Father Knows Best—Episode 32: Mother Angelica's Challenges and Accepting Faithful Catholics Who Made Bad Choices

Wednesday August 19, 9:00 pm on Siouxland Catholic Radio 88.1 FM 

Episode #32 of Father Knows Best sponsored by St. Augustine Indian Mission in Winnebago, NE features Father Mark Stoll addressing questions about Mother Angelica's challenges and accepting faithful Catholics who made bad choices. 

Tune in tonight so we may discover, learn, and engage our hearts, souls and minds so we may be illuminated, informed and inspired. Please send your questions to fatherknowsbestshow@yahoo.com.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

I have questions. I don't understand. I'm confused. What's going on? That's not what I learned in school. What does the church really teach? Welcome to Father Knows Bush, the studios of 88.1 FM, KFA C Pankasu City, and K O I A Storm Lake. Brought to you by the St. Augustine Indian Mission, Winnebago. We all have questions and are curious about manners of faith as it is normal for humanity to ask questions and seek answers in the timeless quest for understanding regarding matters of faith in the church. We believe that there is no such thing as a foolish or dumb question. And I say the only dumb question is the one that is not asked. And the reality is that the questions you have are like questions others have, and so it is good to ask. Sometimes an answer leads to more questions. Sometimes the questions and answers will lead us to insights we never considered. We at Sioux Land Catholic Radio want to invite our listeners from Jackson, Nebraska to Elk Point, South Dakota, to Stormwick, Iowa, and everywhere in between and beyond, send your questions to us at Father Knows Best Show at Yahoo.com. Or mail them to Father Knows Best, Sioux Line Catholic Radio, 701 West Fifth Street, Sioux City, Iowa, 51103. During this time, once a week, I or another guest will do our best to answer some of the questions I've received here at the studio so we may discover, learn, and engage our hearts and souls and minds, so we may be illuminated, informed, and inspired. So I thank you for tuning in. We invite you to open your mind, let the questions begin, and let your curiosity find its voice. I'm Father Mark Stoll, a priest of the ISU City with you again today. Joining me is Tim Sudin, Executive Director of Sue Line Catholic Radio, presenting some of the questions I received from your listeners. And so, Tim, are you again ready for another round of questions?

SPEAKER_03 1:48

I cannot tell you how much I've learned by sitting through these sessions with you every Wednesday night. I hope the listeners do understand and how blessed they feel to have your input on an every week basis.

SPEAKER_01 2:00

Very good. I really appreciate everybody tuning in again. I think we have some interesting questions again this evening to deal with and talk about. So, Tim, let's well, first of all, let's acknowledge, of course, Ann here on the control board who's doing the recording and producing the show. So thank you, Ann. So now let's dive into some of the questions I received. And so, Tim, what is your our first question?

SPEAKER_03 2:20

Actually, Father, this is for me. And the reason I brought this up is, you know, Sioux Lang Catholic Radio is an EWTN affiliate. And Mother Angelica was a huge piece of EWTN, founding founding mother, for sure. Sioux Lang Catholic Radio is an EWTN affiliated station. Mother Angelica was a founder of this media empire. Many priests did not see eye to eye with Mother. What differences were evident between the rank and file priests and the doctrines that Mother Angelica preached?

SPEAKER_01 2:49

Thank you for this interesting question. Whoa, you know what that bell means, Dave?

SPEAKER_03 2:54

What does that bell mean?

SPEAKER_01 2:55

That means that it is the 100th question that I received I'm going to address on this show. And Tim. 100th. And tell Tim what he's won.

unknown 3:03

Nothing.

SPEAKER_00 3:06

Tim! You brought in the 100th question and you win nothing.

SPEAKER_02 3:10

I know that I have won the wisdom that I have obtained about my Catholic faith all these weeks.

