I don’t see what is so evil about EWTN. What do you expect them to show? People flagellating themselves? The burning of protestant heretics? I don’t get it.
Now, if only they could broadcast the Holy Mass of the Latin Rite (both NO and TLM – not from the EWTN chapel necessarily) as well as the Divine Liturgy from various other (Eastern) Rites, I’d be really, really excited.
An exploration of Catholic diversity is the only thing I think EWTN lacks. And that itself isn’t too bad.
I agree. It would be great if EWTN exposed its viewers more regularly to the diversity of rites within the Church (and within each rite of the Church).
(EWTN does do a good job of giving due criticism to the *illegitimate *diversity we see in the liturgical abuses of the past 40 years.)
Still, I do think EWTN does explore the diversity you speak of to a certain extent, if not on a weekly basis.
It is great that Father Mitch Pacwa is a priest in both the Latin and Maronite rites (and he’s not even of Lebanese descent, but of Polish!). Occasionally EWTN shows the Maronite liturgy as it also does the Byzantine (Uniate) liturgy.
A week or two ago, Marcus Grodi interviewed a former Anglican priest who had converted and brought the core of his old Anglican parish with him; the priest obtained authorization to practice an “Anglican usage” mass which differs somewhat from the Novus Ordo (for instance its English is more archaic than that of the NO translation – more to the Traditionalist taste, I’d venture!). If not for this EWTN program, I would not have known that an “Anglican usage” mass was an option, something that I imagine I would find very helpful if I were an Anglican being drawn “home to Rome.” This “Anglican usage” mass is no less legitimate within the Latin rite than the Mozarabic liturgy used in Toledo and the Ambrosian in Milan.
BTW, if converts from Judaism want to have the Church approve a “Hebrew Rite,” I do not see any problem with it – when the Apostles under the Holy Spirit’s guidance decided to accept Gentile converts without demanding that they conform to circumcision and the Jewish dietary laws, they did not turn around and forbid Jewish Christians from continuing with those things. And any modern “Hebrew Rite” would be asking to keep far less of Judaic practice (a mass using Hebrew prayers is basically all, I imagine).
I guess what I sense in these complaints about EWTN being too modernist is some people’s allergy to the actual and legitimate diversity within the Church. I am not a big fan of rock music at Mass, but, as long as the content of the lyrics is orthodox, I don’t see anything wrong in drawing young people in, in to worship and the Mass, with catchy tunes. The important thing is that they don’t get stuck thinking that they can only “get into” the Mass if they have that kind of music. They should learn how to appreciate Gregorian chant and other traditional liturgical music (indeed also the singing of the Byzantine and other Eastern Rites). In a word, their taste in liturgical music should become truly
catholic.
My only complaint with EWTN is that politically they seem to be a little “right” of the Holy See itself. There is legitimate room for differences of political opinion among faithful Catholics, and I think that many of the commentators on EWTN do not seem to be able to help making one type of political opinion seem more genuinely Catholic than another. In days past in the US, to be a Catholic meant one voted Democrat. Now it seems from the type of commentary one often hears on EWTN one would think the pendulum had swung the other way (the older bishops’ preferences aside).
I just think a Catholic broadcasting network should be more detached from partisanship (which is not to say that I want EWTN commentators to desist from criticizing any politicians of either party who trumpet their Catholicism while still voting anti-life). I don’t think we should be lumping together, say, a “softer” approach to illegal aliens with things like hiding the tabernacle in a side closet or “consecrating” Oreo cookies or praying the “Our Mother” or stuff like that.
Still, this is a minor complaint. I love EWTN – I watch it (or have it on as I work) pretty much all the time. It has been the main means by which the Lord has been changing my life. Without watching it so much, I doubt I would have gotten the restlessness to live out my faith which has led me to become active in my parish (and no longer just a spectator).
