On conversion, CWR, journalism, Pope Francis: My recent interview on EWTN

This past Monday I was at EWTN to guest on “At Home with Jim and Joy”. I always enjoy my time at EWTN: the folks there are warm and down to earth. Plus, I get to spend some time with Fr. Mitch Pacwa, SJ, who I first got to know in the late ’90s, when he taught several courses in the University of Dallas MTS program I was in from 1997 to 2000. On this visit, Fr. Mitch cooked me some venison steak, told me some new hunting stories, and shared his wise observations on a whole host of current events.

The Pintos are salt of the earth folks. Converts from Episcopalianism (actually, I think Jim said he’s a revert, having been raised Catholic), they’ve been running a crisis pregnancy center in Birmingham for many years. And as good as I think our on-air conversation was (see below and judge for yourself), the off-air conversation was even better.

Anyhow, we discussed a number of things: how my wife and I became Catholic, my work as an editor and author, Catholic World Report, journalism in general, and Pope Francis. Here it is:


If you value the news and views Catholic World Report provides, please consider donating to support our efforts. Your contribution will help us continue to make CWR available to all readers worldwide for free, without a subscription. Thank you for your generosity!

Click here for more information on donating to CWR. Click here to sign up for our newsletter.


About Carl E. Olson 1244 Articles
Carl E. Olson is editor of Catholic World Report and Ignatius Insight. He is the author of Did Jesus Really Rise from the Dead?, Will Catholics Be "Left Behind"?, co-editor/contributor to Called To Be the Children of God, co-author of The Da Vinci Hoax (Ignatius), and author of the "Catholicism" and "Priest Prophet King" Study Guides for Bishop Robert Barron/Word on Fire. His recent books on Lent and Advent—Praying the Our Father in Lent (2021) and Prepare the Way of the Lord (2021)—are published by Catholic Truth Society. He is also a contributor to "Our Sunday Visitor" newspaper, "The Catholic Answer" magazine, "The Imaginative Conservative", "The Catholic Herald", "National Catholic Register", "Chronicles", and other publications. Follow him on Twitter @carleolson.