EWTN Acquires National Catholic Register Newspaper

EWTN Global Catholic Network today announced that it has signed a letter of intent to acquire the National Catholic Register, the nation’s leading Catholic newspaper.

“I am very pleased and excited that the Register will now be a part of the EWTN family,” said Michael P. Warsaw, the Network’s president and chief executive officer. “All of us at EWTN have great respect for the Register and the role it has played throughout its history. It’s a tremendous legacy that deserves to not only be preserved, but also to grow and to flourish.”

“I believe that EWTN will be able to provide the stability that the Register needs at this time as well as to give it a platform for its growth in the years ahead. We’re proud to be able to step in and carry on both the Register’s name and its tradition of faithful Catholic reporting on the issues of the day,” noted Warsaw.

Under the terms of the transaction, no cash will be exchanged between the parties. EWTN will take over the ongoing operational expenses of the Register and will assume the paper’s future subscription liabilities.

The acquisition of the Register is the latest in EWTN’s efforts to expand its news presence in the global Catholic digital and multimedia market. At the start of 2010, EWTN entered into a partnership with the Catholic News Agency (CNA), a Denver-based independent Catholic news media outlet with bureaus in North and South America and Europe. Under that agreement, EWTN and CNA are sharing news resources and have created a joint news service found at www.ewtnnews.com. That arrangement was recently expanded to include a new original Spanish-language news service, EWTN Noticias, (http://www.ewtnnoticias.com/) launched in January 2011.

EWTN Global Catholic Network provides multimedia services to more than 140 countries and territories. The Network transmits nine separate television channels in several languages to audiences around the world. It also operates multiple radio services including a network of hundreds of AM and FM stations, a Sirius satellite radio channel, and a global shortwave radio service. EWTN’s main website, http://www.ewtn.com/, draws more than 20 million unique visitors annually.

The National Catholic Register (http://www.ncregister.com/) grew out of Denver’s Catholic Register, which began on Aug. 11, 1905. Under the leadership of Msgr. Matthew Smith, the Register System of Newspapers was developed, with the first national edition appearing on Nov. 8, 1927. It was acquired by the Legion of Christ in 1995. To find out more about the Register, go to: http://www.ncregister.com/info/about_the_register.

So Much to Catch Up On....

Well, it took me more than just a few hours to finally get a window of time to get my thoughts together from the past few weeks.  This is a short recap of some key events and thoughts:

Bloomberg Blames the Tea Party for NYC Terrorist Attempt -- Taking the lead from the mainstream media, NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg decided to immediately, without any information from authorities, take a "guess" at who left the SUV in Times Square in a failed terrorist attack earlier this week.  The TV networks insisted that the failed terrorist was "white".  Bloomberg decided that he needed to expand on that description and said that it was "probably someone who was upset with the government or with ObamaCare".  Of course, authorities have apprehended Faisal Shahzad (you guessed it, not white...), who is a nationalized citizen born in Pakistan.  The Left will stop at nothing to paint Conservatives and/or Tea Party Americans as racists and domestic terrorists.  We just went through this set of lies on the Left's part following the passage of ObamaCare.  All we heard from the John Lewis' of the world is that the n-word was used and they were spit on.  In a world where EVERYTHING gets captured on video via I-Phones, BlackBerries, and other mobile devices and is posted on the Internet in minutes, we are now nearly two months later and still no one can produce a video of these "incidents".  This is because it NEVER happened...

Heritage Foundation is Launching New 501(c)(4) Lobbying Subsidiary -- Attended the Spring 2010 President's Club meeting of the Heritage Foundation earlier this week and learned about their new advocacy organization -- Heritage Action for America.  Heritage Action will lobby for bills before Congress, but not for candidates (yet...).  Dr. Feulner, Heritage President and Mike Needham, CEO of Heritage Action penned an Op-Ed in the April 12 Wall Street Journal that details the creation of this new organization.  Exciting times at Heritage where membership has now reached nearly 650,000 members. 

Joe Bonamassa Show in Washington -- As RC Blog readers know, I'm a big fan of the Rock/Blues sound of Joe Bonamassa.  JB played at Lizner Auditorium on 4/26 before a near sold-out audience of 1,400.  During his 2 hour, 20 minute show, the crowd was treated to a special event.  Legendary Blues guitarist/songwriter Bobby Parker came on stage to play a few songs with Joe.  Parker, now 74, was legend in the U.S. and London during the late 60s and early 70s.  Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin fell in love with Parker's sound and tried signing him to Led Zep's record label.  It was a great bonus to a great night of Joe.  Here's a video of JB and Parker at Lizner:



Dr. Lee Edwards Authors New Biography on William F. Buckley -- During my years of involvement with the Heritage Foundation, I have struck up a friendship with Dr. Lee Edwards, who has been a key voice in the Conservative movement for some time.  He had been telling me for the past two years about the biography he was writing on William F. Buckley.  It was released last week and I was able to get a copy from Dr. Edwards earlier this week in Washington.  Look for a review on the RC Blog in the next few weeks.  To order a copy of the book, click here...

