Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 3 — The Southern Cross, April 30, 1987
Cardinal Willebrands To Address Ecumenists
BY GRETCHEN REISER
A National Workshop on Christian Unity, expected to at
tract about 400 people from more than 20 denominations,
will be held in Atlanta May 4-7 with a keynote address given
by Cardinal Johannes Willebrands, president of the Vatican
Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity.
Cardinal Willebrands, 77, has been with the unity
secretariat since it was formed in 1960 before the Second
Vatican Council. He was its secretary under Cardinal
Augustin Bea from 1960 to 1969 and became its president in
1969. His keynote address, to be given at 9 a.m. on May 5 at
the Pierremont Plaza Hotel in Atlanta, is expected to be in
troduced by Cardinal Joseph Bernardin of Chicago, who
will be in Atlanta attending the 50th anniversary celebra
tion of the Cathedral of Christ the King.
Archbishop Thomas Donnellan, Bishop Raymond
Lessard of Savannah and Bishop William H. Keeler, chair
man of the U.S. Bishops Committee on Ecumenical and In
terreligious Affairs, are also taking part in the meeting.
Archbishop Donnellan will make one of three presentations
Mixed Reviews
For Fed. Action
On Obscenity
BY SISTER MARY ANN WALSH
WASHINGTON (NC) — The Federal Communications
Commission’s warning to radio and television stations April
16 to curb broadcast of obscene and offensive material has
been greeted with both praise and criticism.
Morality in Media legal counsel Paul J. McGeady ap
plauded the FCC after it urged the Department of Justice to
consider prosecuting a California radio station for broad
casting an allegedly obscene program and issued warnings
to two other radio stations.
But the Rev. Donald E. Wildmon, executive director of
the National Federation for Decency, criticized the FCC
and said its actions were “politically motivated” and “a
cop-out” because the FCC did not use its power to pro
secute.
American Civil Liberties Union legislative counsel Barry
W. Lynn also criticized the FCC and voiced fear its decision
may have a “chilling effect” on broadcasters.
The FCC took aim at areas of broadcasting formerly con
sidered safe by radio programmers — programs aired after
10 p.m. and material that avoids the use of obscene words.
The five-member commission agreed that material
broadcast by Pacifica Foundation Inc.’s KPFK-FM in Los
Angeles containing graphic descriptions of sex acts was in
decent “and may have crossed the line” to obscenity. The
commission voted to refer that case to the Justice Depart
ment for possible prosecution.
The FCC warnings went to Infinity Broadcasting Co.,
owner of WYSP-FM, Philadelphia, and KCSB-FM, at the
University of California at Santa Barbara.
Morality in Media’s McGeady said the FCC “has taken a
180-degree turn from no enforcement in the last 10 years to
full enforcement of the law.”
But he complained that the FCC had implied that there
were some hours when obscenity would be tolerated. He
said Morality in Media, based in New York, would “fight it”
because statutes against obscenity do not contain a time
element.
McGeady also said the FCC actions mark “a new ball
game” not just for “raunch radio” but also for television
stations which broadcast uncut movies rated R —
restricted — because of sexual content.
Mr. Wildmon, a United Methodist minister, said he was
‘skeptical” about how serious the FCC is about curbing
obscenity.
“When I see a prosecution, I’ll believe it,” he said.
The FCC “sounds good,” he said, “but essentially it’s go
ing to do nothing. There won’t be any change in broad
casting until there is a prosecution.”
He predicted the Justice Department will say the matter
is not its concern and send the case back to the FCC, which
he predicted will not prosecute.
The ACLU’s Lynn said broadcast stations may now be
afraid to be “very frank and open about sex” despite the
current “time of crisis with teen-age pregnancy and
AIDS,” acquired immune deficiency syndrome.
He said that the KPFK program which the FCC criticized
was very “graphic” in its description of sexual intercourse
but that the FCC is not supposed to be a “national nanny
determining what everyone can hear.”
on the U.S. bishops pastoral on the economy. He will also in
troduce a main speaker, Dr. Mary Tanner, a British
theologian and Anglican member of the formal Vatican
commission seeking unity between the Anglican and
Roman Catholic communions.
Dr. Tanner is theological secretary for the Board for Mis
sion and Unity of the General Synod of the Church of
England. Her publications include works on Old Testament
studies, ecumenism and Christian feminism.
The theme for the 1987 National Workshop on Christian
Unity is “Reconciled to God in Christ.” It is the 24th annual
meeting of leaders from various denominations in the work
of ecumenism. It is also the simultaneous meeting of
Catholic diocesan directors of ecumenical affairs, who will
be presenting Cardinal Willebrands with an ecumenism
award. Co-hosts for the Atlanta meeting are the arch
diocese of Atlanta, the Christian Council of Metropolitan
Atlanta and the Georgia Christian Council.
The workshop will open Monday night, May 4, with an
ecumenical service of worship at the Lutheran Church of
the Redeemer, Peachtree Street at Fourth Street, Atlanta,
at 7:30 p.m. This service, open to the public, will include
music by the Morehouse College Glee Club and preaching
by Dr. David T. Shannon, professor of Old Testament at the
Interdenominational Theological Center.
During the workshop, Bible study leaders will be Dr. Jac
quelyn Grant from ITC and the Rev. Nancy Sehested,
associate pastor of Oakhurst Baptist Church in Decatur.
Sister Kathleen Tomlin, C.S.J., will give two presentations
on the bishops pastoral on the economy relating to other
denominations and practical strategies for implementa
tion.
A number of other workshops will be held addressing the
spiritual basis of ecumenism, local models for ecumenism,
black church ecumenism and other topics. Full registration
for the conference is $65. One day registration is $15 and a
special student registration is available for full-time
students. Local chairperson is Neal Ponder of the Christian
Council.
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