BENEDICT XVI: NEWS, PAPAL TEXTS, PHOTOS AND COMMENTARY

All I can say to that is: Ach, Du Großer Gott!!!!!!!!!!!



WHAT IS WRONG WITH ALL THOSE PEOPLE OVER THERE!!!???

They can't be all stupid (even though I'm beginning to believe that some of them might be suffering from aftereffects of mad cow disease).

Can we fast-forward one week!!! Please!!!!
I haven't seen any nation less worthy of a Papal visit than that.
Even hyper secular France was nothing compared to that.
Even the hype before the trip to Turkey was nothing compared to that!!

Please see preceding page for earlier posts today, 9/14/10.





Catholics will show
'profound loyalty to Pope',
says Archbishop of Westminster

14 September 2010


The leader of Catholics in England and Wales insisted today that he was confident the faithful would show "profound loyalty" towards Pope Benedict XVI on his visit to Britain.

Archbishop Vincent Nichols said Catholics were looking forward "very much indeed" to the visit in spite of a lower than expected turnout amongst Catholics for major events featuring the Pope.

"The Catholic tradition in this country is one of actually very profound loyalty to the person of the Holy Father," he told a news conference in London.

"While many would want to suggest differences of trends and opinion, this way or not, I am quite sure, and it is my experience in parish after parish, standing at the back of Westminster Cathedral day after day, that Catholics are looking forward to this visit very much indeed.

"The Catholic people of this country know what it is to show their affection and support for Pope Benedict."

Archbishop Nichols said 1,000 coaches with pilgrims would attend the
beatification ceremony for Cardinal John Henry Newman to be carried out by the Pope in Cofton Park, Birmingham, on Sunday.

The event will bring the 19th century clergyman one step closer to becoming England's first non-martyred saint since before the Reformation.

He said the Church expected around 54,000 to 55,000 people to be present at the site for the Mass, billed as the highlight of the Pope's four day trip to Scotland and England.

The Catholic Church said earlier this year that around 65,000 people classed as "pilgrims" - who have been asked to pay £25 towards travel costs and security - were expected at the ceremony.

It has come to this: that I offer a prayer of thanks for one simple news story like the above which does not contain a single word of reporter bias! (It figures, of course, that it's from a regional newspaper, not a national one.) It even reports the reason for the £25 fee correctly! So singular it is that I was tempted to highlight it in gold letters...


This turned up on a random search for B16 news, and it is interesting since it comes from a major Hare Krishna figure in the UK - apparently, they are more properly called Vaishnavas. It starts out a bit sarcastic but because he is speaking about a spending a day at the Vatican, practically, I am leaving it in. The rest of his message is properly - and it seems sincerely - one of good will.

The Pope visits Britain -
and I wish him well
by Kripamoya Das

Sept. 14, 2010

Last month, while I was in Rome, I was able to have a morning audience with His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI. I have always wanted to meet the spiritual leader of two billion people so it was a rewarding event. In the afternoon I was invited to take a vegetarian lunch deep inside the heart of the Vatican.

The spiritual experience was only slightly diluted by the presence of 50,000 other people there at the same time. And I was standing at the back. The lunch was in the Vatican cafeteria.

I have always wanted to be in St. Peter’s Square when the Pope gives a blessing. As readers will already know, I like blessings – and who better to bless you than the Holy Father himself?

On this occasion it was 50,000 Germans [????] waving flags and cheering their leader on a balcony who was giving a rousing speech in German. So spiritually invigorating – and ever so slightly chilling at the same time.

I love good oratory, and I like spectacle and music and flag-waving. And when its all combined to honour God’s representative on earth I’m a real sucker.

But I most likely won’t be at any of the events taking place over the next week when the Pope visits Britain – the first Pontiff to do so for 28 years, and the first Pope to come on a state visit.

I am very happy for those that will, though. Everyone’s faith needs a boost in these atheistic times, and as the representative of Jesus Christ walks amongst those of flagging faith, you can bet that many will experience a religious re-awakening – and that can only be a good thing.

As Vaishnavas we feel unity with the Pope and his mission, even as we recognize the divergence of theology and approach. In loyal defence of his own tradition, and in keeping with his history as Prefect of the Doctrine of the Faith, he may have relegated other religions as being ‘gravely deficient’ but one of his several titles is ‘Servant of the servants of God’ and we appreciate the humility in that term.

It can’t be easy being the head of the Catholic Church at this point in history. Ravaged by repeated scandal of the worst kind, and unable to placate the numerous victims or accusers, the Church struggles to hold its position of trust.

