.svg){kind=logo} | |
 EWTN's main studio in Irondale, Alabama | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Worldwide |
| Headquarters | Irondale, Alabama |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | English |
| Picture format | 1080iHDTV (downscaled to480i for the SD feed) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Eternal Word Television Network Inc. (a non-profit corporation) |
| History | |
| Launched | August 15, 1981; 43 years ago (1981-08-15) |
| Founder | Mother Angelica |
| Links | |
| Website | www |
| Availability | |
| Terrestrial | |
| WEWN (Eternal Word Radio Network) | Shortwave radio frequencies AM/FM affiliates |
| Streaming media | |
| LIVE Stream | Live TV Stream |
TheEternal Word Television Network (EWTN) is an American basic cabletelevision network which presents around-the-clockCatholic programming. It is the largest Catholic television network in America,[1] and is purported to be "the world's largest religious media network",[2] (and according to the network itself) reaching 425 million people in 160 countries,[2] with 11 networks.
The network was originally founded byMother AngelicaPCPA, in 1980[3] and began broadcasting on 15 August 1981 from a garagestudio at the Our Lady of the Angels Monastery inIrondale, Alabama, which Mother Angelica founded in 1962.[4] She hosted her own show,Mother Angelica Live, until health issues led to her retirement in September 2001.[5] As of 2017, Michael P. Warsaw, who is a consultant to the Vatican'sDicastery for Communications, leads EWTN.[6]
In addition to its television network, EWTN owns theNational Catholic Register newspaper, which it acquired in January 2011, andCatholic News Agency.[7] The network maintains an online presence through its primary site, EWTN.com, and it has a dedicated commercial site, EWTNReligiousCatalogue.com.[8] EWTN also has a 24-hourradio network, offering Catholic talk and worship programming to about 350 radio stations around the U.S. as well asSiriusXM Satellite Radio andshortwave radio.[9][10] Some of the schedule is the audio from EWTN television shows and some is original programming for radio listeners.
Regular network programs include a dailyCatholic Mass and sometimes in theTridentine Mass format, the traditionalistStations of the Cross, a taped daily recitation of theRosary, and daily and weekly news, discussion, andCatechetical programs for both adults and children.Christmas andEaster programming; the installation Masses ofbishops andcardinals; coverage ofWorld Youth Days; andPapal visits, deaths, funerals,conclaves, andelections are also presented.Spanish language broadcasts are available on all platforms.[11] On December 8, 2009, EWTN began broadcastinghigh-definition television.[12]
The network is overseen by trustees rather than shareholders or owners. All of the network's funding comes from viewer donations, protecting it from advertising secular or non-Catholic programming.[13]
Mother Angelica made her profession ofvows in 1953. In 1962 she established Our Lady of the Angels monastery. During the 1970s, she was an in-demand lecturer and produced pamphlets and audio and video tapes. She had been a guest on local stationWBMG (currently WIAT, Channel 42), and on shows on theChristian Broadcasting Network and theTrinity Broadcasting Network. After she gave an interview on then-Christian stationWCFC (Channel 38) inChicago, she decided she wanted her own network. "I walked in, and it was just a little studio, and I remember standing in the doorway and thinking, 'It doesn't take much to reach the masses'. I just stood there and said to the Lord, 'Lord, I've got to have one of these'".[14]
Mother Angelica purchased satellite space and EWTN began broadcasting on August 15, 1981, with four hours of daily programming, which included her own show,Mother Angelica Live (aired bi-weekly), a Sunday Mass, and reruns of older Catholic programs such as ArchbishopFulton J. Sheen'sLife Is Worth Living. The remainder of the time was filled with shows produced by dioceses across the country, shows fromProtestant sources which Mother Angelica determined were in concert withCatholic teachings, and children's shows such asJoy Junction andThe Sunshine Factory. About one-third of programming time consisted of secular content, such as re-runs ofThe Bill Cosby Show,public domain films, and cooking andwestern-themed shows. EWTN eventually increased its broadcast schedule to six hours per day and then to eight hours per day by 1986. Secular content was gradually reduced from 1986 to 1988, andsatellite distribution was expanded late in 1987, after which EWTN acquired a far more desirable satellite channel and began broadcasting around the clock. At this point, EWTN began broadcasting the praying of the rosary on a daily basis and added a number of educational shows. In-house production of original programming gradually increased. The Mass became televised daily in 1991 from a chapel on the monastery grounds. Most shows from non-Catholic sources were eliminated and a more theological image gradually developed.[citation needed]
From 1982 to 1994, the network had competition from another Catholic broadcaster, theCatholic Telecommunications Network of America. The network was sponsored by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops which poured $30 million into the venture before it failed.[15]
In 2000, "in the midst of anapostolic visitation by San Juan ArchbishopRoberto González Nieves" to investigate Mother Angelica's authority over the station and monastery, Mother Angelica gave control of EWTN to a board of lay people.[2]
As of 2011, the network's chairman of the board and chief executive officer is Michael P. Warsaw.[16]
As of 2019, EWTN programming was available through "more than 6,000 TV affiliates as well as on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire and YouTube". In addition to its Irondale campus, the network maintains aWashington, D.C., facility for its news division, along with aWest Coast broadcast facility on the campus of theChrist Cathedral inGarden Grove, California.
