Fr. James Bertram Reuter Jr., SJ died Monday afternoon. He was 96 years old.
According to CBCP News, Reuter reportedly had a mild stroke four days ago. He passed away on Monday at 12:51 p.m. at the Our Lady of Peace Hospital in Paranaque City.
Reuter was known for using mass media to educate citizens and spread the teachings of the Catholic Church.
He received numerous citations for his work, including an award from the late Pope John Paul II for “Outstanding Service to the Catholic Church in the field of Mass Media”.
He was also given the 1989 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts.
According to the citation for Reuter at the presentation ceremonies of the Ramon Magsaysay Awards, Reuter, an American, was initially assigned to the Philippines when he was a young religious scholastic.
In 1941, he directed his first stage play and wrote scripts for a Catholic radio program. After his ordination in 1946, he returned to the Philippines and taught in Ateneo de Naga and Ateneo de Manila.
Recognizing the importance of mass media, he helped set up Radio Veritas and struggled to keep Catholic radio stations alive during the Martial Law.
Aside from being a renowned playwright, educator, and media man, he once served as executive secretary of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Commission on Social Communications and Mass Media.
He was named an honorary citizen of the Philippines in 1984 by the Batasang Pambansa for his work in the country training artists and leaders in the country.
Reuters hosted “Family Rosary Crusade," a show which was aired on ABS-CBN.
source: abs-cbnnews.com