SPEAKER_01 3:17

We've been waiting for the 100th, and here it is. So it is from Tim, so congratulations. But again, we have many more questions to come, and again, not only just from not only just from our staff, because our staff have questions too, but again, many questions yet coming in from our listeners. But let's address this 100th question regarding Mother Angelica and some of the backlash she received as she developed EWTN. So first a little background on Mother Angelica and on EWTN. EWTN, of course, stands for Eternal Word Television Network. Again, launched on August 15th, 1981 by Mother Mary Angelica of the Annunciation when she was 58 years of age. She is a cloistered nun, born in 1923, who also founded the Our Lady of the Angels Monastery in Islandale, Alabama in 1961 for the Poor Claire Nuns of the Petrol Adoration. And she had no broadcasting knowledge or background and just saw off TV for the first time in 1961 when she was in a hotel going down to Alabama. And so she began on August 15, 1981, broadcasting pre-taped programs from a garage for four hours each day in the evening. And again, she was doing that with 12 cloistered nuns, selling fishing lures and roasted peanuts to support themselves, and only had $200. 1961. So in 1981, there was again, many people felt that there'd be little demand for a Catholic network, especially one founded entirely by donations from the people in the pews and not supported by any advertising. In fact, when Mother Angelica fulfilled the promise that she made to our Lord in the early 1960s, really she had no idea that one day she would found the largest religious media network in the world. And so Mother Angelica became the network's first chairman and CEO, hosted the popular and still-running in rareruns ADWT and television show, Mother Angelica Live, and also founded the Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word, which is a religious community of men based there in Iondale, Alabama. She also built Our Lady of Angels Monastery and the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in rural Hansville, Alabama, to which was then she really relocated her order in December 1999. In this process, she has faced innumerable challenges, including being shot at twice and the monastery site vandalized every Saturday in the 1960s in an area where only 2% of the population was Catholic. In 1978, she contacted the United States bishops about doing a Catholic TV show, but not one of them replied. Montangelica also ran into trouble with both American bishops and Vatican officials because they became aware that this was a cloistered abbess who was traveling the country in pursuit of her broadcasting dream. And of course, the project that she was engaged in was plagued by costly overruns that led her to be millions in debt. She also faced the challenges that many bishops were raising objections to her venture, including when bishops tried to outdo her by launching their own effort, the Catholic Telecommunications Network of America, CTNA, because the bishops saw Mother Angelica as a threat because EDF10 had a traditional orientation while CTNA took a more modernist stance. And this was basically the primary difference I see was evident between the rank and file priests and the doctrines that Mother Angelica was sharing. There's a difference between what some people thought that Vatican II did and what Vatican II actually said. There's also a difference between what the church teaches and what people believe that church teaches. And so there's that nuance there. And Mother Angelica focused on the authentic teachings of the church and not on what people, including priests and bishops, are saying and and teaching and actually doing. And so this is what would get Mother Angelica in hot water with some priests and bishops. Now remember, in the end, CTNA collapsed, and EWTN is still in the air. In addition, it was not easy for the bishops to watch their creation, CTNA, flounder and then collapse. While EWTN won the admiration of Pope John Paul II. In addition, the bishops were unable to get Mother Angelica to switch to an interfaith satellite network. She was committed to her Catholic network. There was a report issued in 1989 by the bishops that complained that EWTN rejected one out of every three programs submitted by the Bishop's Conference. Those programs were rejected because Mother Angelica had no tolerance for the theological dissonance that was tolerated by many bishops and their staff, such as when the Bishop's Conference sent a show to be aired featuring a cleric promising female ordination under the next pope.

SPEAKER_03 8:30

Oh my lord.

