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 1/3/24 Taylor Schroll 1/3/24

Piety & Military Priests w/ Grassroot Catholic & Fr. Uncle Sam | Forte Catholic Podcast Ep 370

Happy New Year! Keith from Grassroot Catholic is back to discuss piety & devotion. He & Taylor also discuss their Christmas celebrations, including quite possibly the worst Mass experience Taylor has ever had! Fr. Peter Pomposello joins Taylor to teach us about the role of priests in the military.

Happy New Year! Taylor is back with some great guests to celebrate the New Year. Keith from Grassroot Catholic returns to the show to co-host this week. He & Taylor discuss their Christmas celebrations, including quite possibly the worst Mass experience Taylor has ever had! Later, they discuss piety, knowing we love God but lacking the desire to do anything about it & devotion. Keith tries to guide Taylor through some issues as an emergency spiritual director stand-in. Follow Keith @grassrootcatholic on Instagram.

Also this week, Fr. Peter Pomposello joins Taylor to teach us about military priests. Fr. Peter (also known as Fr. Uncle Sam) discusses how he became a priest for the diocese of the US military, how the military works with priests & more. It's a fun discussion with insight into an entire part of the Catholic world that Taylor knew almost nothing about. Follow him @fr.unclesam on Instagram.

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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 12/27/23 Taylor Schroll 12/27/23

The Christmas Episode! w/ Aaron Weber | Forte Catholic Podcast Ep 369

Merry Christmas from all of us to all of you! The gang is all hear with our yearly guest, comedian Aaron Weber. All three cohosts join in the celebrations to discuss what we love & hate about this season, if Mary knew & questioning some holiday traditions.

Merry Christmas from all of us to all of you! The gang is all hear with our yearly guest, comedian Aaron Weber. All three cohosts join in the celebrations!

Taylor is first joined by Allison Sullivan to share their favorite & least favorite parts about the Christmas season.

Then, Fr. Anthony & Aaron Weber join in for the second segment. Having Aaron as our Christmas guest is a yearly tradition since 2018! This year, we discuss holiday traditions, Aaron's Comedy Central special this year, & Father Anthony's pastoral heart. Check out more from Aaron at https://aaronwebercomedy.com/

Kathryn Whitaker joins Taylor for the final segment as they debate "Mary Did You Know?" Choosing a side on whether she knew or not has become a yearly Catholic online tradition & Taylor & Kathryn are on opposite sides of the debate. They hash it out and hope to sway you to their side.

Thank you so much for listening! We love you guys! Merry Christmas!

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

Taylor Schroll 12/20/23 Taylor Schroll 12/20/23

Paths to Holiness, Phone Upgrades & College Football w/ Kathryn Whitaker | Forte Catholic Podcast Ep 368

Taylor & Kathryn discuss how there are multiple pathways to holiness within Catholicism and somehow how spiritual growth equates to phone upgrades. They also discuss their opinions on the college football playoffs, Jimbo Fisher’s firing, fairness & leadership.

Kathryn Whitaker cohosts our final episode of Advent. She & Taylor talk about how there are multiple pathways to holiness within Catholicism. This has been accepted for generations (i.e. different religious orders) but these days people find what works for them and want to impose it on everyone else.

Taylor shares one of his strangest quirks and discusses how iPhone upgrades mirror his spiritual life. How do we deal with spiritual growth?

To close the show, Kathryn has some hot takes on the College Football Playoff committee's decision & Texas A&M's historic firing of Jimbo Fisher. This connects to our moral life as we discuss fairness, excess, leadership & more.

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

Taylor Schroll 12/13/23 Taylor Schroll 12/13/23

The Shift Film, Advent & Matt Rife w/ Allison Sullivan | Forte Catholic Podcast Ep 367

Allison walked the red carpet for "The Shift" premiere in LA. She & Taylor shares what their ruminating on during their Advent & they debate the cancellation of comedian Matt Rife.

Allison has been hyping up The Shift film for about a year now and was invited to walk the red carpet at the premiere! FANCY! She shares about that experience she shared with her son & discusses Christian art in the public sphere.

Allison also wrote a new talk for Advent and shares some of the highlights from that. Taylor shares what he has been pondering throughout this season of preparation and Allison is shocked by how insightful it was. Taylor was both hurt & happy with this outcome.

