Father Knows Best—Episode 34: Why We Are Not Jews like Jesus Was; The Johnson Amendment and Preaching About Politicians; and How Bishops are Selected.

Wednesday, September 2, 9:00 pm on Siouxland Catholic Radio 88.1 FM 

Episode #34 of Father Knows Best sponsored by St. Augustine Indian Mission in Winnebago, NE features Father Mark Stoll addressing questions about why we are not Jews like Jesus was, the Johnson Amendment and preaching about politicians, and how bishops are selected. 

Tune in tonight so we may discover, learn, and engage our hearts, souls and minds so we may be illuminated, informed and inspired. Please send your questions to fatherknowsbestshow@yahoo.com.

Transcript

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SPEAKER_00 0:00

I have questions. I don't understand. I'm confused. What's going on? This is not what I learned in school. What does the church really teach? Welcome to Father Knowles Bush, the studios of 8821 FM, KFA C Pacasu City, and K-O-I-A. Storm Lake. Brought to you by the St. Augustine Indian Mission, Winnebago. We all have questions and curiosity. Matters of faith as it is normal for humanity to ask questions and seek answers in the quest for understanding regarding matters of faith in the church. The opportunity to learn and to connect. And I say the only dumb question is the one that is not asked. And the reality is that the questions you have are like questions others have, and so it's good to ask. Sometimes an answer leads to more questions. Sometimes the questions and answers will lead us to insights we never considered. We at Soulan Catholic Radio want to invite our listeners from Jackson, Nebraska to Healthy Point, South Dakota, to Stromick, Iowa, and everywhere in between and beyond, send your questions to us at Father Knows Best Show at Yahoo.com. Or mail them to Father Knows Best, Sioux Line Catholic Radio, 701 West Fifth Street, Sioux City, Iowa, 51103. During this time, once a week, I or another guest will do our best to answer some of the questions I received here at the studio. So we may discover, learn, and engage our hearts and souls and minds, so we may be eliminated, informed, and inspired. So I thank you for tuning in. We invite you to open your mind, let the questions begin, and let your curiosity find its voice. I'm Father Mark Stowe, Priest of the Diocese City with you today. And joining me again is Tim Soudin, Secretary Director of Sullivan Catholic Radio, presenting some of the questions I've received from your listeners. And so, Tim, are you again ready for another round of questions and answers?

SPEAKER_01 1:48

This is another exciting Wednesday night when we get to learn more about the Catholic faith. I truly hope that the listeners understand how blessed they are to have this information every week.

SPEAKER_00 1:59

Amen. And we got some wonderful questions, I believe, this evening. So before we get there, again, thank you to Ann for being on the control board to help us get on the air. And so now let's dive into some of the questions. So, what is our first question?

SPEAKER_01 2:11

Don sent this question to you via email. And it's a very short question, but I think it's a very involved question. Okay. If Jesus was Jewish, why aren't we?

