Mastodon
RNS logo

Oh, those were the days…

Chris Herlinger

Flipping through the memoirs of the late foreign correspondent Edward Behr reveals the media crush with popes was once a little more intimate. Behr describes a memorable moment when a photographer colleague, George Menager, covered Pope Paul VI’s 1969 visit to the Holy Land. Because of the complexities of crowd control, the pope and Menager, Behr recalled, found themselves “isolated from the crowd and the rest of the press corps, (and) eyed each other warily. Finally, the pope said, in his fluent but heavily accented French, ‘What an interesting life you must lead.” Menager stared back and grunted, ‘You haven’t done so badly yourself.’ “

No paywalls here. Thanks to you.
As an independent nonprofit, RNS believes everyone should have access to coverage of religion that is fair, thoughtful and inclusive. That's why you will never hit a paywall on our site; you can read all the stories and columns you want, free of charge (and we hope you read a lot of them!)

But, of course, producing this journalism carries a high cost, to support the reporters, editors, columnists, and the behind-the-scenes staff that keep this site up and running. That's why we ask that if you can, you consider becoming one of our donors. Any amount helps, and because we're a nonprofit, all of it goes to support our mission: To produce thoughtful, factual coverage of religion that helps you better understand the world. Thank you for reading and supporting RNS.
Deborah Caldwell, CEO and Publisher
Donate today