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Eternal Word Television Network

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The Eternal Word Television Network ("EWTN") is a U.S.-based broadcasting network that carries Catholic-themed programming, including a Daily Mass from its Birmingham, Alabama Monastery/Studios, talk shows such as EWTN Live and Sunday Night Live, Daily Rosary, Benediction, doctrinal instruction programs, entertainment/variety shows, children's programming, live coverage of world Catholic events such as Bishops' conferences and Papal travels, music shows, youth programming, and so forth. "EWTN is an independent charitable organization based in Irondale, Alabama, USA. It has trustees but does not have shareholders or owners.

Mother Angelica's first television series

Mother Angelica began receiving requests for speaking engagements, which led to the development of a video series of her talks taped at a local CBS affiliate Birmingham television station WIAT (then known as WBMG). Her shows aired on CBN Cable (now ABC Family) as well as TBN. According to Mother Angelica's many retellings of the story, she decided that she wanted her own television station after appearing in Chicago as a guest on a show called Among Friends on WCFC TV Channel 38, saying "I have got to have one!!"

In 1980 she built a TV studio on monastery property in Irondale, Alabama, a suburb of Birmingham. This developed into the worldwide broadcast center that is currently known as "EWTN" or the "Eternal Word Television Network."

Development of EWTN

Mother Angelica purchased satellite space and EWTN signed on in August 1981 with 4 hours a day of programming, including talk shows, Mother Angelica Live (aired two nights a week), Sunday Mass once a week, and re-runs of older Catholic programs such as Life Is Worth Living with Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen. The remainder of the time was filled with shows produced by Catholic dioceses across the country. Other programs occupying the schedule included Christian drama shows produced by the Lutheran Church This is Life and Patterns for Living, some Protestant teaching programs that Mother Angelica determined were in agreement with her understanding of Catholic principles, and children's shows such as Joy Junction and The Sunshine Factory. About a third of programming time consisted of secular content, such as re-runs of The Bill Cosby Show, public domain movies, and cooking and western-themed shows.

Secular content was gradually dropped from 1986 to 1988, and in 1987 satellite distribution was expanded to a more desirable channel and EWTN went 24 hours a day. At this point, the channel began running the rosary daily and added a number of Catholic doctrine teaching shows. Program production gradually increased at the station.

The Mass which aired weekly became televised daily in 1991 and their production approached nearly half the day. At this point most shows from non-Catholic sources were dropped. A more traditional image gradually developed, which remains to this date.

Viewership statistics

EWTN's own promotional information states that it transmits 24-hour programming to 118 million homes in 127 countries and 16 territories on cable, satellite, and low-power TV. Though the Catholic cable network claims to have an expansive viewership, critics of the network have been skeptical of the reported numbers through the years. According to a 1994 cover story in the National Catholic Reporter “[Mother Angelica] claims to reach 38 million homes in 49 states, and every Latin American capital 24 hours a day, though EWTN has made no scientific studies to measure who really watches. The station does this with a staff of 124 for about $8.5 million a year, while raising about $25 million a year in donations.”

Radio

In 1992, EWTN established the largest privately owned shortwave radio station, WEWN, in the Birmingham area. The station broadcasts Catholic programming 24 hours a day in English and Spanish. In 1996, EWTN launched a free satellite-delivered AM/FM radio network to stations worldwide, also in English and Spanish.

In 2004, EWTN announced an agreement with Sirius Satellite Radio, which allows Sirius to carry EWTN programming.

News

The EWTN News department produces a daily news service for the television and radio network, featuring news sources including Vatican Radio. They also produce a show combining worldwide topics of current interest and politics along with Catholic teaching, entitled The World Over, hosted by Raymond Arroyo.

History of programming

In its early history, EWTN ran a wide variety of Catholic-produced programming from various Catholic sources. This ranged from Catholic charismatic programming such as Father Michael Manning to shows focusing on social reform and justice, such as Christopher Closeup, to doctrinal teaching shows hosted by various priests and bishops.

In the early 1990s, as EWTN began producing more of its own shows and broadcasting the Mass daily, the network was able to begin fighting some of the progressive trends within the Church. EWTN shows began preaching more explicitly against relativism, as well as rebuking Catholics out of communion with Church in matters of doctrine and morals. The network also showed concern for the way Mass was being celebrated in many parishes, arguing that many churches no longer celebrated the Mass in a reverent manner. In 1992, the daily Mass broadcast by EWTN began using Latin for some of the common prayers of the liturgy. It also reduced the use of contemporary music featuring guitars, drums and piano, and limited the instruments used during the Mass to organ and violin. The Mass also began to feature more use of Gregorian Chant.

