Fulton Sheen became a TV sensation preaching faith, morality and warnings Michael Knowles says still resonate

Archbishop Fulton Sheen, the pioneering Catholic broadcaster who drew tens of millions of Americans to radio and television in the mid-20th century, was formally beatified on Thursday in St. Louis, moving him a step closer to sainthood. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump attended the ceremony, and the White House noted that Sheen is the first American-born bishop to reach beatification, according to Fox News.

Conservative commentator Michael Knowles, discussing the milestone with Fox News Digital, predicted that critics today would attack Sheen the moment he opened his mouth, calling him a "far-right extremist" without him needing to alter a word of his message. Knowles said Sheen's decades-old warnings about communism and his emphasis on morality and Christianity still hold up now.

Sheen built a massive following decades before modern media gave preachers instant reach to huge audiences. His radio broadcast, "The Catholic Hour," attracted more than 4 million listeners, according to Vatican News, while his television program, "Life Is Worth Living," drew an estimated 30 million viewers using little more than a chalkboard and his own presence on camera. That combination made him one of the most recognizable religious figures in American life at the time, and his beatification now revives attention to both his broadcasting legacy and the political relevance Knowles says his anti-communist message retains.

Summarized by PolitiKool from Fox News’s reporting. Read the full story at Fox News →