Archbishop prompts Telus to back down on cellphone porn.

Vancouver -- The actions of Archbishop Raymond Roussin of Vancouver were instrumental in ultimately persuading Telus, which provides wireless communications to 4.6 million clients across Canada, to back down from providing pornographic images on its cellphones. It had been the first major wireless carrier in North America to begin providing such a "service." But on February 20, Telus announced that it had re-thought the matter.

The company was initially resistant to customer and public protests, which were launched against a service that allowed customers to view "Tier 1" porn--depicting naked and partially naked men and women, but not sex--for $3 or $4 each. "The reality is, the material is already out there and customers would be accessing it with or without us," claimed Telus spokesperson Jim Johannsson (Globe and Mail, Feb. 13, 2007; Sun Media, Feb. 13, 2007).

Archbishop Roussin struck at Telus in the pocketbook by calling on Catholic schools and parishes not to renew mobile phone contracts with the company. "I strongly urge you to use your influence to protect society from the destructive effects of pornography," Roussin said in a statement (Globe and Mail, Feb. 19, 2007).

Calgary Bishop Fred Henry was also poised to issue a pastoral letter expressing displeasure with Telus's service.

Outside the Church, media, individuals and organizations such as the Canadian Institute of Ethics in Winnipeg and Catholic Insight supported the bishops' position. "Everything we do--by action or omission--has ethical implications. And, not to speak out against something unethical is to condone it," said a spokesman for the Institute (Nat. Post, Feb. 20, 2007). Even Toronto's Globe and Mail came out in support. "Vancouver's Roman Catholic archbishop, Raymond Roussin, is right to take a strong moral stand on this issue" (Editorial, Feb. 19, 2007).

According to a Globe report (Feb. 22, 2007), Telus executives had been hoping the protests would be just "a passing phase." However, they came to see that their strategy of riding out the storm was not working. An hour-long conference call on February 19 resulted in CEO Darren Entwistle bowing to the pressure, as Telus killed the 'service' without fanfare. There was never any official announcement.