CULTURE WATCH : Cardinal Rules

When Cardinal Roger M. Mahony’s office issued a call last January for a stern new film rating code, the tone seemed very threatening in some quarters and the industry reaction was predictably hostile. Images of the Inquisition were practically invoked.

That was then--this is now.

On Wednesday the cardinal, in a pastoral letter to the entertainment industry, disavowed any intention of saddling the film industry with Torquemada-like edicts and instead offered “suggestions” on the need for more “human values” in entertainment.

To say that the industry uttered a collective sigh of relief would be no overstatement. Some industry sources even welcomed some of the suggestions, which set forth general guidelines for the depiction of violence, sex, family life and women in films.

Maybe, but Hollywood is concerned primarily with bottom-line profitability, as is any industry, and isn’t likely to stop making films that, while they do emphasize and exploit sex, violence and women, also make money.

The cardinal, of course, is in the business not of making money but of saving souls. And his is a perspective well worth having. Also worth having was his explicit rejection of censorship. Also worth having--and considering--are his deeply held views.

Contemporary popular culture is not always benign. Movies that exploit every kind of mayhem or songs that advocate violence can deeply upset. Any voice that causes America to consider the responsibility that comes with producing such work or paying for it is of value. The cardinal has done just that.