Column Pondering St. Louiss papal priorities
By JEANNETTE BATZ
When members of St. Louis new Center for Theology and Social
Analysis told me what they were planning for the popes visit, I felt like
Id gulped coffee sugared with the salt cellar.
These were people I knew to be devoutly liberal Catholics, quick
to defend the vulnerable and critique the power structure. Sure, I knew they
didnt want to be confrontational or mar the popes visit. But asking
people, If you were the pope, how would you spend your time in St.
Louis? smacked of those patronizing, man-on-the-street interviews TV does
after Andrew Lloyd Webber shows. I was convinced it would only elicit humble,
folksy, insipid responses from The People, most of whom were already dazed by
the imminent grandeur of the papal visit.
I had underestimated The People.
The first response that came back was from Luis, a 13-year-old
Hispanic immigrant.
* * *
I would tell City Hall that I was going to visit streets
like Shenandoah and California, and City Hall would rush out and clean up those
streets. I would tell them that I was going to visit the schools, and then City
Hall would clean up the schools and put in air conditioners.
* * *
I thought of Luis later, when the road crews ignored the rest of
the city to clear ice from the papal route two weeks in advance (dumping it at
an abandoned public hospital site). By then, a cable company was promising to
light up the Arch so it would look better on nighttime TV. And a local designer
had gussied up the interior of the vehicle that would ferry the
pope from his aircraft to a hangar, using the official color palate of
the papal visit, yellow and light blue, in a way that nicely picks
up the colors of his holiness personal banner.
The kids had better priorities.
* * *
I would visit the poor people and try to explain what God
means and that He is their father and created them, and then I would try to get
them some benefits. -- David, 14
* * *
Just the outstanding expenses of the 36-hour papal visit, after
public and private institutions and the archdiocese had forked over undisclosed
amounts, were estimated at $5.2 billion. And with all that money flying about,
private enterprise was hopping.
Everybody wanted a piece of the pope.
There was papal kitsch, papal jewelry (approved by the Vatican
yet) and papal wine. The Postal Service offered a pictorial papal postmark from
the papal plaza. Entrepreneurs went to incredible lengths to transport supplies
so they could set up booths downtown and sell, sell, sell.
* * *
Because I have spoken out so strongly against materialism, I
should not have allowed such wealth to be spent on preparations for my visit.
In penance for the sin of this waste, I would spend the day in prayer, invite
others to join me and direct Archbishop [Justin] Rigali to send an amount equal
to that spent on my visit to the Patriarch of Iraq for assistance to the
civilian victims of the bombing. -- Angie, 51
* * *
By early January, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch was averaging
five stories a day about Pope John Paul II. There were hard-news headlines
like, Pink Sisters Pray That the Sun Shines on the Pope, St.
Louis TV Stations Will Provide Much Live Coverage and Popes
Main Route Is Rich in History.
This week, its just another city street, one
front-page story opened. But next week, the six-mile stretch of Lindell
and Olive Street becomes Americas street. Really? For all the Jews
and atheists and Muslims, too?
Ah, well. At least it was good to know that the one man on earth
capable of stopping a U.S. city in its tracks was a religious leader. Not a
head of state or finance, not an Internet whiz, not a sports or rock celebrity
but a man who constantly reminds us that all of that is transient, limited,
insufficient.
I only wish he had the time to make his point. The papal schedule:
Three motorcades, one Mass, an appearance at a youth rally, greetings to
government dignitaries and a lunch with cardinals and bishops.
* * *
I would not stay sheltered among the believers but go with
the people who are really in need of the Lord -- the materialistic. --
Lilian, 62, an immigration attorney
* * *
I started to imagine what would happen if the pope sat down with
CEOs of the most environmentally, socially damaging multinationals and gently
asked them what their work means. Then I heard the next batch of survey
responses, and my fantasies grew wilder. What if he did meet with
fallen-away Catholics and listen to them? What if he did spend most of
his day visiting and studying African-American churches, the centers of so much
urban tragedy and hope? What if he did spend just half an hour at a gay bar and
really saw the pain and self-hatred in the eyes of former Catholics? Would any
of that change us or change him?