SPEAKER_00 2:23

Good question. And again, this isn't the first time I've heard this question. So it's it's a question that's raised many times. And yes, of course, Jesus was born, raised, and lived as a faithful Jew, along with his mother Mary, and his father's foster father Joseph. All the apostles, including St. Paul and all the first Christians were Jews. And again, they were Jews until Paul and others began sharing the gospel with Gentiles and non-Jews. So in the earliest days of our church, the apostles and the first Christians would go to the temple and to the synagogues to worship and pray just as Jesus had done all his life. And we see this throughout the early chapters of the Acts of the Apostles. As early as chapter 3, we learn it says, Now Peter and John were going up to the temple area for the three o'clock hour of prayer. Then in the following chapters, we hear how the apostles went to the temple area to share the gospel, as Jesus himself had done. And on several of these occasions they are arrested, and they're questioned by the Sanhedrin, that is by the Jewish leaders. In chapter 7, it's reported that with them regarding the martyrdom of Stephen, it says, after which then believers disperse from Jerusalem to surrounding areas. Chapter 9, we get to in Acts of the Apostles, we learned of a man named Saul who supported the martyrdom of Stephen, who's then going to the synagogues in Damascus to find any men and women who belong to the way, and then bring them back to Jerusalem and change. So again, early Christians were gathered in synagogues in Damascus, even. And again, it says, who belong to the way. This is the first time we hear this title, the way. And this refers to the early Christian community who was still going to the synagogues to pray, to the temple to pray. But this title is now being used to describe the early Christians, that early Christian community that are following the teachings of Christ at the same time. And they're still remaining part of the Jewish community. And so they are practicing Jews following Jesus because they knew that Jesus fulfilled the promises of the old from the promises they heard about the Messiah. So again, also we hear in this chapter of Acts of the Apostles, when Saul's on his way to Damascus, he encounters Christ. He converts, he goes to Jerusalem, he meets Barnabas, and then the rest of the apostles. Following chapter, chapter 10, we hear Peter going out to evangelize Gentiles, including a Roman centurion. So this is again an occasion of a Gentile joining. Again, Peter's still Jewish. Chapter 11, Paul and Barnabas go to Antioch for a whole year. And this is where the disciples are first called Christians. And so it appears that the word Christians was now being applied to members of the community of Antioch because they were allowing Gentile members, non-Jews, to join, to join the Christian church. And this kind of had them kind of stand out clearly from Judaism. Now again, remember, most Gentiles at this time would have been worshiping Roman and Greek gods. And while the Jewish members were still worshiping God, and they were still following the teachings of Jesus. And this again continues to be they go to synagogue to pray, they listen to the proclamation of the Hebrew scriptures, and then they would go home and share the story of Jesus, celebrate the break and bread, which is of course the early form of the Mass. In the following chapters of Acts of Apostles, again we learn of Paul's first missionary journey that includes stops in synagogues, Paul being expelled from synagogues, the meeting of Paul, Barnabas, and the Apostles in Jerusalem to discover or to discuss how to welcome Gentiles into the church who were not circumcised or trained in the Jewish religion. And as a result, we hear in chapter 15, as a result, they decided to not place any extra burdens on the Gentiles who were accepting the gospel and to simply ask them to abstain from meat sacrificed idols, from blood, and from the meats of strangled animals and from unlawful marriage. From there, of course, Paul goes on to complete two more missionary trips before arriving in Rome under house arrest. And what is happening during this time, between the time of the coming of the Holy Spirit and the end of the Acts of Apostles, around 65 AD or so, the early Christians are moving from being known as Jews of the way to being known as Christians, from going to the temple and synagogues to pray and then worshiping homes to celebrating, you know, with the celebration of the early form of the Mass. They're going from being welcomed at the temple and synagogues to being expelled from the temple and synagogues because they believe that Jesus is God and Jesus is the promised Messiah. But the more significant reason why we are Christians and not Jews is for what Jesus himself taught and did. In the Gospels, we hear Jesus say, we hear people say that Jesus taught with authority, not like the Jewish teachers. He was clearly identified himself as God. He gave his disciples a new covenant, key thing here, the new covenant, which he essentially says he fulfills the old covenant by establishing a new bond or promise that centers on his life, death, and resurrection, thus replacing what we call the Mosaic Law with His law based on love and following His teaching example. So in short, it was Jesus that started something new that was clearly expressed by his words and actions, including during Holy Week. You know, the Last Supper, his suffering and death, his resurrection. Again, we see him, uh, these disciples, nearly Christians, following his instructions on the day he ascended to heaven, when he says to the apostles, Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptize in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and observe all that I've commanded you. It's because of Jesus' life and example and commands that he gave to his first disciples that we now are part are Christians, not Jews. Because these men and women, they shared the story of Jesus, and they developed what Jesus wanted. What did Jesus want? He wanted a church. His church headed first by Saint Peter as the first Pope. Again, he wanted a church open to everyone who believed, including everyone who chose to believe from the time of Abraham, and those who did not believe in God but worship idols. Jesus wanted all who to believe to follow what he taught. And so then what happened is those who believed would move away and even be expelled from Jewish practices and even from pagan practices to practice the way as Christ did to be a Christian. And so, in short, hopefully that answers your question that this is why we're Christians today and not Jews, because we essentially moved away from what the Jewish people taught to follow what Jesus taught.

