August 29, 2025 • 10 mins
Tune in here to this Friday's edition of the Brett Winterble Show!
We’re joined by Father Bill Nicholas to talk about the tragic attack in Minneapolis and how faith communities are processing the aftermath. As a Catholic priest, Father Bill reflected on the deep personal impact such violence has, especially when children—the future of the Church—are targeted. He emphasized the importance of prayer in times of crisis, not as a dismissal, but as a grounding force that prevents rash, counterproductive responses. Brett and Father Bill also discussed the media’s treatment of Christian victims compared to other groups, and the dangers of rhetoric that can fuel instability and violence.
Father Bill shared personal experiences of disruptions during Mass in San Francisco, underscoring the need for vigilance and preparation while remaining rooted in compassion and forgiveness. He concluded by reminding listeners of the enduring truth of traditional values and offered a special blessing for families and travelers heading into Labor Day weekend.
Listen here for all of this and more on The Brett Winterble Show!
For more from Brett Winterble check out his YouTube channel.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
News Talk eleven ten ninety nine three a WBT. It
is the Brettwinnable Show, seven oh four five seven eleven ten.
Great to be with you, and I am very happy
to bring back one of my favorite people and it's
father Bill Nicholas, who is joining us here today on
the program.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Hello, father Bill, How.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
Are you doing pretty good? Brett? Thanks for having me
on again.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Now listen, we are all shocked at what we saw
take place during this week, this attack in Minneapolis. And
I'd be remiss if I didn't ask right off the
off the bat, how are you processing this?
Speaker 2 (00:43):
Being somebody who is you.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Are a priest and you are there available with the
folks who are coming into the church, to the school,
to all of that sort of stuff.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
How are you processing this today?
Speaker 3 (00:58):
Well, there's always as opposed with the Christian communities, are
any grouping that we see associated with this, in our
case the Catholic Church, and a couple of years ago
was the Christian Church in Nashville. And every now and
again you have a Jewish community that is targeted like this.
There's always some personal aspect that affects you because you're
a part of this group. And these were our fellow Catholics,
(01:20):
and not just fellow Catholics, but children, in many ways,
the future of the church that were targeted so terribly
the other day. And so people are justifiably distressed and hoping,
you know, wondering when their own community might be next,
or on someone else's someone's list, or when the next
group of our community would be targeted. But contrary to
(01:43):
the words of the mayor of Minneapolis, who I understand
today was also called out by Bishop Robert Baron, Bishop
of Southern Minnesota, so he's even closer than I am
to this prayer is very important because it helps ground us,
It helps keep us focused and helps us from flying
off the keeps us from flying off the handle, like
(02:03):
we've unfortunately seen a number of politicians and media figures
do in the wake of this particular tragedy. They're immediately
quick to put their proper spin on it. And part
of it was forget thoughts and prayers because the kids
were praying at the time the shooting took place. However,
it's thoughts in prayers that keep us grounded, give us
pause so that we don't fly off the handle in
(02:23):
ways that could be counterproductive.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
Is there and I don't mean to get too political
with you, but is there like a some kind of
a strange pecking order that exists, because it seems to
me that if you attack Christians, it's not that big
of a deal. And that's just me Brett Witterble saying
that you don't have to co sign it. But it's
just to me, it just feels like time and time
(02:50):
again we have to put up with it and put
up with it and put up with it. And I
understand the turning of the cheek, but how do we
process all how do we get beyond all this sort
of stuff.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
And you know, again I'll affirm it. You know, I
don't have to co sign it. It is something that
is noticeable. And that's something we've seen in this case.
And I'll mention again this at the Christian School in Nashville,
immediately they downplay the victims and run cover for the
group that's associated with the perpetrator. Again, we saw that
in the press conference. There's never any excuse to generalize. However,
(03:25):
if the shooter in this case was a Caucasian Christian
wearing a Maga hat, you'd see generalizations going up, you know,
going crazy. But now they're saying of don't make any
associations with the LGBT or the transgender community, whatever that
is exactly. But that's something we do need to take
a good look at, and I'm glad that some media
(03:47):
outlets are taking a good look at that that until
a few years ago, it was considered a mental disorder
and also a mental disorder with a high suicide rate,
and we can't deny that that was a factor in
the shooting the other day and in shootings similar to this.
At the same time, they downplay the Christian victims of this,
(04:07):
and I do recall when the school in Nashville was attacked,
at least one member of the media said, perhaps this
is why they were attacked because of their positions that
they have in believing, yes, there are only two genders,
and yes I'll add two more genders, the one you're
born with and the one you're not born with, and
we can't be fluid in that. And when we see
(04:28):
that kind of one could say godlessness, or kind of
an anarchy of thought where pretty much anything goes. Then
one group begins to resent another group, and it takes
someone with a kind of instability in their personality or
in their psychosis or their psychology to go off the handle.
