(KMZA)--A long running Catholic ministry comes to the an end, as the Catholic Way radio program goes silent.
Hosted by Mark Oppold, and featuring special guests such as the Archbishop, the program has been heard locally each Sunday morning on radio station KMZA 92.1 FM.
Oppold says the Catholic Way, on the air for over a decade, has been funded through the Call To Share ministry fund, as decided by the Archbishop. However, as the Archdiocese fiscal year came to a close June 30th, it became clear that the Catholic Way could no longer be a priority project. “Archbishop Naumann is the gatekeeper of all the people who give generously to the Archbishop's Call To Share, and there's a, gosh, we have a long lost list of several pages of ministries. With the economy and the way our social structure, the attacks on marriage and family, there's just much much more demand on putting those precious dollars where Archbishop feels they need to be.”
Oppold says the Catholic Way radio ministry began as a way to reach Catholics based in rural communities, and he, and the Archbishop, have enjoyed the opportunity to provide the weekly program. “The whole idea of [then] Archbishop Keleher was to, among other things, reach the people in those rural parishes...they don't have large staffs...so we started that half-hour show 10, 12 years ago, and it gave us a chance to have the Archbishop's voice on every Sunday. Archbishop Naumann came in as Archbishop Keleher became emeritus, he liked the idea and wanted to continue as well, and has been very supportive of the program.”
Oppold says the decision to end the Catholic Way was not easy, and thanks the listeners of many years for their support.