SPEAKER_01 8:58

Very good.

SPEAKER_00 9:00

Do we have a second question?

SPEAKER_01 9:02

No. This is gonna be quite a question. Okay. And that you know, we've always had in the religious environment the question of church versus state. So this is gonna kind of follow that path. Yes. Don sent this question to you via email. If the Johnson Amendment has been modified to reflect IRS approval of churches talking about politicians who promote abortion, why are we not talking about that from the pulpit as the Fifth Commandment teaches, thou shalt not kill?

SPEAKER_00 9:33

Thank you for this question. Uh, you know, when I was in seminary, uh, one of the monks at the seminary would say, You do not talk about religion or politics. Well, guess what? We're gonna talk about both right now. First, just a little bit of background on the Johnson Amendment for those who you know may not be uh familiar with it. This was an amendment that was introduced by then Senator Lyndon B. Johnson in 1954 and added to the Eternal Revenue Code uh of the U.S. Tax Code. It prohibited all 5103C organizations, which includes charitable organizations, foundations, universities, and houses of worship as churches and parishes. It prohibited them from participating or intervening in any political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office. And it also noted that violating this provision would result in loss of tax exempt status, which then could affect the tax deductibility of organization uh for the donations of the organization. So since then and for many decades, the IRS basically has turned a blind eye to whether political activity or advocacy was happening in churches, and there's been various religious freedom advocates who have been seeking to challenge and overturn the Johnson Amendment. On May 4th, 2017, in his first um time in office, President Trump issued an executive order which ordered the Department of Treasury not to take any ad uh, you know, basically said do not take any adverse action against any individual house of worship other religious organization on the basis that such individual organization speaks or has spoken about moral or political issues from a religious perspective. So, in other words, at that time, President Trump in 2017 ordered the Treasury Department to be lenient on how to enforce the Johnson Amendment. Now, the executive order was done to defend freedom of religion speech and to ease the Johnson Amendment's restrictions. Yes, but we have to remember that it would take an act of Congress or even the courts to eliminate the Johnson Amendment. In July of 2025, the IRS made a surprising announcement that religious leaders could endorse political candidates in houses of worship without losing their tax exempt status. This was a change from more than 70 years of legal precedent that prohibited churches and nonprofits from endorsing political candidates. So this announcement was the result of a lawsuit that was filed in a federal court by the National Religious Broadcaster Association, which is an evangelical media group, and two Texas churches who then sought to argue that the Johnson Amendment infringed on the freedom of speech and religion. So rather than defending laws passed by Congress and the courts, the IRS entered into a consent agreement with the plaintiffs, allowing specific churches to communicate which candidates they endorse and to urge their congregation to vote accordingly under specific circumstances, and also allowed religious leaders the ability to endorse political candidates and houses of worship without losing their tax exempt status. Now, since July 2025, there has been a lot of confusion about what is permitted and what is not. Again, what is this decision seeking to achieve? And what does this mean for how various groups, even liberal movements, respond? Now, we have to remember that houses of worship already have and had and continue to have a significant latitude in order to engage in issue-based campaigns that align with interpretation of their faith. Houses of worship already have had, for many years, the ability to lobby Congress to advocate for or against certain policy positions. And also, individual faith leaders can endorse candidates in their personal capacity but not from the pulpit. Now, there's a concern about allowing nonprofits to engage in partisan politics. Again, would this undermine public trust? Would it politicize community service? Would it jeopardize community donations, you know, and volunteer support? Would it confuse people, you know, as nonprofits are there to serve people, not parties? Um, again, a lot of confusion. So, because of this, many nonprofits, including the Catholic Church, you know, we are seen as a trusted source for nonpartisan election information, including where candidates stand on issues. Now, for example, in the past, the Iowa Catholic Conference did issue information about where candidates stood on important issues such as abortion. You know, I mean, this is uh back and um a number of years ago. They quit doing it since then, but but you know, they would uh ask these candidates where they stood in various positions, and then they would basically issue this document out to prisoners and basically just a simple short yes-no kind of answer. And then you just have to decide which candidate you thought was best. So the Iowa Catholic Conference was not telling anybody how to vote. They just said this is where they stand. The USCB also issues a document called Forming Consciousness for the Faithful Citizen, which again addresses key issues, including protecting human life, which is the preeminent issue, protecting family