On this episode, Chris is joined by Dan Denis, a Catholic father and farmer from the Saskatchewan prairie. Inspired by the social teaching of the Church, including Laudato Si’, several years ago Dan felt a call to go “back to the land,” as he puts it, and began farming the land on which he was raised. Dan shares his family’s story of love for God and the created order, and how this love inspired them to adopt certain stewardship practices that might be described as ‘organic’ in their grain, beef, and poultry operation. (Bonus: Dan recommended a book called The Church and Farming, by Fr. DenisFahey, C.S.Sp., from Loreto Publications. We didn’t get to a discussion of this book in this episode, but perhaps in a future conversation. Also, Dan and his wife Sara share their story together in this video, Faith on the Farm.)
Faith & Politics
F&P Episode 115: South Dakota’s Pivotal Moment on Abortion
South Dakota’s 2023 legislative session marked the first time that state lawmakers had gathered since the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its June 24, 2022 decision in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade and restored to the states the ability to set their own public policy on abortion. Host Michael Pauley is joined by Dale Bartscher, the Executive Director of South Dakota Right to Life, for a discussion on how state lawmakers responded to the Dobbs decision, and how South Dakota’s pro-life community is responding to a citizen-initiated amendment that proposes to create an unlimited right to abortion in the state constitution.