Full transcript
0:00At that time , Cardinal Spellman
0:02supposedly said that you will remember
0:04this . I will not let you get away with
0:06this so easily . In any case , it is
0:09known that from that moment on ,
0:11obstacles began to pile up in the
0:13diocese for Bishop Sheen . Among other
0:17things , priests were forbidden from
0:19inviting him to their parishes . He was
0:24also publicly humiliated by the
0:26cardinal , for example at the New York
0:28seminary , but interestingly , he never
0:31once complained publicly about Cardinal
0:33Spellman . I welcome you all very warmly
0:42. A few days ago , a priest asked me
0:46whether I prefer to speak standing up
0:48or sitting down before you . And it just
0:50so happened that it was right after I
0:52had read this sentence by Fulton Sheen
0:54that no one has ever set anyone on fire
0:58while sitting down , and that he always
1:00spoke standing up because he knew that
1:02if he sat , he wouldn't really convince
1:04anyone or draw anyone along . Therefore ,
1:12I decided to answer that question by
1:14saying I prefer standing , and I am very
1:16happy that so many of you have appeared
1:18here to listen to Fulton Sheen , because
1:21it happens that since January 1st of
1:23this year , the Holy Father has
1:24beatified 20 people , and would any of
1:27you be able to name one of those 20
1:29people besides Fulton Sheen ? Well , I
1:38don't see or hear anyone . And generally
1:44, none of the beatifications that took
1:46place this year generated as much
1:48interest around the world as the
1:49beatification of Sheen . And I think
1:58that during my talk , I will try to
2:00explain why he still arouses such
2:02interest , sympathy , and fascination
2:04among us . I had the opportunity to be
2:11in Peoria this year . It is a city of a
2:17hundred thousand , located about three
2:20hours southwest of Chicago , where
2:22Archbishop Fulton Sheen is buried . It
2:29is a city that does not stand out at
2:31all in America . There is even a phrase
2:35in the United States , " Will it play in
2:41Peoria ? " , meaning will it play in
2:45Peoria , or will the average American
2:47like it ? And why Peoria ? Because it was
2:54considered a model , representative town
2:56of middle America that does not stand
2:58out from its surroundings . Or such an
3:03average American place ? And that is
3:11precisely how Peoria appears in that
3:13idiom , and one could say that Fulton
3:15Sheen fits into this idiom because he
3:17was indeed liked by those ordinary ,
3:19average Americans . And interestingly ,
3:30it is basically the only reason people
3:32even come to Peoria , as Americans say ,
3:35because there is really nothing else to
3:37see there . And that is the one and only
3:42point , which is the cathedral . In the
3:44cathedral is On the left side in the
3:55nave is Fulton Sheen's tomb , and next
3:58to it , in the curia , there is an
4:00intimate museum where you can see
4:02memorabilia : radios , cameras from the
4:04pioneering era of television , and
4:06newspaper covers from the 50s and 60s ,
4:09sometimes even featuring him on the
4:11cover , for example , from '52 . There are
4:22also many recordings of his broadcasts .
4:27And a very friendly nun , who is Slovak ,
4:29tells various stories about his life .
4:35It has already been mentioned here that
4:37the beatification process was delayed ,
4:39and it was delayed twice . First ,
4:43because of the battle over the body of
4:48the late Fulton Sheen , because there
4:49was a fight over his remains . Because a
4:57few days before his death , Fulton Sheen
5:00wrote a will in which he asked to be
5:02buried in a cemetery in Queens , New
5:04York . But the diocese decided that
5:10since he was such a great figure , he
5:12would be buried in a more honorable
5:14place , namely in the crypt of St.
5:16Patrick's Cathedral . And everyone
5:21expected that since he died in the odor
5:24of sanctity , he should be beatified
5:26quickly . And the best place for this to
5:30happen should be New York , because he
5:32was an auxiliary bishop there for 15
5:34years . But it turned out that in 2002 ,
5:39the local metropolitan , Cardinal Egan ,
5:42said that the New York diocese was not
5:44interested in Fulton Sheen's
5:46beatification . And then the bishop of
5:51the Diocese of Peoria stepped forward .