Finally, they end the show sharing their differing opinions on Matt Rife's new special. He has been called to be "cancelled" over some of his jokes. Allison agrees, Taylor thinks it might be taking it a bit too far. They talk about where comedy & morality mix & when they clearly don't.

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

Taylor Schroll 12/6/23 Taylor Schroll 12/6/23

Honky Tonk Confessional, Coolness & Old Church w/Fr. Anthony Sciarappa | Forte Catholic Podcast Ep 366

Taylor has some confessions to make! Two extremely repressed (for good reason) memories just resurfaced & he wanted to share them with you & Fr. Anthony. They debate which of them are cooler & what coolness has to do with living out our faith. They also talk about how old our Church is, some of the things about it that have made it stand the test of time that might also be the same reasons we get frustrated with it. Fr. Anthony shares some good ol' fancy Catholic words that Taylor (and you!) have to guess what they mean.

Taylor has some confessions to make! Two extremely repressed (for good reason) memories just resurfaced and he wanted to share them with you & Fr. Anthony. They both involve musical performances from Jr High/High School. Fr. Anthony is TRULY shocked by one of them!

They also debate which of them are cooler. After hearing stories about both of their childhoods, they discuss "coolness" and what makes someone cool in childhood & how it may be different than in adulthood. They also discuss what our faith has to do with "coolness" and a revelation Taylor had that shouldn't be a revelation.

Finally, they talk about how old our Church is, some of the things about it that have made it stand the test of time that might also be the same reasons we get frustrated with it. Fr. Anthony shares some good ol fancy Catholic words that Taylor (and you!) have to guess what they mean.

This was a really fun episode to record and we hope that you enjoy it! :)

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

Taylor Schroll 11/29/23 Taylor Schroll 11/29/23

Working Together & Finding Love w/ Sarah Allen | Forte Catholic Podcast Ep 365

Taylor is joined by his friend & co-worker Sarah Allen this week. Sarah shares what it's like to work with Taylor, how it's different than the first time & gives a glimpse into life behind the scenes here. Sarah also got married earlier this year (yay!). She shares the cool story of how she met her husband, how the early months of marriage have gone & Taylor's role at her wedding. They also discuss people getting married later, the lack of young people going on dates & young Catholic ladies longing for marriage.

Taylor is joined by his friend & co-worker Sarah Allen this week. She started working with Forte Catholic earlier this year helping edit podcasts. This is now their second time working together so Sarah shares what it's like to work with Taylor, how it's different than the first time & gives a glimpse into life behind the scenes here.

Sarah also got married earlier this year (yay!). She shares the cool story of how she met her husband, how the early months of marriage have gone & Taylor's role at her wedding. They also discuss people getting married later, the lack of young people going on dates & young Catholic ladies longing for marriage.

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

Taylor Schroll 11/22/23 Taylor Schroll 11/22/23

Thanksgiving & Mind Ya Business w/ Kathryn Whitaker | Forte Catholic Podcast Ep 364

Happy Thanksgiving! Taylor was reminded that it is hard to be negative and thankful at the same time so recalling what we are grateful for is a great remedy. He & Kathryn share what they are thankful for & also keep the Thanksgiving spirit alive but talking about minding your own business, especially when you don't have all the facts.

Happy Thanksgiving from our crew to yours! We hope this episode gives you some laughs while you're avoiding your in-laws ;)

There has been some negativity floating around the past few weeks so we decided to combat it with some thanksgiving! Of course it was perfect timing with the holiday this week, but Taylor was also reminded that it is hard to be negative and thankful at the same time so recalling what we are grateful for is a great remedy. He & Kathryn share the things in their personal lives, families, church, work and more that they are most thankful for this year.

In keeping with the theme of Thanksgiving, we had to talk about arguing and people not minding their own business ;) Kathryn shares a ridiculous comment she received that definitely crossed the line. She shares the story & what bothered her about it. She & Taylor talk about how we should all mind our own business a little more, especially when we don't have all the facts. Like mama always said, if you aint got nuthin nice to say then don't say nuthin!

We hope y'all all have a beautiful Thanksgiving! We are so grateful you listen to our show. :) Blessings on you and yours this week!