Criticized even by altruists for its unfashionable firmness on religious principles, and relegated by intellectuals as adherents of medieval nonsense, the Church is embattled, but has sufficient genuine spiritual power to survive and prosper.

I wish the Pope well when he arrives in Britain on Thursday.


Here's how the New York Times has set the stage for its coverage of the Pope's trip - even if it isn't bylined by their regular Rkme correspondent. Perhaps that explains why it comes with none of Rachel Donadio's usual bag of tricks and biases... I can't believe there's a second fairly staright piece of enws reporting today, and from teh NYT at that!


Cameron urges Britons to welcome Pope
with open arms, not shrugs or protests
By ROBERT MACKEY

Sept. 14, 2010

Two days before Pope Benedict XVI begins a four-day visit to the United Kingdom, the popemobiles are in place, and Prime Minister David Cameron has urged Britons to welcome the Pontiff with something warmer than shrugs or protests.

In a video message posted on Number10.gov.uk, Mr. Cameron offered “a very warm welcome” of his own ahead of “a very special four days” for Britain’s six million Catholics.

Mr. Cameron’s greeting comes amid news of planned protests in London and Edinburgh by those who feel wronged by the Church, including Protestants whose tempers have not cooled in the five centuries since the Reformation. [As Mackey mentions later in the article, the protesting Protestants were limited to the rather un-Christian leader of the Free Presbyterian Church who protested John Paul II in 1982 as the anti-Christ!]

The relatively small number of Britons expected to take to the streets in protest might be the least of the Pope’s worries, though. As a man who hopes to lead a spiritual rebirth in Europe, he may be more disturbed by the far larger number of citizens of the U.K. who simply don’t care about his trip, because they no longer profess any belief in God.

When he arrives in Britain on Thursday, “The Pope will find himself on an island full of doubters,” Julian Glover explained in The Guardian last week. Taking note of the findings of this year’s British Social Attitudes survey, Mr. Glover suggested that “Many Britons have at best a shallow belief in God.”

The researchers reported that just 17 percent of the British population these days is sure that God exists; while 18 percent is sure that there is no God.

The 50 percent of British residents who describe themselves as Christian are nearly matched by the 43 percent who describe themselves as having no religion.

And even those who identify with Christianity in Britain don’t bother much about practicing it. This year’s survey says that a clear majority of Britons, 62 percent, never attend church at all.

A similar poll three years ago found that just 22 percent of the country make it to services each week.

One of the atheists who plans to attend a protest march to Downing Street when the Pope is in London on Saturday is Ben Goldacre, a science writer and psychiatrist who said: “I am supporting the campaign because the Catholic Church, with their foolish and aggressive campaign to stop people at risk from using condoms, exacerbate the epidemic of AIDS which kills two million people every year. For such a powerful international organization that claims to do good, this is barely forgivable.” [And what's unforgivable is that a man who professes to be a scientist can be so uninformed about the entire condom-AIDS issue, and apparently chooses to keep uninformed so he can toss off his absurd pontifications agains the Pontiff!]

Leading a small delegation of believers who plan to protest the Pope’s arrival and meeting with the queen in Edinburgh on Thursday is the Rev. Ian Paisley, the fundamentalist Protestant minister from Northern Ireland who also protested the last visit by a pontiff, in 1982. Three years before that, Rev. Paisley traveled to the European Parliament in Brussels to heckle Pope John Paul II.

There is video of Reverend Paisley interrupting that pope’s speech by shouting, “I renounce you as the Antichrist!” while holding a bright red sign reading “Pope John Paul II — Antichrist,” in case his message was unclear.

In a statement on their Web site, Mr. Paisley’s group explains:

---

The Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster views the state visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the United Kingdom with dismay and abhorrence.

Many citizens do not welcome the visit by the Head of the Vatican State to this country on financial, constitutional and on moral grounds. Recent events have revealed the deplorable cover-up by the Roman Catholic hierarchy of the systematic abuse of innocent children by priests.

Our Church’s opposition is based on scriptural convictions and because of the deeply offensive and insulting nature of Pope Benedict’s claims and creed.

---

[Sadly, such language and tone by a Christian group rivals the bigotry in some of the worst Islamist extremist rhetoric against the Pope.]

In his far more genial video message, Mr. Cameron praised the work done by faith-based organizations in Britain, as he had in April, when he was asked about the Pope’s visit during a pre-election debate.

