Adelle M. Banks reports in Wednesday’s RNS report that churches are increasingly choosing “eco-palms” for their Palm Sunday services: Combining ecology and theology, a growing number of churches are choosing “eco-palms” for their Palm Sunday services. It’s an idea that’s resonating with congregations who previously had not given much thought to where palms come from and who often have interests in other justice causes, such as “fair trade coffee” supporting Third World coffee growers. “To have in our hand on Palm Sunday a palm that we know has been harvested in an ecologically friendly way, in a way that’s going to benefit the communities and the people who harvested them, adds that much more depth to our celebration of Palm Sunday,” says Brenda Meier, parish projects coordinator for Baltimore-based Lutheran World Relief, which has taken the lead in promoting palm fronds that preserve the environment and livelihood of Mexican and Guatemalan harvesters.

Kristine M. Crane and Stacy Meichtry look at the role of the Internet in campaigns for and against the sainthood of John Paul II: The messages arriving in Monsignor Slawomir Oder’s inbox are multiplying. A mother writes from Bloomington, Ill., appealing to Pope John Paul II from beyond the grave to heal her daughter from a sudden brain injury. Another click away, a child has been conceived in Mexico thanks to the late pope’s alleged intercession. Gone are the days when the centuries-old practice of saint-making took place behind closed doors, and beyond public scrutiny. Barely a year has passed since John Paul’s death on April 2, 2005. But Oder, the leading advocate for John Paul’s sainthood, must hustle to meet the demands of the Internet, where potential miracles are being reported in real time and campaigns for and against John Paul’s sainthood are already in full swing. Just as John Paul brought the papacy onto the world stage through his media savvy, his campaign for sainthood is updating the way faithful push for canonization.