NON-CATHOLICS TAKE NEW LOOK AT JESUS' MOM.

Byline: J. Michael Parker San Antonio Express-News 

The Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions have exalted Mary, virgin mother of Christ, above all other saints, with elaborate feasts and devotions.

But Protestants largely discarded the trappings of Marian piety in the wake of the Reformation four centuries ago.

Now, some religion scholars say Protestants are rediscovering Mary, a trend that may be sparked by reports of miracles at shrines dedicated to her.

Jaroslav Pelikan, author of ``Mary Through the Centuries: Her Place in the History of Culture,'' said Jesus' mother has drawn unflagging worldwide interest for 2,000 years.

``No woman has been painted or sung about more often or has been the subject of more poetry or more theological and philosophical speculation than Mary,'' said Pelikan, a Lutheran and Yale University history professor.

Marian piety isn't exactly sweeping American Protestantism, but ``many Protestants are discovering that Mary's not a deterrent to faith in Jesus; she brings many people closer to him,'' said Wayne Weibel, a weekly newspaper publisher in Myrtle Beach, S.C., who has written three best-selling books about a little Croatian mountain village called Medjugorje, where villagers have reported daily apparitions of the virgin since June 1981.

Millions of pilgrims, including many skeptics, Catholic and non-Catholic, have visited Medjugorje each year to see for themselves what's happening that sparks such religious fervor.

Weibel said he was an active Lutheran layman who didn't believe claims about Medjugorje at first, but he studied all he could about Mary and visited the site to see for himself if the reported apparitions were a hoax.

He's spoken about the Medjugorje phenomenon in Protestant and Catholic churches throughout the United States. His books have sold more than 500,000 copies, he said.

``This isn't a limited Catholic thing. It's a message to all the world to really seek Jesus and put him in first place - give our lives to him,'' Weibel said.

Although he has since become Catholic, Weibel said not all Protestants who believe in the apparitions convert.

``Many of them remain in their Protestant churches to tell others that we all need to pay attention to Mary,'' Weibel said.

Mary Jane Fox, director of the Pilgrim Center of Hope, a Catholic evangelization ministry in San Antonio, said she has seen growing Protestant interest in the virgin.

``The national Marian congress in San Antonio draws several thousand people each year, including some Protestants,'' Fox said.