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Pro-life group relocates banquet due to hotel's TV porn |
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By Sue Schulzetenberg - For The Catholic Spirit
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Tuesday, 21 April 2009 |
Just weeks before its annual Culture of Love banquet, Prolife Across America has pulled its reservation at the Radisson Hotel in Roseville and is moving to another location because the hotel offers patrons “pay-per-view” pornographic movies.
Kuharski
The event, still scheduled for May 6, will now be held at St. John the Baptist church in New Brighton. In addition to the last-minute rescheduling and planning, Prolife Across America is also losing $3,000 in cancellation fees.
Mary Ann Kuharski, the organization’s director, said Prolife Across
America’s board of directors supported her decision to cancel after she
learned this year about the pay-per-view offerings from one of the
organization’s supporters.
“For our organization to in any way support that kind of [pornographic
pay-per-view] material is very inconsistent with our position to be
supportive to families and to helpless or vulnerable people,” she said.
Kuharski said she was also disappointed to learn that the Carlson
Corporation, which owns the Radisson, is a contributor to Planned
Parenthood.
She has written letters expressing her objections to both the Radisson Hotel and Carlson Corporation.
Sending a message
The annual banquet was held at the Radisson in Roseville the last three
years. The hotel was in a convenient location, offered an excellent
catering service and was a place where some supporters could spend the
night following the event, Kuharski said.
Father Tom Knoblach, pastor of Holy Spirit, St. Anthony and St. John
Cantius parishes in St. Cloud and a member of the Prolife Across
America advisory board, said he fully supports the decision to change
locations.
“It says that the connections and involvements of corporations matter
to an educated public,” he said. “We have the right to choose our own
involvement with those corporations, to send a message by where we
spend our money and what kinds of alignments we choose.”
Christine Klaesges, a member of the Prolife Across America board of
directors and a parishioner of St. Charles Borromeo in St. Anthony,
said she also supports the decision.
“We’re getting a lot of good feedback,” she said. “It was hard to
change tracks when you’ve got something else set, but now we’re all set
and ready to go, and we’re really happy we changed venues.”
Scott Henning, general manager of the Roseville hotel, said
pay-per-view adult channels are included in a package from the hotel’s
cable provider. He added that offering the movies as a choice for
guests has not been an issue in the past, but the Radisson will now
take another look at its cable contract.
“We have contacted our provider and asked them about it, to see if they
were willing to drop that package with our lineup,” he said. “They may
or may not; if they do not, we may have to play out the term of our
agreement and take a look at it when the new agreement comes into
play,” he said.
Online help
To help consumers, the Web site cleanhotels.com allows people to search and book hotels that do not offer pay-per-view pornography.
About 10,000 to 12,000 hotels are included on the Web site. But the
prevalence of hotels that offer pay-per-view pornography is estimated
to be at least as high.
Chris Myer, who works for a technology company that helps with
cleanhotels.com, said LodgeNet, which is one of the main providers of
premium movie services including, pay-per-view pornography, serves more
than 10,000 hotels in the United States.
He believes that pay-per-view pornography is offered in most of the hotels that use LodgeNet’s services.
“We realize that there are travelers, whether with their families or
traveling for business purposes, who want to stay in a facility that
does not offer the hardcore pay-per-view pornography that many hotels
offer today,” said David Miller, vice president of public policy for
Citizens for Community Values, of which cleanhotels.com is a project.
“Not only do they not want the temptation, they do not want other
guests viewing this type of material and possibly creating a safety
risk for them,” he said.
In addition, many hotel patrons do not want the risk that their
children will accidentally access pay-per-view pornography, he said.
The “Culture of Love” banquet is a fundraiser that brings pro-life
supporters together and builds enthusiasm for the cause. This year, it
will feature a keynote speech by Archbishop John Nienstedt.
Prolife Across America is a non-profit organization that promotes
pro-life messages through billboard, television, radio and newspaper
advertisements.
For more information about Prolife Across America or the banquet, call (612) 781-0410, or visit www.prolifeacrossamerica.org.
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