When the Pope comes calling

When the Pope comes calling

The pope-mobile, cheering crowds, a charismatic leader, flowing vestments, ethnic dress, high pomp and circumstance -- if any religious event is “made-for-TV,” it's a papal visit.  In March, Pope John Paul II completed what he himself viewed as the crowning of his papacy:  a trip to the Holy Land.  Covering the trip was a difficult assignment, and for the most part, journalists did well to capture the multiple political and religious aspects. The visit to the Holy Land was a hot potato from its announcement in March, 1999, when the Israeli government released news that the trip was planned for 2000, then had to back down, when the Vatican denied such plans.1 The tricky diplomacy negotiated by the pontiff and journalists in his wake was put into particular relief for Canadians when compared to the bumpy visit made by Prime Minister Chrétien shortly after. Where John Paul II made it clear that he was primarily making a pilgrimage, not a political trip, Jean Chrétien couldn't rely on such an explanation to keep his motives unquestioned.   (It was the second high-profile destination where Chrétien followed soon after the Pope, the first being their respective 1998 trips to Cuba.2) CHigh points   DLow points  FPoints yet to come

CBC television reporter Neil Macdonald did a particularly good job, including a very nice piece in advance of the Pope's visit to the site(s) of Jesus' baptism in the Jordan River.  Macdonald helped to illustrate the grey zones of the Holy Land, both in political and archaeological senses, as he travelled to two of the sites suggested as the place where Jesus was baptized, noting that the Pope was taking no chances in recreating his pilgrimage in the footsteps of Christ, both in terms of veracity, and in mollifying the various political bodies and their border claims, choosing to go to both spots along the banks.  Michael Valpy did a similarly fine job in a piece appearing in the Globe in advance of the papal visit.³

Many reporters also did a good job of pointing out the status of Christians (Catholic, Orthodox, and Copt) based in the Middle East, and their reactions to the visit of the head of the Roman Catholic Church -- for example, the Toronto Star carried a story titled "Papal visit a morale booster," by Karin Laub of the Associated Press (25 March 2000, M18).

DLow points
Papal tours have become familiar to many news consumers, but it is difficult to know what can pass without explanation by a journalist.  For instance, many television stories began with pictures of the Pope disembarking from his plane, and being greeted with a bowl of soil, which he then kissed.  This ritual would seem very strange, if one did not know of John Paul II's tradition of kissing the ground wherever he arrives.  As his physical condition has made bending to kiss the ground difficult, his hosts now bring the ground to him.  This seems a small detail, but when one considers the symbolically-charged atmosphere of a pontiff's visit, it is one example of actions which may leave less-familiar viewers confused.

Following his request for forgiveness on the first Sunday of Lent, many had been waiting to hear if the Pope would explicitly refer to the Church's role during the Holocaust when visiting Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial.⁴  When he did not, a CBC radio reporter suggested the Pope might be hobbled by his institution's tradition of "infallibility."  This reference is a mistake -- and one which is too often made by journalists.  Infallibility refers only to a very limited number of teachings made by popes on faith and morals.  Reporters need to be reminded that this is one word which needs to be applied with particular care.

FPoints yet to come
In a way similar to watching a child star grow up on a long-running sitcom, the world has seen Karol Wojtyla go from a vigorous, strong-voiced Pole to the crumpling victim of an assassination attempt, to a progressively frail 79-year-old man suffering from tremors.

With every trip showing the Pope's declining health,  and with the completion of two of his dreams -- to lead the Church into the new millennium as pontiff  and to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land -- the 'death-watch' has begun in earnest.  There have been a number of news and feature pieces on John Paul II and his possible successors, including a recent CBC National Magazine piece by Terence McKenna.  (See also the excellent web site for PBS' The Millennial Pope, shown April 23rd on Newsworld's The Passionate Eye).  On the more macabre side, a company named  Domain Hypermarket made a roundly condemned attempt to sell the web domain name: The PopesFuneral.com, for £15,000.⁵

News organizations are no doubt well into planning their coverage of the Pope's funeral and the election of his successor.  It is hoped they will assign reporters and producers who understand the ritual niceties of white smoke, as well as those fearless enough to ask difficult and informed questions about the nature of Vatican politics.

References
1.  Special to The Globe and Mail with a report from Agence France-Presse, "Vatican denies Israeli statement about papal visit," The Globe and Mail, 23 March 1999, A18.

2.  Linda Diebel, "Since Pope's visit, Cubans revel in religious freedom," the Toronto Star, 27 April 1998, A7.

3.  Michael Valpy, "Sacred sites often a matter of dispute in the Holy Land," The Globe and Mail, 18 March 2000, A20.

4.  Paddy Agnew, "Pope says sorry for sins against Jews and women," The Irish Times, 13 March 2000.

5.  Andrew Ward, "'Pope's funeral' web site," Financial Times, 16 April 2000.

Joyce Smith is Research Director of Faith and the Media, and specializes in issues at the intersection of news and religion.  She holds English literature, journalism and religious studies degrees from the universities of Toronto, Western Ontario and Natal.

Return to top