BishopAccountability.org
	Valley Priest Proves a Hit on Web with Online Videos The Priest Is a Webmaster in the Society of St. Paul By Linda M. Linonis Vindicator [Youngstown OH] February 19, 2007 http://www.vindy.com/content/local_regional/306085911788503.php The Rev. Jeffrey Mickler of Ellsworth doesn't look like a trend-y Internet video star, but he's a hit in cyberspace. The bespectacled 61-year-old Catholic priest of the Society of St. Paul with a white beard, receding hairline and teacherlike demeanor produced and starred in the fifth-most-watched video on Sharkle.com, a free online video-sharing service. He lives at the religious order's residence, commonly referred to as St. Paul's Monastery on U.S. Route 224, west of Canfield. For his effort, he won a first prize of $2,500 for his video commenting on "Warren Jeffs' Arrest and the Limits of Religious Freedom," in the Get Political Contest on Friendster.com. The priest turned over the check to his religious order. A recent count showed that Father Mickler's video on Jeffs had received some 242,969 views on Sharkle.com, which co-sponsored the contest and hosted the videos. All his videos on Sharkle.com have received some 347,277 views. In the Jeffs video, Father Mickler explains why society must put limits on religious freedom but raises the question on where to draw the line. Jeffs was on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted List and was arrested Aug. 28, 2006. Jeffs, president of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was charged with several counts of accomplice to rape and arranging underage "marriages." The Jeffs video is six minutes and 45 seconds long. "That's an eternity by Internet standards," Father Mickler said. In a simple studio with two floodlights and a 12-year-old camcorder, Father Mickler said he makes the videos against a blue background. For the Jeffs video, he inserted an American flag as the background. "My virtual imagination adds the backgrounds," he said. In the Jeffs video, he says that religious freedom isn't without boundaries. He notes that sexual abuse of children is against the law and he doesn't believe someone can claim it's part of their religion to escape being arrested. That video is just one of 45 that Father Mickler has on YouTube, (http://www.youtube.com/fatherjeffrey). He also has videos posted on Google, which have gotten some 26,372 views; on MySpace, 1,724 views; Yahoo, 23,744 views; and AOL, 63,877 views, to name a few other sites. He has some 55 videos altogether. Father Mickler's conversational manner and nonpreachy tone make him a natural on screen. His titles include basic emotions of "Envy," "Greed" and "How to Control Anger." Others have slightly tabloidlike titles of "Madonna, the Cross and the Decline of the West," "JonBenet Ramsey May She Rest in Peace" and "Mark Foley, Morality and Children." Animal lovers will delight in "A Cat and His Priest Explain Suffering and the Mind of God," in which Father Mickler cradles his amiable brown tiger cat, Cheetah, for six minutes. Practical titles address issues such as "Before You Have Sex for the First Time ... A Few Questions" and "College Binge Drinking." In the video about sex, Father Mickler said he poses questions about life experiences ... like buying groceries and paying bills ... that he said his own father asked him. Then he tells his listeners, if you haven't done any of these practical things, then you aren't ready to produce a life and care for a baby. Two responses on the video were from young people who thanked him for his honest approach and practical message. Offering a mix Religious titles are interspersed among the secular offerings. On his YouTube profile, Father Mickler describes himself this way: "Catholic priest provides inspirational, religious and spiritual videos. Contemporary concerns as well as ancient wisdom are provided." He shares some personal information on his interests and hobbies, which are writing, TV and radio production, Internet communications, fishing, martial arts and cats. Father Mickler is the Webmaster for the Society of St. Paul and its vocation office (www.stpauls.us and www.vocationoffice.org). He said that the Society of St. Paul was founded in 1914 in Italy. Father Mickel said the Rev. James Alberione, the founder of the order, instructed his followers "to use the modern means of communications to spread the gospel." Father Mickler said that as the means of communication have evolved, so has the society's use of the press, radio, television and the Internet. The society operates Alba House Communications, which has some 2,000 products, including audio and video tapes and CDs on religious and spiritual themes. Father Mickler has a doctorate in systematic theology from Fordham University and extensive experience in print and religious television and radio programming. "I have a knack for computers," he said of his online ability.
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