Well, it’s not really radio free, but it is real Catholicism. To a point. Relevant Radio came on the air 25 years ago. It started in Austin in 2005 having taken over the Protestant Christian radio station that interestingly enough gave Issue’s, Etc. the boot for being too Lutheran. I think the issue was Baptism. Give Relevant Radio a listen. They are more Baltimore Catechism which ruled the United States in a sort of semi-official manner from the late 19th century to the 60’s than they are The Catechism of the Catholic Church which was published in 1992 in French and in English in 1994. This is the official confession of the Roman Catholic Church today.
Patrick Madrid is a faithful Roman Catholic who hosts a daily call-in shows on all things Catholic. If you’re having trouble deciding whether or not to go to a gay relative’s wedding or a transgender cousin coming out, he has show notes that our quite good. I think I referred once to how he turns around the whole intolerant argument of the gays and trans who absolutely will not tolerate your not accepting their sins.
In any event, here is my latest email to Mr. Madrid. He has never replied to any of mine where I have politely taken him to task for not distinguishing between liberal and conservative Lutherans, for saying Lutheran’s believe in consubstantiation, and that they follow a mere man, Martin Luther, rather than the Vicar of Christ on earth, the Pope.
Re: Patrick Madrid Rebroadcast Show on Sunday May 4, 2025 Salvation outside of Christ
Tue, May 6, 1:34 PM
Dear Sir:
You say that you read every email; I hope you do this one.
You certainly know the 1994 Catechism of the Catholic Church better than I, a retired Lutheran pastor does. When the lady called concerning the discussion she was having with her husband who stood on no salvation apart from faith in Christ and she was trying to stand on salvation by trying your best, suffering more, or sincerity, you shut her down. I don’t see how your response and the husband’s confession does not conflict with the aforementioned authority.
Here I quote paragraph: “841 The Church’s relationship with the Muslims. ‘The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims; these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind’s judge on the last day.'” And here is part of 847 “‘Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience-those too may achieve eternal salvation.'”
Finally, I close with a direct question: Does or does not the Roman Catholic Church confess the Athanasian Creed today without reservation? I look forward to your response.
During my over 40 years of ministry I never proselytized Roman Catholics. In fact, I had them read books such as Catholic Answers to Fundamentalists’ Questions explaining that some of the things Catholics were criticized for were misunderstood or distorted.
The Catholics who came to me, and all were what you term “Cradle” Catholics, were bothered by statements like the above. Two of them even asked the Bishop of the Archdiocese of Austin personally who more or less “blew them off”. That’s when they came to me. They were the best catechized Christians in the faith they were raised in of any I have ever met, so they were easier to teach. As you probably know, it’s very hard to teach a person who doesn’t know their own faith.
In Christ,
Paul R. Harris
The good thing this exchange between Mr. Madrid and I , or lack thereof, proves is that Confessional Lutherans aren’t the only ones to consign my letters to the trashcan.
