TV & VIDEO - Aug. 25, 1987

The visit of Pope John Paul II to the United States next month is posing a particular problem for the nation’s media: His Holiness doesn’t hit the talk shows. In fact, the Pope gives no interviews whatsoever, said NBC correspondent Maria Shriver. And there are a couple of other problems: the media’s generally chary attitude toward religious issues and the spotlighting of one faith’s leader over others. So it should come as no surprise that Shriver’s report on the Pope’s visit--airing tonight on NBC--examines how American Catholics feel about John Paul II rather than the other way around. Shriver’s reaction to meeting the Pontiff? “When he walks in the room, you’re kind of speechless. . . . He does look like he’s right out of central casting.”