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CBS News
31-07-2025
- Health
- CBS News
What dying patients teach a hospital Florida chaplain about faith: "When love shows up, God shows up"
The "The State of Spirituality with Lisa Ling" series explores Americans on unique paths in their faith and spirituality journeys. What does it mean to die? It's a question often only contemplated during anguished moments, but it's one Chaplain Joon Park faces every day. Park has been a Christian chaplain at Tampa General Hospital in Florida for more than a decade, working alongside 24 other chaplains of various faiths. He has seen firsthand how in times of crisis, faith often becomes a lifeline for those suffering. "I believe it is a spiritual experience," Park said when asked if death is spiritual. "So much of death involves making meaning of what is happening, questioning our own value of the life that was lived. These are all spiritual and existential things." Around 70% of U.S. adults consider themselves spiritual, meaning they believe in something bigger than themselves, like God or a creator. Randall Lindberg was one of Park's patients during a recent hospital visit. Lindberg had been in and out of the hospital frequently in recent years. "I've been through a lot, but this is the roughest," Lindberg said during his stay. When Park offered to pray with him, Lindberg readily accepted. Asked if his faith had grown stronger through his medical struggles, Lindberg was emphatic: "Absolutely. Because all I've done is prayed. There is no way I could get to this point, to this day, without that faith." Park believes people often turn to spirituality when facing death, but not always in expected ways. "So there are some who pursue spirituality in a way that I need something in this moment that's bigger than the treatment, the medication, the care team, and there are some who are just angry at God," Park said. "I validate both. Because both of these for me are spiritual experiences." Lindberg was surrounded by his family when he died two weeks ago. Shortly before his death, he expressed gratitude that his story of faith was being shared. Park's path to chaplaincy was unexpected. Growing up in Florida, he was an atheist who came from a troubled home. "Having grown up in a very tumultuous and, unfortunately abusive household," Park said. "I wanted to enter a calling where I could be that voice, the hand, heart ears, to be able to be present to someone's story, their pain, their grief." As a teenager, Park became involved with a local Korean church that needed a drummer for their band. When he asked if his atheism was a problem, they welcomed him anyway. "What brought me towards faith was the love of this small church, this supernatural love," Park said. Now, having held thousands of hands on death beds, Park has learned that even with faith, not everything makes sense. "We do live on a world of extreme unthinkable, unfair suffering. And on the other hand, we live in a world of the possibility of love covering pain," Park said. "I as a chaplain sit at the intersection of my patients and their extreme suffering and my love for them, my care for them, our care for them, in some way representing or reflecting the love of God." For Park, the hospital has become a sacred space. "I am more likely to find God in the hospital and in the hallways here than maybe even a church," he said. "For me when love shows up, God shows up."
Axios
08-07-2025
- Business
- Axios
Scoop: CNN relaunches FAST channel with original, live programming
CNN last week quietly relaunched a new and improved version of its free, ad-supported (FAST) streaming channel called CNN Headlines, sources familiar with the effort told Axios. Why it matters: The service, which is completely separate from CNN's cross-platform streamer launching this fall, gives the company more inventory to sell video advertising to a wider array of marketers. It also expands CNN's reach across digital platforms. CNN is soon expected to name a new anchor specifically for live programming on the channel. State of play: CNN Headlines has existed as a curated, breaking news video service for years. But the product was rudimentary, mostly running clips that have already aired on its cable network through an automated playlist. Over the past few months, CNN has beefed up CNN Headlines with more live and original programming that it can use to capture data about viewership habits and engagement. It started producing two hours of a new, live, original show called "CNN Headline Express" at 7 a.m. and 11 a.m. ET, exclusively for the channel. The shows have been anchored by a rotating cast of fill-in anchors as the soon-to-be-announced anchor is hired and gets settled. CNN Headlines is available on CNN's website, as well as some smart TV providers and streaming services, such as Amazon Prime Video and Pluto TV. But distribution is still limited. It is not yet available, for example, on Apple TV. Zoom out: Over the past few years, more news networks have started to experiment with their own FAST channels in the U.S., putting pressure on CNN to improve its offering domestically. NBC News Now offers 24/7 live breaking news coverage, with specialized shows and anchors. CBS News 24/7 also offers live, breaking news video and original programming with specialized anchors and talent. Between the lines: CNN launched an international FAST channel called CNN Fast in 2023. That channel is being renamed CNN Headlines to match the relaunched domestic channel. CNN also launched a FAST channel called CNN Originals last year that features its original news documentary shows such as "Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown," "This is Life with Lisa Ling" and "The Wonder List with Bill Weir." The big picture: The revamped CNN Headlines channel is part of a sweeping overhaul of CNN's streaming and video efforts. CNN plans to debut a new, cross-platform streaming service that will be tied to its new subscription product this fall. CNN's existing cable customers will have free access to that new service. The company also plans to launch a new app called "CNN Weather" by the end of the year. The app will be available for free to start, but it's expected to eventually be paywalled. Zoom out: CNN's new package of streaming products is meant to bring CNN into the digital era at a more modest upfront cost. CNN launched a subscription streaming app, CNN+, in 2022, only to have new owners Warner Bros. Discovery shutter it weeks after launch. WBD killed the app fearing the network spent too much ($300 million) to launch the service without a quick enough plan for a return on investment. What to watch: CNN currently runs a curated live programming feed on Max, the streaming service owned by its parent company.
