President Donald Trump issued a statement honouring Archbishop Fulton Sheen on the day of his beatification.
“Melania and I join all those celebrating the life and legacy of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen – the Catholic priest who pioneered the use of media to speak the truth, preach the Gospel and bring many souls closer to Christ. Today, Archbishop Sheen will become the first-ever American-born bishop to be beatified by the Catholic Church,” said Trump in the September 24 statement.
Archbishop Sheen, said the president, “was blessed with extraordinary intelligence, good humour and eloquence”. Following his ordination as a priest and consecration as an auxiliary bishop of New York, “he then launched his renowned national television series, Life Is Worth Living, which soon captivated the entire country”.
Trump praised Archbishop Sheen as a “primetime sensation” who brought “the teachings of Christianity to a world threatened by the titanic forces of communism”.
Archbishop Sheen’s success in the ratings against bona fide “American legends” was shocking to the entertainment industry, said Trump.
“For years, his sharp wit and piercing intellect filled millions of American living rooms and converted thousands – including national politicians, Hollywood celebrities and communist leaders – to the Catholic faith. His programme attracted an estimated 30 million weekly viewers, ultimately becoming one of the most watched religious programmes in the history of television,” he said.
Among those who credited Archbishop Sheen for their conversions to Catholicism include Congresswoman Clare Boothe Luce, communist activists Bella Dodd and Louis Budenz and actress Virginia Mayo.
“Through it all, Archbishop Sheen used his platform not for his own sake but to strengthen our Nation with the good news of the Gospel.”
Later, in the 1960s, Archbishop Sheen warned against “the rising tide of anti-God extremism in American culture”, said Trump, referring to this ideology as “a new type of violence”.
“This violence, he warned in his later career, The Fulton Sheen Program, ‘involves destruction of everything that is in the past.’”
“Our Nation is too full of those that are crying, ‘Down… Down with schools. Down with the churches. Down with teachers. Down with government. Down with the police.’ Can you build anything down?” Archbishop Sheen once asked. “You cannot… Let’s begin now to use the word ‘Up.’ Up from all of this filth. Up from this violence… Up – up to God.”
Today, said President Trump, “Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s legacy endures in homes, churches and communities all across our country”, with people still watching recordings of his broadcasts, reading his books and visiting The Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Museum.
“And today, as thousands of Americans gather in St Louis, Missouri, for his Beatification Mass, we pray that Archbishop Sheen’s heroic commitment to nourishing the soul of our country will inspire others to follow his example and lift our Nation upward and ever higher to God,” said President Trump.