SPEAKER_01 8:31

And so Mother Angelica said, no, we're not airing this. Also, she received resistance from the Catholic Theological Society for America, feminist nuns, Cardinal Bernardine Law, Bernard Law of Boston, who all three of these groups, people, favored gender-neutral language in the Catholic Catechism. And so Mother Angelica did not take kindly to clerics who questioned her authority to showcase some bishops but not others. In fact, she famously stated, I happen to own the network. And when she was told that this would not be forever, she exclaimed, I will blow that damn thing up before you get your hands on it. So Mother Angelica was staunch about we're going to share the tradition of the church and not this other stuff that people believe and taught. So Mother Angelica was often more than distressed and even angered beyond belief sometimes, including when a woman portrayed Jesus during the stations of the cross, the World Youth Day in Denver, 1993. And on that occasion, she responded, she says, try it with Martin Luther King. Put a white woman in his place and see what happens. Now the reaction of leading bishops to our outbursts was very swift and very vocal, including from Archbishop Rembert Wheatland of Milwaukee, who blasted her for what he labeled as one of the most disgraceful, unchristian, offensive, and divisive diatribes I have ever heard. However, Archbishop Wheatland said nothing about the Statistics of the Cross that took place in World Youth Day in 1993. And just a side note, footnote, by the way, just like Cardinal Law, Archbishop Weakland, they would both later be forced to resign in disgrace. In addition, bishops recalled priests who had been assigned to work at EWTN, and there were attempts to make EWTN thrown off of Dyson TV channels around the country. In 1997, Mother Njalco accused then Los Angeles Bishop Roger Cardinal Mahoney of questioning the real presence. She said, quote, in fact, the Cardinal of California is teaching that it's bread and wine before the Eucharist and after the Eucharist. And then she added that she would not obey an ordinary like him if she lived there and hoped that those who did would no longer provide him with their assent. In response, Cardinal Mahoney demanded that Rome punish Mother Angelica. Mother Angelica even survived attempts by the bishops to take control of Ediptien. When one archbishop allegedly told her that there were certain bishops that, quote, want to destroy you, and Mother Angelica made sure that this would never happen. She resigned from the network to save it as the bishop would have no claim to it being a purely autonomous, lay-run Catholic entity as it is now today. Now, during all this time, when EDM was coming on and developing, I personally myself, I was in high school, I was in college, I was in seminary, and just a newly ordained priest at this time. And so the most of the this time, personally myself, I was not fully aware of what was going on for a number of reasons because I didn't have did not have cable TV. Sure. Or the cable TV company that uh, you know, in the in the town I was living in didn't have wasn't carrying EWTN. Um I was aware, you know, when I was in college that there was one priest from the Architects of Dubuque who taught at Lord's College, who would then go down to Birmingham or to go down to Alabama and record shows of EWTN, and I'm positive he was one of those priests that Mother Jalica would love. And then in the early years of my priesthood, I mean I would hear maybe one or other priests would would would say things about AWTN kind of disparaging way. And I think I'm guessing that was probably because of their reactions to what some bishops were saying about Mother Angelica or what they were doing, and perhaps maybe impossible for these priests maybe modern stance. And say with they would think say things such as, Mother Angelica is going to destroy the church. Now, I'll be honest, at that time, you know, in the in the in the 90s, you know, I was a little skeptical about what Mother Angelica was doing until I was able to sit down and actually to sit down and watch her programming and realize she was right on target with Catholic Church teaching. And so, so that you know that basically covers some of the opposition she received from priests and bishops. But also we need to realize, too, what she dealt with in her own life, personal life. So, in addition to the opposition from priests and bishops, uh, she also faced personal challenges. Her parents divorced when she was age seven. Uh, she when she was going to school at that young age, she was also running her mother's dry cleaning business at the same time. Um, she was distrustful of others, especially outsiders, and never made friends, never dated. In 1934, at age 11, she was