Sheen Beatification! Exorcism, US-Iran, Nigeria's Christians,House of David Season 2

The world's exorcists are asking the Pope for reinforcements.

Nashville exorcist father Dan Rehill shares his insights, and President Trump says negotiations

with Toronto ongoing.

As U.S. troops are being mobilized to the region, is the U.S.-led ground campaign in Iran

inevitable.

Dr. Jacob Alador is here with analysis, and the persecution of Christians continues in

Nigeria, and U.S. peacekeeping forces have been sent to help quell violence.

What is the long-term strategy?

West Virginia Congressman Riley Moore is here with an update, and starved the hit TV series

House of David.

Michael Iskander is here with a preview of what's coming in the show's second season, and

we remember Mother Mary Angelica on the 10th anniversary of her passing.

The world oval.

We can try it now.

A warm welcome to all of you joining us in the United States of the world over.

As we celebrate our 30th year, we've got an important show for you tonight.

If you'd like to comment, send me an ex-post on that, Raymond O'Royal, and you can always

go to a Royal Grande show on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

But first some very good news.

I've been waiting decades for this.

It's official.

The venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen will be beatified on Thursday, September 24th in St.

Louis, Missouri, according to the Vatican's Dicastery for the causes of saints.

The beatification will take place at the dome at America's center in St. Louis, Cardinal

Louis Toglay, pro-prefect of the Dicastery for evangelization, will preside.

In February, the diocese of Peoria, Illinois first announced that the Vatican had given

the go-ahead for Sheen's beatification six years after being postponed by the Holy

Sea.

Beatification is the final step, major step, in the canonization process before a candidate

can be proclaimed a saint.

For more on this, I'm joined by the executive director of the Sheen Foundation, Monsignor

Jason Gray.

Monsignor, thank you for being here.

The date of the beatification for Fulton Sheen has been officially announced again.

How important is this long-awaited event, not only for the church universal, but for

the church in the United States?

Well, in particular, Sheen has known, especially for a work of evangelization, and that's

really one of the things that we can really honor and celebrate here.

He's the pioneer who brought the faith on radio and television, and the countless homes,

and so he was someone really paved the way for Catholic media that today I think owes

a real debt of gratitude for all the work that Sheen did.

So absolutely something that we'll be looking forward to around the world, but in particular

in the United States, this is an area he had such great influence.

Yeah, Monsignor, the beatification ceremony is going to take place on September 24th,

a Mary and date, but Sheen's eventual feast day will be on December 9th when he died,

the feast of St. Juan Diego.

Explain the significance as Sheen was certainly associated throughout his life with our

lady.

I know, and had a deep devotion to it.

Yeah, part of that devotion, Sheen expressed in his desire to be closely connected with

the bless of Mother.

He talked about important things happening on Mary and Feast days, and he even talked

about wanting to die on a Saturday or on a Mary and Feast day.

So he was close, December 9th is very close to December 8th, but so then also to have

the celebration take place on a feast of our Lady of Mercy September 24th.

That's a great thing.

And even the announcement came on March 25th on the Annunciation.

So we were able to announce with great tidings of joy the beatification of Sheen as we were

hearing about the archaer general Gabriel announcing to the Blessed Mother about the birth

of our Savior.

So another great Mary in connection.

Yeah.

And I want to also mention the viewers of EWTN will remember him, he was a dear friend

of mine, the late Father Andrew of Posterly, who was the first postulator of Sheen's cause.

And really, you know, I was on that first commission, and I remember joining him for so many

of those meetings.

He was a devoted spiritual son of the soon to be blessed.

I know Father Andrew would be thrilled at this news, and I'll bet he is, should he be

canonized, and what would sheen in your reckoning be the patron of Mount Senior?

Well, I would think that anything connected with Catholic media, I don't know if we have

us, who's the patron of the Internet, that's right now, but everyone who's involved

in the work of evangelization owes that debt of gratitude to Sheen.

But we also can't forget the tremendous missionary work that he did.

So he was the head of the propagation of the faith.

And so was influential in bringing the gospel to the far, far, far-flung corners of the

world.

So he'd be a fitting patron certainly for the missions as well.

So I guess we can take our pick.

We have multiple things to celebrate.

Yeah.

Well, he and Mother Angelica can do it out for, you know, the patron of media.

But Sheen, and they'll have to fight with St. Clair, who I guess is the patron saint

of television, because of that vision she had, you know, of a mass going down downstairs

when she was, you know, ill in her debt.

Mount Senior, what should people, viewers, and people around the world who know nothing

of Sheen take of this moment, that his cause is being advanced?

What does it say to them in their lives?

It talks, I think it tells us about the things that are important to Sheen and things that

all of us can really imitate.

Now, Sheen was a brilliant man and very educated, but you don't have to be, Sheen can be relevant

to everyone no matter what level of education a person has.

In fact, the most important thing that he did, and where I think he learned the most about

Jesus Christ, came from his time of prayer, it was when he would sit in front of the

Blessed Sacrament, which he did every day in a holy hour.

That's how he really came to know Jesus Christ.

That's really the most important thing I would think.

And everyone can imitate Sheen through the prayer, devotion, and especially your Christic

adoration.

Yeah, great example.

Mount Senior, Jason, great.

Thank you for being here.

We'll catch up with you in the days I had.

And stay tuned to EWTN for all the details regarding the coverage of this blessed and

long-awaited event, the Beatification of Venerable, Fulton J. Sheen on Thursday, September

24th.

Thank you, Mount Senior.

Excellent.

Thank you.

Earlier this month, officials from the International Association of Exorcists met with Pope Leo

XIV at the Vatican.

