CQ CQ CQ – EWTN shut down its shortwave radio service on 31 October. Understandable, but I have some reservations.

There is something splendid about the thought that, somewhere in the dark of night a person with a simple radio could turn a dial and hear a voice crackling across the layers of atmosphere from Rome or Alabama and discover the Catholic Faith.

It has been a while since I have been very active with amateur radio.  The logistics of where I live presents challenges for a decent antenna.   Also, on the digital side – which is really interesting and useful but which is also sort of “cheating” – I don’t have the skills to keep all the different modes we used for ZedNet working together.  We had to depend on one elmer for that.

Old ZedNet participants… drop a line!  Maybe we can kick start our activity again.

That said, we saw some years ago the Holy See shut down some of its shortwave Vatican Radio services, but they still maintain  significant services in many languages.  Now we see that EWTN has ended its own shortwave service, WEWN, after 34 years.   HERE   31 October.  Gone.

The decision is understandable from a financial standpoint. EWTN cites declining listenership, aging transmitters, large maintenance costs, and new digital alternatives.

Nevertheless, something important is now gone.

Shortwave radio can do what the internet can’t.  It can cross national borders without permission from governments, telecoms, internet service providers, or other digital gatekeepers. A relatively inexpensive receiver and a bit of wire can bring a distant voice into an isolated village or a country whose government would prefer that certain things are never heard.  Shortwave transmission can be jammed, of course, and reception is subject to atmospheric conditions. Still, its independence from a local digital infrastructure gives it a strategic value that cannot be measured simply by counting the number of listeners.

That matters particularly for the Church. The Gospel is intended for everyone, including people who don’t have other methods of modern communication or whom political authorities seek to isolate.  WEWN’s English broadcasts served Africa and the Middle East and its Spanish language service reached Latin America (where Protestants are making gains as the Church bleeds members).

A Catholic shortwave station capable of reaching distant continents was precisely the sort of audacious undertaking one associates with Mother Angelica’s boldness, willingness to tackle improbable projects, and confidence in divine Providence.   Of course the flip side involves the virtue of Prudence.   They had to measure the return on their investment in deteriorating equipment for an increasingly small audience.

Still, I have reservations about shutting down such a service.  Sure, newer technology has in effect replaced the advantages of older technology.  Now we have live video streaming, podcasts, mobile apps which reach enormous audiences.  The problem is they all depend on a massive infrastructure which can be interrupted, interfered with, even hijacked.  Shortwave offers a measure of redundancy and independence.

Perhaps it would be possible to preserve some emergency or missionary broadcasting capacity.

I don’t know the state of the question for Protestant shortwave concerns, or those of other false religions.

There is a lesson here beyond EWTN. The Church ought to be wary of becoming entirely dependent upon communication systems controlled by institutions that may not be friendly to the Faith.   New means of evangelization are welcome and they should be exploited. Nevertheless, sometimes an old technology has virtues that become apparent precisely when the new technology fails.

Some results outweigh the cost per listener bottom line.

73

PS: I received a note from AllStar that the recent PHP problems has effected it.  Nodes can be exposed.  This is something that needs attention if you are active on AllStar.

PPS: I was able to connect to our ZedNet Echolink and AllStar Node with my phone!  I’ll keep it on for awhile.

Echolink: WB0YLE-R
AllStar: 28868