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

Taylor Schroll 11/15/23 Taylor Schroll 11/15/23

Mid-Life Crisis, Life Verse & Converts w/The Cordial Catholic | Forte Catholic Podcast Ep 363

Taylor asks Allison Sullivan if he's too young to have a mid-life crisis because he would like to. They talk about what's been going on and how to find a way out of it. They also play a silly game to lighten the mood. Taylor is also joined by Keith of The Cordial Catholic to chat about being more welcoming to non-Catholics & assisting with their formation.

Taylor is also joined by Keith of The Cordial Catholic to chat about being more welcoming to non-Catholics & assisting with their formation.

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

Taylor Schroll 11/8/23 Taylor Schroll 11/8/23

Spiritual Growth & Hot Ones w/ Fr. Anthony Sciarappa | Forte Catholic Podcast Ep 362

Learning a spiritual growth plan from Teenage Jesus, hearing personal growth quips from the great Zig Ziglar & Fr. Anthony eats spicy stuff while trying to answer Bible Trivia and respond to Taylor's hot takes.

Fr. Anthony is back to discuss the lost years of Jesus with Taylor. There is ONE verse that covers the majority of Jesus' life from when He is a teen until His public ministry. We talk about what this verse means for our own spiritual growth & some Father gives some practical tips.

They also discuss one of Taylor's leadership heroes, Zig Ziglar. He played a large role in Taylor's formation in college so they discuss some of his most famous quotes.

Then finally, the moment you've all been waiting for...Fr. Anthony does the hot ones challenge. While he eats progressively hotter hot sauces, Taylor asks him questions about fire in the Bible & gets his thoughts on some Catholic hot takes.

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

Taylor Schroll 11/1/23 Taylor Schroll 11/1/23

Weddings, Birthdays & Breakthroughs w/ Liv Harrison | Forte Catholic Podcast Ep 361

This episode was recorded on the Eve of the Nativity of the Taylor. He & Liv reflect on his "Jesus year". The celebrations continue as Taylor shares the excitement of his sister's wedding this past weekend & the joy of family gatherings. They also discuss some breakthroughs they have both made in their personal & spiritual lives, including a bizarre realization about Zechariah & Mary.

This episode was recorded on the Eve of the Nativity of the Taylor. He & Liv reflect on the ups & downs of his "Jesus year" as his birthday drew near. The celebrations continue as Taylor shares the excitement of his sister's wedding this past weekend, the joy of family gatherings & reflecting on the past.

They also discuss some breakthroughs they have both made in their personal and spiritual lives, including a bizarre realization Taylor had about Zechariah & Mary where he argues that either God likes his favorite girls more than his favorite boys OR the Archangel Gabriel learned a valuable lesson! We hope you enjoy this off the rails final segment! :)

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

Taylor Schroll 10/25/23 Taylor Schroll 10/25/23

Am I a Jerk? w/ Kathryn Whitaker | Forte Catholic Podcast Ep 360

Taylor shares two awkward stories and asks Kathryn if he is the villain in them. Kathryn speaks on stewardship & catches herself in an Aggie & parenting conundrum.

Taylor was put in a couple scenarios that we so awkward and we wasn't sure if he was the jerk or if it was the people who put him in those situations. So he turns to Kathryn for wisdom and guidance after sharing the stories.

They also discuss how Taylor is currently in a never-ending Mass, Taylor calls Kathryn out on one of her beloved Aggie traditions & they work through some feedback they received from a priest who listens to the show. Kathryn closes the show by sharing about the importance of being good stewards of the gifts God has given us.

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

Taylor Schroll 10/18/23 Taylor Schroll 10/18/23

Getting Old, Wounded Pride & Struggles in Prayer w/ Shaun McAfee | Forte Catholic Podcast Ep 359

Taylor explains that he's an idiot that keeps making the wrong choice with cohost Shaun McAfee. They discuss how getting old and pride aren't mixing well & the lessons he still needs to learn. They also share the shocking revelation that the Catechism has passages on struggling in prayer. Who knew!?!?

Taylor explains that he's an idiot that keeps making the wrong choice with cohost Shaun McAfee. They discuss how getting old and pride aren't mixing well & the lessons he still needs to learn.

