•Three Episode Clips
•Description
•Brief show notes
•Link to full episode on Substack, and Podcast apps.

In this episode of The Catholic Experience, we unpack what it means to be innocent in a world that no longer believes in innocence. From a surprising (and partly bizarre) podcast clip featuring Barack Obama (‘on raising sons’) to memories of James Evans Sr. saving the day in Good Times, I explore masculinity, fatherhood, the erosion of family authority, and the danger of outsourcing a child’s moral compass to “better parents.”

Episode clips and the roundup are below. Full episode is available on Substack (Video and Audio) and on your favorite podcast apps!

🚨 Modern Innocence & the Myth of the “Better Dad”
Is innocence even possible anymore? Or are we too far gone?
This week, I unpack:

— Obama’s wild take on empathy & parenting
— Why “diverse dads” is a dangerous idea
— What Aquinas says about innocence
— How YOU can reclaim it through grace, penance & persistence

Is innocence gone for good? Can we reclaim it in a fallen world? I offer practical steps rooted in Catholic spirituality: grace, penance, prayer, and persistent rising after every fall. You can build toward innocence again—but only if you believe it still matters.

I offer additional advice in the full episode, but what I most strongly recommend is that we return to a cultural habit of doing acts of penance in our daily lives. Prayer is important, and so are the sacraments—those are all no-brainers. But what most people think the least about is the value of penance, and we have to get back to that in the Church.

Believe in Innocence Again!

This episode challenges the assumption that innocence is either lost or irrelevant, reminding listeners that innocence is not simply about being sinless—but about being in right relationship with God. Drawing from Scripture and Aquinas, we’re called to reject spiritual laziness, embrace grace, and pursue holiness with persistence through penance, prayer, and sacrifice. Above all, the episode is a call to believe that innocence is still possible—and worth striving for.

It also underscores the danger of cultural narratives that subtly displace the authority of fathers and redefine empathy and virtue through ideological lenses.