Pete Sheehan | TLIC
Joe Perrone, Mary Kate Goldin, David Milfort and Msgr. Jim Vlaun prepare for a telecast.

Uniondale — For the first time ever, Telecare will provide live television coverage of the U.S. bishops’ annual meeting in Baltimore next month to Catholics across the country.

“We will be carrying the meeting for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and providing live, gavel-to-gavel coverage,” said Telecare head Msgr. James Vlaun. Through satellite, Telecare will send live transmissions to members of the Catholic Television Network (CTN) and other Catholic and non-Catholic television systems.

Msgr. Robert Brennan, diocesan vicar general, and Sister of St. Joseph Mary Alice Piil, director of the diocesan Office of Faith Formation, will serve as commentators along with Msgr. Vlaun. Telecare will also take a dozen staff members for the meeting, scheduled for Nov. 16 to 19.

“This is a great honor for Telecare that the USCCB chose us,” Msgr. Vlaun said. In previous years, Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) has transmitted its coverage of the bishops’ meeting to other Catholic television systems that wished to carry the coverage.

Joe Perrone, Telecare station manager, pointed out that Telecare developed the capacity for satellite transmission only within the last five or six years. Since then, Telecare has featured USCCB officials on its “Everyday Faith Live” show. “They have had the opportunity to see the level of professionalism we provide in our news coverage.”

“We also have good relations with Vatican Television,” Msgr. Vlaun noted, and Telecare’s reputation has spread.

“This is a good year for us to be doing this,” Msgr. Vlaun said. Among the issues to be discussed at this year’s meeting are the new English translation of the Roman Missal, which has been in the works for several years, and a document on reproductive technologies.

In addition to covering the various sessions, Perrone said, Telecare will use the opportunity to educate viewers about the USCCB, “who the bishops are, what the conference of bishops is, why they meet every year, and what it does.”

“We will not just be providing C-Span type coverage,” Msgr. Vlaun said, but helping the viewers understand the issues and the Church’s perspective. “During the papal visit last year,” he noted, “many viewers were watching our coverage instead of the networks because of the depth of understanding that we offer.”
“We’ll also be going a few days early and bringing down a set that we will use for the telecast,” Perrone said. “In addition to the substance of our coverage, we want to provide the highest production values, making it pleasing to the eye as well as the mind.”

Telecare is part of the Catholic Television Network, which includes more than a dozen diocesan television systems, such as Brooklyn, Detroit, Boston, Buffalo, California, and Youngstown, Ohio. It will provide the transmission to CTN members.
For this year, Telecare will also transmit its coverage to other Catholic television systems at their request without cost, Msgr. Vlaun said. “So we are looking for donations to cover our expenses.”