The Pope In America: POPE JOHN PAUL II

I GOT A PEEP AT THE POPE boasted a T shirt.

Lifelike posters of John Paul II—complete with the hint of a halo—were out on the streets too. Vendors were following the Fisher of Souls from city to city like a flock of seagulls. Pope buttons, two for $5, pens, medallions, portraits suitable for framing, Vatican flags, pennants proclaiming WELCOME POPE JOHN PAUL II: oceans of junk, rivers of memorabilia. Despite the Pontiffs preaching against materialism, the hucksters were out in full force.

One of the bestselling items, however, was the genuine article. Infinity Records, an appropriately named division of MCA, last week...