Catholicism aired: Radio show examines complexities of faith

Stacy J. Willis

Friday, April 13, 2001 | 11:03 a.m.

Apriest and a guy wearing a Notre Dame T-shirt are sitting in front of microphones in a back room at Prince of Peace Catholic Church, waiting for their cue.

When the sound engineer -- a Jewish man sipping coffee -- gives the signal, a brief riff of synthesized pop music fades out, and the radio show begins.

"Good morning and welcome to 'Our Catholic Faith,' " says Don Jaye, a lifelong Catholic, graduate of the Catholic university and a Las Vegas broadcasting personality.

"A lot of people -- even Catholics -- don't understand all of the elements of Catholicism," Jaye says. "And so we are going to examine the faith closer."

The radio show, which began earlier this year, airs on KNXT-AM 840 at 6:30 a.m. Sunday mornings and addresses topics ranging from sainthood to parochial education.

"I've had this idea for eight years," Jaye, a member of the Knights of Columbus Catholic fraternal order, said. "I just thought it would be a good idea because Catholicism is a faith that is rich in tradition -- sometimes complicated tradition."

On this Good Friday Catholics and Christians of all denominations are preparing to celebrate the core of their faith -- the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Christians will celebrate Easter this Sunday -- some at sunrise church services and others by courting the Easter Bunny and hiding colored eggs in the yard.

The bunny-and-egg traditions did not arise from Christianity, but from folklore.

Christians need to be reminded, says the Rev. Francis Timoney of Prince of Peace, that Easter is about more than the bunny.

"Jesus is called the lamb of God because he forfeits his own human life for the life of all mankind," Timoney said during the taping of one of 50 episodes of the radio show.

According to the New Testament, Jesus of Nazareth was crucified by the Romans and three days later arose from the dead, on what is now known as Easter Sunday.

His resurrection is regarded as authentication of his role as the Son of God and revealer of the kingdom of God, as well as a call to spread his spiritual teachings.

And that, Jaye says, is why the Knights of Columbus decided to produce "Our Catholic Faith."

"It's not meant to make people convert to Catholicism or anything like that. It's an educational program," Jaye said. "We hope people learn from it. "

The Knights of Columbus was founded in the late 1800s by a priest who wanted a group to fight anti-Catholic discrimination.

There are 33 Knights of Columbus chapters in Nevada.

For upcoming shows, Jaye is interviewing a host of priests from the community on a variety of topics: where the tradition of the rosary started, the lives of nuns and monks today, myths of Catholicism, celibacy and chastity, and a show on each of the seven sacraments.