life, pursuing social justice, practicing global solidarity, and various other issues related to Catholic Church teaching. And so they're again they're not telling how candidates what you know what candidates stand, but this is what we teach, this is what we need to be looking for when we vote. So uh the concern is though if nonprofits began engaging in endorsing candidates, or even disengage disendorsing candidates, it may become unclear to community members if the nonprofit is using donations to for their mission or to support partisan politics and campaigns or even political action committees. Uh, it could also undermine public trust of the nonprofits, as they're often seen as being neutral community serving organizations. And again, uh with partisan endorsements, it could divide supporters, could alienate clients, even erode credibility. And so, again, nonprofits offer providal services that may be viewed politically affiliated. You know, just as an example, let's say a food pantry endorses a certain candidate, could be perceived as being very partisan, which could even make people hesitant to walk into that facility to receive the support they they need. Again, this fear of donations being jeopardized, volunteer support lost, because people who support these uh nonprofits may believe that the mission or the political endorsements that are being made, you know, are kind of you know eroding, you know, the mission of the of the organization. And again, there's also legal and operational confusion due to you know partisan activities like you know regarding tangible legal gray areas, again, you know, what about missteps and other penalties? So again, it's a lot of confusion. So my point is that this is a very complicated and sensitive area uh that can cause divisions within the Christian community, uh, just as it does at family table when when we sit down and and our family starts arguing about politics. Uh so I do agree with priests that I've talked to that we say it's probably not a good idea for us as priests and deacons to clearly endorse or de-endorse a political candidate. Rather, it's better to address the issues such as protection of human life, conception to natural death. And it would seem to me that a priest or deacon could gently remind people where a candidate or a politician stands on these teachings of the church. And I just could example. When I watch EDWTN News or various other programs on EWTN or radio TV, they will speak about the issues, and often I can hear them referring to a politician or candidate's view on the issue without naming names. And to me that seems a very prudent way to address the matter. In addition, it would seem to me, you know, it's wise for priests and deacons, you know, to dress in homilies at various times of the year, and not just simply during election campaigns or Right to Life month of October, you know, where the church stands on these issues. And again, as I pointed out, the UCCB has this document called Forming Consciousness for the Faithful Citizen, which again can be read any time of the year to help us understand what the church says about various teachings. So, again, I do believe that priests and deacons need to be addressing these issues on a regular basis, again, regarding protection of human life, um, again, in homilies, but also you know they can use bulletin and and other resources that can also share this information. But going back to the question, why are we not talking more directly about the issue of abortion from the pulpit? And especially as it relates to the command of thou shalt not kill. Again, several reasons. Again, there are of course other issues we need to be addressing too at the same time, you know, uh the what's we find in the readings, uh, and there's uh of course, uh, I know there's fear in some peace and deacons regarding, you know, how do we address even the preeminent issues of protection of human life because uh there are parishioners who do not agree with some church teachings such as that. And so if we start introducing politics at mass, you know, endorsing or de-endorsing a political candidate, that could even lead to more loss of trust and donations and other support. So, you know, I think priests and deacons are very conscious of consequences and ramification, you know, of how to address this issue. So again, something I'm very careful, but maybe they're maybe a little too cautious at times. But they also are aware of there have been consequences and ramifications from church leaders who have have had some, you know, that some priests and bishops actually have received because of they've spoken out about various politics or politicians or political issues. So regarding this matter, it seems to me best to stick to the teachings of the church regarding important issues such as protecting human life, again, addressing why human life needs to be protected. And again, there may be subtle hints regarding politicians, where they stand, but you know, not to directly endorse or de-endorse a politician, candidate, or political party. Because we as priests, we are to preach the gospel, instruct the faith about the teachings of the church, inspire the faithful to be faithful citizens of God's kingdom and also of society in which we live. It's our responsibility to help call sinners to change of heart and mind so that they may conform their lives with the heart and mind of Christ, and encourage people to believe, respond, and act according to the faith in Jesus Christ that we profess and the faith that we preach, as we then send those people out to the world to live the gospel life. So I hope that answers your question.