miraculously saved from being hit by an oncoming car. For years as a teenager, she suffered from, I believe it's called a pitosis of the stomach, which is an abnormal downward displacement of the stomach, which made her hand shake, her left arm go numb, and her stomach spasm, which would make it hard to eat or sleep, until she experienced a miraculous healing in 1942. She also had a brash personality and poor health, including pneumonia, a tonsile tonsilepton eptomy, uh water in the knees. Uh one time she fell while washing a floor that injured her back, and nothing, not even a body cast, a leg or a neck traction or a back brace could help her or cure her injury. And it wasn't until a failed surgery in 1956 that she found that she could walk. In 2000, she began suffering from bilateral recurrent strokes and also sliberal hemorrhage, blood cloud around the brain, and seizures, and then was basically bedridden and placed on a feeding tube by 2015. And she died on Easter Sunday, March 27, 2016. But despite all these challenges, since the beginning of the network, this network has grown thanks to support from contributions from uh donors, from viewers and listeners. Her mission, of course, uh is key to this success. That she wanted to and dedicate herself to advancing the truth as defined by the magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church. She wants to serve the Orthodox belief and the teaching of the Church as proclaimed by the Supreme Pontiff and his predecessors. And she was dedicated to providing the means by which the various organizations within the church would have a nationwide vehicle of expression without charge as long as their spirituality remained within the theological context of Mother Church. And of course, she provides a medium for orthodox endeavors. Her mission also, and the success of the network, also, I would say, is due to people like Dr. Benjamin Armstrong. He was part of the National Religious Broadcasters. He was a Presbyterian minister, pastor, educator, and pioneer broadcaster. And in 1985, he aptly dubbed her, quote, the Bishop Fulton Sheen of this generation. Also, we have Cardinal J. Francis Statford, who happened to be the Archbishop of Denver, Colorado during World Ruth Day in 1993. And he stated, Bon Angelica represents the plain Catholic who is 90% of the church. And then there's also people like William Donahoe, who is an American Catholic layman, a sociologist, an author, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights since 1993, who stated she overcame all kinds of adversity and she did it all and continues to do it all for Jesus. So today, EWTN is the largest Catholic media corporation in the world, having grown from original four hours broadcasting each day to broadcasting 24 hours a day, from pre-taped programs only to live programs in the U.S. and around the world. She has also grown from this network from radio services transmitted just domestically and internationally, began in 1992, to now the largest Catholic website in the United States. She's gone from a series of small pamphlets now to electronic print news services, including the National Catholic Register newspaper and multiple global wire services and even publishing books. And recall that she has received, Model Jalka's received numerous awards, including on October 4th, 2004, Pope Benedict XVI honored Model Jalka with the Pro Ecclesia et Pontificus Award. It's an award that was started in 19, excuse me, in 1888 by Pope Leo XIII as the highest papal award given to lay people and to religious. And she was also appointed by Pope Benedict XVI as abbess emerita for life. Now, by the way, Melangelica Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament and Our Lady of Angels Monastery in Hansville, Alabama, again established there in 1999, now has two daughter houses, one in Arizona and one in Texas. Again, with the lives of the cloistered nuns there centered around adoration of our Lord in the most holy Eucharist, with at least one sister praying before the Lord, exposing the monsters 24 hours a day, seven days a week. And they have at the mother house there in Hansville, Alabama, somewhere between 32 and 42 nuns. In addition, of course, there's a Franciscan Missionaries of Eternal Word, founded in 1987, which is right now composed of 10 priests, four brothers, and some seminarians. So, in summary, regarding Mother Angelica, well, it seems that many priests and bishops did not see eye to eye with Mala Angelica because Melangelica was focused on authentic teaching of the church and now on people, including some priests and bishops, saying teaching and doing, in a modern stance, she and then Ed Hen has thrived because we dare to share the truth of the gospel as defined by the monasterium of the Roman Catholic Church.

