ARTICLES

We Have Enough Divisions in the Church

ARCHBISHOP OPPOSES CATHOLIC RADIO NETWORK

By Christopher Zehnder

Archbishop Rembert Weakland of Milwaukee, Wisconsin is refusing to allow the new talk-radio Catholic Radio Network into his archdiocese. (See "National Catholic Radio Launched," May.) The San Diego-based network is concluding the $57-million purchase of ten radio stations across the United States.

Archbishop Weakland, long associated with a host of views dissenting from Church teaching, said he would not welcome the Catholic Radio Network into Brookfield, a suburb of Milwaukee. According to the August 28 National Catholic Reporter, Weakland said he thought it "amusing that they claim to be very orthodox, yet they begin by ignoring a local bishop. That's strange ecclesiology." The archbishop stated that he was "very skeptical" about the network because its talk radio format is "no way to search for the truth," since "nobody really takes responsibility for remarks."

Archbishop Weakland also expressed concern the those involved with the network are too closely associated with Mother Angelica of the Eternal Work Television Network, according to an August 21 Catholic World News report. "My feeling is we have enought divisions in the Church," he said. "I find some of the people involved, especially Father [Joseph] Fessio, have been very divisive, and I just don't think we need that....Father Fessio gives in far too much to bishop-bashing and has been very opposed to anything that the conference of bishops is doing."

Father Fessio is founder of Ignatius Press, a successful publishing house for orthodox Catholic books. Other key Catholic Radio Network organizers include Nick Healy of Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio, San Diegan John Lynch (former head of the Noble broadcasting group), and Denver archbishop Charles Chaput, the network's episcopal moderator. The affiliates are located in Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Minneapolis, New York, Phoenix, Philadelphia, and Kansas City, Missouri.

"There are legitimate concerns that Archbishop Weakland, as any ordinary, could and should have because the ordinary is responsible for Catholic teaching and preaching within his archdiocese or diocese," said Father Fessio in a September 5 telephone interview. "When a radio station comes and is nationally based and calls itself 'Catholic,' then it's not directly under the archbishop's control and he has a legitimate concern about safeguarding the integrity of Catholic doctrine for his flock. This is one of the reasons that we have established a content committee as an integral part of the Catholic Radio Network. Archbishop Chaput is a member of the committee, and we believe that will assure that our programming will be authentically Catholic."

Fessio said the charges that Fessio is a bishop-basher and an opponent of the U.S. bishops are inaccurate. "I would like to know from him," said Fessio, "what distinction he would make between legitimate criticism of things which some bishops do, and bishop bashing. In cases where I've been critical of some bishops, other bishops have had the same criticism. And where I've been critical of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, it has also been the case that the bishops themselves were in disagreement. In every case that I'm aware of, the Holy See has confirmed the position that I've taken."

Had the Catholic Radio Network failed to consult Weakland about its plans? "We could not make any consultation in the beginning," said Fessio, "because we were bound by confidentiality during contract negotiations. As soon as we had a contract to purchase a network, we immediately contacted all the bishops in the dioceses where this network has stations, and made it clear that we wanted to work with the bishops, that we were going to be Catholic, and that we would have a programming policy statement in which we would not permit criticism of those in authority in the Church.... Rather we are going to be a Catholic voice commenting on issues of interest to the general public. We intend to follow that policy which protects legitimate authority from undue criticism."

But since much of the programming will be in a talk-radio format, how will they avoid callers who wish to criticize a particular bishop? "We would not express an opinion on personal activities of bishops," Fessio replied. "We might talk about policies, we might discuss documents, but we don't intend to focus on that. We don't intend the major part of our programming to be directed at inner-Church controversy. It's not on our agenda."

Father Fessio said Archbishop Weakland's refusal to welcome the network will not keep it out of Milwaukee. The network, said Fessio "is basically a group of Catholic laymen. I'm the only priest that's been directly involved in it." Catholic laymen, he said, according to the Second Vatican Council, "have an obligation to sanctify the secular order, and that includes the media, and there are very strong statements in the Second Vatican Council on the media and social communications where laymen are encouraged to support and even buy radio stations.

"So this is a mandate that is from higher up than the Archbishop of Milwaukee, and we intend to cover the country if we can. We want to work with the bishops as best we can, but we can't work with them unless they talk to us, or at least treat us with some respect."

"I can't see why we wouldn't want to have a station in Milwaukee," said Fessio, "or any reason why anyone would want to prevent us from having one there once it's clear that what we are doing is consistent with the teachings of the Catholic Church."