TIME Correspondent Speaks at January Series

Elizabeth Dias says there are two big stories she expects to be covering over the next year as a correspondent for TIME Magazine.

One has to do with Pope Francis, the popular head of the Catholic Church, Dias said on Wednesday at Calvin College’s January Series 2015.

“There is no beat more exciting in journalism than mine because I get to follow the pope,” she said.

Especially fascinating will be to watch the level of interplay between U.S. presidential candidates later this year and the pope. “So many of the political candidates are Catholic, and it is interesting to see how everyone wants to be associated with Francis.

“I’m curious to see how it will play out, since very few of the political views of the candidates coincide with the pope’s.”

The other story has to do with gay marriage, an issue to be taken up in April by the U.S. Supreme Court.

She has already written about this topic and will continue to do so. “This issue is especially fraught with religious tension,” she said. “Where do evangelicals really stand on the issue?”

Some of the largest Protestant churches in the U.S. are currently discussing this issue, often behind closed doors, and some have come out in favor of gay marriage, she said.

“It is becoming harder and harder for evangelical churches to deny that a big change is happening,” she said.

Many young people, especially, tend to view the issue differently than their parents. “I’m not saying young people reject biblical authority, but they are understanding it in a different way,” she said.

Even for some parents, she said, they sometimes find themselves caught between what they believe the Bible teaches and their love for their child who is gay.

“Whenever something personal like this happens, parents are asking, ‘How do I love and respect God and still love my child?’”

The January Series runs through Jan. 27.