Holy Week seemed like a great time to share my conversation with Father Ed Beck, an author, playwright and, most importantly, a Passionist Roman Catholic priest who also doubles as the Faith & Religion Commentator for CNN and other major news outlets. Father Ed and I met at my old parish in Los Angeles and have known one another for a minute. I've turned to him for advice and guidance as a practicing Catholic, a religion I was raised with, left as an 18-year-old, only to return to in my early 30's. When I asked Ed to join me on FLIP IT ON ITS HEAD, I'd planned on asking him to shed light on why so many people seem to be looking at religion differently over these past few decades as participation in organized religion has dwindled. But like a lot of good conversations with smart people, our chat turned into something bigger than I'd planned. Like many Catholics who were horrified by the sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic church revealed by reporting in the Boston Globe in 2002, I had to decide if I was going to look at my own journey of faith differently. Ed and I did not shy away from having a frank discussion about the Church's failings and how it affected many of the faithful, to say nothing of those who were the victims of abuse. I appreciate Father Ed's candor and expertise and hope everyone who listens feels the same.

Father Ed Beck's writings can be found on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/stores/Edward-L.-Beck/author/B001ILIDFE?ref=ap_rdr&store_ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

AMERICAN CHRISTIANITY IS DUE FOR A REVIVAL, by Timothy Keller

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/02/christianity-secularization-america-renewal-modernity/672948/