The country's only Catholic TV channel has released a first compilation CD of songs from a talent contest for Christian youth in the country. The album Jesus Tides Over, with tracks from the show Rising Stars, was launched at a second-anniversary event for Catholic TV at St. Francis Church in Lahore. Bishop Sebastian Shah of Lahore said it was an important event. “The (Catholic TV) team deserves support and encouragement for bringing up new talent. The album is of liturgical importance and will be equally beneficial for faithful and non-church goers,” he said after unveiling the audio and video CDs. Lack of finance had delayed the production for five years, said Capuchin Father Morris Jalal, parish priest of St. Francis Church and the channel’s executive director. “We are running without outside funding. Also I was transferred to another parish and had to regroup.” The album has 12 spiritual tracks running over one hour. Peace and thanksgiving are its major themes. Faisal Pervaiz, 22, who sang four songs on the album, said Rising Stars gave him a career in the music industry. Together with his sister, Pervaiz has worked for several channels as a backing singer and now earns about 30,000 rupees (US$ 350) per month. It was a rough start. “I was in grade 10 when I joined the Church sponsored music competition. Without a vehicle or a job, I spent thousands on tuk-tuk travel for recordings,” said the youth. Rising Stars has run for two seasons in five years. The winner of season one now works as a musician in a five-star hotel.