Eternal Word Television Network
Spirituality is one of those topics that many Americans never get tired of discussing or thinking about.
Given all the interest in religion and spirituality, it would seem that a television network devoted to it could strive to intelligently address the many questions and angles that these topics create. It should reach out, without being dogmatic and allow for open-minded discussion.
The Eternal Word Television Network isn't interested in doing any of those things, in part because it focuses on one religion but also because it focuses on the institution rather than the people who belong to it. EWTN might as well be the Vatican's official mouthpiece rather than the global Catholic network it claims to be.
About as exciting and nowhere near as informative as attending mass, EWTN's programming ranges from boring, yet somewhat fascinating to so tedious it's hard to pay attention to the screen.
Here's a sampling of the fine offerings of EWTN, all presented with the production values of the local public-access television channel:
Talking heads discussing the history and practices of the Catholic Church, like "Council of Faith: The Documents of Vatican II"
Church services or commercial-like prayer interludes, in which a devotional or prayer is read over scenes of churches, religious portraits or families participating in worship services
Programs that focus on Catholic living, like "Two Shall Be One," about the "joys, struggles and ultimate sanctification of Christian marriage."
The occasional attempt at wackiness, like "Pope Fiction," in which host Patrick Madrid refutes the many rumors and myths about the Catholic Church.
Then there's "Mother Angelica Live!," a popular EWTN show hosted by a dotty, elderly nun that focuses on faith and current issues within the Catholic Church.
This has real promise — discussion centering on the many issues that face, divide and galvanize church members, including birth control or embryonic stem-cell research. But with "Mother Angelica Live!," there's never an debate or discussion — she always invites some little-known, conservative pundit who agrees with the Catholic Church's official position on every issue.
A recent show about medical ethics featured pro-life, anti-euthanasia physician Dr. Vincent Fortanasce. After spending 25 minutes pontificating about the evils of euthanasia, Fortanasce finally moves onto the hot-button topic of embryonic stem-cells research, something which he, Mother Angelica and guest Raymond Arroya decide is absolutely wrong, because you can't do bad things for a good purpose.
One of the men then compares the plight of these research-destined embryos to that of African-Americans who were considered property and sold as slavery back before the Civil War.
Some surveys have shown that 60 percent of Catholics support embryonic stem-cell research; scads of Catholics are also pro-choice. But Mother Angelica doesn't seem interested in addressing the many, many Catholics who disagree with her or the Church in any way.
It's a station that could really be something if it were interested in taking on what many people consider the inherent, difficult nature of discussing spirituality and religion, or even if it addressed the many concerns within the Catholic Church itself.
But it takes the easy way out — keep the true-blue believers that would never question anything, and avoid topics that might upset them.
— Stephanie Kuenn (smkuenn at gmail dot com)