SPEAKER_01 20:42

That's a very involved question. I think the answer was very appropriate.

SPEAKER_00 20:45

Thank you very much. I think um if you're just tuning in, uh we just dealt with two wonderful questions. Um again, I hope uh you're listening and tuning in. So I'm Father Mark Stowe, Father Knows Best show here on Showland Catholic Radio. And we're sending some of the questions that I received from you, our listeners. And so uh Tim, I think uh we're gonna switch over to um uh the fourth question tonight. I'm gonna skip third question because that was a little bit long. I think we'll save it for the next show.

SPEAKER_01 21:14

Okay. Well, Don sent this question as well. This has been Don's show. Don has given us almost.

SPEAKER_00 21:20

He just sending me a boatload of questions.

SPEAKER_01 21:23

That does not mean, listeners, that we don't need your questions. Please continue to send us your questions because it really does make the show fluid. So thank you. The question is who approves bishop candidate names and submits final choices to the papal nunzio in the USA?

SPEAKER_00 21:40

Thank you for that question. So this question answers a little shorter than the previous two. And so the current procedure for selecting bishops around the world begins with the apostolic nun show of each country. So the apostolic nuncio is the Pope's representative to a particular country, he is the ambassador. Of the Holy See to a particular country. You know, for example, the current Apostolic Nuncio to the United States is Archbishop Gabriel Gordano, I believe is how it's pronounced, who was appointed in March of 2026. And so, from what I understand of the process, if the Apostolic Nuncio will send out letters and even a questionnaire to bishops, priests, and maybe even some lay faithful, again, this is all done strictly confidential, that even those who are contacted are not even supposed to admit that they were contacted. And they're asked to submit names of priests who they think would make good bishops. There's also more specific questions that will be asked about a priest whose name has been submitted to the Apostolic Initial. And these questions will address questions like what is the priest's spiritual prayer life like? What about his liturgical style and skills? How about his level of obedience to the church's teaching to his bishop? You know, leadership style, skills, health, and mental status, and other aspects of the priest's life that would help discern whether the priest would be a good bishop. So again, this process is strictly confidential. Now, once these questionnaires are collected by the Apostolic News, the names of the priests who are deemed to be good candidates to be a bishop are then forwarded to the castry of the bishops. This is an office at the Vatican that deals with all matters concerning the appointment of document and bishops and apostolic ministers and the like. And thus, when a diocese needs a new bishop, whether the bishop has died, or the bishop has been transferred to another diocese, or the bishop has resigned to reach the age of retirement, then this office, the castrior bishops, begins reviewing files of qualified priests to find a priest or another bishop who they believe would be a good fit for that diocese. And so the names of the opposed, either opposed candidate or maybe a couple candidates, when they discern who would be good, they offer a recommended recommendation to the Holy Father, to the Pope, who then makes the final decision, final selection. It is that time that candidates then contacted by the Absalognuncio and asked to accept the point of the Pope's appointment. And when the candidate accepts the appointment, then the announcement is made. So this is how the current process works. Now there is a report from Pope Francis's Synod on Synodality that has suggested that when a bishop is approaching retirement, that the bishop ought to convene his presbyteral council and the Dost and Pastoral Council, so the members of each council might submit in sealed envelopes the names of priests they consider suitable to be bishop. And then, of course, other groups in the diocese such as the Finance Council or Lay Council could also be asked to do the same. But at this point, this is only a suggestion. And so the answer to the question who approves the bishop candidate names and submits them to the papal nuncio? The simple answer, sinful answer is no one approves it, because those names are submitted, you know, by bishops, priests, and others to the abstract nuncio. He's the one that then fors it to the castor of bishops, who sends um, who then makes the selection, um, and then that's how a pope is named, by the selection of a group in the Vatican.

