The counterpart to today’s NYT frontpager on the pope’s mild stand on behalf of immigrants is the Metro section lead, “A Populist Shift Confronts the U.S. Catholic Church.” It’s a fairly ordinary piece about the growing appeal of Pentecostalism, particularly among Latinos and immigrant groups. What’s remarkable is this photograph by Piotr Redlinski. Most of Redlinski’s work is theatrical — even these gritty war pictures turn out to be literally staged. That experience is perhaps what allowed him to recognize the simultaneous theatricality and authenticity of this group of believers laying on hands at the Portuguese Language Pentecostal Missionary Church in Astoria, Queens. The woman on the right keeps her mike ready even as she leans forward with fervor; the man on the left looks oblivious to the performance he is a part of; and the pastor who’s receiving an anointing maintains a steadying hand on the neck of his electric guitar. It’s a stunning image, the best religion journalism in a Sunday paper packed with papal news.