The goal of the Forte Catholic Podcast is to inspire, uplift, and share the Good News in a way that will help you take the next step in your faith, no matter where you are on your journey with God.

Taylor Schroll 9/6/23 Taylor Schroll 9/6/23

Wrestling, Word Association & Wild Claims w/Fr. Anthony Sciarappa | Forte Catholic Podcast Ep 353

Fr. Anthony tries to make a WWE fan out of Taylor with mixed results. They play a new Catholic word association game that reveals maybe a little too much & Taylor makes some wild claims about Jesus again including about the Lord’s qualifications, liturgy preferences, views on healing ministry, Catholic conferences and more!

When Taylor visited Fr. Anthony in Pittsburgh, Father made him watch wrestling for the first time and it was an...interesting experience to say the least. They talk about how it was going well for a while until...well...then it wasn't lol.

The guys introduce a new game: Catholic Word Association. They have some ho-hum answers but some that get them all riled up that they discuss for a while. A wide gamut of topics!

Finally, Taylor shares some wild claims about himself & Jesus. Comparing yourself to Jesus ALWAYS goes well. He also makes claims about Jesus' liturgical preferences, His views on lights in Church, healing ministry & Catholic conferences. It's a blast!

Donate
Forte Catholic is a 501c3 non-profit organization. Support the work with a tax-deductible donation here. Thanks! https://www.fortecatholic.com/donate

Produced by Taylor Schroll
Editing & Episode art by Sarah Allen

All music used on the show is by Brandon “BeTheSymbol” Morel. Find his music at bethesymbol.com.

Taylor Schroll 8/30/23 Taylor Schroll 8/30/23

Johnny Football, Tribalism, Consequences & Forgiveness w/ Kathryn Whitaker | Forte Catholic Podcast Ep 352

The Johnny Manziel documentary just came out. Kathryn is a fan of Johnny. Taylor can't stand him! They discuss a plethora of topics surrounding this Texas A&M College Football star, his rise, fall & how we are left to sort through the wreckage.

While Johnny is the impetus for our conversation, we discuss topics from a Catholic point of view like tribalism, sports, consequences for our actions, forgiveness & how all of those things together make life a bit more complicated than we might like.

This is a rare ONE SEGMENT episode because there was just so much to dive in to on this topic. We hope you enjoy this rare episode :)

Check out Kathyrn's viral open letter to Johnny here: https://kathrynwhitaker.net/2013/02/an-open-letter-to-johnny-football/

All music used on the show is by Brandon “BeTheSymbol” Morel. Find his music at bethesymbol.com.

Taylor Schroll 8/23/23 Taylor Schroll 8/23/23

Battle Mary, Freestyle Preaching & Faith Nostalgia w/ Chris Bartlett | Forte Catholic Podcast Ep 351

Taylor & Chris chat about topics they tend to shy away from when giving talks, the reasons behind it and whether they should expand their horizons or stick to the stuff they know? (queue High School Musical) They also give each other a run for their money in Freestyle Preaching & discuss Spiritual Nostalgia with the help of the song "Old Church Basement."

Guest Cohost Chris Bartlett joins Taylor to discuss the frustration of not being given parameters within which to work, how that works when they're invited to speak somewhere & topics they typically don't share about. For example, Taylor doesn't usually speak about Mary because it isn't his strongest topic, but he tests out some new material on Chris to see if he should expand his horizons or stick with the status quo (que High School Musical)

Then, Taylor finally has a worthy challenger for Freestyle Preaching. The guys take turns giving 60 second sermons on the spot where they have to include three random words given to them by their challenger. Can these two guys who have been giving random youth ministry talks for decades rise to the occasion?

Finally, Chris bring up a situation that got brought up in his family in regards to nostalgia. This leads to a conversation about the Care Bears & Taylor has to hold back the tears. Because of the Care Bears? You'll have to listen to the end to find out ;)

Listen to "Old Church Basement", the song Taylor discusses in the final segment on Spotify.

All music used on the show is by Brandon “BeTheSymbol” Morel. Find his music at bethesymbol.com.

Taylor Schroll 8/16/23 Taylor Schroll 8/16/23

Candlelight Mass & the Morality of the Zombie Apocalypse w/ Fr. Anthony Sciarappa (Live from Pittsburgh!) | Forte Catholic Podcast Ep 350

Our 350th Episode Live from Fr. Anthony's Rectory! They discuss a fancy candlelit Mass that Taylor attended & Fr. Anthony's parish. They have a conversation about fancy Churches, prayer entrapment & the grace of ordination. They also have a long awaited conversation about the morality of the zombie apocalypse! What would you do!?!?

