Fulton Sheen named "VENERABLE"

The Soul Became an unimportant suburb of the city called Business

If politics and economics did not interfere with religion, they argued, why should religion interfere with politics and economics? Religious liberty was thus purchased on the understanding that it would refrain from the secular order. Religion became a circumscribed area of life, insulated from all contact with the secular, and any attempt on the part of religion to inject ethical and moral consideration into business was looked upon as meddling, as if the virtue of justice were something to be preached in a pulpit on Sunday, but not to be practiced in a factory on Monday. The world was willing to admit that religion could tell man about his final end, but it refused to allow religion to tell him the right means to attain that end.


Religion came to stand in the same relation to world affairs as God did to Newton’s astronomy. As Newton brought the universe under law, Newtonians assumed that God was no longer necessary to account for the order and harmony of the spheres, as if the discovery of a law did away with the necessity of the Lawgiver. Newton dragged God into his universe to account for two irregularities which he could not fit into his law; namely, why certain fixed stars did not fall and why certain orbs revolving in different orbits did not collide. God thus became a handy explanation to account for irregularities which science could not yet describe, a dignified cosmic plumber going about mending the leaks in a Newtonian universe. In like manner God was permitted to take care of the irregularities of the political and economic universe, i.e., He and His believers could do ambulance work for the poor, the dependents, and defectives which the political and economic order could not yet absorb. Later on with progress and science even these social irregularities would disappear and religion would no more be needed. In this way religion was relegated to a place of retreat from the world; a catacomb into which men might go for a rest but only after they had washed their hands of business. One would almost think that the man who went to church was different than the man who went to work, or that man as a political and economic creature had escaped in some miraculous way the fall of man. The result of this separation of religion and public affairs was to drive religion into a position of increasing irrelevance to public affairs. “I don’t bother the Church, why should the Church bother me” became the fallacious catchword to justify the divorce of two things which were meant to be as inseparable as head and body.

Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen – Freedom Under God (Copyright, 1940)

LENT 2012

Mass to close the tribunal for the alleged miracle positio

Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, CSC puts on Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s Pectoral Cross before Mass.  The Cross was gifted to him by Sr. Marlene Brownett, SHCJ

Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, CSC signs his name to the official documents before they have to be placed in the box for sealing and shipment to Rome as Patricia Gibson, Chancellor looks on.

Msgr. Jason Gray who headed the tribunal into the inquiry of the alleged miracle, Msgr. Stanley Deptula, Executive Director of the Archbishop Fulton Sheen Foundation, and Msgr. James Kruse, Board Member of the Foundation who helped with interviewing the witnesses examine the box and seal carefully. 

Msgr. Gray looks on as Bishop Daniel Jenky holds his finger in place so Msgr. Deptula can tie the official knot. 

Bishop Jenky prays and watches as Msgr. Gray and Msgr. Deptula carefully melt the wax for the official seal.

Bishop Jenky stamps the wax with the official seal.

Bishop Jenky holds the box up for a round of applause as The Archbishop Fulton Sheen Foundation completes one more step for the Cause of Sheen’s Beatification and Canonization.

Patricia Gibson, Chancellor for the Catholic Diocese of Peoria looks on from the podium where she read the official statement along with Dr. Louis Varela, Board Member who helped with the interviewing of the witnesses and 2^nd from the right Fr. Andrew Apostoli, Vice Postulator of the Cause as Bishop Jenky leads a prayer for the sending of the Alleged Miracle Positio.

Little James Fulton is held up by his mother for a standing ovation at the end of Mass.

Msgr. Jason Gray holds one of the sealed boxes while standing with James Fulton and his family.

Archbishop Sheen’s Pectoral Cross and Ciborium make it back to the Archbishop Fulton Sheen Museum which is located in the Catholic Diocese of Peoria diocesan center.

Dear Friends of Sheen,


These are exciting times and we have some GREAT Sheen events coming up. All are welcome to attend personally or spiritually. As you know we have been working very hard on investigation into the alleged miracle. A special thanks to Msgr. Jason Gray, Msgr. James Kruse and Dr. Louis Varela for conducting all the interviews and working so hard on the paperwork. Do to their hard work we will have a special Mass to close the investigation tribunal on December 11, 2011 at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception here in Peoria. All are welcome to come and be a part of this special occasion. The Mass will start at 10:30am.

