Ahead of Ven. Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s beatification this September, the faithful should reflect on his holiness and ability to harness new media to spread the good news as highly applicable to today’s culture and technological landscape, Bishop Louis Tylka wrote this week.
>> Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s beatification set for September, marking long-awaited milestone <<
In a May 8 commentary piece published by the National Catholic Register, Bishop Tylka, the shepherd of the Diocese of Peoria, Illinois, where Ven. Archbishop Sheen was ordained, described the prelate as “a trusted voice of truth, hope and reason in a confusing, tumultuous era” and said his messages remain urgently relevant amid modern political and technological upheaval.
“The world needs Fulton Sheen’s legacy: clarity in confusion, hope in anxiety, truth spoken with love, and a reminder that life is worth living because it is rooted in Christ,” Bishop Tylka wrote.
Bishop Tylka said Archbishop Sheen used emerging communications technology to proclaim Catholic teaching long before social media and podcasts existed, reaching millions through radio and television during and after World War II.“He was living in a rapidly changing world in which countless people were turning from God,” the bishop wrote. “He met them where they were: on radio and television programs in their living rooms. Using a wide range of topics, he addressed pervasive spiritual hunger and led many back to God.”
The bishop emphasized Archbishop Sheen’s willingness to confront cultural and political trends of his time.
“He also wasn’t afraid to voice unpopular truths,” Bishop Tylka said.
Instead, he “fearlessly denounced communism as an evil attempt to replace God” and condemned “capitalism’s temptation to value money above people.”
Bishop Tylka also highlighted Archbishop. Sheen’s personal spirituality, saying, “He often said everything fruitful in his life flowed from that hour with Jesus,” referring to the archbishop’s lifelong practice of making a daily Holy Hour before the Eucharist.
Looking ahead to Ven. Archbishop Sheen’s beatification, Bishop Tylka wrote that 70,000 Catholics will gather in Peoria and St. Louis to celebrate the occasion and said the event “promises to reach millions more individuals.”
Bishop Tylka added, “Those of us who already love him are eager to see soon-to-be St. Fulton Sheen’s integrity, humility and courage set the world on fire.”