As video of that debate response posted online by The Telegraph reminds us, Mr. Cameron said of the visit at the time: "I think we should try and make a success of it — but do I agree with everything the Pope says? No. I don’t agree with him about contraception; I don’t agree with him about homosexuality, and I think the Catholic church has got some very very serious work to do to unearth and come to terms with some of the appalling things that have happened and they need to do that. [Spoken like a candidate trying to court the wider vote, but also perpetrating the uninformed myths about the Church and this disproportionately overblown sex abuse issue.]

I hope Mr. Mackey reports the visit itself instead of Ms. Donadio- but the Times editors will surely not pass up availing of what amounts to a mini-'open season' of four consecutive days for all those who want to shoot, snipe and otherwise knock down the Pope.

Here's a welcome message from the evangelical Christians of the UK:

UK evangelical body urges 'all' Christians
to welcome Pope's visit in the name of
protecting religious freedom
By Lawrence D. Jones

Sept. 14, 2010

The largest body of evangelicals in the United Kingdom says Christians of all denominations should “wholeheartedly welcome” this week’s visit by Pope Benedict XVI.

That is, if they want to protect their right to freely practice their faith “in the wake of growing hostility from a small number of influential people promoting a secular agenda.”

During the first papal visit to Britain in 28 years, the Pope is expected to deliver remarks on what has been described as a growing “secular agenda.”

"There have been a number of high-profile cases involving gagging orders on Christians sharing their faith at work, praying for people and practicing their faith in obedience to biblical teachings in the work place," notes Steve Clifford, general director of the Evangelical Alliance, which represents around a million evangelicals in the United Kingdom.

"While not all Christians share the Pope's or the Catholic Church's stance on certain issues, we should welcome his visit for the sake of fighting for religious liberty," adds Clifford.

Earlier this year, Benedict criticized the British government for its introduction of equality legislation that he described as “unjust” and one that “violates natural law” because it bars worshipers from being true to their beliefs.

The Equality Act 2010, which is scheduled to come into full force on Oct. 1, requires equal treatment in access to employment as well as private and public services, regardless of gender, race, disability, sexual orientation, belief and age.

While the bill has an exemption that covers ministers of religion, critics say the legislation could lead to prosecution of faithful employers who decide not to against their beliefs by employing homosexuals.

Companies and organizations could also feel forced to hinder Christian employees from reasonably following their beliefs, as the bill enables staff to seek damages from employers who fail to take reasonable steps to protect them from any form of discrimination.

Since the legislation was passed, a number of Christians have reportedly lost their jobs or faced disciplinary action for practicing their faith at work by wearing a crucifix or sharing their views on biblical teaching.

While the Pope is not expected to address government policy directly during his visit this week, the Pontiff will reportedly make it clear that Christians and people of other faiths should not lose their freedoms at the expense of a secular state’s emphasis on equality, according to senior Roman Catholic sources.

Writing in The Sunday Telegraph, the Most Rev. Vincent Nichols, the leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, said Benedict will stress that religious belief should not be seen as divisive but as "a source of energy and inspiration."

"When we forget, minimize or even reject this inheritance, then we risk losing our profound identity and creating a vacuum of values at the heart of our society," he stated.

The Pope is expected to arrive in Britain on Thursday for the start of a four-day visit that will include open air Masses in Glasgow, London and Birmingham, and meetings with Church and government leaders.

The Anglican Bishop of Chicester, the Rt. Rev. John Hind, said Benedict’s visit “should be a real encouragement for Christians of all denominations at a time of almost unprecedented hostility to Christianity in this country.”

"I urge all members of the diocese to pray earnestly for the Pope and our own Archbishop as they seek to present the unchanging faith of the Church in changing times,” the Church of England bishop stated in a message to the diocese’s clergy over the weekend.

The Evangelical Alliance, meanwhile, said it hopes the Pope’s visit would “act as a catalyst” for society to protect religious freedom in Britain and overseas.

“Religion is not something we do in church on Sunday,” EA leader Clifford argues. “It’s a living reality that affects every area of our lives.”


And a wider view from non-Catholic Christians:


Pope will face questions
as well as pose them
By Trevor Lundy

14 Sep 2010

Pope Benedict XVI is likely to focus on religious freedom during the first official State visit by a pontiff to Britain.

The Pope is also likely to face scrutiny at a time of global questioning of secrecy in the Roman Catholic Church and the attitudes of its hierarchy on social issues that are seen as out of step with the norms of many people.

