HARTFORD – At a May 21meeting with 19 Protestant and Orthodox radio program producers, Father John P. Gatzak, who is assisting with format changes at WJMJ radio, announced that the Bloomfield-based  Catholic radio station was becoming an affiliate of the global Catholic network EWTN.

The affiliation began June 1.

Father Gatzak, who is director of the archdiocesan Office of Radio and Television (ORT), said in an interview with The Catholic Transcript that the station is not phasing out Protestant programming, “but

we are affiliating with EWTN and much of the time is going to be devoted to EWTN.”

EWTN (Eternal Word Television Network) is a Catholic-themed broadcasting network started in

1981 and based in Irondale, Ala.Its Web site states that it broadcasts 24 hours a day to more than 123

million homes in 140 countries and territories. EWTN launched a free, satellite-delivered AM/FM radio network in 1996 to stations worldwide.

EWTN programming is free, but costs would come from satellite reception and transmission, Father

Gatzak said. Asked what those costs would be, he said, “We’re working on that.”

Father Gatzak attempted to allay fears about format changes at the station, which has always included programming by other faiths.

“We will make opportunities for Protestant programming”other than worship services per se, he said.

He said that Archbishop Henry J. Mansell earlier this year decided to take a closer look at WJMJ’s programming and to find ways to use it to better serve the Catholic community.

He said the Archbishop asked him to assist station manager John Ellinger and to oversee format

changes at WJMJ.

WJMJ-FM began in 1976 as a Catholic station owned and operated by the Archdiocese of Hartford

and open to the ecumenical mission of the Church. “It’s always been a Catholic radio station,”

Father Gatzak said.

But, he added, “Close to 80 percent of the religious programming on WJMJ has been Protestant and

Orthodox programming.”

He said a committee was formed at his meeting with Protestant and Orthodox programmers to explore

the possibilities of ecumenical programming. But this would not include the airing of one worship

service after another. “That’s cafeteria-style programming,” he said.

Rather, he would like to see discussions of differences in worship, doctrine and approach to moral issues.

The station could continue its brief inspirational “Think About It” spots and public service announcements.

Contemporary Christian music programming might also be welcome, he said.

What he doesn’t want to see happen is non-Catholic programming that promotes moral viewpoints at variance with Catholic teaching, he said. He said this has not happened on WJMJ, but that if it did, it would

present problems.

Some changes that the station has already made include the addition of Catholic news spots three times a day, he said. In addition, through EWTN and ORT, live broadcasts of papal speeches were heard in April for the first time in WJMJ’s history, he said.

He noted that there are five Protestant stations in Connecticut.

“The underserved community by way of radio is the Catholic community,”

he said.

“What we’re most concerned about is taking WJMJ and utilizing it effectively on behalf of the

Catholic community,” he said.