Theologian George Weigel needs a Global Positioning System transmitter on his wrist so journalists can keep track of him.<\/p>\n\n
As author of the 1008-page \u201cWitness to Hope: The Biography of Pope John Paul II,\u201d his life has been hectic since the news flash that the shepherd of the world\u2019s 1 billion Catholics had been rushed to hospital, gasping for breath.<\/p>\n\n
Weigel said a network-news reporter recently called and asked, \u201d \u2018Where are you going to be tonight, in case something happens to the pope?\u2019 Well, I said, \u2018I\u2019m going to church and I\u2019m going home and eat dinner with my family. That\u2019s what we do on Ash Wednesday. Is that OK?\u2019 \u201c<\/p>\n\n
Reporters are trying to cover their bases. The panic also may have been fueled by another reality. This pope\u2019s life is impossible to capture in a few dramatic images, a three-minute sound-bite blitz and a sentence or two about the length of his tenure (second longest ever) and the number of nations he has visited (125 so far).<\/p>\n\n
Journalists must ask: What is the lead on this story? Thus, I contacted a circle of commentators and asked that question. Here is a sample of what I heard.<\/p>\n\n
* Catholic Internet scribe Amy Welborn said she would focus this question: \u201cHas this pope \u201cpermanently redefined the papacy?\u201d Will it be possible for future popes to be anything other than \u201ca big-thinking world traveler?\u201d Many Catholics admire wonder if \u201cmanagement-related issues have suffered\u201d with this emphasis on travel and media.<\/p>\n\n
* Steven Waldman, CEO at Beliefnet.com, began with: \u201cPope John Paul II, who perhaps did more than any other person to end communism \u2026\u201d Who can forget when Lech Walesa signed the labor agreement at Gdansk shipyard, incarnating the Solidarity movement that helped trigger the collapse of the Soviet empire? Walesa used a pen topped with an image of the Polish pope.<\/p>\n\n
* Baptist scholar Timothy George, part of the 1994 \u201cEvangelicals and Catholics Together\u201d coalition, cited both John Paul\u2019s hunger for church unity and his writings, especially \u201cVeritatis Splendor (The Splendor of Truth).\u201d Nevertheless, George said he would lead with: \u201cThe pope has advocated the sanctity of life in a century suffused with the smell of death, whether that is the stench of the Holocaust ovens or the abortion clinics or innocent victims of terrorism and military conflict. \u2026 He is certainly the greatest pope since the Reformation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
* Adoremus.org editor Helen Hitchcock emphasized the pope\u2019s \u201cTheology of the Body\u201d reflections \u2014 gathered from Wednesday public audiences \u2014 on what it means to be human, male and female, and how this affects marriage, children, the elderly, the unborn and the sick.<\/p>\n\n
While liberal Catholics complain about a \u201creign of terror,\u201d Hitchcock said many conservatives also have concerns about John Paul\u2019s legacy. \u201cSome believe that he has been very strong on proclaiming the truth, but weaker when it comes to defending the truth. \u2026 After all, he appointed all of our bishops. They are his. That is the reality.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
* Russell Chandler, the retired religion writer for the Los Angeles Times, said he isn\u2019t ready to write a lead yet. After all, this pope has appointed all but three of the 120 cardinal-electors who will choose his successor, including waves of red hats from Third World nations.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cI think it is not clear that the so-called John Paul II era \u2014 the Pope for the World \u2014 is going to be over,\u201d said Chandler. \u201cPope John Paul II is dead. Long live the Pope. Is this era \u2026 going to continue? Watch for the smoke signal at the Vatican chimney.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
Meanwhile, Weigel is convinced reporters do not need to rush to judgment. Based on his personal contacts, he is convinced that the pope\u2019s health is actually quite sound for an 84-year-old man who is suffering from arthritis and Parkinson\u2019s disease.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cThis whole idea that the next breath of wind that comes along is going to blow him over is just wrong,\u201d said Weigel. <\/p>\n\n
\u201cThe truth of the matter is that he is going to have his ups and his downs. We may see six or seven of these episodes in the next year or two or longer. So are we going to go crazy every time? That is going to get old fast.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Theologian George Weigel needs a Global Positioning System transmitter on his wrist so journalists can keep track of him. As author of the 1008-page \u201cWitness to Hope: The Biography of Pope John Paul II,\u201d his life has been hectic since the news flash that the shepherd of the world\u2019s 1 billion Catholics had been rushed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":610,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[168,669,720],"class_list":["post-1321","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-catholicism","tag-pope-john-paul-ii","tag-religion-news"],"yoast_head":"\n