In 1992, EWTN established the largest privately owned shortwave radio station, WEWN. The station broadcasts fromVandiver, Alabama, in the vicinity of greaterBirmingham.[17]
In 1996, Mother Angelica announced that EWTN would make its radio signal available via satellite to AM and FM stations throughout theUnited States at no cost.[18]
In 1999, programs includedMother Angelica Live and "Life Is Worth Living" with Fulton J. Sheen.WGSN inNorth Myrtle Beach,South Carolina, was an affiliate.[19] Current radio programs includeOpen Line in which callers can have their questions regarding theCatholic Faith answered.
In 2004, EWTN announced an agreement withSirius Satellite Radio, which thereafter merged withXM Satellite Radio to becomeSirius XM Satellite Radio. EWTN broadcasts on Channel 130 on Sirius XM.[20]
As of August 2020, EWTN Radio is affiliated with 384 stations in theUnited States and more than 500 stations globally.[21]
In January 2011, EWTN acquired theNational Catholic Register, a newspaper founded inDenver, Colorado, in 1924 as a periodical for local Catholics, and which became a national publication three years later. EWTN officially assumed total control on February 1, 2011.[7] EWTN also ownsCatholic News Agency[22] which is a Catholic news service with bureaus across America, Latin America and Europe.[citation needed]
The EWTN news department produces a daily news service for television and radio, featuring news sources includingVatican Radio. A reflection of its size and influence is that it has 30 staff members covering the Vatican alone, "far outnumbering other English-language media outlets".[2] Tracy Sabol is currently the lead anchor of the network's nightly news program,EWTN News Nightly,[23] succeeding Lauren Ashburn, who in turn succeeded founding anchor Colleen Carroll Campbell.[citation needed]
It also producesThe World Over Live, which reports current events. Journalist and authorRaymond Arroyo, who is EWTN's news director, hosts the program. The program is conservative in its political orientation and generally conservative in its religious orientation. Notable guests have included Robert Rector ofThe Heritage Foundation, author and activistGeorge Weigel, political commentatorLaura Ingraham, conservative political commentatorPat Buchanan, and the late columnist and commentatorRobert Novak, aJewish convert to the Catholic Faith.[citation needed]
While the network has trustees, it does not have shareholders or owners. A majority of the network's funding is from viewer donations about which it advertises100% viewer supported, which keeps it from advertising secular or non-Catholic programming. Its traditional plea for donations is "Keep us between yourgas and electric bill".[13][24][note 1]Mother Angelica developed the fund raising slogan for viewers, "Please keep us between your gas and electric bill!"[24]
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EWTN was founded byMother Angelica,PCPA, in 1980[3] and began broadcasting on August 15, 1981, from a garagestudio at the Our Lady of the Angels Monastery inIrondale, Alabama, which Mother Angelica founded in 1962.[4]
Mother Angelica hosted her own show,Mother Angelica Live, until suffering a majorstroke and other health issues in September 2001.[5] Repeats now air as either theBest of Mother Angelica Live orMother Angelica Live Classics. From then until her death on Easter Sunday of 2016, she led acloistered life at theShrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament inHanceville, Alabama.
In its early history, EWTN broadcast Catholic programming from a great variety of Catholic sources, which ranged from Catholic charismatic programming, such as that ofFr. Michael Manning, to programs focusing onsocial reform andsocial justice, such asChristopher Closeup, todoctrinal programs hosted by clergy. The network began broadcasting daily rosary broadcasts in 1987 and daily Mass in 1991.[2]
In the early 1990s, EWTN began producing more of its own programs. This effort marked a conspicuously conservative shift in its overall orientation, with programs on topics of social reform and justice gradually eliminated and replaced by programs on doctrine and programs of dialogue. The shift was apparent in the daily televised Masses, which, in 1992, began incorporatingLatin into the liturgy and gradually eliminated contemporary music. Some untelevised Masses are totally inEnglish and some include more contemporary music. OnChristmas Eve of 1993, Mother Angelica and the nuns of her order reverted to traditionalhabits. From 1992 on, theLatin portions of the Mass included the Gloria, introduction of the Gospel readings, the Sanctus, and the remainder of the Mass after the Great Amen, beginning with the Lord's Prayer.
