going to leave that there because it's a pretty straightforward answer and there's lots of folks on the line. So Luca, thank you again for the call. Dr. Carlo Broussard is our guest. We're asking the whys of Catholic belief. If you have a why question, why does or doesn't the Catholic Church believe this or that? You are welcome to call 888-318-7884. Peter in Maryland, thank you for waiting. Go ahead with your question.

[D]

Hi. Thank you. My question is why is Catholics belief and moral teaching seems to prioritize the individual and the neighbor and fellow man and in contrast to concern over family and kin?

[C]

Well, I'm having a hard time, Peter, drawing the distinction first of all between neighbor and family and kin, because family and kin would be neighbor. So love of neighbor would involve family and kin and of course non family and kin. And it and within the proper order of the relationships that we have, going out from self to others would involve outside of self, the family, those blood relatives, right and kin relationships through further degrees of blood relationship. And then non family and non kin being the neighbors outside of those concentric circles. So the order is fitting and right and good because in order we must first have a healthy ordered love of self on account of our love of God, recognizing who we are created in the image and likeness of God. So the love of God flows over to love of self, because I'm not only a creature of God, but given divine revelation, I'm a son of the Father in virtue of my baptism. And so that healthy ordered love of self then allows for me to be able to give myself to others in self sacrificial love, at least those who are within my vicinity and immediate interaction. For me, Carlo Broussard, that would be my wife and my five kids and then my mother and my father and my sisters and then my relatives and then beyond that and so and the. And the reason for that ordered love would be such that because we don't have the powers or the capabilities to be serving everybody and their mama, so to speak. Right? We just don't. God did not create us like that. We. I, if I were to do that, I would thereby be excluding the duties I have to love my wife and my kids and to provide for them and to do what love involves. And so I think we can see an intelligible rationale here of how love of God would be first and foremost and an account of my love of God. I love self and that going out towards love of neighbor. But that love of neighbor having different degrees, love of family, love of kin and then love of non family.

[A]

Peter, I wonder if you have a follow up, because I have to admit that I was a bit taken aback by your question. It had never occurred to me that Catholic teaching implied what you were saying. But did you want to follow up with Dr. Broussard?

[C]

Sure.

[D]

I mean, when I compare the New Testament to the Old Testament in general, I mean what the doctor said, you know, completely, completely sensible to me. However, I mean, I mean upon reading of the New Testament, it seems like the Old Testament more prioritized family and kin, whereas the New Testament, it's more of an afterthought and in some ways is that it's like there's some sort of a presumption that this is that the flock will understand. But I mean. Yeah, yeah, yeah, a stretch of a presumption.

[C]

Yeah, I think I get what you're getting at, Peter. And you're right to say that the New Testament does focus on an expansion of the understanding of love of neighbor that is indeed present in the Old Testament. Remember our Lord talking to, I think one of the scribes or maybe a Pharisee, you know, they asked what are the greatest commandments? Love of God, Love of neighbor. Well, Jesus is just quoting the Old Testament. That's found in the Old Testament. Can't remember the citations. I apologize, but it's there. But what our Lord does do is in the new covenant, giving us fuller understanding of things. He expands that love of neighbor to go beyond the love of family and love of kin which is present there in Jewish thought. And so our Lord has to help the first century Jews there to expand their understanding of love of neighbor to also involve neighbor. That would be non family members, but even more beyond that, Peter, love of enemies. Right, because our enemies are our neighbors as well. And that is something that goes beyond the limited understanding of love of neighbor. For those first century Jews given their Old Testament formation. And this is consistent this with everything Jesus taught. This is Jesus's M.O. right? You have heard it said, but I say right. And of course, like Matthew 5:27, you know, where he expands the concept of adultery to not only be restricted to the external act of adultery, but also to involve the lust of the heart. If any man lust after woman, he's already committed adultery in his heart. So notice how Jesus deepens and expands certain understandings prevalent in the Old Testament. And love of neighbor would be just one example among many where he's expanding that understanding. So hopefully that's helpful for you.

