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Cairo Airport, Egypt11:30 A.M., Monday, April 3, 2000
Late Monday morning, Erin and Feldman were shuttled to the airport and deposited aboard a small charter jet for the hop across the Mediterranean.
This was the first time Feldman had truly been alone in Erin's company, and it was not something he'd looked forward to with any degree of comfort. Nevertheless, aside from infrequent exchanges of pleasantries and a few requests of Feldman for his opinion, Erin remained completely absorbed in the project. For the duration of the three-hour flight, she kept her professional distance.
The two newspeople were met at the airport by WNN Europe staff and transported first to their downtown hotel to freshen up, then directly to the Vatican and the cathedral for prepping before the telecast. As he crossed familiar St Peter's Square, Feldman's sensations of queasiness increased.
Inside the ancient basilica, Feldman and a fascinated Erin Cross were escorted to the staging area, which, as promised, was ideal. Positioned directly in front of the High Altar, Feldman noted that the massive altar stone had been repaired or replaced. WNN's set was comprised of a huge Persian rug, four comfortable overstuffed chairs and a coffee table.
About six-thirty P.M., Feldman was informed that Rabbi Hirschberg had arrived. For the duration of the pope's speech, Hirschberg would be secreted in a separate, reserved media section. He wouldn't be brought onto WNN's set until the interview with di Concerci was actually underway. Not knowing how the cardinal would react to WNN's ploy was yet another worry for the newsman's nervous stomach.
Feldman passed on a catered dinner, choosing to move to his chair on the set with his notes for a little quiet time. Instead, he found himself the object of a growing assembly of Vatican personnel, nuns and clerics who approached him with a passel of questions about the Messiah.
An annoyed WNN director was about to clear the set when, quite abruptly, Feldman's little audience went strangely quiet, came to wary attention, and collectively stared over the back of Feldman's chair toward some imposing presence behind. Turning around, Feldman was startled to find himself peering up into the implacable face of the tall, august Antonio Cardinal Prefect di Concerci himself. The cardinal had made an imperious, lone entrance in brilliant white cassock with crimson cape and matching skullcap.
Di Concerci said nothing, standing serenely, his hands folded behind him, his head erect, his unblinking eyes first scanning the gathering, then directed down at Feldman. Dumbfounded for a moment, Feldman remembered himself and quickly rose to his feet, extending his hand.
Without changing his demeanor, the cardinal slowly clasped Feldman's palm as the bystanders dissipated meekly into the background. Feldman was surprised at the strength of the grip and at the degree of control and power projected by the unnerving, analytical eyes. Eyes as expressionless, passionless as those of the marble statuary residing in the dark alcoves and musty labyrinths of the Vatican Palace.
“It's a pleasure to finally meet you in person,” Feldman managed.
“Yes,” the cardinal said simply. “I am early, I realize. However, I thought if I were to join you now, rather than in the middle of the announcement as was planned, it would prove less disruptive and I might be able to witness the pontiff's address in its entirety.” He hastily added, “If that's not an imposition, of course,” spoken with the presumption that it would not be.
“Not at all,” the reporter agreed, although uncomfortable with the idea of having to bear the prefect's critical scrutiny through the earlier parts of the program. Feldman doubted the cardinal would appreciate certain aspects of WNN's background report.
“There are seating accommodations for you.” Feldman gestured toward several arm chairs in a wing to the side of the set. “And I'll have one of our staff explain procedures to you and assist you with your microphone. After the pope has concluded his address, we'll break for station identification and commercials, during which we'll seat you next to me here for the interview, if that's acceptable.”
The prefect nodded. “I trust you've found our arrangements for you comfortable?”
The cardinal's eyes hardened. “Good. Then perhaps your network will choose to be a little more compassionate in its treatment of the Church tonight?” Holding his gaze long enough to impress his point, the cardinal bowed slightly and excused himself to take a seat in the shadows.
As airtime approached, Erin Cross returned in the company of several solicitous Italian WNN brass who had been only too happy to serve as her Vatican tour guides. Charmingly, she disengaged herself and took her chair next to Feldman with a bright and cheery “Hello!” It failed to raise his spirits.
A few minutes later, the couple were given their cue as an “on air” light flashed red and the familiar WNN logo swirled onto countless TV screens all across the globe, immediately followed by the images of Feldman and Erin. An off-camera voice announced, “Live from St. Peter's Cathedral in Vatican City, here are World News Network correspondents Jon Feldman and Erin Cross.”
The camera cut to a close-up of a pensive-looking Feldman. “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen,” he opened, without his customary shy half smile. “We welcome you to WNN's special coverage of the first-ever live broadcast of a papal edict.
“Before tonight's address, WNN has prepared for you an informative documentary on this rare pronouncement of the Catholic Church, known as a ‘decree
“Now with some historical background on tonight's papal address, here's WNN's expert on religious affairs, news correspondent Erin Cross.”
The camera widened to include Erin's arresting, smiling face.
“Thank you, Jon,” she said, tossing back her stylish hair.
“Erin, can you begin by telling us a bit about the principle of infallibility behind this
“No, Jon,” Erin answered. “Actually the doctrine of infallibility only goes back a little over a century, to the year 1870, during the time when the Italian government was threatening to take the papal states away from Pope Pius IX.”
“The pope owned states?” Feldman feigned ignorance, following their strategy of eventually leading into further Secret Archive information WNN had yet to reveal.
“Yes. For more than one thousand years, the popes ruled huge kingdoms,” she explained. Slowly, the camera zoomed in on Erin to the exclusion of Feldman, turning the program over to her. “Until the late 1800s, the Catholic Church owned more than five thousand square miles of valuable landholdings in central Italy, protected by large papal armies and navies.” The camera cut away periodically to punctuate Erin's story with beautiful old cartographies of the papal states, interesting photographs, lithographs and illustrations of the papal armed forces. “Land that the Catholic Church had long claimed was given to it by the Emperor Constantine back in the fourth century A.D.
“The Church had at one time even produced an ancient contract, allegedly signed by Constantine himself, to prove this claim.” And a photograph of an ancient, yellowed scroll was displayed on camera. “Only, as you can see from this 1998 memo recently recovered from the Vatican Secret Archives, the contract was a forgery.” The camera next revealed an internal Vatican memo, typed in Italian on official Curia stationery, with a section translated in English on the screen. Erin read: “ ‘… recent advancements in scientific dating techniques make it advisable to exclude the scroll (Constantine contract) from outside study. Modern analysis of the document could readily expose the parchment as having been generated five centuries after the royal seal it bears….’ ”
An oil painting of an imperious, bearded man appeared on the screen. “In the spring of 1869, King Victor Emmanuel of Italy acted on long-standing suspicions about the legitimacy of the contract In an attempt to finally
