Editor's Report

Things Are Happening at the Sheen Center

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At the dedication ceremonies for the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Center for Thought and Culture, Cardinal Dolan gave a stirring address that harkened to the communications skills and influence of its namesake while likening that first night to “an opening pitch” for the new center’s potential.

That was back in September, and with baseball season upon us, it seemed like an appropriate time to check in on the center’s progress just about six months later. The timing is fortuitous in another respect as the Sheen Center has hired a new executive director, William Spencer Reilly, who was marking eight weeks on the job when I interviewed him at the center’s Bleecker Street location in Lower Manhattan late last month.

After Reilly led me on a quick tour of the newly renovated facility, we settled to chat in the balcony seating of the Loreto Theater, a 293-seat gem. He quickly said that the one word in the center’s name that jumped out at him was “thought.” That revelation might sound odd coming from someone whose background is filled with credits in theater and television work but it made a lot of sense when he proceeded to explain.

Crediting Cardinal Dolan for the inclusion of the word, Reilly said the nurturing of an atmosphere of thoughtful, civil conversation on important issues is crucial at this moment in time precisely because there is so little of it in the prevailing culture.

“It was a very smart move for the obvious reasons,” he said.

Looking uptown for a comparison, he cited the success of the 92nd Street Y and said it could serve as a sort of model for what he was trying to achieve in the area of symposia, lectures and intelligent conversation.

Right now, Reilly is not alone when he says that Catholics don’t get a fair shake, and he aims to have the Sheen Center play a part in offering a fresh dynamic that could surprise some people.

“There are so many giants who need a platform that are not given it in the media,” he explained. “We’ll be able to provide it.”

Reilly’s background suggests more than a passing familiarity with the areas of which he was speaking. For a dozen years, until 2011, he worked with Odyssey Networks, formerly known as Faith and Values Media. He was originally hired as an executive producer before being promoted to vice president of television production and then executive vice president of creative strategies, production and partnerships.

Further back, he spent six years apiece as executive director of the Tribeca Performing Arts Center at Manhattan Community College and as program director of the American Theatre Wing.

He also served as executive director of the sesquicentennial celebration of Fordham University and executive producer of the golden jubilee of The Christopher Awards.

Things are starting to percolate at the Sheen Center. On March 27, the evening I was there, there was a screening of a powerful 55-minute film, “The Heart of a Murderer,” which showed an unusual and inspiring path of repentance and reconciliation between a Hindu fanatic and the family of a nun he murdered. A panel presentation followed featuring the film’s director and a priest who served as an agent of mercy and forgiveness in the real-life story told by the film.

On Monday, April 20, and Tuesday, April 21, the Sheen Center will host a reading with actors and jazz piano music of “Mr. Blue,” the first adaptation of the American classic novel. Complimentary tickets are available at www.sheencenter.org.

When I left Reilly a couple of weeks ago, he promised that the best was yet to come. In fact, he said he was working on a vision statement that would offer a serious plan for whats and whys at the Sheen Center in the next few years. Sounds like a promising development, which we await eagerly.