[A]

And I'm going to leave that there because we got to take our break. We'll be right back with more on the whys of Catholic Belief with Dr. Carlo Broussard on Catholic Answers Live. Hang on.

[B]

Catholic Answers Live will return in a.

[A]

Moment in Morse code. The sequence SOS is a distress call. It's been said that it stands for Save our Souls. Well, right now our world is in big trouble and we're putting out an SOS call for help. Will you answer that call? St. Paul Street Evangelization, a Catholic nonprofit, has hundreds of teams who share the good news with souls who don't know Jesus. Catholic Answers is supported in part by St. Paul Street Evangelization. Visit streetevangelization.com to get involved.

[C]

He is honored by the church as.

[A]

A saint with the title of the seraphic Dr. Matthew Bunsen and the Doctors of the Church, one of the greatest theologians and Franciscan mystics in church history.

[C]

Bonaventure also wrote a biography of St.

[A]

Francis that was commissioned by the Franciscans themselves. It took a saint and true mystic to understand a true saint, and he died in 1274. For more about the Doctors of the Church, visit doctorsofthechurch.com welcome back to Catholic Answers Live. Dr. Carla Broussard is our guest. And we're talking about the watch. And I'll tell you what, it doesn't matter whether you're Catholic or not. If you want to know why do Catholics teach something? Why do Catholics believe something? Why do Catholics hold a particular doctrine or teaching whatever, you're welcome to call 888-318-7884. In fact, we've had wonderful conversations with non Catholics today and look forward to many more of those. So wherever you're coming from, maybe you're not a believer at all and just wondering. I'll tell you what, I know this about Carlo. He would love to get a question like this why do you even believe in God? And I bet he would love to have that conversation with you. So wherever you're coming from, if you want to know why Catholics believe something, please give us a call. 888-318-7884. Out here to California we go now, Daniel, watching YouTube here in California. Go ahead, Daniel, with your question.

[D]

Hi.

[A]

Hi.

[D]

I'm calling to ask a question about the patron saints. Okay. I'm hoping to get, like, a brief history of that, because I'm having a hard time sometimes when I look into the history of, like, Greek mythology, the pantheon that they had, like, the different gods, the God, God of love and all that. How is that different from the patron saint of, like, Psyche or hunters? The patron saint of hunters, what came first? Was it the Greek system first, and then Catholics borrowed from that, or. I don't understand the history there.

[C]

Sure. Well, the multiplicity of the deities would indeed predate Christianity. So that's something that would come first. But the difference and the distinction would be our understanding of patron saints differs from the Greeks because we do not believe the saints or deities like the pagan, like the Greeks thought that their deities were deities. Right. So we don't believe the saints are divine in any sense. They are creatures of the one Creator and perfected by grace, dwelling in heaven. Now, their patronage is within. Christianity has its roots during the 4th century. Whenever Constantine decriminalized the practice of Christianity. Many churches began to be erected or built over the graves of martyrs. And those churches were dedicated under the patronage. Patronage, patronage of the particular martyr whose grave over which the church is built. So St. Peter's Basilica, St. Paul Outside the Walls, St. Sebastian and others. Now, over time, Christians would begin dedicating newly built churches to other men and women believed to be in heaven, but who were not martyrs. And they were believed to be in heaven because of the holy lives that they lived and performing miracles, having high levels of holiness, preaching the gospel in that particular local region, say. And so those churches were dedicated to those holy people. And then, as the Catholic Encyclopedia talks about, eventually patronages would extend to other ordinary interests of life, a person's health and family and trade. You brought up hunting and cycling and stuff. And so the whole social life of the church began to take on this form of patron saints for particular interests within the lives of God's people. And then in the 19th century, 1870, you have, you know, the whole church being dedicated to the patronage of St. Joseph by Pope Pius IX there in 1870. And I go into more detail on this in my book, the Saints Pray for you, I have a section on patron saints, but we do actually find, for example, in the 2nd century, late 2nd century, Saint Irenaeus and Against Heresies talks about how Mary is a patroness for us, right? Eve did disobey God, yet Mary was persuaded to be obedient to God in order that the virgin Mary might become the patroness of the virgin Eve. So you find that idea of Mary being a patroness. And even in the book of Hebrews, Daniel, the author of Hebrews, gives us a litany of Old Testament historical figures, heroes and heroines of the faith who exercise supernatural faith on account of which they were friends with God. And there you have biblical principle and a biblical root for our understanding of patron saints, because the author of Hebrews looks to these Old Testament saints as examples for the Christian exercising faith. So if that's the case, if we can look to holy men and women as examples to help us in exercising Christian faith, well, then surely we can look to examples of holy men and women and exercising other Christian things of life, other things in Christian life. And that's kind of where the idea of. Of patrons comes from with regard to the saints. But that is distinct from the pantheon of the Greek gods, et cetera, and the various deities that they were worshiping. You know, the God of this, the God of that, the God of this other. They were considered deities. The saints are not. And so that would be an essential.