Among its notable weekly programs areThe Journey Home andLife on the Rock.The Journey Home, hosted by Marcus Grodi, presentsconverts to the Catholic Faith. Grodi is a formerPresbyterianminister who converted to the Catholic Faith in 1992.[25] Although most guests are formerProtestants, former members of non-Christian faiths (such asJudaism) and formeratheists occasionally appear.Life on the Rock is hosted by Rev. Mark Mary,MFVA.
The HD feed first became available to Comcast customers inRichmond, Virginia, and its vicinity on May 11, 2010.[26]
In October 2011, EWTN became available through theRoku streaming player. The player provides six live channels of EWTN at no cost, includingEnglish,Spanish, andGerman languages, thus permitting users to view the channel on their televisions. In addition, select EWTN programs can be viewed through thevideo on demand option, and a live feed ofEWTN Radio is available.[27]
Often, EWTN airs special programming – holiday-specific programs; coverage of the deaths ofSupreme Pontiffs;Papal conclaves, Papal elections,inaugurations, and visits;Christmas Eve,Christmas Day, andEaster Masses; installations ofbishops,archbishops, and cardinals; and World Youth Days.
EWTN's top news program,EWTN News Nightly,[28] is hosted by Tracy Sabol[29] and features correspondents Erik Rosales, Owen T. Jensen, Mark Irons and Colm Flynn.[23] It was previously anchored by Lauren Ashburn, who in turn succeeded founding anchor and journalist Colleen Carroll Campbell.[30][31]
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Until 1993, EWTN head Mother Angelica showed little propensity for politically conservative culture warfare, stating for example on October 27, 1992, "I believe people should votepro-life, but life is everything: the elderly, the born, the unborn, all of us."[32] However, in a 1993 episode ofMother Angelica Live broadcast live fromWorld Youth Day 1993, Mother Angelica harshly criticized amimed re-enactment of theStations of the Cross where a woman played Jesus, whichPope John Paul II did not attend. Mother Angelica denounced the display as "an abomination to the Eternal Father" and proceeded with a half-hour criticism of the "liberal church in America" and the postSecond Vatican Council reforms. "I'm so tired of you, liberal church in America [...] Your whole purpose is to destroy [...] It's time somebody said something about all these tiny little cracks that you have been putting for the last 30 years into the church."[1] Among other things she opined that "We're just tired of you constantly pushing anti-God, anti-Catholic and pagan ways into the Catholic Church. Leave us alone. Don't pour your poison, your venom, on all the church."[32]
Then-Archbishop of MilwaukeeRembert Weakland criticized Mother Angelica's comment as "one of the most disgraceful, un-Christian, offensive, and divisive diatribes I have ever heard".[33] Mother Angelica responded that "He didn't think a woman playing Jesus was offensive? He can go put his head in the back toilet as far as I am concerned!"[33] The event is believed by some (National Catholic Reporter) to mark Mother Angelica's emergence "as a culture warrior", as prior to it she had sometimes "criticized feminists" but "rarely, if ever, attacked the ecclesiastical hierarchy".[32] Following the attack, "Mother Angelica and the sisters in her convent abandoned their modified post-Vatican II habits in favor of the pre-Vatican II style."[2]
In 1997, Mother Angelica publicly criticized CardinalRoger Mahony, then Archbishop of theArchdiocese of Los Angeles, for hispastoral letter on theEucharist, "Gather Faithfully Together: A Guide for Sunday Mass", which she perceived as lacking emphasis ontransubstantiation (the presence of Christ in the Eucharist):[34] "I'm afraid my obedience in that diocese would be absolutely zero. And I hope everybody else's in that diocese is zero".[35] Cardinal Mahony regarded her comments as accusing him ofheresy.[36] Mother Angelica later conditionally apologized for her comments.
