Priest takes to the air

The pastor of Immaculate Conception Church in Hoosick Falls launches his talk radio show, "Catholics Today," on 590-AM WROW on Oct. 4 at 6 a.m. The 30-minute program will air each Sunday and focus on issues affecting the Catholic Church.

"It's the only Catholic radio program in this area," Father Cioppa said, adding that with the station's strong signal, the program "has the potential of reaching most of the Catholics in the Albany Diocese."

Father Cioppa decided to pursue "Catholics Today" now that his other radio show, "Church Talk," is enjoying success. A live, call-in show, it began airing several months ago at 8:30 a.m. on Saturdays on WBTN-1370 in Bennington, Vermont.

On the show, he discusses topical issues, such as genetic engineering, and takes calls from listeners; he also includes news reports and asks Catholic trivia questions, with movie passes for people who answer correctly.

"Catholics Today" will be similar to "Church Talk," although it will be pre-recorded on Wednesday afternoons. Ben Patten, an on-air talent who helps with "Church Talk," also will be involved in "Catholics Today."

BY airing his show in the Albany area, Father Cioppa hopes to reach a larger audience.

"We want this to be as far-reaching as possible," he said. "We think it has great potential for exposure."

Father Cioppa plans to discuss such topics as Renew 2000 and Respect Life in the first few weeks. The show will consist mostly of chats with in-studio guests and news regarding the Church.

"We're trying to be topical -- in line with Church teaching yet really talking about the programming of the Church today and what the issues are," he said.

With two radio shows, a teaching position at Southern Vermont College and his responsibilities as pastor of Immaculate Conception, Father Cioppa finds himself rather busy these days.

He hopes that the experience he has gained by hosting "Church Talk" will serve him well in his duties with "Catholics Today" and that the new show will address concerns of Catholics just as well.

"That's really what I'm doing, learning as I go along, but I've just been fortunate because it grew very quickly," he said.

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