EWTN's Father Benedict Joseph Groeschel Dies

By Greg Richter
Newsmax
October 5, 2014

http://www.newsmax.com/US/Groeschel-Franciscan-friar/2014/10/05/id/598678/

Franciscan Father Benedict Joseph Groeschel, longtime host on Eternal Word Television Network and founder of Community of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal died Friday at age 81 after an extended illness, National Catholic Register reports.

"We are deeply saddened by the death of Father Benedict. He was an example to us all," Father John Paul Ouellette of the Friars of the Renewal, said in a prepared statement. "His fidelity and service to the Church and commitment to our Franciscan way of life will have a tremendous impact for generations to come."

Groeschel was ordained as a priest in the Detroit Capuchin province in 1959. He was an author and retreat master and was a host and guest on various EWTN programs for a quarter of a century.

He and seven other Capuchin friars founded the Community of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal in New York City in 1987. He also founded St. Francis House and Good Counsel Homes and was chaplain at Children’s Village in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.

"All of us at EWTN were saddened to learn of the passing of Father Benedict Groeschel, CFR. Father Benedict played an enormous role in the work of EWTN, hosting numerous programs and being a frequent guest on the Network for nearly three decades," said Michael Warsaw, chairman and chief executive officer of EWTN. "Like Mother Angelica herself, Father Benedict was an iconic presence on EWTN. His gray beard and Franciscan habit were known to Network viewers around the world and he had a profound impact on the lives of countless individuals."

"He poured himself out for others no matter what the cost — and sometimes the cost to him was very great. To have known him was to have been helped by him and even loved by him," the Community of the Friars of the Renewal said in a statement. "Our CFR family and everyone who knew him received an enormous amount from Father Benedict — probably more than we were ever able to give back. It was not simply his wealth of wisdom and knowledge from which many benefited. It was his profound faith and equally profound love, two gifts that he never failed to share generously."

Groeschel was severely wounded when he was hit by a car in 2004. The priest, then 70, made an unexpected recovery and returned to work.

He stopped hosting EWTN's "Sunday Night Prime" in 2012 after making controversial statements in the National Catholic Register that the minor is "the seducer" in many sexual abuse cases and that some abusers should not be jailed on their first offense "because their intention was not committing a crime."

He apologized for those comments, as did members of his religious community, the Register and EWTN, "who stressed that the priest’s physical health and mental clarity were both declining, noting that his comments did not reflect his life’s work," the Register noted.