The occasional, often ill-considered thoughts of a Roman Catholic permanent deacon who is ever grateful to God for his existence. Despite the strangeness we encounter in this life, all the suffering we witness and endure, being is good, so good I am sometimes unable to contain my joy. Deo gratias!


Although I am an ordained deacon of the Catholic Church, the opinions expressed in this blog are my personal opinions. In offering these personal opinions I am not acting as a representative of the Church or any Church organization.

Friday, June 3, 2011

Fulton Sheen's Cause for Sainthood & Louis Budenz

A few days ago I read an article by CNA (Catholic News Agency) on the prospects of the canonization of Archbishop Fulton Sheen (1895-1979). If you're over 60 you probably remember the archbishop's TV show, Life is Worth Living, which was quit the hit -- it actually won an Emmy -- during the 1950s, first on the old DuMont Network and later on ABC. A lot of folks, not just Catholics, watched his show. I certainly remember watching it every week with my family and being almost mesmerized by the Archbishop's words which were delivered in a powerful voice and in dramatic style. As I recall, a later syndicated version of the show aired during the 1960s in color. And for those of you who long ago passed your sixtieth birthday, you might remember listening to the archbishop's radio show, The Catholic Hour, from 1928 to 1952. (DVDs of many of his shows and talks are available online; for example, on Amazon.)

Anyway, according to the CNA article, Pope Benedict was presented with a Positio on the archbishop's cause. The Positio, which can be quite extensive, is an outline of the cause of canonization and includes a summary of the life and holiness of the person being proposed for sainthood. Along with the Positio the pope was given many letters from bishops across the globe who support the cause. And Pope Benedict himself stated that he had fond memories of Archbishop Sheen since they had worked together on various commissions and in support of missionary work. The Positio is an initial but major step in Archbishop Sheen's cause which now moves to a group of theologians and cardinals who will further examine his life for "heroic virtue" and this is just the beginning. The Church's approach to canonization is no simple process, but is carried out with great deliberation and care.

Here's a short (2-minute) video addressing Archbishop Sheen and the cause for canonization.



On the website devoted to Archbishop Sheen's cause, Father Andrew Apostoli, a Franciscan and the vice postulator for the cause, stated that “America is in need of a Saint like Archbishop Sheen. He brought so many people closer to Christ during his life here on earth and continues to do so even today through his many writings, television and radio shows.” I know this certainly applies to me. I have hours and hours of tapes and videos of the archbishop's shows and other talks and still enjoy listening to and watching them. And I must have a half-dozen of his books, all filled with good, common-sense Christian teaching. If you never watched his show, here's a brief (about 8 minutes long) video excerpt from one of his shows from the 1950s. The subject was "The Three Greatest Confessions of History":


If you would like to view parts two and three of the show, go to these links:


Confessions Part 2

Confessions Part 3

 

I actually met Archbishop Sheen back in the mid-1970s, just a few years before he died. At the time I was teaching at the U. S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. Diane and I read in our church bulletin that the archbishop was coming to preach at the Naval Academy Chapel. He would preach first at the Sunday Catholic Mass and then at the later non-denominational Protestant service. He was absolutely wonderful. A friend who attended the Protestant service told me that an elderly woman, a retired admiral's wife seated neat to him, remarked, "My! One certainly doesn't hear preaching like that anymore!"

After the two services we had the chance to meet the archbishop at a reception hosted by the Naval Academy's Catholic Chaplain, a Navy Captain named Father John O'Connor, who later became Cardinal John O'Connor, Archbishop of New York. (That's a whole other story.) Upon meeting Archbishop Sheen I must admit I was surprised that he was so short. I suppose TV distorts and I had just assumed he was taller. Meeting him, one could not help but be drawn to his eyes, probably the most intense I had ever encountered. We shook hands, he asked about my Navy career and where I was from, we chatted about New York for a minute or two and shared thoughts about a couple of mutual acquaintances. He then gave me his blessing. It was a brief meeting, maybe five or six minutes.