Benedict will arrive in the Scottish capital of Edinburgh on 16 September 2010 for the first papal visit to Britain since 1982, when his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, drew big crowds on a six-day trip that was described as a pastoral, rather than a State, occasion.

Writing in the Sunday Telegraph newspaper on 12 September, the head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, Archbishop Vincent Nichols, wrote that religious belief should not be seen as divisive, but as "a source of energy and inspiration".

Nichols wrote, "When we forget, minimise or even reject this inheritance, then we risk losing our profound identity and creating a vacuum of values at the heart of our society."

He noted Pope Benedict's insistence that, "secular institutions, and the mentality they encourage, should also be open and positive in their stance towards religious belief."

In Edinburgh, the Pope will meet Queen Elizabeth II and then head to London.

On 17 September, Benedict will address both Houses of Parliament at Westminster Hall, where two of the Catholic Church's greatest martyrs, Thomas More and Edmund Campion were tried in the 16th century. Here, the Pope is expected to defend the place of religion in society.

Another highlight of the visit takes place on 19 September at a beatification Mass for Cardinal John Henry Newman (1801-1890) at Cofton Park, Birmingham, in central England. Beatification is often seen as a step towards sainthood. [It is a step to sainthood! How can the reporter make such a basic mistake?]

Newman was an Anglican priest who initially sought to bring the Church of England back to what he saw as its Catholic roots. Still, in 1845, after a period of self-questioning and doubt, he was received into the Roman Catholic Church.

Speaking to pilgrims on 12 September at his summer residence of Castel Gandolfo, Pope Benedict asked for prayers for his visit to Britain and he praised Cardinal Newman. "His personality and his teachings can be a source of inspiration for our times and for ecumenism," said Benedict.

The Guardian newspaper had earlier reported that the Pope will face a sceptical audience in Britain. "When Benedict XVI lands at Edinburgh airport on Thursday, he is unlikely to get the rapturous reception that greeted John Paul II on his visit to Britain in 1982. Over the coming days, the Pope will be faced with protesters demanding action on clerical sexual abuse of children and voicing anger at the 20 million British pounds cost of the state visit, and must also contend with public apathy."

During his visit, the Pope is to hold talks with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, as well as three former Prime Ministers, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and Margaret Thatcher.

British police will be out in force because of planned protests about the papal visit.

"The Protest the Pope campaign is calling on the British government to disassociate itself from the Pope's intolerant teaching on issues such as women's rights, gay equality and the use of condoms to prevent the spread of HIV," said gay and human rights activist Peter Tatchell. He was commissioned by Channel Four television to produce a documentary on the Pope to be broadcast before the visit.

The Pope will also be under pressure to allow women and married men to become priests.

Christina Rees, an Anglican and a campaigner for women's ordination, told ENInews: "If the Pope were to open Roman Catholic orders to women, also to married men, it would have a tremendously positive and transformative effect on a global scale."

She said, "Numbers of clergy would go up again and I am bound to say that sex abuse scandals on the scale we have discovered and clergy living double lives would become a thing of the past."

Rabbi Jonathan Romain of the Maidenhead synagogue noted controversies under Pope Benedict that included the reintroduction of a Latin Mass referring to "perfidious Jews", and the lifting of the excommunication of breakaway Catholic Bishop Richard Williamson, who has denied that Jews died in Nazi gas chambers.

On the other hand, Romain told ENInews, "There is his commitment to good inter-faith relations, along with his obvious warmth when he visited the Rome synagogue. The stakes are high because it would be very regrettable if the tremendous progress made in Jewish-Christian relations over the last 50 years might be reversed." [Not

[Ecumenical News International is jointly sponsored by the World Council of Churches, the Lutheran World Federation, the World Communion of Reformed Churches and the Conference of European Churches.]


More from the secularists - and some Vatican II fanatics, as well:


Secularist think tank denounces
anti-Pope witch hunt by New Atheists
By staff writers

14 Sep 2010


The Institute of Ideas think-tank has accused fellow secularists of engaging in a "New Atheist witch-hunt" over the Pope's upcoming British visit.

They say that the tenor of the criticism of the Pontiff and the Catholic Church "is in stark contrast to their own professed views on tolerance." [A chronic affliction among liberals that has become such second nature to them they do not seem to even realize their self-contradiciton

Speaking to launch a series of religion-themed debates at the Institute's annual festival, director Claire Fox, a regular on BBC Radio 4's 'Moral Maze' programme, declared: "While many reacted with horror at France and Belgium with their intolerant ban on the burqa, the response of some secular campaigners shows that such demonisation of religious groups is alive and kicking in the UK."

