Words & Works

P: In a 15,000-word encyclical, Miranda Prorsus (Wonderful Inventions), Pope Pius XII called for the immediate establishment of national committees to judge the moral qualities of radio, television and films. Comparable to the U.S.'s National Legion of Decency, which evaluates only films,* the committees will be guided by the Pontifical Commission for Movies, Radio and Television. Vatican officials say the committees will screen news broadcasts, drama and other entertainment and "compel decent programs" by expressing "forcefully" to broadcasters the public's disapproval of "ether indecency."

P: Opening a drive against gambling, the Massachusetts Council of Churches began distributing a Massachusetts Crime Commission report, which estimates that there are 10,000 bookies in the Commonwealth. The council has scheduled 15 radio and TV programs on which men and women whose .lives have been wrecked by gambling will testify.

P: Questioning the reality of a Roman Catholic claim (TIME, Sept. 16) of 34,563,851 members in the U.S., Catholic Bishop Stephen S. Woznicki of Saginaw, Mich, estimated that no more than 25 million are practicing Catholics, the rest backsliding "fellow travelers" of the church. Said he: "There has been great progress in the physical condition of dioceses, but the spiritual condition is an entirely different question."

*Some condemned by the Legion: The Moon Is Blue, Baby Doll, The Miracle.

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