The Message -- for Catholics of Southwestern Indiana
-- Taking the time to make a difference--
A family approach to movies and
"Cut the grass now. You can
watch television later." That's
what my dad used to say to me.
He said it more than once, I
remember. I thought it was such a
ridiculous statement -- didn't he
know that the same programs
would not be on later?
After all, I thought, the grass
is not going anywhere. If anything,
there will be more of it. The pro-
grams I wanted to see on television
would be gone forever, if I did not
see them right now.
Television programs are im-
mediate, instantaneous things, I
thought. Grass is long-term stuff, bordering on the
eternal and no fun at all to watch.
That was when I was a child, before just about
every home had a VCR or two, and before cable
channels started running re-runs of popular pro-
grams over and over.
Today, you can rest assured that the same pro-
grams will be on later. Before or after you cut the
grass, or do whatever else you want you to do.
Television and video stores now provide an al-
most unlimited selection for viewing. The impor-
tant decision for a family to make is not necessar-
ily, "When?" but What?"
Not too many years ago, movies in the theater
used to be a lot more user-friendly. You could come
By PAUL
R. LEINGANG
EDITOR
into the theater in the middle of a
movie, stay to the end, wait a few
minutes for the next showing and
watch the beginning.
With movies •available on tape,
you can schedule your own continu-
ous showing -- if you want. You're
in control, if you want to be.
Most families say they want to
be.
The Catholic Communications
Campaign recently issued five tips
to help families make good viewing
decisions.
• Decide what your limits are.
The idea here is to have a family
discussion about what types of movies you will
allow in your life. Decide, ahead of time, what rat-
ings, what subject matter, what values are appro-
priate or inappropriate.
• Weigh the ratings. The Motion Picture Asso-
ciation of America rates movies as G, PG, PG-13,
R, and NC-17. The United States Catholic Confer-
ence rates movies as A-I, A-II, A-III, A-IV and O.
Pay attention to the ratings before you make a de-
cision.
• Schedule family viewing time. Don't always
send the kids to one movie while the parents go to
another. Don't always send the kids to their rooni
to watch a program while you watch TV in the
family room or the bedroom. Discuss the values
and messages of what you
• Consider Biblical stories. Such films
bring Scripture to life.
• Tell theater operators and
managers what you think m when you are
fled and when you are pleased with
and programming. * : :i
• *
What the Catholic
is encouraging families to do fits
method used by the Christian Family
It's called Observe-Judge-Act.
Whether you are selecting a movie
to improve your community, the methc •
sense.
Observe the world around you.
tion about the movies or the television series.
Judge in the light of Gospel
decision about values and messages
movie and decide if that is what Jesus
Act. Support a movie with good values,
age TV stations to carry programs
Values. Avoid movies and programs you
sive -- and don't be afraid to tell the
charge about your decisions.
Observe, judge and act -- as a family.
Questions and comments are welcome at
Christian Family Movement, P.O. Box 272, Aries,:
Iowa 50010.
News Roundup
Catholic, Christian leaders welcome pope's call for unity ....
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- can be mutually shared," it Sint" May 30 as "an urgently National Conference of In addition to the
Pope John Paul II's encyclical
calling for further steps in ecu-
menism brought words of wel-
come from Catholic and Chris-
tian leaders worldwide.
"U Unum Sint" ("That All
May Be One") "clearly demon-
strates a strong commitment to
ecumenism by the pope and,
through him, the Roman
Catholic Church," said a World
Council of Churches statement
June 1.
In the encyclical, released
May 30, the pope said the
unity of all Christians is God's
will and is at the heart of the
mission Christ entrusted to his
followers. As a concrete sign of
his commitment to Christian
unity, the pope also called for a
new discussion of the authority
and ministry of the pope.
The WCC praised the en-
cyclical's "strong theology of
baptism, which provides a
foundation for the fellowship
we already share."
The encyclical recognizes
"that different religious tradi-
tions have special gifts which
lal
The MESSAGE
4200 N. Kentucky Ave.
Evansville, IN 47711
Weekly newspaper of the
Diocese of Evansville
Published weekly except last week in
December by the Catholic Press of
Evansville
PVotisher .............. Bishop Gerald A. Gettelfinger
Editor ............................................ Paul Leingang
Produc'tion Manager .................... Amy Housman
Adving..,._: ............................. Paul Newland
Staff Wn ............................. Mary Ann Hughes
Address all communications to P.O.
