Gus kicks off his final show of 2023 with the annual Christmas party. Gus invites listeners to call in and talk about their highs and lows of the year and asks what Christmas dish they brought to the party. He also has a few special guests.
First up is his producer Scott Shea, aka Scooterman. He talks about his high being the release of his book, "All the Leaves Are Brown: How the Mamas & the Papas Came Together and Broke Apart," back in June. He also shares that, last week, Variety named it one of their Top Music Books of 2023. Afterwards, Gus' mom, Barbara Lloyd, joins Gus in the studio. She's down visiting for an extended stay. She was originally supposed to housesit for Gus and Michelle while they were on the Holy Land Christmas Pilgrimage. Unfortunately, that got cancelled, but she decided to come and stay with them anyway. She talks about Christmas and the annual traditions celebrated in the Lloyd family with Gus and his siblings growing up. Gus talks about his mother's beautiful singing voice and how she would have the entire congregation in tears when she sang, "O Holy Night" at Christmas mass.
Later, Fr. Leo Patalinghug calls in to talk about his year and what he looks forward to in 2024. Gus also gets his reaction to the release of Fiducia supplicans, which gives priests guidance on the blessing of same-sex couples and the confusion it is creating.
And Bob Dunning brings us home. He brings California ribs with him, which leads to a discussion between him and Gus about what area of the country has the best ribs. He also shares his highs and lows of 2023; the low being the breakup of the 108-year-old Pac-12, which started off and the Pacific Coast Conference, and the high being having all his children home for Christmas. Afterwards, Bob predicts the winners of both College Football Playoff games and who'll be playing for the National Championship Game on January 8th.
Excellent point, Edward.
On your final show before the Christmas Holiday, Fr. Leo Patalinghug deflected in his response to your question about Fiducia Supplicans. Either by design or unawareness from not having read the Declaration, Fr. Leo ignored or glossed over a key element in this radical departure from church teaching as found in the responsum a dubium of 15 March 2021 and its accompanying note (https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2021/03/15/210315c.html). Fiducia Supplicans established that Catholic clergy may bless a same-sex couple as such, not as separate individuals. This is a radical change in church teaching, one that cannot be papered over by making a distinction between liturgical blessings and pastoral blessings, a distinction without a difference.