When the Catholic News Service (CNS) wanted a bishop and a priest for a multimedia news series they’re producing, they called the Diocese of Allentown.
On Monday, Bishop Alfred Schlert and Father John Maria were filmed by CNS journalist Chaz Muth who is part of a team producing a multimedia series about the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
The series is a follow-up to a 2019 Pew Research Center Study that revealed nearly seven-in-ten Catholics say they personally believe that during Mass, the bread and wine used in Communion are symbols of the body and blood of Jesus Christ. Just one-third of U.S. Catholics say they believe the Church teaching that during Mass, the bread and wine actually become the body and blood of Jesus.
Bishop Schlert was interviewed, on camera, about the survey and what the Church is doing to flip those results. Father Maria was filmed re-enacting the parts of the Mass where, with the words of the priest, the bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ.
The CNS series will include several articles with photography and video elements. The series is scheduled for publication in late April.