Our 350th Episode Live from Fr. Anthony's Rectory!

They discuss a fancy candlelit Mass that Taylor attended & Fr. Anthony's parish. They have a conversation about fancy Churches, prayer entrapment & the grace of ordination. They also have a long awaited conversation about the morality of the zombie apocalypse! What would you do!?!?

All music used on the show is by Brandon “BeTheSymbol” Morel. Find his music at bethesymbol.com.

Taylor Schroll 8/9/23 Taylor Schroll 8/9/23

Chat GPT Jesus & Oppenheimer w/ Liv Harrison | Forte Catholic Podcast Ep 349

Liv Harrison makes her triumphant return to the show to chat about her sabbatical year, Oppenheimer & Taylor texted with Chat GPT Jesus!

Liv Harrison makes her triumphant return after taking a break from the show for a year! She & Taylor share about the best things that have happened in her life over the past year in our Chicken Soup for the Schroll segment.

Next, Taylor shares his newest obsession in an app that allows you to text with Jesus, Mary & other biblical characters through the magic of Chat GPT. He & Liv ask their favorite biblical characters questions live on the show. It's incredible how well it works! It may have forever changed how Taylor prays & does show prep, for better or worse.

To close out the show, they discuss one half of the summer blockbuster sensation weekend in Oppenheimer. They have differing opinions on how good the movie is & discuss the themes of the movie through a Catholic lens. It's mostly spoiler-free until the last couple minutes where we give a warning if you haven't seen the movie yet. Enjoy!

All music used on the show is by Brandon “BeTheSymbol” Morel. Find his music at bethesymbol.com.

Taylor Schroll 8/2/23 Taylor Schroll 8/2/23

Childhood, Slumps & Alphabet Game w/ Kathryn Whitaker | Forte Catholic Podcast Ep 348

Kathryn & Taylor discuss how to break slumps in faith & talk about how they're the same/different than they were as kids & play the faith version of the alphabet game.

Taylor kicks off the show by asking Kathryn about her history with sports. They discuss how to break a slump in sports and what that teaches us about breaking slumps in our faith. Kathryn also gives the best sports team name of all time!

Next, they play the faith based version of the alphabet game. They attempt to have discussions about faith topics with every alternating sentences that have to start with the next letter in the alphabet. It's silly and leads to some outrageous statements.

Finally, Taylor realizes that he doesn't know much about Kathryn's childhood so they share stories about how they're very similar now to as they were as kids and some other ways where they are very different.

All music used on the show is by Brandon “BeTheSymbol” Morel. Find his music at bethesymbol.com.

Taylor Schroll 7/19/23 Taylor Schroll 7/19/23

Heavy Burdens, Rejuvenation & In Persona Christi w/Fr. Anthony Sciarappa | Forte Catholic Podcast Ep 347

Father is back from vacation feeling great! He shares how Jesus' burden is light(even when it feels heavy) & answers questions about when priests are In Persona Christi, especially during Mass.

Fr. Anthony is back from a well-deserved family vacation and joins Taylor to share about the important of rejuvenation, especially for priests. He talks about how changing up the normal routine, spending time with family and simplifying life is good.

Taylor shares about a recent Sunday gospel that he struggled with. Jesus says his yoke is easy and his burden light, but it often feels heavy. He shares a hilarious experience he had with the homily that day and Fr. Anthony shares his insight into how Jesus can lighten our burdens.

Finally, Taylor has two questions about when a priest is In Persona Christi & when he isn't particularly during the Mass. What if a priest says something crazy during a homily? Is the priest as Jesus eating Jesus' body in the Eucharist. New and strange questions that we enjoyed exploring the answers to. We hope you enjoy this episode :)

All music used on the show is by Brandon “BeTheSymbol” Morel. Find his music at bethesymbol.com.

Taylor Schroll 7/12/23 Taylor Schroll 7/12/23

Gifts, 21 Questions & Basketball Saints w/Nick Senz & Allison Sullivan | Forte Catholic Podcast Ep 346

Allison took the spiritual gifts assessment and reveals her results which leads to a good conversation on finding our place in the Church community. She also keeps Taylor on his toes by asking some of her favorite "21 questions." Nick Senz joins the show to compare NBA legends to Catholic Saints in a fun way to learn more great saint stories.

Allison did her homework from a few episodes ago & took the spiritual gifts assement. Taylor guesses what her results were before she reveals her top 6 gifts that God has given her. It leads to a good conversation about using our gifts to build the kingdom, dusting off some unused gifts and finding our place in the Church community.

In the second segment, Taylor talks with Nick Senz who compares some of our Church's greatest saints with NBA legends. It was a fun segment for Taylor because he knows more about NBA stars than saints so we got to hear some great saint stories. Whether you're a fan of the NBA, stories of the saints of both, you'll love this fun conversation.

Allison is back for the final segment to ask some of her favorite "21 questions" to keep him on his toes. The questions range from fun to hitting Taylor like a freight train.

All music used on the show is by Brandon “BeTheSymbol” Morel. Find his music at bethesymbol.com.

Taylor Schroll 7/5/23 Taylor Schroll 7/5/23

Bingeing & Parenting College Kids w/ Kathryn Whitaker | Forte Catholic Podcast Ep 345

Kathryn prepares for three kids in college & she and Taylor share their very different workout routines & summers.

In this episode, we learn that regular Kathryn, lake Kathryn & summer Kathryn are VERY different people. She & Taylor discuss attempting to slow down during the summer months, bingeing on every aspect of life in an attempt to find some semblance of balance & share their very different workout routines (who's surprised?)

Kathryn shares about getting ready to send 3 kids off to college this Fall, the difference between setting up boys & girls dorms & her outlook on parenting kids through college.

Donate
Forte Catholic is a 501c3 non-profit organization. Support the work with a tax-deductible donation here. Thanks! https://www.fortecatholic.com/donate

Produced & Edited by Taylor Schroll
Episode art by Sarah Allen

All music used on the show is by Brandon “BeTheSymbol” Morel. Find his music at bethesymbol.com.

Taylor Schroll 6/28/23 Taylor Schroll 6/28/23

Goodbyes & Diocesan Priesthood w/ Fr. Will Rooney | Forte Catholic Podcast Ep 344

Fr. Will Rooney rejoins Taylor in the studio to discuss his new assignment as a first time pastor. They look back at the great year he spent at St.Joe's and what he learned to prepare him to be a pastor.

Fr. Will Rooney rejoins Taylor in the studio to discuss his new assignment as a first time pastor. Fr. Will has been the associate pastor at Taylor's parish for a year. They talk about his going away party that was thrown for him by the pastor that was really special. It was an evening where everyone was invited to share how Fr. Will had been a father to them during his time at the parish.

Taylor shares how Fr. Will has both been a father & a brother to him & Fr. Will shares some of his favorite moments as a priest here and what lessons he is taking with him to his new parish.

Donate
Forte Catholic is a 501c3 non-profit organization. Support the work with a tax-deductible donation here. Thanks! https://www.fortecatholic.com/donate

Produced & Edited by Taylor Schroll
Episode art by Sarah Allen

All music used on the show is by Brandon “BeTheSymbol” Morel. Find his music at bethesymbol.com.

Taylor Schroll 6/21/23 Taylor Schroll 6/21/23

Greece, St. Paul & Christians in Public w/ Allison Sullivan | Forte Catholic Podcast Ep 343

Allison is back from her Footsteps of St. Paul Pilgrimage with lots to share & Taylor talks about how Christians need to be better in public.

Allison led a group of Pilgrims through the steps of St. Paul on a river cruise through Greece. She shares how they visited a ton of sites you've heard about in the Scriptures and reveals whether her thoughts on St. Paul have changed or not. She also shares one of the most wild and random takes we've ever heard on the show that simply floors Taylor.

Taylor recounts a story of him hosting trivia and how one group of people ruined it for everyone else. He somehow blames Allison and they discuss how Christians have to be better representatives in public spaces.

Donate
Forte Catholic is a 501c3 non-profit organization. Support the work with a tax-deductible donation here. Thanks! https://www.fortecatholic.com/donate

Produced & Edited by Taylor Schroll
Episode art by Sarah Allen

All music used on the show is by Brandon “BeTheSymbol” Morel. Find his music at bethesymbol.com.

Taylor Schroll 6/14/23 Taylor Schroll 6/14/23

Fatherhood, Video Games & Carnivals w/ Fr. Anthony Sciarappa | Forte Catholic Podcast Ep 342

Taylor & Fr. Anthony discuss fatherhood in preparation for Father's Day & Taylor shares one of his weirdest stories as a dad. They also discuss the morality of video games & talk about the book "Get Your Life Back" by John Eldredge.

In an episode filled with laughter & new nicknames, Taylor & Fr. Anthony kick off the episode by talking about this weekend's celebration of Father's Day. Taylor shares a Catechism passage that may be the most dads have ever been represented by the Church. He also shares one of the strangest moral conundrums he has ever had as a Father that happened this past week.

The show continues with a discussion on the morality of video games. Taylor accidentally made a decision in a video game that may get him kicked out of the Church lol. He shares his shame with Fr. Anthony and they discuss if it is sinful to commit sins in a video games.

To close the show, Taylor shares some reflections from a book he has been reading by John Eldredge called "Get Your Life Back." They discuss carnivals, actively loving God, finding restoration for our tired souls & how to handle other people's bad theology.

We hope you enjoy this episode as much as we enjoyed recording it!

Donate
Forte Catholic is a 501c3 non-profit organization. Support the work with a tax-deductible donation here. Thanks! https://www.fortecatholic.com/donate

Produced & Edited by Taylor Schroll
Episode art by Sarah Allen

All music used on the show is by Brandon “BeTheSymbol” Morel. Find his music at bethesymbol.com.

Taylor Schroll 6/7/23 Taylor Schroll 6/7/23

Vacation, Graduation & Marriage Prep w/ Kathryn Whitaker | Forte Catholic Podcast Ep 341

Taylor is back from vacation rejuvenated, Kathryn had multiple kids graduate & they share tips for engaged couples.

We're back! After taking the week off for family vacation, Taylor is back with Kathryn Whitaker. She just had multiple graduations in her family so she shares about the excitement and emotions of the past few weeks. Taylor relays how his family vacation went and how it reminded him of the importance of slowing down and reconnecting with what matters.

To close the show, Taylor & Kathryn both share about their experiences of being mentor couples for engaged couples. Taylor & his wife are currently working with their second couple while Kathryn & her husband have worked with TEN! They discuss what works in marriage prep, what annoys them and what is often lacking.

All music used on the show is by Brandon “BeTheSymbol” Morel. Find his music at bethesymbol.com.

Taylor Schroll 5/24/23 Taylor Schroll 5/24/23

Tragedy Strikes Again & Valuing Marriage w/ Allison Sullivan | Forte Catholic Podcast Ep 340

Taylor shares how he now has TWO kids with broken arms in his house, dealing with tough times as a Catholic & Allison Sullivan talks about the value of a good marriage.

It's been a wild couple of months for the Forte Catholic podcast. The highest of highs and the lowest of lows.

After some big wins, this was another tough week with Taylor's youngest breaking her arm at school and needing surgery at Texas Children's. He shares the story and Allison guides the conversation on how he is responding and how to navigate difficult times as a Catholic.

In the next segment, Taylor asks Allison some "gotcha" questions about marriage that stir the pot and they end up accidentally talking about privilege, life insurance & how to value our spouses more.

All music used on the show is by Brandon “BeTheSymbol” Morel. Find his music at bethesymbol.com.

Taylor Schroll 5/17/23 Taylor Schroll 5/17/23

Walls of Jericho & Fancy Catholic Words w/ Fr. Anthony Sciarappa | Forte Catholic Podcast Ep 339

Taylor & Fr. Anthony discuss the Jericho story like you've never heard before, Malcolm Gladwell failing forward and play Fancy Catholic trivia!

Fr. Anthony & Taylor kick off the show with some Italian stereotypes & two great moments for God's chosen people in the Old Testament: The parting of the Red Sea & the Battle of Jericho. We promise you've never heard the Jericho story like this!

Next, Fr. Anthony actually did some show prep so that we can play Fancy Catholic Words. The good priest gives Taylor some words that only fancy Catholics would know and he has to guess what they mean. Can you do any better than Taylor did?

They close the show with a conversation about leadership, failure & improving after Taylor was inspired by a recent Malcolm Gladwell story.

All music used on the show is by Brandon “BeTheSymbol” Morel. Find his music at bethesymbol.com.

Taylor Schroll 5/10/23 Taylor Schroll 5/10/23

Champions & Miracles w/ Allison Sullivan | Forte Catholic Podcast Ep 338

Our happiest episode in months! Taylor's Track Girls are State Champions! And his son's arm is (miraculously?) healed! Allison has HUGE news as well!