5:57This was the diocese where Fulton Sheen
5:59was born , received his first communion ,
6:02was ordained a priest , and served in
6:04his first parish . So , in his home
6:10diocese in 2002 , a bishop named Daniel
6:13Jenky became the leader there . He
6:19decided to start the beatification
6:21process , and at one point , the process
6:24at the diocesan level was being
6:25finalized , and Bishop Jenky asked to
6:28have the body of Bishop Sheen moved
6:33from New York to Peoria , and then New
6:36York said a categorical no . And then
6:40Bishop Jenky said , " In that case , I am
6:43stopping the beatification process , "
6:45and the process was interrupted
6:46precisely because New York did not
6:48agree to the transfer of the bishop's
6:50mortal remains to another place . But
6:55then the family of Fulton Sheen decided
7:01to intervene , namely his only living
7:07only living relative . This was his
7:10niece , who was almost 90 years old . He
7:13had cared for her and paid for her
7:15upkeep and education . So she sued St.
7:19Patrick's Cathedral to have his body
7:26moved to Peoria . The cathedral cited
7:33the deceased's last will , and
7:35ultimately the court ruled , and this is
7:37also very , very interesting , because
7:39the judges took the trouble to delve
7:41into the mind of the deceased hierarch .
7:51And the court's final verdict was that ,
7:53although it was the deceased's last
7:55wish to be buried in New York , if he
7:57had known he would be beatified and
7:58that the success of the beatification
8:00process would depend on moving his
8:02remains , he surely would have agreed to
8:04the exhumation and transfer . And that
8:11was the final court ruling . And based
8:14on that verdict , in 2016 , the body was
8:20moved to Peoria . The beatification
8:23process was resumed . And it seemed that
8:27this beatification would take place ,
8:28because the papers reached the Vatican .
8:30There , the Pope recognized the heroic
8:33virtues of Fulton Sheen . Added to that
8:37was a miracle recognized by the
8:40Congregation for the Causes of Saints .
8:43This miracle involved the miraculous
8:45healing , or rather , one could say the
8:48resurrection of a boy who was born dead
8:50. That is , there was no heartbeat for
8:5461 minutes after birth and the
8:58desperate parents began to pray for
9:00healing , for the resurrection of the
9:02child through the intercession of
9:04Fulton Sheen . And this child , after 61
9:09minutes , suddenly came back to life ,
9:12meaning his heart suddenly started
9:14beating , and it turned out there were
9:16no side effects related to oxygen
9:18deprivation of the brain . Meaning , it
9:25was as if there were absolutely no
9:26negative consequences from the state in
9:29which he was born , in which he came
9:30into the world . And doctors considered
9:36this an inexplicable phenomenon from a
9:38scientific point of view , and it served
9:41as the miracle recognized in the
9:42beatification process . And
9:47interestingly , this boy , James , was
9:49given the middle name Fulton at his
9:51baptism . And that was precisely in
9:54memory of Fulton Sheen . By the way ,
9:57interestingly , he wasn't born as Fulton
10:00at all , but as Peter John . However ,
10:05Fulton was his mother's maiden name ,
10:08and he took his mother's maiden name as
10:10his own name . So that is also an
10:15interesting story . Meanwhile , he was
10:19raised on a farm from childhood . He was
10:25born in a town near Peoria called El
10:27Paso . He helped his father on the farm .
10:32There is a memory that one of the
10:34father's neighbors , also a farmer , came
10:36to the father and said : " Listen , I
10:38don't think your oldest will amount to
10:40anything in the future because he has
10:42his nose in books all day . " " The boy
10:45will just go to waste . " That's because
10:50there , something concrete that provided
10:53occupation , money , and a future was
10:55farm work . And these people understood
10:59farm work as real work . Whereas someone
11:03sitting with their nose in books was
11:05not considered work , but rather a mere
11:07whim . That is why the neighbors decided
11:10it was necessary to talk to the father
11:12so he would do something with his son
11:14to make something of him . But
11:19ultimately , it turned out that this
11:21passion for books prevailed , but
11:23something even more important for him
11:25was well , it was his devotion to
11:33religion , to the liturgy . That love for
11:38God . And this was already evident
11:41during the time he was an altar boy .
