BOB ABERNETHY: Now, Perspectives. Today, a look ahead at the events and issues that may dominate the religion and ethics news of this new year. Our guests are three of the top religion reporters in the country: Peter Steinfels of THE NEW YORK TIMES, Jeffrey Sheler of U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT, and Lynn Neary of National Public Radio.Welcome back to all of you.
Peter, the pope is going to Cuba on the 21st of January. What's at stake there for everyone?
PETER STEINFELS (THE NEW YORK TIMES): I think both the Cuban government and the Catholic Church are engaged in a kind of negotiation about what will be the future direction of an inevitable post-Castro Cuba. I think the government's seeking some legitimacy by sponsoring -- having a papal visit there that they've long wanted. And I think the Church is trying, in return, to establish a greater leeway for religious believers in Cuba and kind of hopes for a peaceful transition.ABERNETHY: When the pope went to Poland under the communist regime there, it made a huge difference.
Mr. STEINFELS: It did. The very fact that people gather in large numbers under any kind of banner than those of a communist government makes a big difference.
LYNN NEARY (National Public Radio): I think the stories that have already started to come out now are stories of the fact that people are eager to go to churches and to express their faith. And the kinds of stories I think that came out of the end of communism in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, it makes you wonder, "What were they doing all these years in terms of expressing that faith that they are now so eager to ..."
JEFFREY SHELER (U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT): That's right. And the Church, Cuba has its first Catholic bishop in 31 years. This is an important development, I think.
ABERNETHY: Another big issue will be coming up -- the 25th anniversary of ROE V. WADE, the Supreme Court's decision on abortion. January 27, I believe. What's the state of the debate now, Lynn?
Ms. NEARY: Well, I think a couple of things have changed in that 25 years. One thing that's very interesting now, that I think as journalists we can start looking at, is that some of the young women who are at the age where they might need an abortion were not even born at the time that ROE V. WADE first came into being.The other thing I think that's happened in those 25 years that I think is going to affect the debate is the advances in reproductive technology that have occurred in that 25 years. I just heard recently, for instance, a friend of mine said, "My sister-in-law just had a baby at 25 weeks; less than two pounds, and that baby survived." And this woman, who I believe is pro-choice, said, "Boy, that really makes me think." And when you get to this kind of point when 24 weeks versus 25 weeks, one pound versus two pounds, then you're really getting into an area where I think a lot of people aren't quite sure what they think.
Mr. SHELER: Well, that's right, Lynn. I think in addition to that, we've seen a new wedge issue open up in the abortion debate this past year, and that is the debate over partial-birth or late-term abortions. We're seeing that people -- even people who are pro-choice, basically pro-choice -- are squeamish about the notion of allowing late-term abortions to proceed unregulated.ABERNETHY: Do you think the tide is turning a little bit or is moving a little bit in the direction of pro-life?
Ms. NEARY: I still think there's a pretty strong sentiment out there to maintain choice, but I think the debate is moving and I think pro-choice advocates are wary of this, to incrementally looking at, "Do we do first trimester; do we allow first trimester, second trimester?" As you mentioned, that debate over the procedure, over partial-birth abortion, opened that up, and I think that's why pro-choice advocates stayed so firm in that debate, because they're afraid to open up the possibility of incremental change.
Mr. SHELER: And this again is an issue that's really been turned back to the states by the Supreme Court, and we're already seeing states attempting to regulate partial-birth abortions.
ABERNETHY: One of the things last year that was such a difficult question for many American Jews is going to be with us again in the new year, and this is this whole question of who is a Jew. The definition of a Jew, that comes out of the Orthodox rabbis in Israel, wanting to have the sole power to preside over conversions. And it's raised all kinds of questions for American Jews. What do you see ahead in that?
Mr. SHELER: Well, this debate is just beginning, I think. It is such a visceral issue, such an important issue for all parties, and I think it really is going to land in the lap of Prime Minister Netanyahu and the Israeli government, and it's really going to take the wisdom of Solomon to solve this one. I think really, you know, the American Jewish leaders, leaders of Reform and Conservative Judaism in this country are already threatening to withhold support for Israel if this move should go forth. I think the best thing perhaps that they can hope for at this point is that the issue will drag on until there's an opportunity to change the government in Israel.
ABERNETHY: There's also the debate, Peter, about whether you have to be religious to be a Jew.
NEARY: You know, one of the leaders of the reformed Jewish movement here in this country said to me on this issue, "You know, it's like the abortion debate." Meaning that you're talking about a belief system here. You're talking about people who are coming at this debate from very strong religious convictions, and that makes it very hard for anyone to really compromise on it.
