The Associated Press

LOUISVILLE - Kroger is pulling three free weekly publications from its racks two weeks after the grocery chain decided to remove a church newspaper.

LEO, an alternative newspaper; Snitch, a crime weekly; and the Courier-Journal's weekly Velocity won't be distributed on Kroger's free distribution racks, the region's largest supermarket chain announced Tuesday.

Kroger, with 25 Louisville-area stores, cited a long-standing policy against "religious, political or sexually suggestive" publications in barring the papers from the racks near its store entrances.

"Kroger always strives to be a store for the entire community, and that necessitates remaining neutral concerning religious and political issues," Kroger said in a statement Tuesday.

The statement did not say which categories applied to LEO, Velocity and Snitch. But Kroger spokesman Tim McGurk said in an interview, "The biggest issue Kroger would have with some of ... (those) publications are the sexual nature of much of the advertising they contain."

All three contain advertising for clubs with nude dancing.

Kroger's move comes after the chain was criticized for removing The Southeast Outlook, produced by Southeast Christian. The church has the state's largest congregation, with more than 20,000 members.

After the criticism, Kroger launched a review of the other free publications, McGurk said.

Representatives for the other three publications said they learned of the move Tuesday from DistribuTech, a firm that has a contract with Kroger to place free papers in the supermarket racks.

"It's very unfortunate," said John Yarmuth, founder and executive editor of LEO, also known as the Louisville Eccentric Observer. "For every customer they'll please with this decision, they'll upset a thousand or more. It's a horrible business decision."

Snitch chief operating officer Russ Maney said he hopes to persuade Kroger to reverse its decision.

Linda Pursell, vice president of market development for the Courier-Journal, said the newspaper also would try to talk to the supermarket chain. The paper publishes Velocity, an entertainment and lifestyle weekly.

"We have a long-standing relationship with Kroger, and I'm sure that we'll hold some conversations with them," she said.