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EWTN has ample opportunites in the US and North America to produce or have produced, good programming on the Eastern Catholic Churches if they are internally disposed to it. I do not know there hearts, but their programing shows their emphasis. They are concerned with providing Latin Catholics with decent Catholic programming, and this is an honorable motivation (even then they leave a lot out). That being said, there is a great and vast ignorance among many Catholics about the Eastern Rites and EWTN could do programming on them, given the motivation to provide good Catholic programming, because after all the Catholic Church is NOT Latin alone. There is a myopia at EWTN that can be sufficiently challenged as it has been in this thread; poor funding or not, what concerns me is the disposition of the heart.

What about the "World Over"? How many Eatern people and topics have been covered? This would be an inexpesive way to add a little more programing since it is already a regulary produced show.

I don't really expect to see things change.

Rosemary

i chor spivat "Amin!"

Imputing to EWTN an obligation to produce programming for the Eastern Cathlic Churches is without any basis at all!

The network is a private enterprise. Not even the USCCB can dictate on EWTN as the USCCB has no vested interest in it, except the airing of correct Church doctrine as mandated by the Magisterium.

More so with respect to the Eastern Catholic Churches.

If need be, any Eastern Catholic Church feeling "aggrieved" by the lack or dearth of programming about the East should communicate this with the EWTN management, but without inferring that it is the latter's obligation to do so. For it is not!

Dr. (Anthony) Dragani, the former Moderator of our "Church News" Forum, just finished his "tour of duty" as EWTN's expert on the Eastern Catholic Churches to concentrate on his own "East2West" ministry and on his teaching career. It is an opportune time for any of the Eastern Catholic Churches to have a foothold inside EWTN, in addition to Fr. Loya and the rest.

Any takers?

Amado,
I stand corrected.
I didn't mean to impute an obligation, but to strongly suggest that more could be done quite easily in the context of shows already in production.
Since it is an opportune time; what do you suggest?
God Bless,
Rosemary

There are so many vocal and "aggrieved" Eastern Catholics that I would be utterly surprised if none "applied" to fill the position. EWTN is looking for one! (I think the contact person is Colin B. Donovan, STL, EWTN VP for Theology at Phone: [205] 271-2900.)

Then from within, advocate for more Eastern programming on the TV side!

That is just an excuse to do nothing. EWTN has access to Eastern Catholic Priests, the programmers can initiate Eastern Catholic Programming on their own, they just don't want to. Throw us a bone once in a while, but they will never have anything of real substance.

I have attended some Ukrainian Catholic liturgies and befriended some Eastern Catholics and clergy. In all my life I have never experienced such beauty and peace as I find in the Eastern liturgy. As with all things in life, the principle of attraction applies here. Complaining and whining will get no one anywhere. Instead, organize yourselves, invite EWTN officials to a Greek Catholic liturgy, invite them to a Greek Catholic festival with music, dance, great food and maybe some choice wine. If you expose them to the beauty and richness of the Eastern cultures, languages, liturgies and spirituality, you never know what the Spirit might do with that. Play your cards right and pray well and you just might get some decent Eastern Catholic programming. Whining over a thrown bone will get you exactly nowhere.

I totally agree with Amado, and let's remember that EWTN has already given Eastern Catholicism more TV exposure than any network in history. So first off, they deserve thanks and not criticism. I'd love to see a weekly Byzantine Liturgy on EWTN, but I really don't like the "we want equal time" approach. The programming on EWTN is predominantly oriented to the Latin Rite because the station's financhial backers are predominantly Latin Rite Catholics. I hardly think anyone is deliberately trying to supress anything, so I think a concerted effort by EC's to get a Liturgy televised could possibly be successful.

Let's support and encourage Orientale Lumen TV: http://www.oltvweb.com/

Most of the programming is about the Latin Rite, because most American Catholics are Latin Rite (worldwide, too, for that matter). If the Orthodox Church had a network, it would not give equal time to Eastern and Western Rites for the same reason. Minority rites may have legitimate grievances but this isn't one of them.

That said, EWTN had a weekly series for more than a year: "Light from the East." [ewtn.com] I think the series (both series, actually; they did a "Light of the East II," as well) are available on DVD.

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