Media Notes

As its re-christened competition to the south prepares for launch tomorrow, kudos to Boston's Catholic TV on their latest coup: the weekly broad/streamcast of Sunday Mass from one of the Stateside church's most beloved temples, the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at Notre Dame.

Coming soon to the Dome -- and its televised liturgy: the prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints Archbishop Angelo Amato SDB; the former CDF secretary/B16 confidant (and red-hat in waiting) is due in South Bend next month to deliver a major address on Christianity and secularism in Europe. For the Irish, that's quite the coup in itself.

On a related intra media note, last month Sirius Satellite Radio's (Ratzi-applauded) Catholic Channel more than doubled its audience by making its debut on XM -- a fruit of the recently-closed merger between the two sat-rad providers.

Despite being better-known for its infinitely more controversial lead offering (hey now), Sirius has invested heavily in the joint venture with the archdiocese of New York, which marked its second anniversary on-air last week. And now, fresh off its creator's papal knighting, the channel's frontman -- dubbed "Lino Unruly" by the boss -- is off to the Eternal City again for a week of shows live from the studios of Vatican Radio.

As ever, the three-day preview's up and running for anyone keen to plug-in.

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