(04:48):
And we do see instances such as we saw the
other day someone shooting Christian in this case of Catholic school,
or as we saw with the attempt against President Trump.
What culpability is there with the rhetoric against one group
by another that might take someone who is a little
bit unstable to grab a weapon and make an attempt
(05:09):
on someone's life. And so there has to be some
responsibility in that at the same time, not downplaying the
victim group because they're Christian, and not running cover for
one group because media and politicians tend to favor that
particular group socially and politically.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
Okay, So I'm going to ask you a question, and
you could take this any direction that you want to
go with this. So I'm I'm walking down the street
and somebody comes up and confronts me and you know,
wants to jostle me or whatever it is, and I'm
going to defend myself. But as a as a priest,
as as a father, you know you are you are
(05:45):
celebrating the Mass.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
They were celebrating the Mass at that church.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
It's it's not lost on a lot of us that
at that moment they was being attacked very much in
a specific way. Have you had people that try to
do bad things to you when you're celebrating mass.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
I've never asked you this before.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
I'm just kind of curious if you've ever had to
kind of bob and weave or do something like that
if somebody was trying to get at you.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
No, not necessarily, Although you may recall about four or
five years ago at the cathedral in San Francisco, a
group of the Handmaiden's Tale protesters interrupted mass in the
middle of the mass. It was handled very beautifully by
the people in the church, and of course the video
went viral, but you didn't get a clear shot of
(06:38):
who was celebrating the mass. And believe it or not,
it was yours truly celebrating that particular mass that reached
the news. No one interviewed me or anything like that.
But there was also another time I was in San Francisco,
and it was after the Supreme Court brought down the
issue on the same sex marriage, and there was a
concern that there might be some disruption at the Catholic churches,
(06:59):
and I had a you know, one of my altar
servers would be sitting next to me in the sanctuary
to hold the book for me, and I wasn't exactly
sure how to address it. It is the city. We
do see unusual people showing up at Mass every now
and again. So rather than address any possible disruption, I
just told them, I said, if anything happens, I said, like,
you remember the guy who was kneeling in the sanctuary
(07:19):
by himself until someone asked him to leave. He was
a little strange. But if there's anything that makes you
feel uncomfortable, we got the pillar right behind us. Just
feel free to take refuge. There have been times where
I've had to, you know, coach the kids or other
ministers who are there. Just here's you know, keep this
in mind, and here's what we do if something happens.
Fortunately nothing has except that one instance at the cathedral
in San Francisco, and I didn't have to do anything.
(07:41):
I just stayed in my seat and parishioners and security
and ushers took care of the situation. But yeah, things
like that can in fact happen. But I'm happy to
say we see that kind of behavior. On the other side,
we tend not to see that kind of behavior, if
at all on our side, we try to be respect
well other people's views, we don't agree with them, and
(08:02):
we hope the whole transgender question is a passing phase
that we can eventually get our sanity back and realize
how destructive it has been. The direction we have been
going to people who, let's face it, are tortured souls
and suffering, and the way we've been handling it has
not been very good for the person or for society
and can at times result in what happened the other day.
(08:25):
But at the same time, we are, like you said,
the people of forgiveness. We are people of prayer. Turn
the other cheek. Does it not mean we say, thank you, sir,
may I have another? It doesn't mean we perpetuate violence
with violence, But we do need to take precautions to
make sure we can protect ourselves and our communities, and
(08:45):
our families, if we're teachers, protect our students in the
context of a school. And unfortunately, the way things have
developed these days, this isn't the first time we've seen
a person dealing with transgender issues getting violent with suicidal tendencies,
and hopefully will be the last. But hopefully we'll see
a real serious discussion in our society now that maybe
(09:09):
the direction we've been going on this issue has not
been the best. And even though one side may be
uncomfortable because it kind of violates their narrative, we do,
in certain at certain times have to face certain facts
that we have been handling this question the wrong way
and we need to get back to, let's face it,
(09:30):
traditional values, grounded values. And I think I mentioned to
you we can't deny there are only two genders, male
and female. I'll throw in two more, the one you're
born with and the one you're not born with, And
when we find ourselves grounded there, then we can see
clearly to help people who find themselves confused with regard
to this issue and help them with a manner of
(09:51):
real compassion, real care that doesn't lead to further harm
to the individual that may result in harm to others.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
Great stuff, Father Bill Nicholas. Wonderful to catch up with you,
and I'm glad to have had this conversation with you
as well. Hope you have a wonderful Labor Day weekend.