Box 4169, Evansville, IN 47724-0169
Subscription rate:
$15.00 per year
Single Copy Price: $50
Entered as 2nd class matter at the post
office in Evansville, IN 47701. Pub!ica-
tion number 843800.
Postmaster: Return POD forms 3579
to Office of Publication
1995 Press of Evansv
added.
The role of the papacy "will
need careful consideration," it
said.
The pope acknowledged that
the papacy "constitutes a diffi-
culty for most other Chris-
tians," and he apologized for
times when the exercise of
papal authority brought pain
to other Christians.
Since the bishop of Rome
must ensure the unity of the
church, his primacy must in-
clude real power and authority
or it "would be illusory," he
said.
"The communion of the par-
ticular churches with the
church of Rome and of their
bishops with the bishop of
Rome is -- in God's plan -- an
essential requisite of full and
visible communion," he said.
Cardinal Edward I. Cassidy,
president of the Pontifical
Council for Promoting Chris-
tian Unity, detailed the origins
of papal primacy during a May
30 press conference.
"When in a church or be-
tween churches there were
problems or disputes, they
went to Rome to ask the bishop
for mediation and eventually,
if it was necessary, to make a
decision in order to maintain
the unity of communion," Car-
dinal Cassidy said.
Bishops, nominated by their
local churches, would request
communion with the bishop of
Rome, he added. "And when
the bishop of Rome accepted
that bishop into communion,
all of the churches automati-
cally accepted that bishop in
communion .... This was an es-
sential part of his primacy, to
bring unity."
In other reaction to the docu-
ment, the Rev. Joan Brown
Campbell, general secretary of
the National Council of
Churches, praised "Ut Unum
important study document for
all Christians of our age."
"In these days in which reli-
gious differences are often ex-
ploited and exacerbated, Pope
John Paul II re-asserts the im-
portant contribution ecu-
menism offers to the establish-
ment of peace," she said.
"His own tireless efforts for
peace are an example to all of
the close relationship between
Christian unity and the pur-
suit of peace."
A Church of England state-
ment issued jointly May 30 by
the office of Anglican Arch-
bishop George Carey of Can-
terbury and the Anglican
Church's Council For Christian
Unity hailed the encyclical.
"At a time when there is
growing impatience with the
ecumenical movement and a
tendency to give up on the
search for visible unity, this
urgent call by the pope to con-
tinue along a 'path which is
difficult yet full of joy' encour-
ages us to continue with
greater determination," it said.
"We pledge ourselves to face
with the Roman Catholic
Church those remaining mat-
ters of difference hinted at in
the text. In particular we look
forward to exploring more
deeply the ministry of unity
which belongs to the bishop of
Rome, in the light of the work
currently being undertaken by
the Second Anglican-Roman
Catholic International Com-
mission."
Pope John Paul is "confident
that the progress will continue,
that we should continue on the
path that we have begun on,
and that this quest for full
unity among Christians will,
he is convinced, succeed," said
Father John F. Hotchkin, exec-
utive director of the Secre-
tariat for Ecumenical and In-
terreligious Affairs of the
Catholic Bishops.
"I think everyone will agree
with his emphasis on prayer as
the soul of the ecumenical
movement and the importance
of common prayer," Father
Hotchkin said.
"His praise of common ser-
vice is something that many
people can witness locally in
their neighborhoods. His em-
phasis on promotion of the
Bible is certainly something
that can't be contested."
The pope said the desire for
unity should not put difficult
questions on the back burner.
"To uphold a vision of unity
• which takes account of all the
demands of revealed truth does
not mean to put a brake on the
ecumenical movement," he
said. "On the contrary, it
means preventing it from set-
tling for apparent solutions
which would lead to no firm
and solid results."
of papal pri
must still be
areas in order to
unity, the pope said.:
They include
the Eucharist,
sacrament, church
Mary, the
the pope and
what he called
between "sacred
the highest
ters of faith, and
tion, as
terpretation o
GOd."
The pope
Unum SinC
eryone to renew
mdnt to work for
ble communion
specific exhort
world's Catholic
especially m
mission and
Christian
Bishop's sched
The following activities and events are listed
schedule of Bishop Gerald A. Gettelfinger "
21; 4 p:m,
Sarto
