this great romanesque abbey church at vezelay in the heart of burgundy is built far too large for theeeds of its local population. paul crossley is a distinguished architectural historian whose special interest is romanesque and gothic architecture. it served primarily two functions. it housed a large and prosperous community of benedictine monks, and secondly and most importantly, it was one of the foremost places of pilgrimage in france, for here was contained the relics of saint mary magdalene. thousands of pilgrims came through the western portals of this church, and they found themselves in a sacred way... a long avenue of arches and aisles which led them to the distant and luminous choir where the body of saint mary magdalene was contained. to the dout mediev christian, holy relic had the power to perform miracles. even the tiest fragment of the body of a snt encased in its riqry rapresented the power, the presence of the saint. much of the art of the time was geared to the cult of saints and their relics. medieval artists lavished their skill on these reliquaries. only the most

abbey. caller: right. i guess my comment is, the church is not really a democracy. the pope is the only one that matters.y point is, the episcopal church and catholic church were very similar until the 1960's. the episcopal church became very liberal, with women priests and a homosexual priests, and their membership has thrived drastically. whereas the capital church has remained the same. i think that that stability is important. i hate that they are involved in the government. i would like to say -- like to see them say that they do not need money from the government. i think it is contaminating the church. host: i think we got your point. guest: well, i love the you were a [unintelligible] monk. my family has a close connection to them. as you know, even they had disagreements at times with the pope. father thomas merton had to have his letters looked at by the monks themselves and by the local bishops. there are many parts to the catholic church, which is why i love about it. we do not all agree, but that is what church is about. host: md., democratic caller. caller: i cannot believe that this is ins

church and state and birth control. where else has he shown what you call a hostility to religion. >> well, we actually -- there's been a similar case going on with the eoc. bell abbey college. a catholic university was forced to participate in contraception coverage for their employees. you had the national labor board that ruled that xavier university was not catholic enough. therefore, had to be unionized. we've seen reverend franklin graham disinvited to the pentagon just last week, we had jerry -- >> oh, i wouldn't invite him either because franklin graham is a disgrace. okay, i don't think he's a typical christian minister, do you, with his commentaries on islam and his partisanship? his partisanship? >> he was going to a national day of prayer event to speak. and you look at the work he has done in helping muslims, non-muslims around the world. it's quite amazing. but you look at what happened before christmas where the military, the walter reed medical center banned the bible from being brought in or read from. you see these policies coming out, trickling out. you see this past weekend, the same issue, but you had the military chaplains were censored in what

abbey. caller: right. i guess my comment is, the church is not really a democracy. the pope is the only one that matters. my point is, the episcopal church and catholic church were very similar until the 1960's. the episcopal church became very liberal, with women priests and a homosexual priests, and their membership has thrived drastically. whereas the capital church has remained the same. i think that that stability is important. i hate that they are involved in the government. i would like to say -- like to see them say that they do not need money from the government. i think it is contaminating the church. host: i think we got your point. guest: well, i love the you were a [unintelligible] monk. my family has a close connection to them. as you know, even they had disagreements at times with the pope. father thomas merton had to have his letters looked at by the monks themselves and by the local bishops. there are many parts to the catholic church, which is why i love about it. we do not all agree, but that is what church is about. host: md., democratic caller. caller: i cannot believe that this is i