And would you indulge us with a blessing for folks
who are traveling, etc.
Speaker 3 (10:16):
Sure, Yes, and to you and your family, all your
listeners and especially those who are traveling, and especially those
who continue to who will continue to be affected by
this terrible tragedy in Minnesota and Maiel Nady. God blessed
all of us and bless all of you in the
name of the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
Amen. Thank you very much, Father, Bill, appreciate you and
be safe. Okay.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
Thanks, hope to talk to again.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
Sun.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
Absolutely
News Talk eleven ten ninety nine three a WBT. It
is the Brettwinnable Show, seven oh four five seven eleven ten.
Great to be with you, and I am very happy
to bring back one of my favorite people and it's
father Bill Nicholas, who is joining us here today on
the program.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Hello, father Bill, How.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
Are you doing pretty good? Brett? Thanks for having me
on again.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Now listen, we are all shocked at what we saw
take place during this week, this attack in Minneapolis. And
I'd be remiss if I didn't ask right off the
off the bat, how are you processing this?
Speaker 2 (00:43):
Being somebody who is you.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Are a priest and you are there available with the
folks who are coming into the church, to the school,
to all of that sort of stuff.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
How are you processing this today?
Speaker 3 (00:58):
Well, there's always as opposed with the Christian communities, are
any grouping that we see associated with this, in our
case the Catholic Church, and a couple of years ago
was the Christian Church in Nashville. And every now and
again you have a Jewish community that is targeted like this.
There's always some personal aspect that affects you because you're
a part of this group. And these were our fellow Catholics,
(01:20):
and not just fellow Catholics, but children, in many ways,
the future of the church that were targeted so terribly
the other day. And so people are justifiably distressed and hoping,
you know, wondering when their own community might be next,
or on someone else's someone's list, or when the next
group of our community would be targeted. But contrary to
(01:43):
the words of the mayor of Minneapolis, who I understand
today was also called out by Bishop Robert Baron, Bishop
of Southern Minnesota, so he's even closer than I am
to this prayer is very important because it helps ground us,
It helps keep us focused and helps us from flying
off the keeps us from flying off the handle, like
(02:03):
we've unfortunately seen a number of politicians and media figures
do in the wake of this particular tragedy. They're immediately
quick to put their proper spin on it. And part
of it was forget thoughts and prayers because the kids
were praying at the time the shooting took place. However,
it's thoughts in prayers that keep us grounded, give us
pause so that we don't fly off the handle in
(02:23):
ways that could be counterproductive.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
Is there and I don't mean to get too political
with you, but is there like a some kind of
a strange pecking order that exists, because it seems to
me that if you attack Christians, it's not that big
of a deal. And that's just me Brett Witterble saying
that you don't have to co sign it. But it's
just to me, it just feels like time and time
(02:50):
again we have to put up with it and put
up with it and put up with it. And I
understand the turning of the cheek, but how do we
process all how do we get beyond all this sort
of stuff.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
And you know, again I'll affirm it. You know, I
don't have to co sign it. It is something that
is noticeable. And that's something we've seen in this case.
And I'll mention again this at the Christian School in Nashville,
immediately they downplay the victims and run cover for the
group that's associated with the perpetrator. Again, we saw that
in the press conference. There's never any excuse to generalize. However,
(03:25):
if the shooter in this case was a Caucasian Christian
wearing a Maga hat, you'd see generalizations going up, you know,
going crazy. But now they're saying of don't make any
associations with the LGBT or the transgender community, whatever that
is exactly. But that's something we do need to take
a good look at, and I'm glad that some media
(03:47):
outlets are taking a good look at that that until
a few years ago, it was considered a mental disorder
and also a mental disorder with a high suicide rate,
and we can't deny that that was a factor in
the shooting the other day and in shootings similar to this.
At the same time, they downplay the Christian victims of this,
(04:07):
and I do recall when the school in Nashville was attacked,
at least one member of the media said, perhaps this
is why they were attacked because of their positions that
they have in believing, yes, there are only two genders,
and yes I'll add two more genders, the one you're
born with and the one you're not born with, and
we can't be fluid in that. And when we see
(04:28):
that kind of one could say godlessness, or kind of
an anarchy of thought where pretty much anything goes. Then
one group begins to resent another group, and it takes
someone with a kind of instability in their personality or
in their psychosis or their psychology to go off the handle.
(04:48):
And we do see instances such as we saw the
other day someone shooting Christian in this case of Catholic school,
or as we saw with the attempt against President Trump.