[A]

Difference between the two Daniel, because there are lots of folks on the line. I'm going to leave that there, but I will send you a copy of Dr. Carlo Broussard's book the Saints Pray for you. All you have to do is hang on the line, we'll get an address, and we'll send out the Saints Pray for you. How the Christians in Heaven Help Us Here on Earth by Dr. Carlo Broussard. Mia is in Ohio. Mia, thank you for the call. Go ahead with your question for Carlo.

[D]

Hi.

[C]

My question is, if Mary was a.

[D]

Human, how was she sinless?

[C]

Great question. And the simple answer, Mia, is by God's grace. We do not believe that Mary was sinless in virtue of anything of herself. Yes, she exercised her will to be in conformity with God's will throughout her life, but that exercising of her will to be in conformity with God's will throughout her life was due to God's grace. So in virtue of God's grace, Mary was sinless throughout the entirety of her life. That's essentially different than Jesus, who was sinless throughout his life here on earth. It is in virtue of him being the second person of the Blessed Trinity, the word of God, that he was sinless throughout his life here on earth. Mary was sinless for an essentially different reason. In virtue of God's grace which is given to her to preserve her in goodness, to be conformed to the will of God perpetually.

[A]

Does that make sense to you?

[D]

Yes. Thank you.

[A]

All right, Mia, we've got a little book called 20 Answers on Mary if you'd like it. You hang on the line, we'll get an address and we'll send you 20 answers. Mary, I'm going to keep going, try to get everybody on if I can. Dawn is in Spokane, Washington, listening on Sacred Heart Radio. Go ahead, dawn, with your question.

[D]

Yeah, hey guys, just kind of an interesting question. Just I'm a convert to the church and I know that in the Catholic Church they are okay with cremation, but I know that they're not okay with keeping an urn in the family home. I'm guessing that has something to do with creating a potential idol. I'm not sure. But I wanted to know what the reasoning was behind not allowing a family to keep a loved one in the home in the form of a.

[C]

Okay, Don, so you can actually get the answer yourself, but I'll read it to you. But after the call, you can look it up online. The then called Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, now called the Dicastery for the Faith, put out an instruction in 2016 regarding the burial of the deceased in the conservation of the ashes in the case of cremation. Okay, so you just type that in, listen to the broadcast, type that in and it'll come up. And here's what it says in Section 5, Don. It answers your very question. It says this. The reservation of the ashes of the departed in a sacred place that is outside of the home, in the sacred space, ensures that the individuals who the remains they are are not excluded from the prayers and remembrance of their family or the Christian community. It prevents the faithful departed from being forgotten or their remains from being shown a lack of respect, which eventually is possible most especially once the immediately subsequent generation has too passed away. And so. And it also it says it prevents unfitting or superstitious practices. So that section right there in section 5 of this instruction just listed like four different reasons why not in the home but in a sacred space. The major reason being to preserve the remembrance of the faithful departure not only among the family, but also within the Christian community. And the second Major one being to prevent the remains being shown a lack of respect, which if the remains of the loved one are in the home, the church is concerned seeing with that the grave potential of a lack of respect for the remains of the loved one. And so for those reasons the church forbids keeping the remains of the loved one in the home and preserving or having the remains preserved in a sacred place, like in the cemetery, etc. And so again, that instruction, the Latin is ad resurgendum cum Christo to the resurrection of Christ. But just type in Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith Cremation 2016 and it'll come up.

