Catholic-owned radio station ends non-Catholic programming

Hartford, Conn., Jun 3, 2008 / 02:41 am America/Denver (CNA).

A Catholic-owned radio station in Connecticut has discontinued most of its non-Catholic programming, which ranged from short inspirational spots to recorded worship services or talk shows produced by various area Protestant and Orthodox churches.

The Hartford Courant reports that the non-Catholic churches had been running their shows on the station for 20 to 30 years.

The Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford, which owns WJMJ-FM, decided to replace the shows with programming from the EWTN Global Catholic Network, according to archdiocesan spokesman Father John Gatzak.

Father Gatzak said the archdiocese decided the radio station should be used for Catholic evangelization.

"We have an obligation to reach out to our Catholic population," Gatzak said. He added that there was concern within the archdiocese that 80 percent of the station’s religious programming has been produced by Protestant organizations.