In 1999, BishopDavid E. Foley of theDiocese of Birmingham, Alabama, issued a decree prohibiting priests in his diocese from celebrating Massad orientem (which literally denotes 'to the east', which refers to the priest having their back to the congregation) under most circumstances.[37] Although the decree did not specifically name EWTN, supporters and critics generally agreed that the decree, which applied to "any Mass that is or will be televised for broadcast or videotaped for public dissemination", was authored specifically to target EWTN. Bishop Foley stated that the practice of the priest celebratingad orientem "amounts to making a political statement and is dividing the people."[37]
In 2000, ArchbishopRoberto González Nieves ofSan Juan, Puerto Rico, performed anapostolic visitation of EWTN. Nieves focused on three issues – the actual ownership of the network; the associated monastery's right to donate property to EWTN; and, since she had never been elected, the authority of Mother Angelica.[38] However, before Nieves could write his final report, Mother Angelica resigned from her positions as EWTN CEO and board chair. According to Global Sister Report, a final report by Nieves was never issued,[2] and "even today, outsiders know little about what occurred". When asked about the visitation by Global Sister, "EWTN did not respond".[39]
In March 2021,Pope Francis reportedly told the EWTN reporter and cameraman on board a papal flight to Iraq that the network "should stop bad-mouthing me," according to a report in the Jesuit magazineAmerica.[1] On a 2021 trip to Slovakia, Francis complained in a "meeting with Jesuits" that "a large Catholic television channel that has no hesitation in continually speaking ill of the pope," and that "they are the work of the devil [...] I have also said this to some of them."[1] In reply, archbishop emeritusCharles J. Chaput, who "led the archdiocese of Philadelphia and who is a former EWTN board member", stated that "any suggestion that EWTN is unfaithful to the Church" is "simply vindictive and false."[1]
Recurring guests on the weekly EWTN show "The World Over", hosted by EWTN anchor Raymond Arroyo, include:
[...] prominent Francis critics, including Cardinal Raymond Burke, who co-signed a list ofdubia about Pope Francis' openness to allowing divorced and remarried Catholics to receive Communion in some cases, and Cardinal Gerhard Müller, the former head of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, who was not renewed for another term by Pope Francis in 2017. Two years later, Cardinal Müller published a "manifesto of faith" in the EWTN-owned Catholic News Agency and other outlets that have been critical of the pope, arguing against Francis' teaching on Communion for the divorced and remarried.[2]
Other guests include ArchbishopCarlo Maria Viganò, who has called on the pope to resign. EWTN also features a group calling itself "The Papal Posse"—which includes along with Raymond Arroyo, the Rev. Gerald Murray (a New York priest, former U.S. Navy chaplain and canon lawyer), andRobert Royal (a Catholic author who founded the D.C. think tank the Faith and Reason Institute and the blog "The Catholic Thing")—that according to Colleen Dulle of America magazine, "riffs on one another's criticisms of the pope and has given uncritical interviews to anti-Francis guests likeSteve Bannon, who argued on air that his own populist politics better represent Catholic social teaching than Pope Francis does".[2]
In 2007, Francis Mary Stone, an ordained Catholic priest who hosted the network's showLife On The Rock, was suspended from the network after it was revealed that he violated his vow of celibate chastity and fathered a child with EWTN employee Christina Presnell.[40] Stone was forced on leave of absence, and Presnell was fired from EWTN.[40] By 2018, he was reported to be suspended from his religious order.[40]
In summer 2020, the network came under fire from listeners for its "Morning Glory" show, a radio program hosted byGloria Purvis and Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers (bothAfrican American), and Msgr Charles Pope, among other guest hosts. In the wake of themurder of George Floyd, Purvis became known for defendinganti-racist measures around the country in response, while the more conservative Burke-Sivers, Pope, and another priest opposed the measures and Purvis' sentiments.
Listeners from EWTN's largest radio affiliate,Guadalupe Radio Network, complained about the alleged "conflicts" and GRN suspended the show in response, making headlines in Catholic media and elsewhere.[41] Purvis was interviewed by theNew York Times concerning the controversy, and EWTN initially expressed support for her and said the show would continue to be produced despite the suspension (which was in fact permanent).[42][41]
In December 2020, however, the network canceled the show without explanation, occasioning accusations ofracism. Purvis was hired for her own podcast affiliated withAmerica Media in 2021.[43]
EWTN is the largest religious media network in the world, and it says it has a reach of a quarter-billion people in 140 countries. The network is unrated in the United States, though various articles cite millions of viewers watch per month. On YouTube and other social media platforms, EWTN has more than 1,000,000 active followers and online viewers. EWTN is also available on demand on streaming services Roku, Kindle, and Apple TV. EWTN's Internet site is viewed three to four million times monthly, according to SimilarWeb. In theUnited States, EWTN is available through most cable and satellite providers with a reach of around 70 million households.[44] EWTN had an annual revenue of $64,946,744 in 2019, and has received an 84.3 (out of 100) overall score and rating fromCharity Navigator.[45]
The logo of EWTN has incorporated aglobe outline in some form since the network's launch in 1981 to suggest the network's hope of a worldwide reach, usually with an outline of the dome ofSaint Peter's Basilica within a profile of asatellite dish inside of it.
The network had the sub-branding of the "Catholic Cable Network" until 1995, when with the American launch ofDirecTV andDishdirect satellite broadcasters (where it was a charter network with both providers) it took a new sub-branding of "International Catholic Network", then "Global Catholic Network" in 1996 as it began to move towards satellite, then to the current day, Internet-based broadcasting worldwide.
A news story published Tuesday from the Catholic News Agency, part of the EWTN cable-television network...
Media related toEternal Word Television Network at Wikimedia Commons
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