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our special online feature: Bringing Rome
Back Home The biggest religion story of the year is unfolding 24/7 - only it is thousands of miles away from North American newsrooms. Many religion writers are in Rome elbowing their way through the media circus, while others are manning the desk back home, looking for ways to localize a story that will go on for weeks, but often with precious few local angles beyond the usual reaction pieces. Here are some ideas to get the creative juices flowing. ReligionLink will update them as events change… The pageant of centuries-old - even millennia-old - traditions in Rome all can be traced back to extraordinary events of history, from the imprimatur of Emperor Constantine to the monarchical papacy of the Middle Ages to the Renaissance glories (and excesses) now on display in this post-modern world. Has the color and commentary piqued interest in Christian history? Will this topic become as popular as America's Founding Fathers? Are history teachers from grade school to university using this as a teaching moment? What are reading groups and bookstores doing? And what are the most popular - and best - resources out there? See this April 5, 2005, Reuters article, posted on Yahoo!, about new books. John Paul biographies are topping the list, but books on the conclave, conclave novels and movies, and hefty tomes on Christian history may be next. Has the inundation of papal coverage washed up any potential converts at the door of your local parish? It can happen, as the interest and emotion - whatever the event - draw people to learn more. Despite the recent years of Catholic scandal and crisis, 150,000 adults still enter the Catholic Church every year at Easter. Who are those people who just joined? Will others now make that pilgrimage as well? Conversely, will Catholics who were turned off by John Paul's policies and teachings give their old church a second look when a new pope is elected? Remember, the second-largest "denomination" in the United States is "lapsed" Catholics - about a third of the 65 million-strong community who have largely given up all ties to the church of their birth. Also, are Catholics who do attend church being queried about their faith by the curious or incredulous? And do they know how to respond to questions about papal succession and the like? These aren't the things that are normally taught in catechism classes. But maybe pastors and lay ministers are adapting their sermons and adult education classes for a crash course. THE CATHOLIC-EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE Many recent converts to Catholicism have been evangelicals, another manifestation of the growing nexus between communities that have historically been antagonists. The greatest symbol of this rapprochement - whether it is cultural, political or theological - will be President Bush's presence at Friday's papal funeral. This is a remarkable story, given that the United States was one of the last countries in the world to establish formal diplomatic ties to the Vatican. That only came in 1984, when Ronald Reagan moved ahead with diplomatic ties despite the misgivings of deeply conservative Protestants who still saw the Roman church as the embodiment of heresy. Now George W. Bush, probably the most evangelical Protestant ever in the Oval Office, will be the first U.S. president to attend a pope's funeral. What does this say about the relationship of these two groups? Is this a cultural collaboration? Or is there some new theological accommodation? Does this play out locally, or is this just a dialogue among leaders? Note: When he was archbishop of Krakow, Cardinal Karol Wojtyla - the future John Paul II - let Billy Graham preach from his pulpit despite some opposition within the Polish hierarchy. The two remained friends. The scenes coming across the television screens and on the Internet from Rome in an almost continuous video feed can seem so formalized and ritualized, and alien even to many Catholics. Yet beneath all the grandiosity of the pope's funeral and the election of his successor lie some important truths about the power and efficacy of ritual in our lives. Psychologists and sociologists of religion can testify to this, but trends in local houses of worship across the religious spectrum also demonstrate the power of ritual. A growing number of Protestant churches, in a counter-trend to past practice, are increasing the frequency of communion, for example, and coming-of-age rites that resemble confirmation services or bar mitzvahs are becoming popular in churches and communities - even humanist groups - that would not normally be associated with the kind of display currently unfolding in Rome. Rituals for death, life and commitment are vital, and the distance between the Eternal City and your city may not be so wide.
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