In a special and rare episode, both Taylor & Allison are INCREDIBLY HAPPY! The ladies that Taylor coaches won the first athletic state title in the storied history of their school. It was a really special weekend with yelling & cheering & tears & bountiful joy! Allison rejoices with him as he retells the story!

The other big stressor in Taylor's life the last couple of weeks has been his son's broken arm. They got news this week that he doesn't need surgery after all! A huge blessing with a story of healing & our community rallying around us. Thank you all for your support!

Allison also has BIG news of her own to share that Taylor gets to celebrate with her!

All music used on the show is by Brandon “BeTheSymbol” Morel. Find his music at bethesymbol.com.

Taylor Schroll 5/3/23 Taylor Schroll 5/3/23

Roller Coasters, Practice & Parenting w/ Kathryn Whitaker | Forte Catholic Podcast Ep 337

Taylor is joined by Kathryn Whitaker in studio as they talk about the high highs and the low lows of the last couple of weeks. They also discuss the importance of being a "practicing" Catholic and how that may mean a shift in focus on how we view our spiritual journeys.

Taylor is joined by Kathryn Whitaker in studio as they talk about the high highs and the low lows of the last couple of weeks. Taylor shares the good, bad and ugly from his track coaching, parenting and spiritual life. Kathryn shares her insight and wisdom from her experiences as a mom and Catholic.

They also discuss the importance of being a "practicing" Catholic and how that may mean a shift in focus on how we view our spiritual journeys. Enjoy!

All music used on the show is by Brandon “BeTheSymbol” Morel. Find his music at bethesymbol.com.

Taylor Schroll 4/20/23 Taylor Schroll 4/20/23

Child Jesus, Indulgences & Addiction w/Fr. Anthony Sciarappa | Forte Catholic Podcast Ep 336

Fr. Anthony & Taylor discuss what we should be focusing on during this extended Easter season, the questions of if the benefits of indulgences are worth the confusion & the morality of addiction.

Fr. Anthony joins Taylor for a discussion on what we should be focusing on during the extended Easter season. Taylor also shares a strange insight about the people who grew up around Jesus during the "lost years" of his childhood/teen/young adult years.

Taylor also asks Fr. Anthony about indulgences:

-What are they?

-Why the bad rap?

-Are they worth the confusion?

They also discuss the morality of addiction, especially when addiction leads to other sins. It is a complicated and nuanced discussion on sin, culpability & the depths of the moral life.

All music used on the show is by Brandon “BeTheSymbol” Morel. Find his music at bethesymbol.com.

Taylor Schroll 4/12/23 Taylor Schroll 4/12/23

Cupcakes, Leprechauns & Humility w/Allison Sullivan | Forte Catholic Podcast Ep 335

Allison Sullivan joins Taylor Schroll as he shares about how a recent reflection on the Creation story really broke his brain in regards to the balance between confidence and humility. They also discuss how Catholics should think about legacy, what we learn from St. Joseph's inadequacy & how we can bring peace into any situation.

Allison Sullivan joins Taylor Schroll as he shares about how a recent reflection on the Creation story really broke his brain in regards to the balance between confidence and humility.

They also discuss how Catholics should think about legacy, what we learn from St. Joseph's inadequacy & how we can bring peace into any situation. All with some cupcakes and leprechauns mixed in :)

All music used on the show is by Brandon “BeTheSymbol” Morel. Find his music at bethesymbol.com.

Taylor Schroll 4/5/23 Taylor Schroll 4/5/23

Holy Weak & the Holy Land w/Kathryn Whitaker | Forte Catholic Podcast Ep 334

Kathryn Whitaker returns to share about her amazing trip to the Holy Land! Kathryn & Taylor also talk about how God is present to us even in places that we may not always expect him. Have a blessed Holy Week!

Kathryn Whitaker returns to share her incredible experience in the Holy Land. She talks about all of the places that she went to that we will hear about at the Masses of this Holy Week. She came back changed spiritually AND physically.

She & Taylor also discuss how we are constantly on “holy ground” and in God’s presence in the places we may least expect it. They discuss the story of the burning bush and places where they’ve encountered God where they weren’t necessarily looking for Him. They also talk about the places in their lives where God probably is but they haven’t taken the time to recognize Him.

We hope you have a blessed Holy Week!

All music used on the show is by Brandon “BeTheSymbol” Morel. Find his music at bethesymbol.com.