Cathedral of St. Mary in Peoria

(Archbishop Fulton Sheen was ordained here)

Also coming up, with a special thanks to Gerri Kearns for arranging things, we will have a special weekend with Archbishop Fulton Sheen on EWTN. Please feel free to attend the EWTN Mass in person or watch on television. The Mass will be Dec 9th and will be for Archbishop Sheen anniversary of his death. Mass to be celebrated by Fr Andrew Apostoli with the Franciscan Friars of the Eternal Word will air live at EWTN Chapel. (7:00 a.m. CST, 8:00 a.m. EST)

EWTN Chapel

5817 Old Leeds Road

Irondale, AL. 35210



Dec 11. Sunday Night Prime host Fr Benedict Groeschel will discuss the Archbishop Sheen documentary and status of Cause of Canonization with guests Msgr. Stanley Deptula and Fr. Andrew Apostoli at 7:00pm EST (6pm CST).



Dec 11. Archbishop Fulton J Sheen, Servant of All movie will be shown on EWTN at 8:00 pm EST (7PM CST)

Daily Mass from EWTN Chapel and Sunday Night Prime also air live on satellite radio

Reference EWTN website for additional info tv/radio schedules

EWTN website www.ewtn.com

I hope that you can watch, attend or listen to some of these events. Please keep all of the above in your prayers as we truly hope to share the life of Archbishop Sheen and the Cause for his canonization with others.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Msgr. Stanley Deptula

Executive Director

WARTIME PRAYER BOOKS

May the Lord give you his peace!

The call to defend one’s country is certainly a vocation of great honor and responsibility.  Indeed, the very nature of their military vocation calls our soldiers to daily sacrifice, and many have paid the ultimate price by giving their lives while fulfilling this service for God and Country.  Certainly Archbishop Sheen understood the important role a soldier has in our society, and he was happy to show his support for the men and women serving in the armed forces.   

The Archbishop was quite aware that along with the physical dangers that soldiers face, there are also very real spiritual battles that are unique to a soldier’s profession. It was in response to these needs that in 1943, he wrote his prayer book for soldiers entitled The Armor of God, which was reprinted as the Wartime Prayer Book. The Archbishop Fulton Sheen Foundation has distributed over 200,000 of these books to our soldiers stationed all over the world. I am convinced that the prayers and reflections of Archbishop Sheen are just as relevant today as they were over 60 years ago. I know that the Wartime Prayer Book has brought guidance, inspiration and peace of soul to tens of thousands of troops who have received them over the years. One of the most exciting blessings that has come about through this campaign is that non-Catholic members of our military are asking for copies of the Wartime Prayer Book as well. 

Your help has made all the difference in the past, but there continues to be so many more men and women who need our support. Our ability to meet these high volume requests is dependent on you, our faithful donors. For example in May we sent 9000 books overseas and they are already out of books and in need of more. We urgently need your help to reach out to our service men and women. By giving these men and women a copy of the Wartime Prayer Book, we show our appreciation for all that they do and for the sacrifices they make. Will you help us arm our young men and women in the military with a powerful weapon for their daily spiritual battles?

“I am not fighting for freedom from something; but for freedom for something: the glorious freedom to call my soul my own and then to save it in cooperation with God’s grace.” (Quoted from Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s Wartime Prayer Book)

May God reward your generosity,

Fr. Andrew Apostoli, C.F.R.
Vice Postulator
Archbishop Fulton Sheen Foundation

$40.00 sends 10 books to our soldiers and $400.00 sends 100 books.  You may mail in a check to the Archbishop Fulton Sheen Foundation or Click here to donate on-line DONATE

Novena September 12-20

For the Novena of Praise and Petition, Msgr. Stanley Deptula, Executive Director of the Archbishop Fulton Sheen Foundation and many other priest-friends of the Cause will be offering nine days of Masses from September 12-20th (Sept 20th is the anniversary of Abp. Sheen’s ordination to the priesthood). These Masses will be offered in thanksgiving for the good work the Lord has already done, as well as to ask His continued blessing on the Cause. Also all those who mailed in intentions, those intentions will be placed on the altar during the Masses.  Please join us in our novena by praying the canonization prayer, which can be found here, on each day of the novena.  If you have not mailed in your petition yet please do before September 12th.  Thank you and as Archbishop Fulton Sheen would say, "God Love you".