Dear Thomas:

I was inspired to contact and join the organization Morality in Media in 1976. After I was discharged from the Air Force in 1976 and moved to Wichita Falls, Texas, I organizated the group, Morality in Media of Wichita Falls.

We launched the group by inviting the public and city officials to a meeting about the problem of pornography. This presentation included examples of some of the pornography that our children can see in stores. This was on the local TV news.

Interestingly, a year or two later, I think it was, Keating did the same thing in Dallas. You might have seen that in the movie about Hustler founder, Larry Flint. The presentation by Keating was nearly identical to mine in Wichita Falls, which is about 150 miles from Dallas. I imagine he got the idea from us in Wichita Falls.

We had many successes between 1976-1979. These successes included

1) Forcing a major cable company to block porno channels when cable first came into Wichita Falls. They claimed they could not block a specific channel. One pressure was applied, and their franchise with the city was in jeopardy, all of sudden they found the skill to block the offensive channels.

2) Convincing the National Association of Convenience Stores to remove pornography from their more than 40,000 (at the time) convenience store members. Pornography is like weeds -- they return unless you keep at them. The stores had the pornography back in the stores a few years later.

3) Facilitating the first obscenity conviction in Wichita County history.

4) Organizing the largest picket protest since the 60's over Vietnam, completely surrounding the Tarrant County (Ft. Worth) Convention Center when the nude stage-play, Oh Calcutta, played there. We used the Press Conference to not only deal with the stage play, but to launch a campaign against child pornography. At the time Texas was the 4th largest producer of child pornography in the United States.

5) I revised and improved a piece of legislation, called a "Display Statute", originally written by a friend of mine in Rhode Island, that is effective in dealing with pornography in family-oriented stores such as convenience stores to any state or community enacts and enforces it. It makes it illegal to display porno magazines, even Playboy, on the sales floor. All such magazines had to be kept behind the counter and specifically asked for by the customer. Economists out East said that if we get this Statute passed and enforced in 10 states, it would break the back of the entire porno industry. We did not succeed on that one. This Statute had passed muster by several State Supreme Courts, but we never did get the 10 states.

6) We successfully introduced this "Display Statute" in testimony to the Texas Senate Subcommittee on Child Pornography. I arranged for Father Morton Hill to testify before the committee. Fr. Hill was the President of Morality in Media and member of the Presidential Commission on Pornography and Obscenity, and co-author of the Hill-Link Report to Congress.The Hill-Link Report (which the majority in the committee tried to suppress), was the basis for the Supreme Court's decision of Miller vs. California, which established the standard for the illegality of obscenity.

It was also arranged to bring Victor B. Cline to testify also. Dr. Cline is a major researcher and the author of "Where Do You Draw the Line?:An exploration into media violence, pornography, and censorship" about the effects of violence and pornography on society.

7) Our final effort before disbanding was facilitating the organization of a state-wide organization, Morality in Media of Texas.

At the time I was one of top five or so top experts in the Country on this subject. I was awarded the "Man of the Month" Award from Morality in Media, I think in 1978, for what was accomplished. 

I was one of two finalist for a job working as a consultant on a potential film project about the pornography problem in which the Hollywood director, George Seaton was involved, though I do not remember how he was involved (perhaps a screenwriter). The other guy got that job, though I did provide some information to them. I do not remember the details, but as far as I know that project never got off the ground; Seaton died soon after in 1979 from cancer). Another movie came out in 1979, Hardcore with George C. Scott, which may have been a project derived from the project to which George Seaton worked on, I don't know.

In late 1978, I was up for promotion to be Father Hill's personal assistant. Regretfully, I turned down the job as I was still married with babies and the job would require moving to New York City. I didn't want to raise my kids in New York. A year later my marriage was over. I contacted Father Hill and asked if the job was still open. He told me that he had just filled the job. This is one of my regrets in my life.

I am sure you have heard of AFA (American Family Association). They are a major group today, but back then they were just a secondary group, a sort of up-and-coming competitor to Morality in Media in a sense, but Morality in Media was the premier anti-pornography group at the time.

There are many other things, but this is about all I can remember at the moment.

Father Hill, a Jesuit Priest, was a good friend and colleague. He died in 1985. I praise God that I was able to work with him. It was a great privilege.

Through these experiences, and dealing with own sexual addiction, lead to the forming of the first support group on the Internet for Catholics with sexual addictions in 1998: Catholic Support Group for Sexual Addiction Recovery.

If I ever get around to finishing my "memoirs" I will have a chapter about Morality in Media and my own struggles with pornography addiction.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary