Time to say farewell to Channel 589?

Please DO adjust your sets!

Just in case you live outside of England and Wales, Channel 589 is the EWTN Channel - the Eternal Word Television Network founded by Mother Angelica with a large nudge from the Holy Spirit to get it going.

It started well with Mother A's fairly traditional homespun type of Catholicism; the good common sense type that one's Granny might have counselled you with but, in recent years the Channel's integrity levels seem to have dipped.

EWTN screens a weird mix of what one might call 'folk Catholicism' - a bit of Dana here and some University Graduates sounding off about sexual abstinence there. I do not mock the subject matter, just the saccharine way in which the Faith is presented.

And for some reason, all male presenters (other than Raymond Arroyo) seem to sport beards or moustaches. Now an occasional beard is acceptable but wall to wall carpeting is a bit of an overkill. As for moustaches......the very height of male vanity!

Now I'm really getting into curmudgeon mode, the set backgrounds look as if they are rejects from the Addams Family series, sort of 1950s style meets with Austrian kitsch. Ugh!

Could someone please also tell them that they could achieve better effects with a little subtle lighting and a plain background?

If you have children then they will be put off the Catholic Faith for life if they watch the Bible according to Mickey Mouse, the noxious and vomit inducing cartoon version of the Life of Christ.

As for the Daily Mass, I have never heard such monotonous wailing. No one looks very pleased to be there and there is a cantor with a most odd tone. Just what is going on?

Of course I am being judgemental and critical but then all too often the Catholic laity have been served up with luke warm offerings from their Bishops and the lay organisations that exist to promote the Faith and it really is time that what is offered to us is improved in its content and presentation and we should not be afraid to complain, loudly.

Now, we have lost Fr Corapi, and that leaves a very big hole for EWTN to fill. We do have the Papal Audience which is worth watching (every couple of months or so) and we do have Fr Groeschel, also very interesting and informative. We also have dear Auntie J doing her cookery thing - very nice.

What are the reasons for this dive into pop Catholic culture? Is it a battle for ratings? Or, is it that most if not all of the EWTN production and presentation team seem to be refugees from the Lutheran Church and have, maybe, brought this strange mix of lib Protestant/Catholic values with them?

We should be dancing on the tables at the thought of a Television Channel dedicated to Catholic news and views; instead, I find it all rather embarrassing and would rather my non Catholic friends did not see it.

EWTN needs to sharpen up!

There has been ongoing comment on the blogosphere regarding the paucity of screenings of Tridentine Latin Masses on EWTN, channel 589. But, as far as I can see, those in charge of EWTN remain resolute in not screening any Latin Masses.



One of the few excellent programmes -
 but now they've ditched Fr Corapi!

 Every day there is a Novus Ordo Mass but, even at Easter this year, no EF Mass.
I believe that a balance needs to be struck; every few days I tune in to the Daily Mass screening hoping in vain for something of substance but, what do I see? A very pale version (even) of the OF Mass. The singing is appalling, dirge like, tuneless and lacklustre - and that's every day!

Maybe someone on the production board of EWTN is a closet Tridentinist and hopes that, by showing such banal liturgical travesties, the world Catholic population will turn away from OF to EF. A fond hope.

It's not just the Masses; with one or two exceptions, the broadcasting level ranges from the absurd to the embarrassing. I cannot believe that the people of America enjoy such drivel.
The big stars are Marcus Grodi and Raymond Arroyo and there's a very enthusiastic priest who speaks with verve and energy as if he believes what he is saying. The rest give the word mediocre a new depth to plumb.

Catholic programmes need to
be professional if they are to
have a value

Our own Jamie and Joanna Bogle struggle courageously on with a format that, as any television producer knows, is ratings suicide. How can two people talk about the Moors overunning Europe for 45 minutes and keep it interesting. It is pure dialogue, no film clips or even stills to bring it to life. They do a valiant job but, I'm afraid I am not among their viewing audience.

The rest of the format strikes me as being much akin to The Universe Catholic weekly. A bland look at the mundane happenings of Catholic life. Not for me.
I shall continue to watch the Papal Audiences and one or two other seasonal highlights but, for the rest, it's back to secular viewing, there's more chance of seeing a TLM screened there!