Archive for the ‘Television’ Category

The second volume of Pope Benedict XVI’s book “Jesus of Nazareth – Holy Week: From the Entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection” was recently released by Ignatius Press, which is run by Jesuit Father Joseph Fessio. Appearing on “Fox & Friends” to share the book with a wider audience, Fr. Fessio commented that the book is written by one of the great teachers of our time, about the greatest figure in history, and no matter your beliefs, it is of educational value.

“The Pope is trying to make the message of Jesus very clear,” commented Fessio. “He wants to present Jesus in a way that will engage the reader, and will allow people to have a certitude about their knowledge of him.”

Fr. Fessio, who was a student of Ratzinger’s 40 years ago, is director of Ignatius Press, which is the primary publisher of all books by Pope Benedict XVI in the United States.Currently on the New York Times best sellers list, the Holy Father’s book is actually written under his name Joseph Ratzinger, as it’s contents are not an official Church document.

“He’s not writing this as an official Church document, he’s writing it as a personal theologian…The difference is that this is not binding on Catholics as an official statement on the Church’s faith, although, I think what he says is true. The phone book isn’t binding either, but there’s alot of truth in there,” said Fessio.

To purchase Pope Benedict XVI’s book, please visit Ignatius Press’ website.

Jesuit Father William O’Leary was honored by Creighton Prep recently for decades of service to the school. The Jesuit began his 46-year career at Creighton Prep in 1964, and several hundred former students, faculty and friends showed their appreciation at a gathering in his honor.

Through most of his career, Fr. O’Leary taught history and theology. He retired from teaching five years ago but remained at the school helping with other duties, which included monitoring the hallway between classes.

Part of his legacy was his attention to shirttail management: if a student passed in the hallway with a shirttail hanging out, O’Leary would offer to hold the offender’s books, while the student remedied the problem.

O’Leary, who’s known for what he calls his “good, bad jokes,” said, “I’m going to miss the students, they’re saints.”

Watch the report from a local news station that covered O’Leary’s departure and captured him in action doing shirttail management.

Jesuit Father Greg Boyle was a guest on The Dr. Phil show that aired in December on “Trouble Teens Turnaround.” Fr. Boyle, who is executive director of Homeboy Industries, a gang-intervention and rehab center, discussed strategies to help troubled kids.

“We get about 15,000 folks who walk through our doors every year, gang members trying to redirect their lives,” said Boyle, who is also author of “Tattoos on the Heart” (#12 on the Los Angeles Times bestseller list for December 26, 2010). “They might come for tattoo removal and discover that we can locate a job for them or maybe they need counseling.”

One former gang member talked about how Boyle helped him. “Upon release [from prison], I came and talked to Fr. Greg, and he just signed me up and told me, ‘My son, come back Tuesday.’ After that, I’ve been working here ever since. Without Homeboy Industries, I’d probably be back in jail right now.”

“Los Angeles is the gang capital of the world,” said Boyle. “In L.A. County, we have 1,100 gangs and 86,000 gang members. I buried my first young person in 1988. I buried my 170th this morning.”

Boyle said the kids need to have an alternative to gangs. “You want to be able to say ‘Leave that behind; come over here and we’ll help you. We’ll give you a job and make sure you stay in school.’”

For more on the episode, visit the Dr. Phil website.

This morning, Jesuit Father James Martin, cultural editor for America magazine and author of The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything, appeared on the Fox & Friends show to discuss if the true meaning of Christmas is being lost due to consumerism and the focus on shopping in our society. Father Martin said during the program that “people feel really overwhelmed by the consumerism and they have a hard time carving out a spiritual space for Christmas”. During the interview, Martin discussed how using overtly Christian themes like “believe”, which are associated with Christmas and are now just being used to market goods, disassociates the religious aspects of the holiday.

You can watch the interview with Martin here.

Jesuit Father Myles Sheehan, Provincial of the New England Province of the Society of Jesus, recently appeared on CatholicTV to discuss his role as provincial and his vocation as a doctor with the hosts of This is the Day show. His interview begins at 15:09 in the video below.