Lack of Federal Response to Oil Spill -- Looks like the Obama Administration has a Katrina-like problem on their hands.  Nine days after the oil rig in the Mississippi began burning and eight days after it exploded and collapsed killing 11 workers, the Obama Administration finally began providing the appropriate attention to this disaster to human life and the environment.  This is the first real challenge that President Obama has dealt with and he hasn't been able to handle it.  Like most issues with President Obama, he tries to back-track on previous comments and like to "expand" the truth.  To say that the government was their on Day One because the U.S. Coast Guard immediately responded to the event is a weak and pathetic argument.  The Coast Guard would response immediately, with or without Obama's orders.  That's what they do for a living!  That's like giving a Governor credit because the state police immediately responded to a major car wreck on I-95. 

Mike Pence in 2012? -- As RC Blog readers know, our No. 1 Congressional member is Mike Pence of Indiana.  This guy has all the makings to become POTUS at some point and that chance may come as early as 2012.  We were disappointed that he did not go after the Bayh senate seat that is opening up this year, but he is No. 3 in the House right now and that is tough to give up.  He knows the issues, is an excellent communicator (best since Reagan), and has "the look".  Pence gave an excellent speech before the Heritage Foundation's President's Club earlier this week where we were in attendance and had a few moments to meet with him.  We were happy (and shocked...) to hear him say that he has been to the RC Blog!

Fairfax County Republican Committee Undergoes Significant Overhaul -- Kudos to Anthony Bedell who has done a remarkable job in taking a battered and beaten Fairfax County Republican Committee several years ago and built it into a strong and vibrant organization.  Bedell's energy and enthusiasm has gone a long way in weeding out the dead wood from the party and refilling the financial coffers of the Committee.  Just last night, a major overhaul of the entire organization and regional districts was announced.  RC Blog applauds Bedell and his office for this much-needed reorganization.

Pope Benedict Announces Some Immediate Reforms for Legionaries of Christ Order -- On May 1, the Vatican released a statement regarding the year-long apostolic visitation of the Legionaries of Christ order to determine its future, following the various well-known scandals involving its deceased founder.  As for immediate next steps, the Holy See will appoint a commissioner or delegate to run the Legion of Christ for the foreseeable future. The May 1 statement suggests that this delegate will have plenipotentiary powers, including making recommendations to the Pope about the future of the Legion of Christ—about which, it seems, all options remain on the table.  In addition, the Vatican commission will carefully examine the Legion’s constitutions.  The future of the Order remains in jeopardy, but I am thankful that it was not immediately disbanded following the report by the visitors.  In my six or seven years of interaction with various LC priests, they are all excellent leaders of our faith and have had a positive influence on my life.  I continue to pray for all of them as they go through this difficult time.

Great Catholic Blog!

Just stumbled on to a great Catholic blog, which features regular contributions from Fr. John Bartunek, LC, author of bestseller, "The Better Part -- A Christ-Centered Resource for Personal Prayer".  The blog, "Catholic Spiritual Direction" can be found here. 

I've also added it to the RC Blog's Favorite Blogs listing on the left.  Enjoy!

Origin and History of the Solemnity of Christ the King

Tomorrow (11/23), the Roman Catholic Church will celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King.

Here is some background information on this feast day:

On December 11, 1925, towards the end of that Holy Year, Pope Pius XI instituted this liturgical celebration as a feast ranked as a Double of the First Class with his encyclical Quas Primas.

The title of the feast was "D. N. Jesu Christi Regis" (Our Lord Jesus Christ the King), and the date was "the last Sunday of the month of October - the Sunday, that is, which immediately precedes the Feast of All Saints".

In Pope John XXIII's 1960 revision of the Calendar, the date and title remained the same and, in the new simpler ranking of feasts, it was classified as a feast of the first class.

In 1969, Pope Paul VI gave the celebration a new title: "D. N. Iesu Christi universorum Regis" (Our Lord Jesus Christ King of All). He also gave it a new date: the last Sunday in the liturgical year, before a new year begins with the First Sunday in Advent, the earliest date for which is November 27. Through this choice of date "the eschatological importance of this Sunday is made clearer". He assigned to it the highest rank, that of "Solemnity".

As happens with all Sundays whose liturgies are replaced by those of important feasts, the prayers of the Sunday on which the celebration of Christ the King falls are used on the ferias (weekdays) of the following week. The Sunday liturgy is thus not totally omitted.

It is also celebrated by the Legionaries of Christ order of priests and its associated international lay ecclesial movement, Regnum Christi, as "Regnum Christi Day". Its members are invited to spiritually renew their decision to give their lives to Christ out of love, and to do everything they can to make the Kingdom of Christ a strong and growing reality in society.