TV & VIDEO - June 28, 1988

Roman Catholic churchmen are increasingly looking toward TV and cable as a means of spreading their word. A consortium of communications specialists within the church--the Social Communications Commission of the Catholic Bishops Conference and an association of Catholics who already work in electronic media--are proposing a three-year plan to create a national agency to encourage development and distribution of Catholic TV programs. More than a dozen other religious groups are participating in an ecumenical TV network, scheduled to begin operation this fall, but Roman Catholics backed out of participation in such a network in 1985, citing its costs.