Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s Cause for Canonization has been moving forward quite well lately. I hear that it appears that the miracle needed for his beatification will be found among those which have been pouring in recently (one of them, which I believe may already have been verified, was from a woman from my parish). A concern is that since he was such a prolific writer, the review of his voluminous writings may not be completed for some time and could, therefore, delay the process.For the review process, each document must be reviewed by two qualified persons. Qualified means: a Catholic with an advance ecclesiastical degree in theology (STL or STD). The Diocese of Peoria is responsible for the review and could use more help.
If you have an STL or STD and would be willing to help out in the review, Fr. Christopher Layden, the Moderator for the Fulton J. Sheen Theological Commission, would love to hear from you. If you know of someone who meets the requirements, please pass this on to him.
Fr. Layden can be reached at fatherlayden@sjcnc.org
On a less serious note I think it is funny that this is probably one of the only cases where they might say "If you have an STD" come work for us.
15 comments
Why don’t saint ever perform really difficult miracles like curing amputees or down syndrome, you know stuff that has never been done before?
Or perhaps an even greater miracle of curing angry atheists that feel they must make snarky comments on Catholic blogs. I can’t understand why someone who thinks this world is all there is would waste time reading Catholic blogs written by people that believe this “myth”
I don’t want to incur the wrath of a saint, but has anyone considered burning the videos of Fulton Sheen? His writing is beautiful and inspiring, but most young people would be terrified by his old shows. (The cape? The postures?) It’s like watching a Catholic Dracula. Then we have to laugh. Then we’ll have to feel guilty for laughing at the video image of a saint. Far better to ditch the footage.
Joanne: A saint is a human being, thus not perfect, and fashion and TV appearance are changing and not theological virtues.
I met Saint Padre Pio when I was a young boy. As he grudgingly met one by one the faithful who wanted to see him, he got quite upset at one man who kissed his hand a little more enthusiastically than he should have (remember that his hands were pained by the stigmata). That did not decrease one bit my reverence for him. Instead it made me realize that saints are human and hence that there is hope for all of us.
A geeky Bp Sheen? Why not?
Jesus healed an amputee whose ear was cut off. I suppose curing Downs syndrome would rank up there with changing someone from white to black. People with Downs’ syndrome aren’t in danger of imminent death outside the womb.
I’m actually quite a fan of Archbishop Sheen’s old shows. I’d much rather that they burn the show to DVDs.
I’m not sure what you mean by “young people,” but at the time the show aired in the 50s, many many children adored him.
As for the laughing at him… I don’t follow you there. I’m not sure what’s laughable about it.
Someone gave me Sheen’s “Life of Christ” in 1988. I put in on the bookshelf unread – The title on the binding looked nice on the bookshelf.
12 years later, spiritually confused by the pentecostal world I was trapped in, I picked it up and read the whole thing. It is beautifully written and explains Catholic teaching and a relationship with Christ so well. Sheen’s book set me on the road back to the church. And this was written in ’58 before VII. It had been drilled into my head that pre-VII Catholicism was all about following rules.
Hoodlum does have a point, sort of. Actually I’d like to see such things at one of these “Be HEALED, Brother!!!” revivals on TBN. We Protestants tend to go for more razzamatazz in our miracles, and of course they are far less credible then the thoughtful Catholic ones.
David, I’m with you, have discovered the wonder of Bishop Sheen, in BW and in color–he looks so good! My son, yes I make him watch, calls him The Purple Man. So what’s wrong with the “Dracula” image? Better that than the phony hair and polyester suits of the smarmy televanglists. And what’s wrong with his postures, his face, his notable voice? It’s half the message right there; put the exact same words in the mouth of some sweet preacher’s wife (TBN is rife with them) and the impact just is not the same.
God bless Saint Fulton! No doubt he and blessed John Paul II (also to be a saint?) are strolling the gardens of Heaven, lost in debate.
I am praying for this to happen. I hope to see this in my lifetime, and great little blurb about the STD, lol
By “young people”, I meant my children. But obviously it’s a personal or family thing. So I take it back. (Maybe for me it was because I read so much of his writing first, and loved it, THEN saw him and he looked nothing like what I pictured?) Anyway, he’ll just have to forgive me for MY reaction. I totally can not help it. As soon as he twists around in that cape and stares into the camera, I crack up.Ok, it’s me. Never mind.
sheen is very theatrical. never thought of him as a catholic dracula , but i see joanne’s point. i can’t stand the music they recorded for his t.v. series. anyway, it’s all about the content and he IS entertaining. 🙂 and certainly a lot more authentic than what we have today on the whole. he was his orthodox self without apology and God bless him for it.
Growing up, my sister was a devoted fan of Mr Rogers. Conversely, I had to leave the room at the sound of his voice. Out of respect, I never argued my sister’s preference, though I questioned it. Well, lo and behold, after Fred died didn’t all sorts of stories pop up to prove that Mr Rogers was REAL? (“Yes, Virginia,…”)
The weird thing about holding a prejudice is that you’re unaware that it is one. I may never look kindly on the old cape-spinning shows of Fulton Sheen, but I do read his words with gratitude and each member of my family continues to name, adopt and pray daily for an unborn baby at his inspired suggestion. I may owe it to him that my children are enthusiastically attending the Pro-Life rally in Washington with me this month.
I do apologize to any of you who were offended by my Dracula analogy. I sincerely thought of that old show as obvious negative publicity.
“Life Is Worth Living” is still probably the best show on television, even decades later. I wish it were on TV more often.
Saw Fulton Sheen’s show last week. Told my son I was not turning it off because I was going to get PAST the cape. (It wasn’t so hard this time–it was a 1955 show, black and white, less makeup) Very timely show, as it turned out, about fashion (and sloppy statistics) vs timeless truth. Even my 11 year old crept back into the room and announced later “Hey, I like this guy. He’s very smart. He’s funny, too”.
Most quotable quote of the episode? “One statistic I can guarantee is that 50% of all married people are women. The other half are men.” He’s absolutely right. Even if the laws in some states don’t reflect that truth. Bravo, Archbishop Sheen!
The Life Is Worth Living programs by Bishop Sheen
are on DVD at Vision Video.com. Many are in color
that were recorde in the 60’s.
120 of his shows have been restored to digital beta Masters. They are on TBN – Church Channel and EWTN and other smaller channels.
You don’t burn programs like this for they are not replacable and the joys they bring to a healing church are immense.
He is loved by many of today’s young catholics
and christians. In the 50’s and 60’s he was vastly suppored by Jewish listeners and he beat both the ratings of Milton Berle and Sinatra who were opposite him.He also has an Emmy.
So let us salute this “Servant of God” and value
his words which trancend time and distance.