SPEAKER_03 19:02

And so, Tim, I hope that you find that that was I gotta be honest with you. That's probably the greatest answer that I've heard in all the hundred questions that we've had.

SPEAKER_01 19:12

Oh wow.

SPEAKER_03 19:13

Because I I just found that incredibly important. And listeners, you need to recognize this.

SPEAKER_01 19:18

Without her, we would not be here. Amen. Exactly. You know, and going a little background too. You know, when I was in college, I uh re uh received a bachelor's arts degree in mass communications, radio communications, but at that time it's kind of a fallback in case I didn't go into into you know being ordained a priest, but at that time there was no Catholic radio stations on the air. Well, since 1992, there we're here.

SPEAKER_03 19:41

So we are incredibly blessed to have the ability to do this. Right. Father Ann and I are very incredibly blessed to be able to present this to you. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_01 19:51

You're welcome. Thank you to Mother Angelica. So I don't know, you know what the the the five-year time period after death has passed, and so I don't know. I'm gonna be surprised if someone down EV10 wants to start a process to canonizer.

SPEAKER_03 20:03

Well, you know, we're in the process of Fulton Sheen right now. Exactly. And then and that was many years after his death. So I am sure that at some point in time there will be a movement towards Mother Angelica being a saint. I'm sure of it.

SPEAKER_01 20:15

That was a very good question. It was a long answer, but again, it really covers the the struggles that Mother Angelica went to to get us to where we are right now today.

SPEAKER_03 20:23

And again, we are here because of her.

SPEAKER_01 20:25

Amen. And so if you're just tuning in, you are listening to Father Knows Best here on Sue and Catholic Radio as I answer your questions about faith and the Catholic Church. I'm Father Mark Stowe, along with Tim Sudin, presenting questions I've received from you, our listeners. And so, Tim, let's try another one.

SPEAKER_03 20:40

Okay. So many times I have heard the rhetoric that the Catholic faith is viewed as judgmental. Single moms and divorced individuals are viewed as maybe lesser because of broken relationships or marriages. How do we as Catholics learn to be more accepting of faithful Catholics who maybe have made a bad choice when they were younger?

SPEAKER_01 21:03

Excellent question. Thank you. And I think this is a mighty sensitive issue because basically it's surely based on Jesus' command not to judge others, as we find in Matthew chapter 7, verse 1 to 2. He says, Stop judging that you may not be judged, for as you judge, so you will be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you. So again, what Jesus is saying there essentially is it's not a prohibition against recognizing the faults of others, but it's against passing judgment in spite of in a spirit of arrogance or forgetting one's own faults. And so one of the things I always go back to when it comes to this type of question is in the sacramentxulation, confession depends, however you want to call it, I as a priest, my role there is to judge the sinner, excuse me, judge the sin and not the sin. I am there to hate the sin and love the sinner. And this is something I think everyone, you know. Ought to be doing based on Jesus' teaching of judging others. We can judge whether one's own or another's actions are right or wrong, moral, immoral, good or evil, or even done by mistake or by accident or done on purpose. However, Jesus reminds us we are not to judge another person as bad, evil, or even as lesser individuals because of something they've done, maybe because of something they haven't done, but something that's happened to them, like such as a broken relationship, broken marriage. You know, we're not to judge others just because of you know something they've done wrong, such as when someone out of anger hits someone, hitting is wrong. The person is still good, create an image of God. Or maybe when someone kills another person out of anger or revenge, the killing is wrong, but the person is still good, create an image and likeness of God. And so that's always important to remember again, again, we're looking at the sin and not the person. Even when someone attempts a second marriage where the former spouse is still alive and the first marriage has not been declared invalid, again, the entry in the second relationship is adultery and is wrong, but the person is still good, create an image and likeness of God. Or even the case of when a child is born out of wedlock. Yes, the premarital relationships are adultery and are wrong, but the person is still good, create an image and likeness of God, and to be treated with dignity. And so the important thing I think to remember is that we, the church, we as human beings, we make up the church. And we as human beings are not perfect. And yes, we do sometimes judge others contrary to Jesus' command not to judge others. And this, of course, includes priests, bishops, deacons, religious who represent the church, even parents and relatives and teachers and others who have impact on our lives. We have the occasion of judging others. Sometimes our reactions, our responses to people who are guilty of sin when we address uh their sinful behavior habits can be seen as being judgmental. Sometimes people do have a prejudice against single moms or divorced individuals. Again, this prejudice is sinful because we are called to love everyone, even though we may not know, we may not like what they've done. We may not even know what the circumstances of the person is who is a single mom or who's divorced. And when we, you know, it's all about, you know, what we need to do to love and support them and not ostracize or give them a cold shoulders, it's important there. Again, sometimes people are guilty of sin who are ignorant of their sin, or maybe even are are knowledgeable of the sin, but they perceive the church's teaching or statements for others as not only judging the sins, but also judging them to be bad or lesser individuals. And they may even take what the church teaches or what others say personally, and that is a personal attack on them. And so sometimes, and all too often, people do judge others based on appearance or what they've done as bad or lesser individuals. But this is where human beings have failed too many times in history, as it relates to wars and fights and conflicts, even within families. And yet, despite where people are in their lives, whether they're being judged by others or they believe they're being judged, despite what we are guilty of doing, the church is not about judging people. It's that's Jesus' job, Christ's job to judge. The church's job is about saving souls and guidance to heaven. Again, reminding us that God wants what of God wants you know from us, what God wants from us and desires for us. And this church does pass on the commandments, the commands and instructions of God, including the Ten Commandments, including Jesus' instructions to love one another. And again, about uh, remember the one famous quote in Matthew chapter 7, verse 5, remove the wooden beam from your eye first, then you will see clearly remove the splinter from your brother's eye. Again, it's all about following that narrow path of life to him rather than the wide road that leads to death. And so we are given tools to help us. The sacraments, reconciliation at least once a year, Eucharist and Mass, at least every Sunday and Holy Day, the various devotions, fasting, almsgiving, service, spiritual reading, again, following the precepts of the church. Again, none of this is easy, but this is how we can support one another through those times, because people do judge others, or they're considered they are being judged. But again, if we look at and look at and study the truth of the gospel, it's not about judging people as bad or good or evil or even lesser individuals. What the church is all about is let's help, let's support, let's love each other, especially those who have made bad choices at various times in their lives. And then this is a continued work of the church. An ongoing work of the church includes that, again, we have to judge the sinner, not the excuse me, judge the sin and not the sinner, hate the sin and love the sinner as God does. So I hope that answers your question.