Now, they brought with them a formal report and a warning, cases of occultism, satanism,

and demonic possession are surging.

They're asking for trained exorcists in every diocese.

Here with his unique perspective is the Exorcist of the Diocese of Nashville, Father

Dan Rehill.

Father Dan, thanks for joining us.

A pope Leo met with this International Association of Exorcists on March 13th.

They claim growing numbers of people are entangled in the occult, in satanism, and in so-called

esoteric practices.

And obviously, all this has severe spiritual consequences.

Is that consistent father with what you're seeing in your ministry?

Well, ironically, no.

I mean, Tennessee, for some reason, seems to be in this bubble of resurgence of faith.

And we have record numbers of people coming into the church this Easter, and it's happening

in a lot of places.

So I think overall, there's a greater evil in the world.

But happily, I'm not seeing a surge here, not like I did during COVID.

Wow.

Yeah, tell us about that.

We talked about this on the podcast a few weeks ago.

Why is there a rise in the demonic?

I mean, you are getting more calls, not only from Catholics, but from people outside of

the faith, right?

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Well, there's a couple of reasons.

I think people are making a conscious decision to move step away from organized religion,

and that's a problem in itself.

These people that don't want to have anything to do with God or with Jesus, and it said,

I'm not religious.

I don't want to be bothered.

And, you know, we just had it last week in the third week of Lent, the gospel was where

Jesus says, if you're not with me, you're against me.

And what people don't realize is there's no neutrality.

There's only two kingdoms.

There's God, His saints and angels, and then there's Lucifer and His demons.

And those are the two kingdoms.

You're in one of them.

There's no Switzerland with spiritual illness.

Yeah.

You mentioned a moment ago that COVID was a cause for an uptick in the demonic.

Why?

Explain that to people quickly, Father.

It was the first time in 2000, as the church closed universally around the whole world.

There were no masses, public masses.

You take the sacraments away from the people, and this is going to be a void, and the devil

comes right into filet.

On top of that, people were given, you know, money was being paid up by the government

to just sit home and do nothing.

And idleness is never a good thing for humanity.

Yeah.

Father, let's talk for a moment.

And I know you spend a lot of time warning people of this, but though there are people

who are coming, and I see a lot of young people, I agree with you, coming into the church.

Certainly, here in New Orleans, I see it, I see it in D.C., New York, even, you know,

my son was a college at New York, and the place is booming in some of these parishes, you

know, in Greenwich Village.

Young people just want faith.

But at the same time, there are also other seekers, if you will, who are reaching out to

Ouija boards and fortune tellers, and this sort of thing.

What doors are people opening that invite the demonic into their lives, perhaps unaware?

Well, one grave sin is enough to be possessed.

It rarely happens that way, but it only takes one grave sin for a person to open himself

up to a demon entering in.

Now this stuff, I mean, the Ouija board's still marketed as a game.

It's not a game.

You're opening yourself up to demonic forces that come through to...

I had three cases in one week, just from Ouija boards.

And when such case, it was a bus driver who, at the end of his route, found it on the

back of the bus, brought it home, let the kids play with it, and heard screaming coming

from the basement, and they said the thing was moving on its own.

And the dad said, well, we're not going to play with this anymore, throw it out.

But the kids had night terrors from that night on, and then started having suicidal ideation.

And that's when he called the diocesus, I think I need some help here.

So it's a terrible idea to be dabbling in witchcraft or a cult, thinking it's just a game.

Yeah.

You've described the hierarchy of demonic attacks, and the fact that it's really one demon

involved.

Father, who are most vulnerable to these attacks in today's society?

Are we talking about a particular age group, a generation?

In general, I find more women have an issue, I think, because they're more open to spirit

realms, and they're more empathetic, and they're more sensitive, and I feel sensitive to

like the spirit realm.

Having said that, it doesn't mean it's just women.

I mean, men who are having, who are involved in sexual issues that's not inside the marriage,

that's another devil open to demons.

And so, in that regard, I think guys are opening themselves up in that way, or addictions

to pornography, other things like that.

But the worst thing they can do is participate in any kind of a cult practice or witchcraft.

That's a direct, literally, it's like a wide open cave saying, come in here and have

it be.

And people do it thinking it's not real, or it's not what the people say it is, or I

don't believe in the devil, so it's not going to hurt me.

Whether you believe in him or not, he doesn't care.

All he needs is the permission.

The demons need permission, and when we sin, we're giving them permission.

When we step away from God, we're giving permission, as particularly in mortal sin, that we're

severing that relationship, saying, I don't want anything from you anymore, God, I'm going

to go it on my own, and that is just, that's their heyday, you're just saying, you've just

separated yourself from the flock, now you're in trouble.

The International Association of Extrasis, they are asking for clear guidelines for bishops,

for training, and at least one qualified exorcist per diocese.

Father, how serious is this spiritual crisis in the church now?

And what does Pope Leo's willingness to receive the report and to host these exorcists?

How do you interpret it?

And do they need more than one?

I have two, and we're a tiny diocese.

I mean, we're a mission diocese, we only have 53 parishes, and we're busy.

Chicago, I think, has four or five, so no, I think the more the better.

Remember, before Vatican II, every seminarian went through a level of training in exorcism.

It was part of your formation process, lector, acolyte, exorcist, deacon priest.

So everybody was trained in it.

Nowadays, they don't train anybody, and except the ones who actually become exorcists.

So that's a huge deficit to the church.

Is it a problem?

It isn't a problem.

You know, Benedict's Pope Benedict mandated this, every diocese must have an exorcist.

And despite that mandate, many diocese said, we're not doing it, there's somebody not

going to do that.

