FRONTLINE to Launch Special Site on the Life and Legacy of Pope John Paul II

FRONTLINE kicks off its new line-up of award-winning, content-rich websites starting with "John Paul II: The Millennial Pope." The site is being published in conjunction with FRONTLINE's bold and innovative new 2 1/2-hour program on the Pope, which airs on PBS September 28th at 9 p.m. The site, to be located at http://www.pbs.org/frontline/shows/pope, will include interviews, video, special reports and more.

Features include: In-depth, Illuminating Interviews: Journalists and intimates who have carefully studied and analyzed the pope's life, character, and beliefs probe the major themes in it. Subjects covered in-depth include his remarkable relationship with Jews, his part in the fall of Communism, his battle with liberation theology, his repudiation of the ordination of women, his rigid stance against the 'culture of death,' and his fierce exhortation to faith in a secular age.

Special Video: A videotaped fiery roundtable debate on the pope's stance on women, birth control, and gays. Plus, four personal testimonies about spiritual yearning and encountering faith (among them, authors Robert Stone and Germaine Greer).

Special Reports: The church and human sexuality; the real story of the pope's part in Communism's fall; an authoritative biography with pictures and related material.

Plus: A collection of his poems; anecdotes and stories about the pope; a collection of his encyclicals, major speeches, and letters (such as his letter to the Jews, and his letter on women); and a teacher guide with curriculum materials to help teachers bring students to a deeper understanding of Pope John Paul II as a world leader.

Based on the draw of FRONTLINE's previous religious website "From Jesus to Christ" -- which in one day alone attracted over 44,000 visitors and continues to draw thousands of visitors each week -- this site on Pope John Paul II should become a major forum for discussion about John Paul.

Crosswalk.com Announces First 10 Million Pageview Month

CHANTILLY, Va., Sept. 7 -- Crosswalk.com said today that August was the first month in its history that there were more than 10 million pageviews at crosswalk.com, which is the leading web community for the broad Christian community. Previously, the company reported a monthly average of 6.53 million pageviews for the three-month period ended June 30, 1999, which represented a 57% gain over the 4.15 million reported for the prior quarter. The Company added that the number of pageviews does not include results for www.GOSHEN.net, another web community the company acquired in August 1999. At the time of the acquisition, GOSHEN.net averaged approximately 3.5 million monthly page views, and was growing at a rapid rate.

``August is traditionally the slowest month for people to visit the Web,'' said Crosswalk.com President and CEO William Parker. ``The fact that we could reach this benchmark during August bears witness to the fact that we serve a large community that is increasingly turning to the Web for many purposes, and is discovering that www.crosswalk.com can serve as a great portal to the Internet,'' Parker added. ``As we grow, we are increasing both our content and our marketing efforts. We have every reason to believe that this will continue to result in substantial growth.''

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