[A]

Don, again, going to leave it there. Try to get everybody on Timothy's in Portland, Oregon, listening on the great modern day Catholic radio. Timothy, glad you're here. Go ahead with your question.

[D]

Yeah, I was wondering, why do you believe in God, specifically the God of the Jews, the Old Testament, Yahweh, when he was seemed to be so flawed, jealousy, wrathful, vengeful, killing innocent children, so on, so forth.

[C]

Sure, yeah. So all of that presupposes that he is jealous, wrathful, vengeful, killing innocent children, etc. And so we would have to have a conversation, Timothy, about all of those instances where you think the God of the Old Testament manifests these qualities, which on face value are immoral. But one of those qualities wouldn't necessarily be immoral. And we could have a conversation about that if we had time. But ultimately, Timothy, the reason why we believe in the God of the Old Testament is because there was miraculous confirmation that the one true God that we can know by reason, the Creator of heaven and earth, infinite reality itself, revealed himself with and through Moses. And so Moses performed a variety of different miracles to confirm that revelation that was being given to him. And thus that would provide us grounds to believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and then ultimately Timothy on account of Jesus himself. If Jesus is who he says he is, namely God, equal to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, if that is true, then we can believe in the God of the Old Testament because Jesus did. And so we would argue as a Christian, Timothy, that Jesus is who he says he is and has vindicated it to be so on account of his resurrection. And therefore we can conclude that the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, which Jesus affirmed to be real and equal with, we can believe it on account of the testimony of Jesus. And once we have that in place, then we can work out all of these other problematic issues, like is God really jealous or are we just reading it that way on account of our limited understanding as human beings. Is God really vengeful? Well, even if he is vengeful, why is that such a bad thing? There is just vengeance. And if God is the creator, well, then he would be pure justice, and so justice would be due to him. And he could enact justice and revenge, bring about revenge, because vengeance belongs to him alone insofar as he is the ultimate authority. And with regard to killing of the innocents, I would recommend, Timothy, that you check out my article [e-mail] entitled God in the Death of Innocence. And what I do there, Timothy, is I tried to provide you a philosophical rationale as to why God is not bound in justice to himself or to human beings, to always preserve human beings in physical life, that it is within God's prerogative to withhold the actuality needed to sustain human beings in physical life, even the innocent. And so your assumption and the charge is that God is immoral for taking the life of innocent human beings. And I challenge that assumption philosophically in my article, God and the Death of Innocence. So check that out.

[A]

Timothy, thank you for you took me up on the offer and I appreciate that very much. And if you call earlier, we'll have a more extended conversation next time Dr. Broussard is on. We sure would love to. It's very gracious of you to pick up the phone and call when that is exactly, exactly the call I was saying that Carlo would love to take. We wish we would have been able to give you some more time. Dr. Carlo Broussard, check out Sunday Catholic Word every Thursday. Get you ready for the Sunday readings from the perspective of a Catholic apologist. And if you're going to be anywhere near Niceville this weekend in Florida, go check out all the talks he's given over there at Holy Name of Jesus Parish. Dr. Carlo Broussard, thank you very much.

[C]

Thank you. Si. Have a great evening, buddy.

[A]

You too. Do. See you next time, God willing, right here, Catholic Answers Live.