This episode is about the recent expiration of the New START nuclear weapons treaty between the United States and Russia, with no new agreement on the horizon, and how this situation looks from the perspective of Catholic Social Teaching.

Here are references and additional resources.

1. Russian and U.S. nuclear arsenals could expand for the first time in three decades. Feb 3, 2026
2. The U.S. Needs to do Something about New START. Posted on the American Security Project website Jan 26, 2026
3. Which Countries Have Nuclear Weapons? Nuclear arsenals by country
4. The US and Russia’s nuclear weapons treaty is set to expire. Here’s what’s at stake Analysis January 26, 2026
5. Catechism of the Catholic Church scroll down to sections 2314-2315
6. Lapse of last US-Russia nuclear treaty ‘simply unacceptable,’ says Archbishop Coakley February 3, 2026
7. What does the Catholic Church teach about nuclear weapons? Aug 19, 2020 Good summary of papal and bishop conference statements from 1954-2020
8. Pope Leo XIV, bishops commemorate 80th anniversary of atomic bombing of Japan Aug 6, 2025
9. Statements from US Conference of Catholic Bishops on nuclear deterrence: 1983 Pastoral Letter on War and Peace, scroll down to page 2 section I.B.; 1993 10th Anniversary Reflection, scroll down to section II.E.1.1.
10. 1998 Statement signed by 75 US Catholic Bishops (but not the entire USCCB) stating that the conditions for the moral acceptance of nuclear deterrence are not being met
11. Podcast website with full transcripts for this episode and all other episodes

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This episode is about growing support for the legalization of assisted suicide, both in the United States and worldwide, and what Catholic Social Teaching has to say about this news story.

Here are references and additional resources.

1. 2025 Saw Expanded Access to Physician-Assisted Suicide. National Catholic Register article 12/29/2025
2. Catholic bishops speak out as New York governor pledges to sign into law assisted suicide EWTN article 12/17/2025
3. Most Americans Favor Legal Euthanasia Gallup polling article 8/8/2024
4. American support for euthanasia based on ‘false dichotomy,’ Catholic researcher says 8/13/2024 article in response to Gallup poll article referenced above
5. Medical Aid In Dying Is Not Assisted Suicide, Suicide or Euthanasia Online article from a proponent of “Medical Aid in Dying” that objects to the term “Assisted Suicide”
6. Oregon Death With Dignity 2024 Annual Report
7. Catechism of the Catholic Church – scroll down to sections 2276-2283
8. Samaritanus Bonus (Good Samaritan) letter issued in 2020 by the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, on the care of persons in the critical and terminal phases of life.
9. It’s Not Your Life, It’s Not Your Death, It’s Not Your Choice - Bishop Robert Barron article January 4, 2024
10. Is Canada ‘Killing Itself’ With Doctor-Assisted Suicide? September 2025 summary article in Religion Unplugged (no subscription required) and full article in The Atlantic (subscription required)
11. Podcast website with full transcripts for this episode and all other episodes

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This episode is about the US military intervention in Venezuela that involved the capture of the now-former Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores, and how this news story looks from the perspective of Catholic Social Teaching.

Here are references and additional resources.

1. Maduro raid killed about 75 in Venezuela, U.S. officials assess January 6, 2026
2. Rubio briefs lawmakers on 'threefold process' for Venezuela January 7, 2026
3. Vatican news release on January 4, 2026, with Pope Leo’s comments at Angelus and (scroll down the page) appeal from Venezuelan Bishops
4. The Latin American and Caribbean Episcopal Council (CELAM) expresses solidarity with the Church in Venezuela January 6, 2026
5. Venezuela strikes, takeover plans violate international law, says Notre Dame scholar January 4, 2026
6. Unjust War Theory: When Law Enforcement Becomes Moral Insanity – pointed assessment of US intervention in Venezuela by a Catholic commentator and professor of finance at Benedictine College
7. Just War Theory and the Venezuela Invasion – assessment by an Anglican who is a retired professor of systematic theology and ethics
8. Pope Leo’s address to the Vatican diplomatic corps on January 9, 2026. Here is the Vatican news release summarizing the Pope’s comments, and here is the full text of his remarks
9. Quotations from pastoral letters and papal encyclicals from the past century regarding peace and non-violence
10. Podcast website with full transcripts for this episode and all other episodes

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