NEWS STORY: Papal visit impact extends beyond its actual duration

c. 1999 Religion News Service ST. LOUIS _ As this city prepared Monday (Jan. 25) for the arrival of Pope John Paul II, the pace and breadth of papal-related activities and the unfolding undercurrents made clear just how a visit by history’s most traveled pontiff has meaning beyond the immediate sum of its parts. The […]

c. 1999 Religion News Service

ST. LOUIS _ As this city prepared Monday (Jan. 25) for the arrival of Pope John Paul II, the pace and breadth of papal-related activities and the unfolding undercurrents made clear just how a visit by history’s most traveled pontiff has meaning beyond the immediate sum of its parts.

The pope will arrive here Tuesday afternoon on a flight from Mexico City for a whirlwind 30-hour visit, his first as pope to this heavily Catholic city. About a third of the area’s residents are Catholic, and the St. Louis archdiocese has the highest percentage of Catholics attending Catholic schools of any U.S. diocese.


John Paul will be greeted by President Bill Clinton, preside over an all-day youth gathering, celebrate a papal Mass for some 100,000 persons at the Trans World Dome, and speak at an evening prayer service featuring interfaith leaders at the ornate Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis. Wednesday evening, he’ll wing his way back to the Vatican after being bid farewell by Vice President Al Gore.

The pope has opposed U.S. policy on Iraq, and on the heels of continued U.S. military action against Saddam Hussein’s regime, John Paul is likely to address the issue in his public remarks here _ even if only with oblique references. As a world leader, papal remarks on such issues are expected, albeit often disregarded by political leaders.

But here in St. Louis, the papal visit has a more immediate dimension beyond the concerns over traffic jams and tacky, overpriced souvenirs. As brief as the visit may be, a good many see it as an opportunity to be seized for long-term gains _ spiritually, politically and even financially speaking.

For the local church, it’s meant a gamut of events in the weeks leading up to the visit, including university lectures on the papacy and the theology of John Paul to a succession of youth Masses designed to draw young people into the excitement.”A lot of kids who aren’t even religious are pumped up by his coming,”17-year-old Regina Webb said during a break at one such youth Mass _ billed as the”Ultimate Rock Celebration”_ held Sunday night at a church in Chesterfield, Mo., just west of St. Louis.”They see the pope as an historical figure even bigger than Mark McGwire.” For the Rev. John Seper, a priest in suburban Richmond Heights, Mo., the papal visit has provided him with a months-long opportunity to connect his upper middle class parishioners with the concerns of the larger church.”Since knowing the Holy Father would be coming, we’ve tried to connect as people with his past teachings, including those on the needs of the poor here and in other countries. After he leaves we’ll pick up on the themes he highlights in St. Louis. He provides months of energy and excitement for us,”said Seper.”I can’t begin to quantify what we get out of this.” Not to be outdone are individuals and groups who want something of the pope or see his visit as a handy media platform for communicating their own concerns.

Some will be outside protesting what he’s already had to say. Others are in general agreement with the pope on their issue, but want him to more directly support their position or simply hope his aura of moral authority will rub off on their concern.

Among them is James Brady, the former presidential press secretary turned gun control activist after being wounded in John Hinckley’s attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan. Brady, a Catholic, will be in the official delegation that greets the pope upon his arrival.

But he’s also in St. Louis to push for defeat of a concealed weapon measure that Missouri voters will consider in April. The measure would allow certain individuals to carry concealed handguns.


John Paul was also shot and seriously wounded by an attempted assassin and often speaks out against gun violence. However, Ed Martin, the St. Louis archdiocese’s human rights director, said he doubted the pope would directly address Missouri’s Proposition B vote. Martin also said the archdiocese was still studying the issue.

Also here were activists who want the United States to agree to international debt relief for the world’s poorest nations. John Paul addressed the issue Saturday in Mexico, calling for dialogue between debtor nations and international lending agencies and wealthy nations. But he stopped short of calling for simply wiping the slate clean, as many activists say is required if the poorer nations are to meet the needs of their people.

In St. Louis, David Bryden, a spokesman for Jubilee 2000, an international debt relief effort supported by a number of religious groups _ but not directly by the Vatican or the U.S. Catholic Bishops Conference _ termed the $250 billion debt of 41 of the world’s poorest nations”morally obscene.” Still others in St. Louis were here to protest John Paul’s policies, particular his staunch opposition to abortion in all cases, women’s ordination and allowing priests to marry. Several groups came together for a candlelight vigil set for Monday evening outside the Cathedral Basilica to press their demands, hoping to attract the attention of the more than 2,400 media representatives in St. Louis for the papal visit.”We think it’s a great opportunity to get our word out,”said Robert Schutzius, a member of the Association of the Rights of Catholics in the Church, one of the groups sponsoring the vigil.”Even if we’re drowned out in the flood of gushy pope coverage, you never know how your message will resonate later.” One group that was unabashedly gushy about the papal visit’s long-term benefits to St. Louis was the local business community. Stephen Taylor, chief economist with the St. Louis Regional Commerce and Growth Association, said John Paul’s brief stopover will generate an estimated $25 million for the local economy.

Not included, he added,”is the incalculable value of the prestige that St. Louis will receive as a result of the coverage by national and international media of the visit by the pope.”

DEA END RIFKIN

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