Fulton J. Sheen

Fulton John Sheen (May 8, 1895 – December 9, 1979) was television's first preacher of note, hosting Life Is Worth Living in the early 1950s on the DuMont Television Network.

Sheen was born in El Paso, Illinois, the oldest of four sons of a farmer. Though he was known as Fulton, his mother's maiden name, he was baptized Peter John Sheen. As an infant, Sheen contracted tuberculosis. After the family moved to nearby Peoria, Illinois, Sheen's first role in the Catholic church was as an altar boy at St. Mary's Cathedral.

Education

After earning high school valedictorian honors at Spalding Insititute in Peoria in 1913, Sheen was educated at St. Viator College, Bourbonnais, Illinois. Making the debating team in his freshman year, his coach called him aside the night before a major debate with the University of Notre Dame, and told him bluntly: "Sheen, you're absolutely the worst speaker I ever heard."

Sheen attended St. Paul's Seminary in Minnesota before his ordination on September 20, 1919, then followed that with further studies at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.. His youthful appearance was still evident on one occasion when a local priest who was unable to celebrate mass asked Sheen to substitute for him. Arriving at the parish, the pastor curtly told him, "Get over to the church. The other altar boys are dressed already."

Sheen earned a doctorate in philosophy at the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium in 1923. While there, he became the first American ever to win the Cardinal Mercier award for the best philosophical treatise. Although it is frequently claimed, even by Sheen himself, that he earned a second doctorate in theology in Rome in the 1920s, there is evidence to suggest that he did not. An exhaustive analysis of this issue can be found in Thomas C. Reeves' book America's Bishop: The Life and Times of Fulton J. Sheen.

Sheen then taught theology at St. Edmund's College, Ware in England, In 1926, the Bishop of his hometown in Peoria asked him to take over St. Patrick's Parish. After eight months, Sheen returned to Catholic University to teach philosophy.

Radio and television

A popular instructor, Sheen wrote the first of some 90 books in 1925, and in 1930 began a weekly Sunday night radio broadcast, The Catholic Hour. Two decades later, the broadcast had a weekly listening audience of four million people. During the middle of this era, he conducted the first religious service broadcast on the new medium of television, putting in motion a new avenue for his religious pursuits.

Sheen was also credited with helping convert a number of notable figures to the Catholic faith. One of his first converts was writer Heywood Broun, who had been critical of Sheen's stance on evolution, but after countless discussions with the priest, changed his mind. Others who followed in Broun's footsteps included politician Clare Boothe Luce and automaker Henry Ford II.

Sheen served as Auxiliary Bishop of New York from 1951 to 1965. In 1951 he also began a weekly television program on the DuMont network, Life is Worth Living. The show, scheduled for Tuesday nights at 8:00 p.m., was not expected to offer much of a challenge against ratings giants Milton Berle and Frank Sinatra, but surprisingly held its own, causing Berle to joke, "He uses old material, too". In 1952, Sheen won an Emmy Award for his efforts, accepting the acknowledgement by saying, "I feel it is time I pay tribute to my four writers. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John."

The program consisted of Sheen simply speaking in front of a live audience, often blasting the evils of communism. One of his best remembered presentations came in February 1953, when he forcefully denounced the Soviet regime of Joseph Stalin. Sheen gave a dramatic reading of the burial scene from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, substituting the names of Caesar, Cassius, Marc Antony, and Brutus with those of prominent Soviet leaders: Stalin, Beria, Malenkov, and Vishinsky. From the bishop's lips came the pronouncement, "Stalin must one day meet his judgment." On March 5, 1953, Stalin died.

The show would run until 1957, drawing as many as 30 million people on a weekly basis. In 1958, he became national director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, serving for eight years before being appointed Bishop of Rochester on October 26, 1966. Sheen also hosted a nationally-syndicated series, The Fulton Sheen Program, from 1961 to 1968 (first in black and white and then in color). The format of this series was basically the same as Life is Worth Living.

Later years

While serving in Rochester, he created the Sheen Ecumenical Housing Foundation, which survives to this day. However, his continuing celebrity status led to travels outside the diocese, preventing him from establishing a close relationship with parishoners. That situation was compounded with his controversial stance on racial issues and his denunciation of the Vietnam War in August 1967. On October 15, 1969, one month after celebrating his 50th anniversary as a priest, Sheen resigned from his position and was then appointed Archbishop of the Titular See of Newport (Wales) by Pope Paul VI. The largely ceremonial position allowed Sheen to continue his extensive writing.

On October 2, 1979, two months before Sheen's death, Pope John Paul II visited St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City and embraced Sheen, saying, "You have written and spoken well of the Lord Jesus Christ. You are a loyal son of the Church."

Posthumous appeal

In 2002 Sheen's Cause for Canonization was officially opened, and so he is now referred to as a Servant of God.

Reruns of Sheen's various programs continue to air on the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) and the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN).

Trivia

* Actor Martin Sheen has said on several occasions that he took his stage name from Bishop Fulton J. Sheen.
* Sheen often referred to his "angel" who would erase the blackboard when Sheen stepped away from it. This duty was performed by a never-seen stagehand.
* The official repository of Sheen's papers, television programs, and other materials is St. Bernard's Institute in Rochester, New York.

