Deacon Larry Sousa

Dedicated Catholic radio station coming soon? reprinted from Deacon News, June 2006

You are driving down Northwest expressway. You turn on your car radio and the voice you hear is asking, “Why can’t priests be married?”

As you listen, you hear a very confident reply giving a complete and understandable explanation of the Church’s position on celibacy.

The program you have been listening to is “Catholic Answers Live,” an informative daily twohour program which originates in San Diego.

The above scenario might be possible very soon if the new ministry of Oklahoma Cathol ic Broadcasting finds enough support from the clergy and laity of the Archdiocese. Formed last January, Oklahoma Catholic Broadcasting, Inc. is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3), organization. The purpose of the organization’s ministry is to bring authentic Catholic programming back to the airwaves of Central Oklahoma.

Up until about a year ago, there were several hours of daily Catholic programming available on local station KTLR. When the station went over to new management in April 2005, the new manager decided to drop the entire slate of local and national Catholic programming in lieu of seeking more profitable broadcasts.

Deacon Larry Sousa and Mr. Jeff Finnell decided to do something about that by forming the new broadcasting ministry. The board of directors for OCB includes Deacon Larry Sousa, Jeff Finnell, Fred Pope, Brian Dobry, Doug Stafford, Ray Dyer, and Father Shane Tharp.

The ultimate goal is to purchase and own a local radio station which will be entirely dedicated to producing Catholic programming that will inspire, instruct, and enrich, not only the Catholic community, but, also those interested in knowing more about the ways and the truths of our Church.

The immediate goal of OCB is to gradually restore national and locally produced programs on radio, television, and on the Internet. The success of this ministry will obviously depend on the support of the laity and clergy of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City.

If you would like to participate in this ministry, contact Deacon Sousa at 405-366- 7590 or at lsousa@cox.com. The website address is okcatholicbroadcasting.com. Deacon Larry Sousa