I have people calling me saying, can I fly in so you can help me because we don't have

an exorcist here?

And I try to explain to them, it's rarely a one in done situation.

So you know, although you may get some temporary relief, it's not a long term solution.

I know of a case in New York, upstate, there was a, I'm not going to name diocese, but

one of the dioceses didn't have an exorcist.

They have a possessed woman who happens to be a relative of somebody on exorcist team

in Illinois.

She goes to the neighboring diocese, which is just 20 miles across the border there, and

says, can you help me since we don't have one over here?

So we're happy to help you.

I just need a letter from your bishop.

The bishop wouldn't give the letter.

I mean, deliberately causing this woman to suffer.

Father, critics will say psychiatrist, mental health professionals are really best equipped

to deal with people like this and deal with people who think they're demonically oppressed

or possessed.

What would you say to them and tell us about the true spiritual warfare that you see

every day of your ministry?

Mental health is a real issue, but sometimes the demons hide under the diagnosis because

they won't get detected that way.

And some people are just outraged, possessed, and have no mental illness whatsoever.

You know, I've, and many of my colleagues have said the same thing, but I've seen people

levitate off of the couch.

So there's no way you can tell me that mental illness, you know?

I have another friend who's an ex-ist who had a 300 pound man as one of the restrainers

during the exorcism and the woman who was possessed took one arm and lifted that man

and threw him 10 yards across the room, not possible.

So I mean, I think you just have to look at the evidence.

Do you have to be careful not to miss, of course, but that's why in America, where I think

where the only country does this, it's required by the USACB, every person before nexism has

to have both a medical checkup and also a psychological exam.

The psych exams are about eight hours long and they cost about $2,000 to $3,000.

Very expensive.

So we don't charge the victim back because usually at that point, they're not functioning

and they can't hold a job down.

But the precautions are there to protect not just the subject that has the issue, but

also the priest.

Father, final question, what would you recommend to those who might be frightened or curious?

They may have dabbled in some of these things and now we're great.

How does an ordinary Catholic, either practicing or falling away, what can they do to protect

themselves against the kind of evil you've been discussing?

Your greatest protection is Jesus and the sacraments.

And so if you're away from the church, go back to the church, go to confession, get

a good examination of conscience, go through all your sins, including any occult or witch

craft or new age practice you've participated in, can confess it.

Sometimes the confession is enough to break the demons off the person if it's not a

full-on possession and then be a lively, active member of the church, fully participating

in the sacrament of life.

That is your greatest protection.

Okay.

Father Dan Rehill, well, I hope you get more reinforcement soon in that room, call some

out.

I do think it's needed.

I know your case loads backed up and heavy.

So thank you so much.

We'll talk to you soon.

Thank you.

Take care.

The U.S. is rarely campaign against Iran is nearly a month old this week.

President Trump says U.S. Iran negotiations to end the conflict are ongoing while Iran

is saying it has agreed to nothing.

Meanwhile, U.S. Marines and ground troops are landing in the region this week.

With analysis, I'm joined by former Middle East policy adviser to the Secretary of Defense

and former CIA analyst.

Now Chief Research Officer at the American First Policy Institute, Dr. Jacob Olendort.

Thank you so much.

Look, the U.S. struck Iran's nuclear facility, and yet Iran's still firing missiles across

the Gulf, still threatening to mine the strait and accusing Trump of being deceitful.

Jacob, what is the actual strategic condition of the Islamic Republic right now?

And are they running out of resources to continue this barrage?

It's great to be with you Raymond, and absolutely the answer is yes, look, this is a regime

that's desperate, but it's also desperate to act on its agenda of destruction.

And so they are firing in different directions without the leadership they've had.

And over 12 countries are actually targeted by their reckless activities.

So they are looking for any which way to continue their chaos.

Earlier this week, President Trump said publicly that the U.S. was in active negotiations

with Iran, suspending strikes on Iran energy infrastructure for five days to give those

talks room to breathe.

And Iran's foreign ministry said, flatly, there's no dialogue between Iran and Washington.

Now we are hearing that Iran is rejecting Trump's 15 points of demand for a ceasefire, despite

the president's ultimatum.

Dr. Olendort, my question is, what do you make of this tactic, the denial of the existence

of talks, then rejecting the terms of those non-existent talks?

What gives here?

Well, I think there's no question that the talks are there, that the president has been using

all options on the table of military and diplomatic.

But I think the regime's response has been particularly telling.

It shows its interest in being basically dug in, that the fate of the regime is less important

than its ability to sow destruction and to cause terror, which makes all – makes the

president's efforts all that more important.

Twenty percent of the world's oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz.

Sent comms, admiral Brad Cooper says the strait is physically open, but roughly 2,000

vessels are stranded, because Iran's firing on ships that try to pass.

On March 19th, U.S. forces began a military campaign to open it.

Jacob, is the strait going to be opened, and what do you think it'll take to do that?

It certainly will, and we have to remember as well, the Strait of Hormuz has been under

threat, has been in a very unstable place for decades now, particularly last few years.

And so the ancillary outcome of our military operation against the regime will be a more

stable and secure waterway there.

The issue really comes down to who will be the guarantors of that security.

It ought to be ultimately those who depend most on it, which means the Europeans who are

not stepping up.

And as a carlary, we do see our aeripartners who are very proactive, who have that confidence.

And I think that's another important story here.

Jacob, there was the president in a cabinet meeting said that the allies, I guess European

allies, are joining to open up the Strait of Hormuz.

I imagine that's a positive development.

It most certainly is, and of course not all the allies have the same capabilities to

offer.

