The Scripture citations used in this work are taken from the Second Catholic
Edition of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible (RSV), copyright 1965,
1966, and 2006 by the Division of Christian Education of the National
Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by
permission. All rights reserved.
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Foreword 11
Cardinal Sen OMalley, O.F.M. Cap.
Introduction // The Digital Continent 15
Brandon Vogt
Afterword 207
Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan
Glossary 211
Appendix 214
Acknowledgments 216
Notes 218
Book Royalties and Computer Project 223
ChurchAndNewMedia.com 224
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was one of the first to harness this new medium, with the
charismatic Fulton Sheen beginning his weekly Catholic Hour in
1930.1 The shows audience grew quickly, and after two decades,
four million people tuned in each week to hear Americas most
famous evangelist.
In 1951, Sheen was appointed auxiliary bishop of New York
and soon moved along with the Church to the worlds
next new technology: television. Sheens Life is Worth Living
show continued his radio success, attracting 30 million weekly
viewers at its peak.2
Sheen wasnt alone as a prominent Catholic television
personality. In 1981, Mother Angelica debuted EWTN,
the Eternal Word Television Network. The networks early
programming was broadcast from a garage at Our Lady of
the Angels Monastery in Alabama. Today, EWTN is the largest
religious media network in the world, reaching more than 146
million homes in 127 countries.3
Throughout history, the Church aptly discerned the power
of each of these past technologies print, radio, and television
even in light of each mediums disadvantages. But while the
Church recognized the potency of these prior tools, nobody
could have foreseen the power of what came next.
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