My local radio STATION PULLS ANTI-POPE AD! And its Rush's channel here!

Radio station pulls anti-Pope ad Posted: Saturday, Apr 09, 2005 - 09:49:41 am PDT By BRIAN WALKER Staff writer Spot on 'wickedness of the Roman Church' aired just twice POST FALLS -- A Spokane radio station yanked an ad Friday placed by a controversial Post Falls minister who compares the Pope to Hitler. KQNT 590 AM decided Friday after two airings to kill the ad, which was read and submitted by Jon Smith, pastor of Post Falls Presbyterian Church. The ad stated: "Isn't it just great that finally all men speak well of the Pope? Well, to tell the truth, no. Jesus said, 'Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way.' "True Protestants still protest the wickedness of the Roman Church. Why? Because Rome mocks the perfect righteousness of Christ." The 60-second spot ran one time each on Thursday and on Friday surrounding the Pope's funeral. It was scheduled to run again after this weekend, said Kosta Panidis, general manager of Clear Channel Radio of Spokane, which owns six stations. Smith said he ran the ad "to warn people not to believe the Pope." "The Pope is the Antichrist," he said. "That is the historic Protestant position." Smith, who said he had full support from his elders and 20 or so members to run the ad, said he submitted the ad close to the Pope's funeral because "that was the best time." Smith was the center of controversy last year for flying a Confederate flag at his Post Falls home. Members at St. George's Catholic Church in Post Falls and St. Thomas and St. Pius X Catholic churches in Coeur d'Alene on Friday said they hadn't heard about the ad and that the priests were gone. When told about the ad, Marcy Woodward, member of St. George's, said: "My response is, 'Bless their hearts anyway.'" In an interview, Smith compared the Pope to Hitler. "This man damned billions of souls," Smith said. "Don't we have the duty to expose such wickedness as that?" Panidis said the decision to pull the ad wasn't about the content, but public concern. "It was purely about a large percentage of our listeners telling us they didn't like the comments, so we have to respond to that," Panidis said. Panidis wouldn't estimate how many calls the station received other than to say, "It was enough to get our attention." Panidis said he doesn't regret running the ad and that the programmers were aware of the content before it ran. "By law, we have to allow reasonable access to any denomination or religious or cultural group," Panidis said. "I ride this very sharp edge of allowing people to express their points of view as long as it's not vulgar, profane or violent, and this wasn't any of those. But I need to be sensitive if my listeners are vocal." Panidis said that after hearing the ad himself, he could see where it could be taken as "inflammatory to people of certain religions." The ad states that Hebrews 10 teaches that Christ offered one sacrifice for all time, having perfected those for whom He died and that Romans 6 says Christ is never to die again. "But the Roman Church says the opposite," the ad states. "You must attend Mass, which is identical with the sacrifice of the cross in which Christ dies again and again. Rome says Christ's righteousness alone will not get you into Heaven; you must add yours and Mary's and the saints' righteousness, and perhaps you will go to Heaven." Besides the public outcry, Panidis said he considered the concerns expressed by Doug Waltar, pastor of Community Presbyterian Church in Post Falls. The churches, though they have similar names, are not affiliated with each other. Panidis said Waltar was the first caller to the station, stating that the churches are separate. "You could see where the confusion comes into play," Panidis said. Waltar said he wants to make clear the position his congregation holds. "As followers of Jesus Christ, we stand together with brothers and sisters around the world who are part of the Christian family," Waltar said. "I personally hold Pope John Paul II in highest regard for his Christian service and vision for peace and justice in our world, and grieve his death." Waltar said he also called area Catholic churches, clarifying that the ad did not come from him or his congregation. He plans to talk to an executive of the church on Monday to see what type of response to the ad, if any, will be taken. "We have deep concerns about the misunderstandings that may result from this radio spot," Waltar said. "I'm glad the public reacted, and they had every right to." Waltar hadn't heard the ad on Friday, but said he was "horrified" by the tone that was communicated to him. Community Presbyterian Church is affiliated with Presbyterian USA Church. Smith said the church he pastors was formerly attached to the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, but currently doesn't belong to a denomination. Smith said he was simply upholding the Presbyterian confession, which states, "There is no other head of the Church, but the Lord Jesus Christ." "If I don't preach this, then I'm denying the confession of faith I vow to uphold," he said. Smith said he was disappointed but not surprised at the decision to stop the ad from running again. "Because they are a privately owned company, they have the right to do that," Smith said. "I just wish they were willing to speak the truth apart from public opinion." Smith said that as of Friday afternoon, he'd received about 10 calls complaining about the ad. "But that's probably nothing compared to what the radio station received," he said. Smith has other radio ads that are running with a similar message, but not pointed specifically at the Pope or the Catholic Church. Panidis has no plans to pull those because they haven't received a backlash from the public. ~~~~~~~Just a little local news from Krazy Karpet Kitten Kountry =^.^= ~~~~