Papal Visit

Just in time for the holidays, it's the papal merchandise clearance sale!With the same enthusiasm that went into preparations for Pope John Paul II's visit Oct. 8, the Archdiocese of Baltimore is putting on a two-day event at St. Mary's Seminary in Roland Park today and tomorrow, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., where papal souvenirs will be on sale.If you're looking for that unique Christmas gift or stocking stuffer -- a mug or pennant with the papal logo, a banner from the papal parade route, a photo of a loved one with the pontiff -- this is your chance.

Congress plays games withelderly livesLet no man sleep while Congress is in session -- Mark Twain.He's gone but his legacy lives on. He saw what Congress was all about.As for senior citizens, they are in big trouble right now with Congress playing a game of Russian roulette with their lives. Senior citizens have made major contributions to our country. They ask for little, especially in health and human services, and it looks like that is what they are going to get.The true meaning of Medicare has been lost by a bunch of greedy congressmen and physicians, who are so busy protecting their own personal interests that they forget what this country is really about.

The papal visit was wonderful. We must do this again soon.They could always dispense with juries and let the people vote on big murder trials and public hangings.Turning economic development over to a nursing-home magnate was Hizzoner's clearest recognition yet of who still lives in Baltimore.All sides in Bosnia agreed to a 60-day trial cease-fire just to see if they would like it.5/8

Sure, Boyz II men were the headliners at last night's papal concert. And yeah, the screaming didn't let up for even one second of the 20-minute set.But the loudest cheer of the evening was reserved for a 75-year-old from Rome who wasn't even there, a transplanted Pole who closed the concert not with a song, but simply by telling the crowd by satellite that he was looking forward to his visit to Baltimore.So who was more popular at Pier Six last night, the pop singers or the pontiff?For the 4,500 screaming fans who were lucky enough to land the free tickets distributed to parishes and youth groups by the Archdiocese of Baltimore, it was probably a draw.

A pair of programs -- an educational daytime broadcast on Maryland Public Television and the political pot-boiler "The Monroes" on ABC -- involve themes of space exploration. And "48 Hours" on CBS offers an inside look at Pope John Paul II's U.S. tour.* "Live From the Stratosphere" (Noon-1 p.m., MPT, Channels 22, 67) -- Showing off new technology, this telecast involves students from Green Valley Elementary School in Frederick County communicating live with scientists in Mountain View, Calif.

Pope John Paul II will be in Baltimore all of 10 hours Sunday, but the city is staging a weekend-long extravaganza expected to attract 300,000 visitors and pump some $26 million into the local economy.While the Mass at Camden Yards and the papal parade ` downtown will draw the visitors, the celebration will extend throughout the city. Choirs will sing along the harbor's edge, museums will feature Catholic-related exhibits, trolleys will shuttle visitors to historic churches and synagogues.

The pope is an expensive guest. The Baltimore Archdiocese is trying to make sure he is an affordable one.Toward that end, church officials have made a determined effort to solicit donations of goods and services to keep the archdiocese's cash outlay to a minimum. Dozens of businesses and institutions have answered Cardinal William H. Keeler's call, making contributions of everything from funeral home limousines to the altar at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, from Babe Ruth commemorative coins to a performance by Boyz II Men.The donations are intended to help the archdiocese keep its cash expenses under $250,000, the amount raised from parishes in a special collection last year.

The class began with a prayer. Then the theology teacher, Lee Knox, led eight high school juniors in an examination of the human conscience and what makes it tick.A banner over the blackboard quoted from the biblical Book of John: "Love one another as I have loved you."On a morning last week, Mr. Knox managed to work Pope John Paul II's Sunday visit to Baltimore into class discussion at Our Lady of Mount Carmel High School in Essex. Asked to rank the major influences on their moral behavior, the students put the pope and his church fifth, behind parents, friends, teachers and television.

IN DOLLAR terms, tourism officials are expecting a statewide economic impact of some $19.1 million in hotel, restaurant and other revenues connected to the one-day visit of Pope John Paul II to Baltimore next Sunday. There are, of course, no tangible numbers to place on the spiritual benefits, but they will be substantial. A papal visit -- particularly one to a city as important to American Catholicism as Baltimore has been -- cannot help but uplift the entire community.Cardinal William H. Keeler has suggested that Catholics abstain from eating meat on Fridays as part of their spiritual preparation for the visit.

An article in Tuesday's Sun incorrectly reported that renovations costing $165,000 to the Basilica of the Assumption were made in preparation for Pope John Paul II's visit Oct. 8. According to the Rev. Michael White, program director for the papal visit, the maintenance and renewal projects had been long planned and were not related to the visit.The Sun regrets the error.