America's Bishop: The Life and Times of Fulton J. Sheen

495 Pages·2002·1.87 MB·English

by  Thomas C. Reeves

Also by Thomas C.Reeves
Freedom and the Foundation: The Fund for the Republic
in the Era ofMcCarthyism
(ed.)Foundations Under Fire
(ed.)McCarthyism
Gentleman Boss: The Life ofChester Alan Arthur
The Life and Times ofJoe McCarthy: A Biography
(ed.)John F.Kennedy: The Man,the Politician,the President
A Question ofCharacter: A Life ofJohn F.Kennedy
(ed.)James Lloyd Breck,Apostle ofthe Wilderness
The Empty Church: The Suicide ofLiberal Christianity
Twentieth-Century America: A BriefHistory
America’s Bishop
The Life and Times of Fulton J. Sheen
thomas c. reeves
Encounter Books
San Francisco
Copyright © by Thomas C.Reeves
All rights reserved,EncounterBooks,Third Street,San Francisco,
California .
First edition published in by Encounter Books,an activity ofEncounterfor
Culture and Education,Inc.,a nonprofit tax exempt corporation.
Encounter Books website address: www.encounterbooks.com
Library ofCongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Reeves,Thomas C.,–
America\rquote s bishop :the life and times ofFulton J.Sheen / Thomas C.
Reeves.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN ---
. Sheen,Fulton J.(Fulton John),‒. . Catholic Church—United
States—Bishops—Biography. I. Title.
BX.SR 
'.—dc

         
For John C.Kubeck

Contents
Introduction 1
one A Successor ofthe Apostles 9
two The Taste ofChampagne 39
three A Catholic Philosopher for the New Age 60
four Battle Lines 95
five The Loss ofGod,the Beginning ofTyranny 126
six Reaching Out 163
seven Global Thinking 197
eight The Television Man ofthe Year 223
nine Backed up Against the Cross 251
ten Exile 291
eleven Frail Defender 328
Author’s Note 363
Acknowledgments 372
AppendixA Sheen Publications 374
AppendixB Hints for Presenting a Talk 381
Notes 383
Interviews 464
Index 465
vii

Introduction
A
s the twentieth century wound to a close,there was spec-
ulation about who had been the greatest,the most pop-
ular, the most significant, and the most influential
Catholics of the preceding hundred years.In a poll taken by the
Internet Catholic Daily,with 23,455people casting ballots,the top
four Catholics ofthe century were Pope John Paul II,Mother Teresa,
Blessed Padre Pio,and Archbishop Fulton J.Sheen.1TheCatholic
Almanac for the year 2000, published by Our Sunday Visitor,
described Sheen as “perhaps the most popular and socially influ-
ential American Catholic ofthe 20th century.”2
A strong case can be made for the accuracy ofthese evaluations.
In the first place,Sheen was the best and most popular public speaker
in the Church.Millions,in the United States and around the world,
listened to his Catholic Hourradio programs from 1930to 1952,and
millions received printed copies of these talks.Journalist Gladys
Baker observed that in 1949,Sheen was “the name priest in Amer-
ica,”adding that “By members ofall faiths,Monsignor Sheen is con-
ceded to be the most electric orator of our times.”3In 1979,Billy
Graham called Sheen “one of the greatest preachers of this cen-
tury.”4In 1983,the noted Catholic historian John Tracy Ellis labeled
him “the twentieth century’s most famous Catholic preacher.”5
When Sheen went on television in February 1952,his Life Is Worth
Livingprograms became extremely popular,competing effectively
against shows starring “Mr.Television”Milton Berle and singer-
actor Frank Sinatra.A television critic remarked,“Bishop Sheen
can’t sing,can’t dance,and can’t act.All he is ...is sensational.”6In
ix
x
America’s Bishop
his first year on television,Sheen won the Emmy Award for Most
Outstanding Television Personality,beating out media giants Lucille
Ball,Arthur Godfrey,Edward R.Murrow,and Jimmy Durante.He
was on the cover ofTimemagazine.The following year,the bishop
was featured on the covers ofTV Guide,Colliers,andLook.A jour-
nalist remarked,“No Catholic bishop has burst on the world with
such power as Sheen wields since long before the Protestant Refor-
mation.”7By early 1955,the Sheen programs were reaching 5.5mil-
lion households a week.8Between 1952and1956,according to the
Gallup poll,Sheen was one ofthe nation’s ten most admired men.9
No record can be made ofthe thousands ofsermons,speeches,
and retreats Sheen gave over the decades,often to huge audiences.
When he was scheduled to preach at St.Patrick’s Cathedral in New
York,6,000people regularly packed the church.On Easter Sunday,
1941,7,500worshippers were jammed into the cathedral,while 800
waited outside,hoping for a chance to get in.On Good Friday,
Sheen’s sermons were broadcast outdoors to the thousands stand-
ing outside St.Patrick’s.“For three hours,”a journalist wrote,“the
heart ofManhattan’s most congested midtown area became a minia-
ture St.Peter’s Square.The phenomenon is repeated for the evening
service.”10Many ofSheen’s television shows,sermons,and speeches
are still available on videocassette and tape.
In addition to establishing himself as a philosopher and the-
ologian,Sheen was one of the American Church’s most prolific
writers.Over a period of 54years he authored 66books and pub-
lished62booklets,pamphlets,and printed radio talks.The num-
ber ofhis readers can only be imagined.A single radio talk of1934
was in its eleventh edition in 1948,a printing of 54,000 copies.11
Sheen wrote countless magazine and newspaper articles,and numer-
ous book introductions and chapters.12In the early 1950s he was
writing two regular newspaper columns;his syndicated column in
the secular press ran for thirty years.He also edited two magazines,
one for sixteen years.
Sheen’s expertise encompassed a wide variety of topics,from
Aristotle,Augustine,and Thomas Aquinas to Karl Marx,Sigmund