Ultimately, this is a referendum on their own ability to provide for the security and

needs for their own citizens.

As I mentioned, it is they who are most dependent on this waterway.

But by, yeah.

So I think that's important and encouraging to hear that some are indeed stepping up

towards that.

Exile Crown Prince Reza Pavlavi.

He's, of course, the Iranian, the son of the Shaw, is calling this a humanitarian intervention,

the U.S.

operation there.

And encouraging the Iranian military to side with the people.

Now inside Iran, the internet's blacked out, as you know, special forces are in the

streets.

And the new Supreme Leader has been installed.

Are the Iranian people capable of throwing off this regime, Jacob?

Well, right now it's a very precarious moment.

As you mentioned, the internet, the connectivity with the countries is not there.

And of course, the regime remains as dedicated to imposing its terror and repression as it's

ever been.

And so it's a dangerous time.

I do think the people do want this change to happen.

They want a different future for their country.

That is incidental to the U.S. objectives, which remain degrading the regime's military

capabilities, all of which I think complements towards a more stable and prosperous future

for the country.

If the regime is not overthrown and Khomeini consolidates power, are we looking at a never-ending

war?

I mean, Dr. Olendort, is there an offering for this conflict for the United States?

And what might that look like?

Right.

So the U.S. objective is clear and consistent.

It is degrading Iran's ability to threaten the American people and threaten them in a strategic

meaningful sense.

That includes the nuclear, the ballistic missiles, and its terror proxy network.

All of that can be achieved and is being achieved in real time with historic success.

The issue is the day after, and that may take some time, but that will not be the U.S.

objective in this campaign, which is near-term and which is to meet those objectives.

Before I let you go, I want to play something.

This is JD Vance, the vice president of the United States at today's Cabinet meeting.

Listen to this.

Fighting at a time where we were about to enter as Christians the most important week of

the Christian calendar.

The Holy Week that celebrates the return of Jesus Christ to Jerusalem.

And so I want to say to all of my fellow American Christians, but particularly those serving

in the Gulf, that I wish you all very blessed Easter, a very blessed Holy Week, and we continue

to stand behind you and continue to support you every step of the way.

In addition to what the vice president said there, Jacob, we are also hearing from the

Latin Patriarch in Jerusalem that many of the masses that traditionally would be celebrated

next week during Holy Week and celebrations.

The processions, for instance, have been suspended and in danger of being canceled.

What does the situation look like on the ground in Jerusalem, and particularly for Christians

in the region?

It's an important question, and I think the context matters so much here.

Look, you've had the holiest of sites in Bethlehem, Nazareth, other places that used to be predominantly

Christian areas that because of the regime and its proxies have been completely depopulated

or virtually depopulated of their Christian communities.

I think Bethlehem is now less than 20% of its inhabitants or practice the Christian faith.

This is obviously a wartime.

It's a dangerous time, but I believe that this will bring forth a better and more peaceful

future for the region and particularly for its Christian residents who have a long history

there, and I think we'll once again see their faith and their way of life flourish without

the yoke of this regime.

Well, we'll keep our eyes on it.

Dr. Jacob Olador, thank you so much for your time.

Happy Easter to you, and thank you for being here.

Happy Easter, thank you for having me.

I can hardly believe that it's been ten years this week that Reverend Mother Mary Angelica

died on March 27, 2016.

Mother was that rear combination of a contemplative nun who was at the same time a suffering servant

and, of course, a trailblazing broadcaster.

What I miss most about her and what I tried to preserve in my own work is her joy, her

sense of fun, and her practical spirituality.

You know, Mother once told me, if you're not a thorn in somebody's side, you're not doing

Christianity right.

So I've tried to stay true to that.

She inspired so many of us to run toward the eternal, toward the Lord, no matter the

cost, and she repeated advice to me that I, he rings in my ears every day.

Follow the truth, no matter where it leads.

Follow the truth, no matter where it leads.

I've tried to stay true to that charge.

Here are some of my favorite moments of Mother Mary Angelica.

I was at a cable convention when I first went everyone to, and I heard two people say,

I never make it.

And one man said, ah, six months.

Ha, ha.

Would you like your children to be depicted?

Well, just a minute, Mother.

I have a daughter.

You have a daughter?

Just a minute.

Let me tell you something.

You have a daughter.

My wife and I were very stern about what films and books I children read, but I did not,

I must tell you the whole honesty.

I did not allow anyone in the church or in the school to tell my wife and me how to raise

our children.

I would say, like, your daughter depicted on the movie as a prostitute.

Did you permit?

I didn't say that.

I mean her real person as your daughter.

Would you like her depicted as a prostitute?

Well, I could probably sue, I guess.

Ah, then you would say it was wrong.

I would never want, I would never say you can't do that because I think that's prior

censorship.

And the father, you would have to say, I do, I will not have my daughter depicted as a

prostitute because I know my daughter.

And she's a good woman.

I'm going to tell you what you're going to take.

I'm going to tell you what you're going to take.

What are you thinking, Gowze, yo, yo?

You know, it's got a dissentory we do this, that's the century we don't.

Hey, what's the matter with you?

Raymond's with me and it's his birthday.

Oh, my gosh.

You don't want to, how old are you?

I'm not telling you how old I am.

Do you want me to tell you how old you look?

Oh, oh.

Do you really want to know?

Well, guess.

If it's honest.

Well, I'll tell you the truth.

If you can guess it.

Like, what would you be?

Sit that difficult.

I could say you're 30, but no, you can't be 30.

40?

40.

40.

40.

40.

What's wrong with 40?

I was.

I was.

40.

I was.

40.

I was.

40.