Quotations

* "If you don't behave as you believe, you will end by believing as you behave."
* "Bye now, and God love you!" - Sheen's traditional closing to the program.
* "Too many people get credit for being good, when they are only being passive. They are too often praised for being broadminded when they are so broadminded they can never make up their minds about anything." -Seven Words to the Cross, page 93.
* "The danger today is in believing there are no sick people, there is only a sick society." -Life Is Worth Living(Second Series), page 186
* "Communism is the final logic of the dehumanization of man." -Life Is Worth Living(Second Series), page 122
* "Some will not look on suffering because it creates responsibility." -Those Mysterious Priests, page 66
* "The principle of democracy is a recognition of the sovereign, inalienable rights of man as a gift from God, the Source of law." -Whence Come Wars, page 60

Biography

* Sheen, Fulton J. (1980). Treasure in Clay: The Autobiography of Fulton J. Sheen. Doubleday & Company.
* Reeves, Thomas C. (2001). America's Bishop: The Life and Times of Fulton J. Sheen. Encounter Books. ISBN 1-893554-25-2

Works

Bishop Sheen wrote 96 books and hundreds of articles and columns.

Books

*God and Intelligence, 1925
*Religion Without God, 1928
*The Life of All Living, 1929 Rev. Ed. 1979
*The Divine Romance, 1930
*Old Errors and New Labels, 1931
*Moods and Truths, 1932
*Way of the Cross, 1932
*Seven Last Words, 1933, Alba House reprint: ISBN 0818907606
*Hymn of the Conquered, 1933
*The Eternal Galilean, 1934
*Philosophy of Science, 1934
*The Mystical Body of Christ, 1935
*Calvary and the Mass, 1936
*The Moral Universe, 1936
The Cross and the Beatitudes: Lessons on Love and Forgiveness, 1937, Liguori Publications reprint: ISBN 0764805924
*The Cross and the Crisis, 1938
*Liberty, Equality and Fraternity, 1938
*The Rainbow of Sorrow, 1938
*Victory over Vice, 1939
*Whence Come Wars, 1940
*The Seven Virtues, 1940
*For God and Country, 1941
*A Declaration of Dependence, 1941
*God and War and Peace, 1942
*The Divine Verdict, 1943
*The Armor of God, 1943
*Philosophies at War, 1943
*Seven Words to the Cross, 1944
*Seven Pillars of Peace, 1944
*Love One Another, 1944
Seven Words of Jesus and Mary: Lessons on Cana and Calvary, 1945, Liguori Publications reprint: ISBN 0764807080
*Preface to Religion, 1946
*Characters of the Passion, 1946
*Jesus, Son of Mary, 1947
*Communism and the Conscience of the West, 1948
*Philosophy of Religion, 1948
Peace of Soul, 1949, Liguori Publications reprint: ISBN 0892439157
*Lift Up Your Heart, 1950
*Three to Get Married, 1951
The World's First Love, 1952, McGraw Hill, Ignatius Press reprint: ISBN 0898705975
*Life Is Worth Living, Vol. 1, 1953
*Life Is Worth Living, Vol. 2, 1954
*Life Is Worth Living: First and Second Series, Ignatius Press reprint: ISBN 0898706114
*The Life of Christ, 1954
Way to Happiness: An Inspiring Guide to Peace, Hope and Contentment, 1954, Alba House reprint: ISBN 0818907754
*Way to Inner Peace, 1954
*God Loves You, 1955
*Thinking Life Through, 1955
*Thoughts for Daily Living, 1955
*Life Is Worth Living, Vol. 3, 1955
*Life Is Worth Living, Vol. 4, 1956
*Life Is Worth Living, Vol. 5, 1957
Life of Christ, 1958, McGraw Hill, revised edition Doubleday, 1977: ISBN 0385132204
*This Is The Mass, 1958; Rev. Ed. 1965
*This Is Rome, 1960
*Go to Heaven, 1960
*This Is the Holy Land, 1961
*These Are the Sacraments, 1962
The Priest Is Not His Own, 1963, Ignatius Press reprint: ISBN 1586170449
*Missions and the World Crisis, 1964
*The Power of Love, 1965
*Walk with God, 1965
*Christmas Inspirations, 1966
*Footprints in a Darkened Forest, 1966
*Guide to Contentment, 1967
*Easter Inspirations, 1967
*Those Mysterious Priests, 1974
*Life Is Worth Living, First and Second Series Abridged, 1978
*Treasure in Clay, 1980
The Quotable Fulton Sheen: A Topical Compilation of the Wit, Wisdom, and Satire of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, 1989, George J. Marlin, Richard P. Rabatin, and John L. Swan, editiors, Doubleday, ISBN 0385262264
From the Angel's Blackboard: The Best of Fulton J. Sheen, 1996, Liguori Publications reprint: ISBN 0892439254
Simple Truths: Thinking Life Through With Fulton J. Sheen, 1998, Liguori Publications reprint: ISBN 0764801694
Your Life Is Worth Living: The Christian Philosophy of Life, 2001, Esther B. Davidowitz, Jon R. Hallingstad, editors, Saint Andrew's Press, ISBN 0970145683. Transcript of 1965 audio recording.

Essays

* The Art of Controversy

External links

* Cause for Canonization of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen
* Stalin for Time: Did Bishop Fulton Sheen foretell the death of Stalin? (Snopes.com)
* Archbishop Fulton J. Sheenâ€"Author, Orator and Missionary, by John A. Hardon, S.J.
*Life Is Worth Living freely available talks in MP3 audio