Is it not odd, when you think about it retrospectively, that a Catholic priest (Fulton J. Sheen) could have had such a wildly popular television program in America in the 1950s? Can you imagine a cleric having a prime time TV program now? (Well, Huckabee doesn't count.) Perhaps there was something about society that was more tolerant about religion in the 50s. Even Protestants warmly anticipated the bishop's program; my mother, a rabid Methodist who rather disliked all things Catholic, looked forward to and watched religiously (no pun intended).
Is it not odd, when you think about it retrospectively, that a Catholic priest (Fulton J. Sheen) could have had such a wildly popular television program in America in the 1950s? Can you imagine a cleric having a prime time TV program now? (Well, Huckabee doesn't count.) Perhaps there was something about society that was more tolerant about religion in the 50s. Even Protestants warmly anticipated the bishop's program; my mother, a rabid Methodist who rather disliked all things Catholic, looked forward to and watched religiously (no pun intended).
ReplyDeleteWell, Sheen was a great performer. And he had the looks, too. All that helped a lot.
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