* * *
I would rent a big place and have a party with great food
and a DJ, I would not wear that white outfit. I would put on jeans and really
enjoy myself. -- Myrrah, 15
* * *
Our city shouldnt have tried to wear its white outfit,
either. Because the minute we donned our finest raiment, societys soiled
undergarments showed through. The archdiocese had to sue to halt a
papalvisit 1999 Web site mined with papal sex scandals
and pornography links. Musicians of the St. Louis Symphony found themselves
barred from performing at the papal Mass because their union fee scale required
the full-symphony rate of $90,000. A murderer who was scheduled to be executed
on the day of the popes visit found his death penalty rescheduled for
after the popes departure and then commuted to life in prison without
parole.
* * *
I would ride with the police to all the places where people
are afraid and try to make it safe for them. I would make sure that women were
treated the same as men. Then there would be nothing to fuss about. --
Manuel, 13
* * *
Id visit little girls and tell them I will work so
that, when they grow up, they can be anything they want to be, even pope!
Id visit women religious and apologize for how the church has devalued
their service. -- Joan, 60-something, a Catholic theologian
* * *
Ah, but the important role of religious women was honored in the
papal coverage. Nuns Bake, Count 130,000 Communion Hosts received
top news placement. Many hands make light work, one of the
contemplative nuns assured the reporter.
I am not mocking the communal baking. That, and the kids who
planted trees because the pope loves to hike in the woods, were two rare signs
of genuine hospitality, and they shone by comparison with the rest. How does a
friendly Midwestern city welcome someone we all admire and honor, and extend
our famous hospitality to make him feel at home? We buy a bunch of stuff for
ourselves, so we can remember we got to see him. We let entrepreneurs create
business ventures that mock his thoughtful critique of consumerism. We invite
only wealthy and powerful civic leaders to serve on the papal committee.
* * *
Id visit disadvantaged neighborhoods and homeless
shelters and city schools and be so heartbroken at seeing so many hungry,
lonely, forgotten children that Id immediately start selling off some of
the churchs real estate holdings and put the money to work on the
childrens behalf. Then, on the plane back to Rome, Id seriously
reconsider my position on birth control. -- Tony, 44
* * *
That one gave me pause. Am I just bitter because I, too, disagree
with some of the popes views? How would I react to all the hoopla if I
agreed wholeheartedly? Itd be fun, wouldnt it, to have something to
celebrate at full throttle, something that could make this landlocked, humdrum
city glow with pride?
I dont know.
Somehow, I cant imagine St. Louis reacting this way to
Mother Teresa or Mahatma Gandhi or the Dalai Lama. I cant even imagine us
reacting this way to Jesus.
The hoopla has something to do with power, Im afraid.
Its about tradition and moral authority and reaching the pinnacle of a
vast hierarchy.
* * *
Id meet with all the religious dignitaries and leaders
in the city. Then Id have a big Mass so a lot of people could come. I
would do all this because that is what people expect. -- Donna, 44
* * *
Is it? Maybe the pope is truly being our servant, ministering to
us in the way that makes us feel safest. We do bask in the glorying of him. And
because he is an icon, all we need to do is focus on his identity, his kind
face, his eloquent gestures. The media spilled gallons of ink on the pope; they
lit large rooms with their electronic coverage of his visit. But they did not
examine -- not with any depth, and often not at all -- the popes
carefully developed stances on various issues. Long before the scheduled visit,
the St. Louis archbishop assured a reporter that the pope wouldnt be
saying anything new when he was here.
And now hes gone. Lindells back to being an old street
lined, on alternate blocks, with mansions and pawn shops. The Arch, dull
without its spotlights, blends into the sky again. And weve got some
spare time to figure out what it all meant -- and whether it changed us.
Jeannette Batz is a senior editor at The Riverfront
Times, an alternative newspaper in St. Louis.
National Catholic Reporter, February 12,
1999
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