On Christmas Eve of 1993, Mother Angelica and her order of nuns changed their habit to a more traditional style. This was well received by the viewers, as many faithful Catholics have been disappointed in recent decades to see some modern nuns rejecting outward signs of their faith.

EWTN has programs discussing Non-Catholic beliefs from its own Catholic perspective, such as The Journey Home in which converts to Catholicism, usually from other Christian denominations, indicate their former beliefs, state their reasons for converting, and discuss the spiritual journey that they travelled to reach the Catholic Church (hence the program's title). Guests are usually former Protestant pastors and ministers and occasionally include laypeople who are converts to the Catholic faith.

Shows such as Sunday Night Live with Fr. Benedict Groeschel also host religious discussions which include participation from callers of many different faiths (i.e Catholics as well other Christian denominations, usually Protestants, and includes other religions such as Jews, Muslims, Hindus as stated by individual callers on the show).

Confrontations, controversy and criticism

In her live show on EWTN Mother Angelica criticized a mimed stations of the cross featuring a woman playing Jesus which was viewed by Pope John Paul II at World Youth Day in Denver, Colorado, in 1993. Archbishop Rembert Weakland of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a theological liberal, responded in an editorial to Mother Angelica’s criticisms about the pageant and other post-Vatican II issues in the Catholic Church, saying: "It was one of the most disgraceful, un-Christian, offensive, and divisive diatribes I have ever heard." Mother Angelica’s answer to the Archbishop: "He didn't think a woman playing Jesus was offensive," Mother said of Weakland's criticism. "He can go put his head in the back toilet as far as I am concerned.

In 1997, on her live show on EWTN, Mother Angelica publicly criticized Roger Cardinal Mahony of Los Angeles for his pastoral letter on the Eucharist entitled "Gather Faithfully Together: A Guide for Sunday Mass". Upset by the perceived lack of emphasis on transubstantiation, she said, "I’m afraid my obedience in that diocese would be absolutely zero. And I hope everybody else’s in that diocese is zero". She later issued a conditional and reluctant apology.

In 1999, Bishop David Foley of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama issued a decree prohibiting priests in his diocese from celebrating Mass in the pre-Vatican II ad orientem position (literally "to the east", with people and priest facing in the same direction) under most circumstances. Though the decree never specifically mentioned EWTN, both supporters and critics of EWTN agreed that it was directed at Mother Angelica's Catholic television network, applying the prohibition to "any Mass that is or will be televised for broadcast or videotaped for public dissemination." Bishop Foley stated that the practice of having the priest's back to the people "amounts to making a political statement and is dividing the people." The network complied with the order despite the fact that the practice is permitted by liturgical law.

Program titles

A partial listing of EWTN programs:

  • Mother Angelica Live Classics
  • Daily Mass
  • Life on the Rock-Fr. Francis Mary, MFVA
  • My Little Angels
  • We Are Catholic
  • Adventures in Odyssey
  • EWTN Live-Fr. Mitch Pacwa SJ
  • The Journey Home-Marcus Grodi
  • Pequeño Jesús-(Spanish language children's program)
  • Jesus Christ - True God/True Man'-Raymond D'Souza
  • The World Over Live-Raymond Arroyo (News)
  • Web Of Faith-Father John Trigilio & Father Robert Levis
  • G. K. Chesterton: Apostle of Common Sense-Dale Ahlquist
  • Household Of Faith-Kristine Franklin & Rosalind Moss
  • The Abundant Life-Johnette Benkovic
  • Does The Church Still Teach This?-Father Shannon Collins FME
  • Sunday Night Live-Father Benedict Groeschel
  • Threshold Of Hope-Father Mitch Pacwa S.J.
  • Defending Life-Fr. Frank Pavone and Janet Morana
  • EWTN Bookmark-with Doug Keck
  • Catholicism on Campus-with Msgr. Stuart Swetland
  • Finding God Through Faith and Reason-with Fr. Robert Spitzer, S.J., Ph.D
  • The Pure Life-with Jason and Crystalina Evert
  • Crash Course in Catholicism-with Fr. John Trigilio and Fr. Ken Brighenti
  • Father Corapi and the Catechism of the Catholic Church-with Father John Corapi
  • Reasons For Our Hope-Rosalind Moss

The network also airs coverage of Church events worldwide, documentaries, music specials, the Rosary, and other devotional segments.

References

See also

External links



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