However, we don’t expect unbecoming behavior from “professional” religious. Especially when they do and say unchristian things. What was the norm in 1054, when the Orthodox church leaders split with the Vatican in a dispute over papal power, isn’t the norm in 2001—or at least it shouldn’t be. A case in point is the grand pique by the Greek Orthodox monks and nuns, who consider themselves as the protectors of the “True Christianity.” They prayed from sunset Friday to dawn Saturday before the Pope’s visit asking God to prevent his visit to Athens. “The worst enemy of Orthodoxy is coming, the arch-heretic of Rome,” the Most Rev. Theofilos told the vigil according to the Associated Press. “This is a great evil. We pray for God to prevent this.” I think not. Instead let’s pray for those who have a “Most Rev.” in front of their name and do and say stupid un-reverend things.

Visiting with the top Orthodox archbishop in Greece, Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens, Pope John Paul II began his historic visit to Greece with a dramatic apology. Living the Good News, he apologized for the past treatment of Orthodox Christians and issued a call to “heal the wounds” that still divide Western and Eastern Churches. “For the occasions, past and present, when sons and daughters of the Catholic Church have sinned by actions or omissions against their Orthodox brothers and sisters, may the Lord grant us the forgiveness we beg of him.”

While Greek monks and nuns were whining over Pope John Paul’s visit as if the condemnation of the patriarch of Constantinople by Pope Leo IX and the split between East and West was the day before, other religious professionals were praising the Pope for his stature as a man of peace. Notable among them was Lutheran Bishop Johannes Fredrich of Bavaria, the man responsible for relations with the Catholic Church in his German United Evangelical-Lutheran Church. He suggested that the pope could be “regarded by Christians of other denominations as an ecumenically accepted spokesman for world Christianity in the service of unity.”

Interfaith dialogue is an official part of our Catholic teaching and John Paul II has made it a hallmark of his papacy. Beginning in 1986 when he became the first pope to enter a synagogue, he has sought to dialogue with religious leaders. In Israel last year, he prayed at a Holocaust memorial at Yad Vashem a day after empathizing with the plight of the Palestinians.

On this journey, following in the footsteps of St. Paul, when the Pope reached Damascus and entered the 1,300-year-old Great Umayyad Mosque to become the first pontiff to visit and pray in a Muslim house of worship, Syria’s grand mufti, Sheikh Ahmad Kuftaro welcomed him saying, “I am so happy you are here!” A perfect welcome to a visitor.

Entering the Great Mosque, the pope removed his shoes and donned cloth slippers. He said a silent prayer at the tomb believed to contain the head of John the Baptist. Afterward, in the courtyard outside, the pope and the mufti greeted one another civilly, recognizing their spiritual connection to the one God. The two octogenarians, leaning on canes, addressed the issue of historic grievances between their flocks.

The pope spoke first, “For all the times that Muslims and Christians have offended one another, we need to seek forgiveness.” The mufti added: “We should not linger over past mistakes by those who alleged they followed the teaching of their religions.” His was a gracious act of civility to a visitor.

So Giants, fans let’s think about how the sporting world looks at the lack of civility between us and visiting players. Remember, they are visitors in the city of St. Francis. Act as the pope and Christ would…civilly.