11:47There was also another story from his
11:49childhood that was often mentioned ,
11:51that during one mass , while he was
11:53serving the local bishop , he dropped a
11:55vial of wine and it broke ; well , it
11:57wasn't consecrated yet , it wasn't the
12:00Blood of Christ . And back then , little
12:07Fulton expected that he would receive
12:09some reprimand from the bishop . The
12:12bishop told him : " You will study in
12:14Louvain in Belgium and you will become
12:16a bishop in the future . " And
12:21interestingly , this came true exactly ,
12:24that indeed in the future Sheen studied
12:26in Belgium , specifically in Louvain ,
12:28and became a bishop . But I mentioned
12:41that the beatification was halted a
12:43second time , specifically in 2019 , when
12:46it seemed it would finally take place ,
12:48because an exact date had been set —
12:50December 21 , 2019 — and 19 days before
12:53the beatification , the Holy See
12:55suddenly announced that Pope Francis
12:57was postponing the ceremony
12:59indefinitely , and truly , no one knew
13:02why this happened . Only later did
13:11information start coming to light that
13:14at that time in the Diocese of
13:16Rochester , where Fulton Sheen was the
13:18ordinary for 3 years from 1966 to 1969 ,
13:24that precisely then in that Rochester
13:26diocese an investigation was underway
13:36into several cases of sexual abuse of
13:38minors by clergy that took place
13:40decades ago , and because of this , fear
13:52gripped the American hierarchy as to
13:54whether , on this occasion , the media
13:56would dig up some cases of priests who
13:58were the perpetrators of those sexual
14:06crimes in that very diocese . Rochester ,
14:10and whether Bishop Sheen might have
14:12covered up those scandals , hence the
14:18beatification . In the meantime , a very
14:24meticulous investigation was conducted
14:27to check whether he truly had knowledge
14:29regarding some of those cases . If so ,
14:33how did he act ? Because it was known
14:40that if any shadow of suspicion fell
14:42upon Bishop Sheen , the media would
14:43simply jump on it immediately and would
14:46just tear him apart . So it was known
14:54that every single doubt , even the
14:56smallest one , had to be checked here ,
14:58and that verification lasted several
15:01years , and it turned out that there is
15:03not even a shadow of suspicion , that
15:05Fulton Sheen is crystal clear as a tear
15:07. Nothing can be held against him in
15:13this matter . And that is why Francis's
15:20successor , Pope John Paul II , unblocked
15:22this beatification process and it was
15:25announced that the beatification would
15:27take place , or rather , has already
15:30taken place now on the 24th of
15:35September . Interestingly , in a
15:39neighboring state in the city of St.
15:41Louis , and because of that , the
15:43question was asked why St. Louis , with
15:45which Fulton Sheen was not connected .
15:52Well , that is because Peoria is such a
15:53small town that there wasn't even a
15:55hall there that would be able to
15:57accommodate the people . No hall ,
16:01stadium , or any other venue could have
16:03accommodated all those tens of
16:05thousands of people who arrived for the
16:07beatification . And that was only
16:10possible right here in St ... And one
16:16might ask the question I started with :
16:18why does Fulton Sheen fascinate us to
16:20this day ? Why was the whole world
16:25watching this beatification in recent
16:27days , observing what was happening ,
16:29especially the Catholic world ? This
16:34stems from the role , the place , and the
16:36significance of Fulton Sheen not only
16:38in the American Church but , one could
16:40say , in the Church worldwide . And in
16:45the history of the Church , there were
16:47two such saints for whom the Church
16:53chose such epithets . One was Saint John
17:00of Antioch , who was called Chrysostom ,
17:02and the other was Saint Peter , who was
17:04called Chrysologus . And what do these
17:10epithets mean ? Chrysologus and
17:13Chrysostom . Chrysostom means
17:16golden-mouthed , and Chrysologus means
17:18golden-worded . It referred to a certain
17:24gift of preaching , the gift of
17:26conveying very complex , complicated
17:28truths in a simple , communicative , and
17:31understandable way . And Fulton Sheen
17:39also had something like that , to whom
17:41one could also apply this type of
17:43epithet — someone who was , indeed ,
17:45golden-mouthed . He left behind 73 books
17:57, representing various genres of
18:00writing , as there are philosophical
18:02treatises , theological essays , biblical
18:05dissertations , exegetical works , life
18:07guides , and prayer books . And
