Women President and Priests Expected.

• Position: Public opinion poll for the 21st century - Brief Article

Americans expect to see the first female president as well as women Catholic priests sometime during the next 100 years, according to a study commissioned by the Billennium Organizing Committee and conducted by National Family Opinion Research, Inc. The Official Millennium Survey polled 1,000 households on the appeal of possible accomplishments.

Curing major illnesses and mastering interstellar travel also topped the list of accomplishments expected to happen during the next century, while eliminating poverty and pollution ranked lowest. "People believe that women will be more of a catalyst for leadership and change in the next century than men," indicates Mark Mitten, president of the Billennium Organizing Committee, a Chicago-based company focused on marketing at the millennium.

As the dawn of the new millennium nears, people's expectations for what will be accomplished in the 21st century are hopeful, but very different than those expressed at the end of the 19th century. In 1899, many people had a utopian vision of what life in 2000 would be like--one where all the social ills had been cured and there were no more poverty or injustice. Even housework was expected to be eliminated.

"People have a much more realistic and personal perspective on what they think can be accomplished during the 21st century," notes Mitten. "It's fascinating to contrast the fact that, in 1899, people thought pollution and poverty would be eliminated by 2000. Yet, today, at the brink of the new millennium, those two items rank lowest as...