About the show

The goal of Forte Catholic is to share the Joy of the Gospel! The team of Taylor Schroll, Fr. Anthony Sciarappa, Allison Sullivan, & Kathryn Whitaker bring the laughs, insights and encouragement you need to get through your week and grow in your life of faith. There are weekly theme discussions, guest interviews from Catholic leaders from across the world and fun segments like Freestyle Preaching, Forte/Mezzo/Piano, Life Verse and much more. No matter where you are on your journey with God we want to help you take the next step by inspiring, uplifting, and sharing the Good News...all while laughing along the way.

The show appears weekly on YouTube & all podcasting platforms. It was a nominee for the Fisher’s Net Podcast of the Year Award in 2018 and has been mentioned in the Wall Street Journal.

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Episodes

  • 364: Thanksgiving & Mind Ya Business w/ Kathryn Whitaker

    November 22nd, 2023  |  1 hr 31 mins
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    Happy Thanksgiving from our crew to yours! We hope this episode gives you some laughs while you're avoiding your in-laws ;)

  • 363: Mid-Life Crisis, Life Verse & Converts w/The Cordial Catholic

    November 15th, 2023  |  1 hr 14 mins
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    Taylor asks Allison Sullivan if he's too young to have a mid-life crisis. 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.

  • 362: Spiritual Growth & Hot Ones w/ Fr. Anthony Sciarappa

    November 8th, 2023  |  1 hr 25 mins
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    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.

  • 361: Weddings, Birthdays & Breakthroughs w/ Liv Harrison

    November 1st, 2023  |  1 hr 16 mins
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    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 bizzarre realization Taylor had about Zechariah & Mary.

  • 360: Am I a Jerk? w/ Kathryn Whitaker

    October 25th, 2023  |  1 hr 14 mins
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    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.

  • 359: Getting Old, Wounded Pride & Struggles in Prayer w/ Shaun McAfee

    October 18th, 2023  |  58 mins 25 secs
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    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

  • 358: Money Stress & DaVine Jesus w/Allison Sullivan

    October 11th, 2023  |  1 hr 5 mins
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    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.

  • 357: Main Character Energy & Ferocious Faith w/ Liv Harrison

    October 4th, 2023  |  1 hr 12 mins
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    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.

  • 356: Change & Battling Shame w/ Kathryn Whitaker

    September 27th, 2023  |  1 hr 44 secs
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    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.

  • 355: Catholic in the Workplace & Sacramentals w/ Shaun McAfee

    September 20th, 2023  |  1 hr 8 mins
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    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.

  • 354: Unique Callings, Egyptian Moses & Positive Reinforcement w/ Allison Sullivan

    September 13th, 2023  |  1 hr 11 mins
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    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 share a moving story about how positive reinforcements can truly work wonders.

  • 353: Wrestling, Word Association & Wild Claims w/Fr. Anthony Sciarappa

    September 6th, 2023  |  1 hr 16 mins
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    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!

  • 352: Johnny Football, Tribalism, Consequences & Forgiveness w/ Kathryn Whitaker

    August 30th, 2023  |  55 mins 35 secs
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    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.

  • 351: Battle Mary, Freestyle Preaching & Faith Nostalgia w/ Chris Bartlett

    August 23rd, 2023  |  1 hr 12 mins
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    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."

  • 350: Candlelight Mass & the Morality of the Zombie Apocalypse w/ Fr. Anthony Sciarappa (Live from Pittsburgh!)

    August 16th, 2023  |  1 hr 11 mins
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    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!?!?

  • 349: Chat GPT Jesus & Oppenheimer w/ Liv Harrison

    August 9th, 2023  |  1 hr 16 mins
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    Liv makes her triumphant return to the show to chat about her sabbatical year, Oppenheimer & Taylor texted with Chat GPT Jesus!