What culpability is there with the rhetoric against one group
by another that might take someone who is a little
bit unstable to grab a weapon and make an attempt
(05:09):
on someone's life. And so there has to be some
responsibility in that at the same time, not downplaying the
victim group because they're Christian, and not running cover for
one group because media and politicians tend to favor that
particular group socially and politically.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
Okay, So I'm going to ask you a question, and
you could take this any direction that you want to
go with this. So I'm I'm walking down the street
and somebody comes up and confronts me and you know,
wants to jostle me or whatever it is, and I'm
going to defend myself. But as a as a priest,
as as a father, you know you are you are
(05:45):
celebrating the Mass.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
They were celebrating the Mass at that church.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
It's it's not lost on a lot of us that
at that moment they was being attacked very much in
a specific way. Have you had people that try to
do bad things to you when you're celebrating mass.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
I've never asked you this before.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
I'm just kind of curious if you've ever had to
kind of bob and weave or do something like that
if somebody was trying to get at you.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
No, not necessarily, Although you may recall about four or
five years ago at the cathedral in San Francisco, a
group of the Handmaiden's Tale protesters interrupted mass in the
middle of the mass. It was handled very beautifully by
the people in the church, and of course the video
went viral, but you didn't get a clear shot of
(06:38):
who was celebrating the mass. And believe it or not,
it was yours truly celebrating that particular mass that reached
the news. No one interviewed me or anything like that.
But there was also another time I was in San Francisco,
and it was after the Supreme Court brought down the
issue on the same sex marriage, and there was a
concern that there might be some disruption at the Catholic churches,
(06:59):
and I had a you know, one of my altar
servers would be sitting next to me in the sanctuary
to hold the book for me, and I wasn't exactly
sure how to address it. It is the city. We
do see unusual people showing up at Mass every now
and again. So rather than address any possible disruption, I
just told them, I said, if anything happens, I said, like,
you remember the guy who was kneeling in the sanctuary
(07:19):
by himself until someone asked him to leave. He was
a little strange. But if there's anything that makes you
feel uncomfortable, we got the pillar right behind us. Just
feel free to take refuge. There have been times where
I've had to, you know, coach the kids or other
ministers who are there. Just here's you know, keep this
in mind, and here's what we do if something happens.
Fortunately nothing has except that one instance at the cathedral
in San Francisco, and I didn't have to do anything.
(07:41):
I just stayed in my seat and parishioners and security
and ushers took care of the situation. But yeah, things
like that can in fact happen. But I'm happy to
say we see that kind of behavior. On the other side,
we tend not to see that kind of behavior, if
at all on our side, we try to be respect
well other people's views, we don't agree with them, and
(08:02):
we hope the whole transgender question is a passing phase
that we can eventually get our sanity back and realize
how destructive it has been. The direction we have been
going to people who, let's face it, are tortured souls
and suffering, and the way we've been handling it has
not been very good for the person or for society
and can at times result in what happened the other day.
(08:25):
But at the same time, we are, like you said,
the people of forgiveness. We are people of prayer. Turn
the other cheek. Does it not mean we say, thank you, sir,
may I have another? It doesn't mean we perpetuate violence
with violence, But we do need to take precautions to
make sure we can protect ourselves and our communities, and
(08:45):
our families, if we're teachers, protect our students in the
context of a school. And unfortunately, the way things have
developed these days, this isn't the first time we've seen
a person dealing with transgender issues getting violent with suicidal tendencies,
and hopefully will be the last. But hopefully we'll see
a real serious discussion in our society now that maybe
(09:09):
the direction we've been going on this issue has not
been the best. And even though one side may be
uncomfortable because it kind of violates their narrative, we do,
in certain at certain times have to face certain facts
that we have been handling this question the wrong way
and we need to get back to, let's face it,
(09:30):
traditional values, grounded values. And I think I mentioned to
you we can't deny there are only two genders, male
and female. I'll throw in two more, the one you're
born with and the one you're not born with, And
when we find ourselves grounded there, then we can see
clearly to help people who find themselves confused with regard
to this issue and help them with a manner of
(09:51):
real compassion, real care that doesn't lead to further harm
to the individual that may result in harm to others.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
Great stuff, Father Bill Nicholas. Wonderful to catch up with you,
and I'm glad to have had this conversation with you
as well. Hope you have a wonderful Labor Day weekend.
And would you indulge us with a blessing for folks
who are traveling, etc.
Speaker 3 (10:16):
Sure, Yes, and to you and your family, all your
listeners and especially those who are traveling, and especially those
who continue to who will continue to be affected by
this terrible tragedy in Minnesota and Maiel Nady. God blessed
all of us and bless all of you in the
name of the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
Amen. Thank you very much, Father, Bill, appreciate you and
be safe. Okay.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
Thanks, hope to talk to again.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
Sun.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
Absolutely
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