SPEAKER_01 25:14

So is the vetting, if you will, process done at the castor level or at the nuncio?

SPEAKER_00 25:22

I would say kind of both that. So again, if if the apostolic nununcio receives uh uh responses from about a priest, and the response is basically this guy would not be a good bishop, I would presume that's where it would stop.

SPEAKER_01 25:34

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 25:35

Uh then it again, any names that would be suitable then before to the castry of the bishops, and then they would then also discern, you know, would this guy be a good good candidate? Okay. So I think that's how it happens. But interesting. Very interesting. It's an interesting, it's a confidential process, and so we don't hear about it until basically um the new bishop is named. And and even even priests, if they're named, like I just use an example of Bishop Keener, he would have no idea who submitted his name to the Abstadt News. So you and who knows when that name was submitted? Uh he wouldn't have no idea. And so obviously, sometime his name was submitted by somebody and he made it through the top of the stack and is now a bishop of Sioux City. Do you know what investigation or vetting is done for if for a one who gets down to the Yeah, again, I would think it would be based on that questionnaire that I that seems to be sent out. But I would be surprised too. The Vatican could do a little bit of if they have some files on some of our priests, um, so you know, especially one who maybe maybe made the news or whatever. Sure. Bishop Barron of Rochester, uh was Rochester, Minnesota would be getting would be one that came up. It's like, yeah, we know a lot about him. So we've read about he, we've read his his materials, we've seen his videos. So, you know, so some of those guys would be more well known at the Vatican level than others. Very good. So I think that's gonna conclude. We'll take care of three questions, and so we'll come back to that one question about holy communion next week, and then see what else we can cover them too, maybe about uh angels and and about uh Muslims and people like that. So, so anyway, thank you for listening. We really appreciate you tuning in and listening to Father Knows Best here on Sue and Catholic Radio as we offer other programs, you know, such as Faith in Action and Life Plan and Catholic Ministry Professionals, Divine Mercy Chaplain, of course, Sunday morning mass. Please also check out the Facebook pages for Sue and Catholic Radio and for Father Knows Best for more information about this show and more information about questions and answers I've addressed, and even more information about materials I've not addressed in this show. As we wrap up today's question and answer session, we extend our heartfort thanks to all of our listeners for tuning in and sharing your thought-provoking questions, your curiosity, your engagement, make this show possible. We're always inspired by an incredible range of topics to bring to this table. We hope you'll find the answers both informative and enlightening, that you'll carry some of the new insights with you as you go about your week. If your questions weren't answered today, you may hear your answer next week. If you missed this episode, would like to re-listen to this or other episodes, please visit our website, Sioux Linecatholic Radio.com, and visit the programs drop menu or click on local programs and find this episode on other episodes of Father Knows Best and other local programs. Again, if you have any questions, please send your questions to me at father knows best show at yahoo.com or mail them to Father Knows Best Siouxland Catholic Radio 701 West Fifth Street, Sioux City, Iowa, 51103. And thank you to our sponsor, San Augustine Indian Mission, Winnebago. Please join us again next Wednesday at 9 p.m. for another round of questions and answers. And then until then, stay curious, stay faithful, keep your light shining, keep those questions coming. For now, I'm Father Mark Story, your host signing off. Wishing a great week ahead. May Almighty God bless you, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.