This episode also has the RARE occasion where the Catechism is quoted. Taylor has been talking about his struggles in prayer over the past few weeks and found that the Catechism actually has a section for people struggling with prayer. Who knew!?!? Shaun shares his sage advice throughout the episode.

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

Taylor Schroll 10/11/23 Taylor Schroll 10/11/23

Money Stress & DaVine Jesus w/Allison Sullivan | Forte Catholic Podcast Ep 358

Allison joins Taylor as he shares about something most people keep pretty close to their chest: money. He shares that money has been a constant stressor for over a decade and Allison thinks he's not alone. They discuss financial stressors, the pit of comparison & what role money plays in on spiritual lives. Allison also helps Taylor prep two new talks on the Vine & Branches and Martha & Mary.

In the second segment, Allison helps Taylor prep for two new talks on the Vine & Branches and Martha & Mary. They discuss the Scriptural texts, their thoughts on what they would preach about and how to adapt it for a younger audience.

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

Taylor Schroll 10/4/23 Taylor Schroll 10/4/23

Main Character Energy & Ferocious Faith w/ Liv Harrison | Forte Catholic Podcast Ep 357

Taylor & Liv discuss battling Main Character Energy in our spiritual lives and relationships. They also have some alliterative suggestions for finding a way out of dryness in prayer.

Liv Harrison is back in studio to talk with Taylor about Main Character Energy. We all think from our own point of view, so how do we break out of thinking we're the main character in the story. Taylor shares a strange tactic he uses to try and not make everything about him.

Liv shares about her new tattoos & alliterative faith advice. Taylor is incredibly proud of one of his jokes & they discuss a possible solution to dryness in prayer. 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 9/27/23 Taylor Schroll 9/27/23

Change & Battling Shame w/ Kathryn Whitaker | Forte Catholic Podcast Ep 356

Taylor & Kathryn discuss the importance of continual change in the spiritual life. Taylor also shares a story of a grown man shaming some teenagers and how rage welled up in Taylor when he saw it. It opens up a conversation about how shame has no place in the Christian life.

Taylor & his kids were on their own this last weekend and it was a glimpse into how much things have changed over the years. We often don't notice gradual change until something special happens(like a rare weekend where Taylor's wife gets a break). Kathryn also shares how she has been in a season of change and the importance of continual change in the spiritual life.

Next, Taylor shares a story about how he saw a grown man shaming some teenagers and it enraged him. He & Kathryn talk about battling shame and how it has no proper place in the lives of Christians.

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

Taylor Schroll 9/20/23 Taylor Schroll 9/20/23

Catholic in the Workplace & Sacramentals w/ Shaun McAfee | Forte Catholic Podcast Ep 355

Shaun is back to discuss being Catholic in the workplace & sacramentals. Living out our faith in a public sector job has been a frequently requested topic for us so we found a gov't employee to help us out lol. And Shaun tries to convince Taylor that sacramentals are more important than he may initially think.

Shaun is back! One of the OG cohosts returns for a fun conversation.

How to live your faith in the workplace has been a frequently requested topic for us to tackle so we finally found someone who doesn't work for the Church lol. Shaun talks about how he is able to live his faith in his fancy government job.

They also talk about Sacramentals which is one of Shaun's favorite topics & Taylor doesn't understand all the hubbub. Shaun does his best to convince Taylor of their importance in the lives of Catholics. It's almost like he wrote a book about them or something...

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

Taylor Schroll 9/13/23 Taylor Schroll 9/13/23

Unique Callings, Egyptian Moses & Positive Reinforcement w/ Allison Sullivan | Forte Catholic Podcast Ep 354

Taylor & Allison both share about their vastly different summers. Allison took on a new mission while Taylor dealt with something he never thought he would have to. They also discuss what we can still learn from Moses 4000 years later about choosing the right thing even if it's not the easy thing & share a moving story about how positive reinforcements can truly work wonders.

Taylor & Allison both share about their vastly different summers. Allison took on a new mission while Taylor dealt with something he never thought he would have to.

They also discuss what we can still learn from Moses 4000 years later about choosing the right thing even if it's not the easy thing. They also chat about a moving story about how positive reinforcements can truly work wonders.

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

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!

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.