Louis Budenz testifying before a Senate Sub-committee
One of those mutual acquaintances, someone I met many years earlier, was a gentleman named Louis Budenz (1891-1972). I actually met him in our living room in Larchmont, NY in the late 1950s when I was still in my early teens. Budenz was an acquaintance of my father who had invited him to dine with our family. He was a rather remarkable man. Born in Indiana and radicalized early in life, he became a communist, and eventually rose to membership on the National Committee of the Communist Party USA and editorship of the party's newspaper, The Daily Worker. But that wasn't all. Budenz also became a spy, an agent of the Soviet Union. Indeed, he was the head of the notorious Buben group of spies.

But in 1945 Budenz came to reject communism, had a conversion experience, and returned to his Catholic roots, re-entering the Church under the tutelage of, you guessed it, Bishop Fulton Sheen. Louis Budenz then became a strong anti-communist and prolific author, eventually taking a position as a professor at the Jesuit's Fordham University.

I still remember his visit to our home, largely because my father allowed me to stay up late and listen in and even take part in the conversation. I was captivated by Budenz' life story and how he came to reject communism and accept Jesus Christ and His Church. His autobiography, This Is My Story, is out of print now but well worth reading, if you can find a copy. (The link I've included is to a rather expensive used copy.) My evening with Louis Budenz was another of those memorable experiences that influenced my own thinking and continues to do so.

Blessings...

7 comments:

  1. I recall watching Archbishop Sheen with my parents every Sunday in the 50s. Even as a kid I was mesmerized by him. His TV show was very creative for the time.

    ReplyDelete
  2. My grandmother "Louise" was the stepdaughter of Louise Budenz (from his marriage with G. Giess, in Indiana). In the reference below, it cites Louis and his stepdaughter "Louise" were arrested in 1931 when "Louise" was age 14 (NY Times article Sept 1931). Our family has a painted portrait of Mr. Budenz from our great grandmother (Giess)from Rahway NJ. If you have any knowledge of his earlier days/my grandmother, I'd like to hear from you.

    Thanks
    Brad Tombs (Brad_tombs@yahoo.com)

    Louis Francis Budenz: The origins of a professional ex-Communist
    by Grant, Jimmy Randall, PhD, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA,

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm sorry, Brad, but my knowledge of Mr. Budenz is limited to my one meeting with him in our NY home back in the 1950s, that plus what he wrote in his autobiography, mentioned in the above post. He was a remarkable man and very well regarded by my father.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Deacon Dana. Just saw your post on Budenz. I am writing a book on him. How would I contact you.
      Many thanks
      Mary

      Delete
    2. Mary, you can email me at deacondana@centurylink.net

      Delete
  4. I'm reading "This is my Story" at present. I am curious of the philosophy he held, and what event pushed him to "cross over" to communism. I recall Gizella, and was at her wake. My grandmother spoke fondly of her father, and indicated Gizella "kicked him out" when he chose communism in 1930. His testimony is somewhat vague in that he "officially" became a member of CPUSA in 1935, but seemed to knowingly associate with the CP much earlier. Also, his second wife "Margaret" was also associated with the CP, likely before 1933, and I wonder or suspect that Louise Galen may have been "Margaret".

    My grandmother continued to spend time with him; records of her picketing with him in Springfield Ill. (1933), and also testimony of a letter in 1933 (which I suspect would be fascinating to get a hold of, but was not entered in the record).

    My grandmother died a few years back (2005 or so from memory). I would certainly have some questions for her today, now that I am researching this history. One interesting note is that when Louis died in 1972, my mother tells me that my grandmother was determined to go see him and apparently did. I don't know if that was when he was dieing or after death.

    Louis Budenz never met my mother, his granddaughter, but my mother recalls Gizella as a very religious person.

    So far my reading tells me Louis was a very intelligent individual, very knowledgeable of religious doctrine, but it is what he failed to say and do remains a question. It was sad to me that the New York Times Obituary did not recognize the "fourth" child, his first that he adopted in 1919, and his other 4 grandchildren and eight great grandchildren who were living at the time of his death.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Louis Budenz was my grandfather’s brother, my mom’s uncle. When I was a child I remember talking to him over the at my grandparents home. Most of what I know about was from conversations with my mother and research I did on him for a paper I wrote in college. I have a family photo with Louis, his parents and his siblings, Leo (my grandfatherI,Henry, Mary and Catherine if you would like a copy. One of my cousins may have more photos.
      Nancy Scanlon-Bizjak
      nsbptc@gmail.com

      Delete