"Radio in general is an intimate medium," he said. "It lends itself to the most intimate of all relationships, that of the Creator of the Universe and creatures he loves above all. EWTN Radio is geared toward establishing, building, nurturing and ultimately sharing that relationship."
Williams said EWTN programming has a spiritual role in a crisis like the coronavirus pandemic.
"Crisis can weaken the soul. If we're not there, especially in time of crisis, the door is wide open for the evil one to gain a foothold in the lives of those enduring the crisis," he said.
He also emphasized the benefits EWTN Radio listeners find.
"We hear from people at every stage of their pilgrimage here on earth, from the unchurched to the non-Catholic to the fallen away Catholic," Williams said. "Our programming has the potential to speak a word of encouragement to anyone at any stage."
"We evangelize the non-believer and fallen away Catholic, catechize and encourage the Catholic faithful and hopefully spur them on to lives of heroic virtue according to their individual state in life," he added.
For Williams, the programming will help show "that regardless of how secular the culture becomes or how much the human family turns their back on God, the truth about Him and the necessity for recourse to Him is written within the human heart."
"Sadly, it all too often takes great tragedy before we'll acknowledge that truth," he told CNA.
The format change will remain in place until the coronavirus crisis diminishes.
Besides the EWTN Mobile App and EWTN website, EWTN radio services are available on SiriusXM Satellite Radio Channel 130, iHeart Radio, and 380 AM and FM radio station affiliates. EWTN Radio is available on TuneIn Radio Apps, Roku, Amazon Fire, YouTube and Facebook as well as streaming platforms like Apple TV, Amazon Echo and Google Play.
EWTN Global Catholic Network is now in its 38th year. Its 11 global TV channels are broadcast in multiple languages to over 300 million households in more than 145 countries and territories.
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Its news services include Catholic News Agency and the National Catholic Register. Its book division is EWTN Publishing.
Kevin J. Jones is a senior staff writer with Catholic News Agency. He was a recipient of a 2014 Catholic Relief Services' Egan Journalism Fellowship.