I was.

I was.

I'm not even close to 40 though.

How would I know?

Don't tell me.

Time, gassing.

All right.

If you're not 40, and you're not 30, you got to be between.

31.

Oh, really?

What?

That's all you are.

I'm agent by the minute.

I'll never forget.

I've stated the most of you ever heard of.

This woman calls me up and she's like, oh.

My husband said me whether or not I'm probably nice.

In my heart, what?

Well, kick it out.

How are you going to say that nice?

You could say, well, how unfortunate, you don't have it?

Why don't you just open the door?

Tell him, Chili.

You can't see it nice.

Not a nice thing.

So after I said that a little, I gave her that little advice.

She said, oh, I can't.

Maybe you can't.

They have no price to go.

Well, how is where they're aiming for?

Tell him to go there.

Why don't you air these people?

And I said, no.

Well, because I don't think they're Catholic.

He says, by what right do you have to say that?

I said, I own the network.

And he said, we won't always be there.

And I said, blow the damn thing up before you get your hands on it.

What an incredible legacy.

What an incredible woman.

Well, my royal grande show this week, I revisit the passion and last years of mother.

What I saw, what I experienced, she suffered a lot in those last years for the joy that

she brought and the hope to millions.

People forget that she wasn't exactly embraced warmly by the powerful or even church authorities.

But she once told me, I'm not here to win friends and influence people.

I'm here to do the will of God.

May we all be filled with that spirit and have the same far-reaching impact she had on

so many.

Keep us in your prayers, Reverend Mother, especially me and my family.

And may you rest in God's arms.

And over on the Arroyo Grande podcast, I sat down with Kansas City Chief Kicker and three

times Super Bowl champ Harrison Buttker for a candid conversation about football, the dangers

of online betting for young guys, the importance of dignified clothing and his shepherd's clothing

line.

Why the traditional Latin Mass plays such an important role in his life and much more?

You made a deal with the fraternity St. Peter to have the traditional Latin Mass said on

your away games in the hotel the night before again.

Why is that so important to you?

There's millions of people watching, you know, coaches, teammates are expecting you to deliver

and be at your best if you want to have comfort and peace during that kind of storm that's

going on all around you.

What's a better place to look than the sacraments and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

So all of those things bring me so much peace and allow me number one to be a husband and

father.

And if I'm kind of ordered like that with the faith and my family, then I feel like I'm

on my best to go play football.

The Full O'Royal Grande interview with Harrison Butler is on YouTube at O'Royal Grande

Show or wherever you get your podcasts, Spotify, Apple and I Heart.

Be sure to subscribe, never miss an O'Royal Grande Show episode and it's free.

And don't miss my tribute to Mother Mary Angelica on the 10th anniversary of her passing.

And of course, be on the lookout Friday for the prayerful posse.

We gallop into town again, go to O'Royal Grande Show or wherever you get your podcasts.

Now we continue an important conversation about a crisis too many have chosen to ignore.

The slaughter of Christians in Nigeria by Islamic militants, Nigeria has become the most dangerous

country in the world to be a Christian.

According to statistics in Open Door's World Watch list of 2026 of the nearly 5,000 Christians

killed for their faith worldwide, nearly 3,500 were in Nigeria.

First October, President Trump re-designated Nigeria as a country of particular concern.

And he asked one member of Congress to lead an investigation and report back with solutions.

Please welcome back to the program.

West Virginia Congressman Riley Moore, Congressman, you conducted this visit to Nigeria.

What did you witness firsthand that the statistics don't convey to us?

Well Raymond, you laid this out very well.

And the human tragedy that I witnessed on the ground in Nigeria is almost inexplicable.

I met a woman who, Christian, who had had all five of her children murdered right in

front of her and was pregnant at the time, was able to escape, had that child in an IDP

camp, internally displaced peoples, and where she lives today.

I met another woman who had both of her daughters and her husband killed right in front

of her and her unborn child, murdered.

And I mean, you talk about just the death and destruction that's going on in that region.

And that was in Benway State, which is in the middle belt, which is the most dangerous

place.

It happens to be a Christian in Nigeria, and that's where a lot of this killing is actually

taking place right now, Raymond.

But that state, by the way, is over 80% Christian, 100% of the IDP camps are Christian.

But yet, there's no Muslims in any of these camps.

They are the ones that are in these Islamic radicals, or the ones that are killing all

of these Christians, six and a half million people live in Benway State.

And yet, 650,000 Christians live in IDP camps.

So it's very clear what is going on here.

Thomas, when we often hear the argument that's what's happening in Nigeria is essentially

a conflict between Muslim herders and Christian farmers over land and climate issues.

I mean, even the Vatican has hinted at that explanation.

You have the intel.

What's wrong with that assessment?

Is it climate change or a land dispute or a genocide?

Now, my view is, and as I've stated previously, it is a genocide.

There's massive Christian persecution that's going on there, Raymond.

And why that narrative is just completely false?

Why would they go burn down churches?

Burn people alive in churches.

Why would they go attack IDP camps?

Unarmed people just trying to survive inside these refugee camps.

Fulani Islamic militants going by and murdering people and shooting at those camps.

What does that have to do with climate change?

What does that have to do with herders?

What does that have to do with farmers?

That has nothing to do with any of that.

Nothing.

So it's very clear what the motivation is here.

Yeah.

I mean, you alluded to it earlier.

Six times the number of Christians are being killed as opposed to Muslims in the

region.

So clearly, there's a lot-sided killing here.

And you just have to look at those numbers.

And as you said, why burn churches?

Why hit innocent people in camps who retreated there to save their lives and their families

lives?