18:16interestingly , each one of these titles
18:18was a bestseller . And most of them are
18:23not only translated into foreign
18:25languages but are still being published
18:27to this day . So this shows how relevant
18:35and timeless his works are , and that
18:37alone would be enough to consider him a
18:39truly outstanding preacher . But we must
18:53also take into account his achievements
18:55regarding electronic media , because as
18:57it happens , he was also a pioneer of
19:00the new evangelization in mass media ;
19:02that is , his life coincided with a
19:04period when these media were just
19:06emerging and beginning to influence the
19:08masses . And from 1930 to 1950 , he
19:23hosted a regular radio program called
19:25The Catholic Hour . The Catholic Hour ,
19:33which was listened to by 4 million
19:35listeners at their radios every week ,
19:37and after each of these broadcasts , the
19:39station received between 3,000 and
19:415,000 letters . And this lasted for 20
19:51years , from 1930 to 1950 . Later we
20:05entered the era of television , and from
20:071951 he began hosting a program on
20:09television called Life Is Worth Living ,
20:12and here he gathered 30 million
20:14Americans in front of the screen every
20:16week . 30 million until 1957 . Year . In
20:321952 , he received an Emmy Award for the
20:34greatest television personality in the
20:37United States . Moreover , he gathered
20:40more people in front of the screens
20:43than , for example , Frank Sinatra or
20:45other stars of the pop culture of that
20:47time . But his television career
20:51suddenly collapsed in 1957 . year , and
20:58it happened as a result of his conflict
21:00with his superior . As I mentioned , he
21:05was then the auxiliary bishop of New
21:07York . And the cardinal in that city was
21:11Francis Spellman . And in 1957 , the
21:17American government donated to the New
21:20York diocese a gift of powdered milk
21:27worth millions of dollars . And the
21:32point was to , uh , to distribute this
21:34milk through their own channels . And
21:39Fulton Sheen was at the same time , uh ,
21:42president and chairman of the Society
21:48for the Propagation of the Faith , which
21:50fell under the Pontifical Mission
21:52Societies . Generally , it was about
21:54financing Catholic missions all around
21:56the world . And the money he obtained
22:02from the sale of this powdered milk , he
22:04earmarked for Catholic missions
22:06worldwide . However , Cardinal Spellman
22:11demanded that he hand over the money to
22:14the Archdiocese . Sheen did not agree . A
22:21confrontation ensued . Superior and
22:24subordinate . Well , the subordinate said
22:28he would not follow the superior's
22:30order , and the matter went to Rome . And
22:34it just so happens that Cardinal
22:41Spellman was a very close friend of
22:44Pius XII , even from the time when Pius
22:46XII was Secretary of State of the Holy
22:48See . And both hierarchs were summoned
22:55from New York to Rome , to the Vatican ,
22:57for a confrontation before the Holy
22:59Father . There , each of them presented
23:03their arguments to the Pope . And the
23:09Pope then sided not with his friend
23:11Cardinal Spellman , but with Fulton
23:12Sheen . Well , how does the biographer
23:18describe this situation ? Fulton Sheen's
23:23biographer , Thomas Reeves . Well , at
23:26that time , Cardinal Spellman allegedly
23:28said that you will live to regret this .
23:34I will not let you get away with this
23:36so easily . In any case , it is known
23:39that from that moment , obstacles began
23:41to pile up for Fulton Sheen in the
23:43diocese . Uh , among other things ,
23:47priests were forbidden from inviting
23:49him to their , uh , parishes . He was also
23:54publicly humiliated by the cardinal ,
23:56for example at the New York seminary ,
23:58but interestingly , he never once
24:00complained publicly about Cardinal
24:02Spellman . Even when he was writing his
24:13autobiography near the end of his life
24:16and describing this very sad moment in
24:18his own history , he passed over the
24:20conflict in silence , only writing that
24:22this experience was an opportunity for
24:24him to accept suffering and that he was
24:26actually grateful to those thanks to
24:28whom he could carry one more cross . So ,
24:40not a single word of public complaint
24:42against his superior was heard from his
24:44lips , quite the contrary . He was able
24:49to transform this difficult experience
24:53into an experience of the cross . And
25:00after four years , he returned to
25:02television again . He had a show again ,
25:10which this time was called The Fulton
25:12Sheen Program for the next 6 years .