SPEAKER_03 26:45

It does. I think that's a wonderful answer as well. Do we have time for another question?

SPEAKER_01 26:50

No, I think we're running out of time here. I'm gonna get two questions in this time.

SPEAKER_03 26:53

Well, that EWTN question was an important one for me. I think I raised it, and I think celebrating Mother Angelica is an important piece of this show. It sure is because it's on this station.

SPEAKER_01 27:04

It sure is. So I think next time let's look at uh, you know, again about uh maybe some of the challenges that the church faces with the people being drawn away from the church. Uh let's maybe look at uh, you know, the Catholic view of heaven or about respect for children, so maybe some other uh questions that we might have.

SPEAKER_03 27:21

Steve, and here's the thing that that's kind of a a conundrum, Father. We have mass amounts of people who are converting to Catholicism right now, but we also have people who are leaving the church because they're missing some level of an entertainment bed. Right. And the tradition of the Catholic Church and the ancient ways that we follow sometimes disappoint the people who are leaving the church.

SPEAKER_01 27:46

So let's maybe talk about that next time. How that sounds sounds fantastic. Excellent. Thank you. And again, we really appreciate all of you for tuning in. We've had a wonderful discussion this evening. And again, we hope you've both that you continue to enjoy both the national and local programs here at including Faith in Action, Draw Near, Life Plan, Catholic Ministry Professionals, Divine Mercy Chaplain, and Sunday Morning Mass. Please check out the Facebook pages of South Thank Catholic Radio and Father Knows Best for more information about this show, including more information about questions and answers I've addressed, and more information I have not addressed in the show. As you wrap up today's question and answer session, extend our heartfelt thanks to all of our listeners for tuning in and sharing your thought-provoking questions. Your curiosity and engagement make the show possible, and we're always inspired by the incredible range of topics you bring to the table. We hope you have found the answers both informative and lightning, and that you'll carry some of the new insights with you as you go about your week. And if your question was not answered now, this evening, you may hear your answer next week. If you're if you miss this episode or like to re-listen to other episodes, please visit our website, suit on the catholic radio.com, and visit the programs drop menu. Click on the local programs and find this episode and other episodes of Father Knows Best and other local programs. Again, if you have any questions, please send your questions to me at Father Knows Best Show at Yahoo.com or mail them to Father Knows Best, Sue on the Catholic Radio, 701 West Fifth Street, Sioux City, Iowa, 5103. And thank you for our to our sponsor, San Augustin Indian Mission, Winnebago. Please join us again next Wednesday at 9 p.m. for another round of questions and answers. And until then, stay curious, stay faithful, keep your light shining, keep those questions coming. For now, I'm Father Mark Stowe, your host signing off, and wishing you a great week ahead. Maybe God bless you, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.