You've called for sanctions, Congressman.

These are restrictions with holding certain U.S. funds until the Nigerian government takes

demonstrable action.

You've even called for the repeal of Sharia and blasphemy laws in the northern states.

How have these requests been met?

And are they enforceable?

They are enforceable because of that CPC designation that the president put in place.

So it's allowed to open up about 15 different tools within his toolkit to be able to pressure

the Nigerians.

Just on things you just mentioned right there, like sanctions, visa restrictions, security

assistance restrictions.

And then on top of that, as a member of the House Appropriations Committee myself and

Chairman Mario Diaz-Balart, we're able to put in additional security assistance restrictions

and measures that they must meet to be able to continue security assistance with the

nation of Nigeria.

Now, I will say this.

We have had productive conversations with the government of Nigeria and things are moving

in a positive direction, but it needs to move much faster.

We just had a church burn down here just last Sunday, another Christian church burned

to the ground.

So we need the Nigerians to move faster.

We need to become more actionable these requests that we've placed on them.

And then we're going to keep this pressure up.

We're not backing off of any of this.

And I will say this on the blasphemy laws.

I was able to work with the government of Nigeria.

There was a gentleman, not blasphemy, but he was on death row, on death row for defending

himself against an Islamic militant.

And he was on death row for self-defense, Sunday Jackson, and at my request, the Nigerian

government did take him off death row and he was able to meet his 11-year-old child

for the first time in his entire life, because he'd been in prison for 11 years.

So these are some of the positive things that they're doing, but death penalty for blasphemy

and things like that is a huge problem.

That's a big problem.

Yeah.

As of now, the U.S. has deployed approximately 200 troops and MQ-9 drone support to Nigeria.

And I guess we're providing training, intelligence, and technical assistance to those Nigerian

forces fighting these Islamic insurgents.

Now, these advisers are not in a combat role.

They're stationed to help coordinate efforts against groups like Boko Haram.

Congressman has the deployment been successful in your estimation so far?

In my estimation right now, it has been, I would say, yes, it has been successful, but it

is working towards very clear objectives that we're trying to meet, which is the capability

gaps that the security forces of Nigeria currently have.

So we're trying to help them fill those capability gaps.

We have signed a security cooperative arrangement with the Nigerian government, which they did,

by the way, within that framework, agree that there is Christian persecution in Nigeria.

And I do want to make clear, because I get hit with this all the time.

You don't care about the other people that are getting killed.

Of course I do.

Every life has intrinsic value.

I don't want anybody getting murdered.

Some Christian or alike, they have a massive insecurity and destabilized country issue going

on there.

And so, of course, look, I care about all these people, but it's very clear that it's

been specifically targeted at Christians.

But yes, we're making good progress in terms of these trained trainers, ISR support that

we're providing in the Nigerian government so they can go prosecute this conflict and

then also protect their people all around the country.

Well, Congress and Riley Moore, it's a relief to know you're on the case.

We will leave it there.

And we will continue to cover the situation in Nigeria and have you back with updates as

they happen.

Thank you, sir.

Thank you so much, Raymond.

He is the star of prime videos hit House of David.

The first season of the series has captivated over 40 million viewers worldwide in season

two premieres on March 27th.

Joining me now to tell us all about his role as King David, his conversion to the Catholic

faith and what's ahead in season two is Michael Iskender.

Michael, thanks for being with us.

You were born into a coptic family and for those who might not know, the coptic church

is really one of the oldest Christian communities on the planet.

St. Mark himself brought the faith to Egypt in the first century.

What was your upbringing like?

Very true.

And what did your faith look like at home?

My faith, I grew up with an amazing family with beautiful faith and you know, at a very

young age, I was just taught the spirit of Christianity, which is, you know, it's

to love your God and to love your neighbor.

And I'm extremely proud and just in love with the coptic church and, you know, now being

a Catholic, I think, you know, I don't see that as a rejection of the coptic church at

all.

In fact, I love my people and I pray for unity all the time.

And then you're nine years old, Michael, and your family uproots and moves to the United

States and you don't speak English.

That had to be dislocating.

What was that like?

And how did you find your footing?

Yeah, well, my mom kind of put me in school and I only spoke Arabic really and so she said

it's synchroswim and so I think I picked up English within the first three days.

I was speaking some words.

I was starting to understand people.

Three weeks I was putting sentences together and within a year I tested out of all of my

English second language classes.

So I was fluent in a year.

Yeah.

Wow.

Great ear.

How did music and performance help you find your way in this new country?

And did your coptic faith contribute at all to that?

The liturgy, the singing, the ritual of the coptic mass?

Oh, absolutely, absolutely.

I think my coptic faith was instrumental in everything that I did, not just moving countries

but learning the culture here and always having a rock to stand on.

That was my faith.

And there definitely was a culture shock and I think being thrown into this new world

I had to kind of find my place and find my place amongst my peers, find my place amongst

my friends and I really found home on stage and I knew from that moment that I was meant

to be an actor.

I want to get to the house of David but before that, three years before that audition, you

were watching the chosen.

How did that show and the show's storytelling inspire you?

You know, I think just like everybody else who watched the shows and I immediately fell

in love with it.

I started watching around season two and I was so obsessed with it and they would do

this thing where you can forward an episode to somebody and I was like, I'll do anything

I can and I would just try as much as I can to get people to see it and so I told my

family about it and we were sitting at the dinner table.

I had just booked my off-broad reproduction of Kimberly Akimbo and it was the last dinner

before I would fly out and they said to me, well, you know, you're an actor.

So if you want to show like that, who would you like to play?

And I said, well, I'd love to play, you know, maybe either young Jesus or King David.

