Rediscovering Fulton Sheen
On the demonic, the reality of evil, and the broader legacy of a soon-to-be Blessed
Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen will soon be Blessed Fulton Sheen. This is a time to rejoice and celebrate this towering American Catholic. With the renewed interest in his life and thought, I revisited Episode 56 of Good Distinctions where I spoke with Fr. Dave Tomaszycki on his reconstruction of Sheen’s unfinished book On the Demonic. It was a fantastic conversation and I welcome you to listen to it!
Fulton Sheen was not interested in sensational stories about the devil. His concern was with the reality of evil and the ways in which modern people (ourselves included) misunderstand it. Evil and good are not equal forces locked in a cosmic battle. Rather, good is the real thing and evil is a hole where there ought to be a whole. God creates, Satan manipulates. Put a bit more technically, God is the author of being, whereas evil has no positive ontological existence of its own.
The demonic represents a dimension of evil that cannot be reduced to psychology, politics, or sociology. Sheen says that modern man tends to deny or domesticate evil. At one extreme, evil becomes psychological or social. At the other extreme, discussions of the devil become sensationalistic. Sheen’s view is the Catholic both/and, the middle position in which evil is real, personal, moral, and ultimately spiritual.
Contemporary culture remains fascinated by evil and often rejects traditional accounts of it. Sheen’s analysis raises the question: what happens when we lose the category of the demonic? Interestingly, Sheen never finished this book. As part of his dissertation work, Fr. Tomaszycki reconstructed it. He remarks in our conversation that if Sheen never finished it, perhaps he wasn’t meant to. The timing of Emmaus Road’s publication seems providential. At any rate, as remarkable and substantial as Sheen’s television preacher reputation was, his legacy is broader.
Soon-to-be-Blessed Fulton Sheen’s relevance is not in giving us a catalog of demonic activity, but in reminding us that Christian theology cannot adequately account for evil if it leaves the spiritual dimension out of the picture. As he moves towards beatification, this is just one reason among many that his thought deserves renewed attention. Fulton Sheen was a veritable force in the broadcasting world, a local ordinary, a priest of God, and an insightful author and a bright intellect. His legacy is still being built.
If you haven’t already, listen to Episode 56 of Good Distinctions with Fr. Dave Tomaszycki.
For reading, start with On the Demonic.
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