The Vatican Prepared St. Louis for Mark McGwire

SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, September 4—There are many considerations with security for Mark McGwire, said a report on the eve of Mark McGwire's record 62nd season home run. For one thing, the balls he hits into the stands must be marked in advance to prevent counterfeits. Also, the number of fans allowed into the areas his hits favor must be carefully controlled.

But the worst security problem is one McGwire shares with Pope John Paul II, said the report. “The biggest thing with Mark is everybody wants to be close to him,” stadium security director Joe Walsh said.

St. Louis Police Chief Ron Henderson says that this aspect of security is under control at St. Louis's ballpark, because stadium security officials there are Vatican-taught.

Henderson recently spent a week with Vatican officials learning how to prepare for Pope John Paul II's visit there this January, and so, when faced with the prospect of Mark McGwire breaking the much-watched home-run record in St. Louis, he was unperturbed.

“This is going to be a nice, safe event,” he said confidently at a news conference. “If we can handle the Pope coming here, we can handle him hitting another home run.”

Pope John Paul II Meets Movie's Gandhi

PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, September 9—Pope John Paul II last weekend gave an audience to the man who played Gandhi in Richard Attenborough's critically acclaimed movie Gandhi. The movie was recently honored as part of the Vatican's list of great accomplishments in film. The movie starred British actor Ben Kingsley in its title role.

The Holy Father gave the audience to Kingsley to hear about a new movie he is working on about another internationally famous person renowned for holiness and for her contributions to India: Mother Teresa.

With Kingsley were other members of the cast of the new movie: Indian actor Kabir Bedi, and Argentine model Valeria Mazza.

This time, the production is slated for presentation on television.