But I think King David, I would love to portray him maybe with the sheep and holding the

lyre, you know, singing the song that would be a dream, maybe for a scene or two.

So it was, you can quite the full circle three years later when God has answered this

prayer that I haven't really told anybody about and kind of just kept in the deep depths

of my heart.

And so when I saw that audition, it was a really special moment.

Yeah, let's talk about House of David.

John Irwin, who is the director and the producers, launched what they described as a global

search.

I remember when it first happened and I was covering it.

They were looking for someone who could embody not just the warrior, David, but the poet,

beloved, the King in the making.

You go to that first audition and you were rejected, tell us what happened.

Yeah.

Well, I got the audition, it was a self-tape and I had sent the tape and I would reach

that to my manager every week and I said, hey, what happened, you know, what happened

with that David thing?

And I told my mom, obviously, my mom was praying for me, everybody was so excited about

it.

And, you know, I would check in, he goes, okay, well, you know, the casting director sent

off the tape to the producers, so we'll hear back anytime.

For about a month, I would check back in with him all the time and he eventually got

back to me and said, hey, it's not going to go your way.

And which happens all the time and, you know, I was auditioning for years before I even

got one single callback, so it wasn't a, any new news, but this one, especially, I think,

stung a little bit because it was so close to this dream.

And oddly enough, three weeks later, I, or maybe, I don't know how long it was after,

my agent called me and she said, remember that David thing you auditioned for?

Well, this never happens, but it's back.

And they want you to re audition and they have new sides.

So immediately I call my mom and, you know, I'm all excited, but she kind of calms me

down and she said, hey, hey, this time when you audition, I need you to pray and I need

you to fast.

I need you to lock in spiritually.

So I did and I sent in the tape, I had worked with my acting coach, I gave it everything

I had, all the printers, you know, and I fasted that whole time, even, I fasted for about

like a month at that point.

And you know, a week after submitting the audition, John Irwin is flying to New York to

have a meeting with me.

And I thought to myself, well, if this is a good meeting in the last about, you know,

30 minutes, maybe 45 minutes, it's a bad meeting, 20 minutes in who go, all right, Michael,

I'll have a plan to catch and I'll see you later.

And we ended up hanging out for three hours, four hours.

And you know, I really, I really felt a special connection with him and that I wanted, for

me, I wanted to make sure that this story is being told from the perspective of faith

and how God reaches his people.

And you know, I was so lucky to see that, you know, John and John Irwin, John Gunn, everybody

behind the production is really approaching it that way.

And I think there's two kindred spirits.

We knew that we wanted each other and he said to me, I just needed to do the work, you

know, there's going to be a lot of auditions ahead of you, but just stick through it and

do the work.

And I said, well, if there's one thing I could do, it's the work.

And, you know, after a long, grueling waiting period, yeah, he finally tells you, you're

going to Greece for four months to film this series.

What was the first thing you did when you hung up the phone when you learned that?

Information.

I packed up my apartment because I had to move my entire life within one week.

So I booked a storage unit.

I packed up my apartment, went and did the rest of my eight shows, called my producer

on Kimberly, actually, and he said to me, you know, I have to let you do this because

I'm named after King David.

And I said, well, thank you so much, you know, this means a lot to me.

Yeah, it was, it was everything had to move quick.

I'll say, well, when he calls, you've got to go.

And David, obviously, a figure of enormous spiritual significance, the psalmist, the ancestor

to Christ in the flesh, the scripture says he's a man after God's own heart.

And yet, he's deeply flawed and, you know, so human in those failures.

Michael, you've talked about how playing the world changed the way you read scripture.

How so?

And what do you like most about playing King David?

What has he taught you?

Oh, there's so much.

I would say the most important thing that David has taught me is the heart.

And you know, his message for me, and I think his message for every person of the faith

who's watching is to purify our hearts.

You know, the Lord is not after anything else except for the purity of our souls.

And that's the sacrifice that we give him as our hearts.

And ultimately, you know, David changed, David changed the entire way that I look at scripture

and that, you know, all these people in the Bible, they were all people.

You know, David didn't know he's going to be David.

Moses didn't know he's going to be Moses.

Paul didn't know he's going to be Paul, you know, and it's really about submitting to God's

will.

And that's how they became who they are, you know, and that's the path that we should

follow.

Yeah.

That moment in season one, the battle with Goliath, I love that moment, you've said you always

thought of David as being courageous, but you came to understand that courage doesn't

exist without fear.

How did that discovery shape your performance?

And how do you think it speaks to all of us today when we're facing our own giants?

Yeah.

Well, there's definitely an aspect of fear.

You know, courage is not the absence of fear, but it's the overcoming of it.

And you know, and as much fear as David had from Goliath, he loved God even more.

And you know, even in song 56, David writes, when I am afraid, I put my trust in you.

So, you know, just right then and there, I knew David was afraid, but I knew that his

trust in God, that his love for God was greater than any of his enemies and greater than any

of the giants he faced.

And so, you know, as a, in the show, we really wanted to bring that truth to the screen.

You've said there's not a day that goes by on that set without prayer and scripture.

How important is that spiritual discipline?

You talked about discipline earlier.

How important is the spiritual discipline in playing this role?

And have there been moments during the filming where you felt guided rather than simply

performing?

Absolutely.

I mean, I think spiritual discipline just in day-to-day life is vital, but especially

on the show, you know, I find that the devil is not going to let us do anything for

God without putting up a fight.

And so, we have to make sure that we stay close to the shepherd and that we never leave

him, you know, because as soon as the sheep leave the shepherd, they're vulnerable for

any sort of attack by wolves or by lions or by bears.