25:15Well , but he was already quite advanced
25:18in age . Illnesses began to bother him
25:20in the year 19 68 . So he resigned from
25:27hosting television programs . He was
25:30then 73 years old . But if we were to
25:36analyze this period of his media
25:38activity , it turns out that during that
25:40time he recorded about 1,000 radio
25:46broadcasts , each of which was listened
25:49to by 4 million people , and recorded
25:51about 450 television broadcasts , each
25:59of which was watched by about 30
26:00million people . So it was a powerful
26:05pulpit . Actually , none of the priests
26:11or preachers of that time had such
26:13reach , or as they say today , such
26:15impact , as he did . And you probably
26:26know Fulton Sheen's image from various
26:29photographs , so you know he was quite a
26:31handsome man , with that American type
26:33of looks . He is a man whom the camera
26:38likes , but also a man whom women find
26:41appealing . So he was a person who
26:46inspired trust through his presence and
26:48his image . He was also very convincing
26:57because it was clear that he lived what
26:59he preached ; these weren't words he had
27:01learned and had to say just because
27:03that was his role or function , but
27:05rather he truly lived by them . And he
27:14was just as capable of drawing crowds
27:16to his lectures . He traveled
27:19extensively throughout the United
27:21States , giving many lectures and talks .
27:25For 20 years , he also taught at the
27:27Catholic University of America in
27:29Washington . Besides , he had shown such
27:34oratorical talent since childhood and
27:42when he studied first in Louvain in
27:44Belgium , then at the Angelicum in Rome ,
27:47and finally returned to to his home
27:55diocese , everyone expected him to begin
27:58a great academic career . But instead ,
28:03the local bishop sent him to the
28:05poorest parish in the whole city , where
28:12priests were rather reluctant to go ; it
28:14wasn't exactly their dream destination ,
28:16let's put it that way . Meanwhile , he
28:21went there very willingly and made many
28:24connections . It turned out he managed
28:27to convert many people . The bishop was
28:31very pleased , and later told him that
28:33he had treated this appointment as a
28:35test for him . That , the golden boy of
28:43the Church , for whom everyone predicted
28:45a great career , is suddenly sent to the
28:48worst parish in that town instead of
28:50ending up at the university in
28:51Washington . And the bishop observed
28:57Fulton Sheen's reaction , and it turned
28:59out he was happy . Even if he had to
29:04serve there for many more years , he
29:05would not have minded at all . So ,
29:12Fulton Sheen passed this test of
29:14humility , and then the bishop sent him
29:23to Washington to the Catholic
29:24University of America , where Fulton
29:27Sheen was a lecturer for the next 20
29:29years . And now , something truly
29:33exceptional . On the occasion of Fulton
29:35Sheen's beatification , a new monumental
29:37book by Father Robert Skrzypczak is
29:39being released , dedicated to one of the
29:42greatest Catholic preachers of the 20th
29:44century . A man who was called the
29:47microphone of God for good reason . It
29:49is over 500 pages , with hundreds of
29:51extraordinary stories , photographs , and
29:54priceless archival materials . The first
29:56part guides us through the life , work ,
29:58mission , and teachings of Archbishop
30:00Sheen . And the second , written by
30:02Sheryl Hughes , shows him from a
30:04completely different perspective ,
30:06through the people he led to conversion
30:08. Artists , intellectuals , communists ,
30:11people from media , politics , and even
30:13show business . And that is exactly why
30:16this book is so relevant . Sheen
30:18perfectly understood the crisis of his
30:20era . He firmly opposed modernist
30:22tendencies , but he also stood against
30:25the left and attempts to dilute the
30:27Catholic faith . He did not adapt the
30:30Church to the world . He showed the
30:32world the fullness of Catholicism and
30:34attracted millions of people . This book
30:37was prepared for the unique moment of
30:39Fulton Sheen's beatification . If you
30:42want to get to know a man who knew how
30:44to win over modern media for the Gospel
30:47, do not wait ; order it now at the
30:49Biały Kruk store , because only here
30:51and only in pre-sale is the book 25 PLN
30:54cheaper . The link is in the pinned
30:56comment and in the video description .
31:00The one I truly need is you , my King .
31:09You healed my wounds , you gave me new
31:12life . You filled the void in my heart .
31:22Now I exist for you . Oh my God , only
31:30You are worthy . M.