So, we need to stick to the shepherd and every part of our lives.

And you know, there's definitely moments throughout season one and season two.

I would say one of those special moments was filming the good biocene with Jonathan,

which is a really special moment in scripture because it's the culmination of one of the

greatest friendship stories in the entire Bible.

And Ethan Kai, the actor who portrays Jonathan does such a phenomenal job.

And I think in that moment for me, you know, the Bible just came to life in a completely

new way.

Yeah.

Season two of House of David drops on Friday, March 27 on Prime Video.

I want to give folks a taste of what they'll be seeing.

Take a look.

My king.

My champion!

You know, I great many doubted you and doubted me.

Some in this very tent, but I could see what none of them could.

It's hand is on you as it is on me.

Even still, how is it a boy?

Musician comes to fight in my army.

Slay a giant and saves my life.

Tell me.

Who are you?

You know who I am, my king.

You are?

Michael, tell us about that moment when everything has changed for David.

I mean, this relates to what you said earlier about courage and fear.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Well, it's a really special moment for David.

You know, he's been the unseen, you know, youngest kid in his family.

He was a shepherd, the lolliest job in all of ancient Israel.

And all of a sudden, he's being exalted as the champion.

And so, for me, this is where the heart of David really shines, you know, in comparison

to Saul, the prideful king who does everything for his glory and for his own honor and his

own benefit, you know, David is here on God's accord.

And even in that speech that he says to Goliath, he says, I come to you in the name of the

Lord of hosts, David knows where he comes from, he knows where he belongs, and so this

is a moment where power can corrupt.

And yet we see David take it with humility and with grace and he lets the Lord work in

his life.

Yeah.

In season two of House of David, Israel's nearing collapse, Saul's reign is faltering.

And David's rising, 40 million people watch season one, Michael.

What can you tell us about where we find David in season two and what are you most eager

to have people experience?

Well, we pick up right where we left off.

We pick up exactly from that battle with Goliath, and you know, David took down Goliath,

but there's an entire ward that ensues.

And David is not yet a warrior, but a warrior is what the season is about, you know, not

only a physical warrior, which is something that we definitely explore in this season,

you know, with epic, epic battle scenes and so many, so much blood, really, this season

is the season of war and transformation.

And we see the shepherd become a warrior, but not only with a sword, but with his words

and his wisdom.

And as he's on the rise, like you said, there's so many palace politics that he has to navigate.

And so he's changing every single episode you're seeing this, this young boy become a man

and by the end he's a completely different person that God uses all these trials to transform

him, transform him for the calling that he has for him.

Yeah.

Before we go last August, you announced on Instagram that you would enter the Catholic church.

Now you wrote that you had felt a calling to the church for a long time, and that it was

not a rejection of your copdic upbringing.

You had a very emotional experience, it's Saint Patrick's Cathedral that kind of solidified

your decision.

Tell me about that.

Yeah, you know, for me, I love the Orthodox Church.

I love the copdic church, and I think for me, I didn't go to church for a long time.

I wouldn't say I was away from the faith, but I didn't feel like I belonged anywhere,

and I would go to a bunch of different churches, but I was looking for home, but I had kind

of straight away.

And it was in Saint Patrick's Cathedral that I just sat down on one of the pews, and

I looked at the altar, and I remembered the Eucharist.

And I said to myself, I haven't taken the Eucharist in a very long time, and that just kind

of planted a seed in me.

I just wanted to take the Eucharist, and then it set me off on this kind of research

journey of looking into my faith, looking from an outside perspective, looking at faith

as a whole.

And you know, after coming to conclusions and coming to answers, I needed to hear it

from a priest.

I knew the answers, I just needed to confirm it from the source.

And so I reached out to the final answer, a priest, yes.

And I reached out to a priest in my diocese, and we got breakfast, and it's like he said

everything he needed to say, and we had a really beautiful conversation.

And you know, by the end of it, he said to me, so do you want to be Catholic?

And I thought to myself, well, this is God calling.

How could I ever say no?

And so I said to him, yes.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Michael, you've spoken about your conversion is really just the beginning of the journey.

What role did immersing yourself in the story of David, in the Psalms, in Israel's faith?

What did that play in leading you to Rome?

Did it?

Yeah.

You know, I would say that my journey to the Catholic faith is separate from the show,

but it was definitely exacerbated by the show, because I was dubbing in the scripture

every day.

Every day I'm going to the Psalms, I'm going to first and second Samuel.

And you know, it's my job to dive into the Bible.

And so I couldn't really run away from it.

And you know, the show taught me that I can't be on this little floating raft in the ocean

alone.

And I have to hop on a ship.

You know, the body of Christ is the body of Christ because all of us are together, and

we all worship together, not by ourselves, and we're not meant to do this alone.

So I would say in that way, House of David propelled me in my own faith journey, and it really

is a journey because saying yes is just the beginning.

And you know, repentance, seeking forgiveness, seeking God's heart, that's a lifelong journey

that all of us are on, and we're constantly working to love him more, and to worship

him in the way that he wants.

Beautifully said.

Michael will leave it there.

The second season of House of David, starring Michael Iskender, premieres on Friday, March

27th, on Prime Video.

Michael, thank you for being here.

I hope to see you soon.

Hope to see you soon.

Thank you so much for having me.

That is all the time we have for now.

I want to wish you a blessed holy week, a joyful Easter.

We will be back on the air Thursday, April 9th, until then.

We will be scouting the world over for all that is seen and unseen on behalf of the staff

and crew of EWTN News.

Thank you for watching.

I'm Raymond Arroyo.

Bye.