Ms Fox accused anti-visit campaigners of making "hysterical, oft-repeated arguments" such as that the Pope is “leader of the world’s largest paedophile ring”. She said these "have more in common with contemporary heresy-hunting than the free-thinking spirit of Enlightenment secularism."

Fox continued: "There are many reasons to criticise religious leaders, and plenty are coming from within the Church itself, but secularists really should take the opportunity to remind themselves of the Enlightenment values they claim to stand for – such as tolerance, freedom of thought and conscience, and a human being as a rational subject - rather than focusing on what they hate about the Church and, by extension, Catholics."

The Institute, which emerged from a far-left background but now espouses combatively libertarian ideas, says that there is a need for a "more clear-thinking and rational debate on the role religion plays in a secular society". This will be one of the topics at its 'Battle of Ideas' festival (www.battleofideas.org.uk) over the weekend 30-31 October at the Royal College of Art in London.

A debate on 'The Catholic Church: more sinned against the sinner?' will feature Catholic-born humanist lawyer John Fitzpatrick, US-based libertarian commentator Wendy Kaminer, philosopher Peter Cave and Catholic commentator Austen Ivereigh.

Leaders of the Protest the Pope coalition (http://www.protest-the-pope.org.uk/) have argued that they are not anti-Catholic, but are opposed to the views of the present Pope and to the status and cost of an official State Visit.

Terry Sanderson, president of the National Secular Society, said: "The cost of this visit to the taxpayer will run into tens of millions of pounds, at a time when the Government is about to announce 25 per cent cuts in public spending. If the Pope really cared about poverty - and these Government cuts will hurt the poorest in our society - he would offer to pay his own way from his Church’s fantastic wealth."

A press conference is being held by the group at 3pm on Tuesday 14 September, at Conway Hall in central London, to further outline its protest plans and its charges against Pope Benedict.

Speakers include the feminist writer Joan Smith, Terry Sanderson, President of the National Secular Society, Andrew Copson, Chief Executive of the British Humanist Association and Marco Tranchino and Peter Tatchell of the Protest the Pope campaign.

Mr Tranchino said: "On Saturday 18 September we will assemble at 1.30 pm at Hyde Park Corner, march through central London and conclude our protest with a rally opposite Downing Street. We will tell our Government that it should not honour the Pope as a Head of State. The Vatican must not be allowed to consolidate its influence. In a liberal society, no religious leader should be permitted to attack our equality laws without challenge and no religious leader should have privileged, undemocratic influence on our political leaders." [The words betray fear - and very likely bitter envy - of the Vatican and the Pope's influence! People throw stones at the tallest tree in the forest! Why can't they fight ideas with ideas, rather than with insults? Islam has just as many worldwide members as the Roman Catholic Church, it obviously exedrts its influence on today's world, though in ways very different from the Catholic Church, and it imposes on its followers a moral and social system with the force of law that is rigidly imposed on everyone - but the secularists do not dare challenge it in any way! They dismiss the Catholic Church as irrelevant, yet concentrate all their envious rage against it. Because they know the Pope will never send terrorists to hunt them down adn blow them up and their families, but merely go on preacing Catholic doctrine as serenely and firmly as he always has.]
Progressive Catholic (http://www.catholic-womens-ordination.org.uk/links.htm) and Christian groups have largely steered clear of the coalition, but are working actively to promote alternative, religiously- and theologically-grounded perspectives on key issues such as women's ministry, the acceptance of lesbian and gay people in the church, family planning, human rights, HIV-AIDS prevention and other concerns where Benedict XVI has pursued hardline policies and rhetoric. [Of course, they are hardline. There can be nothing 'soft' about faith! It has to be firm and rock-solid.]

Opinion polls, including one commissioned by Bible Society funded think-tank Theos, are indicating that the majority of the public are not especially interested in the Papal visit.

The BBC has announced that it will have a total of 400 staff covering the four-day Papal visit, which begins on Thursday 16 September.

[There goes that illogic again! If majority of the public is not interested, then why is the BBC fielding 400 staff members to cover it? Where are the cries protesting that the BBC - which is funded by people's taxes - is spending too much on an event in which the majority of the people are not interested? Either the BBC is acknolwedging that this is an event they cannot afford to treat as a second-rate event, much less ignore; or, as I said earlier, they are being maliciously ghoulish and want to be able to record every moment of the 'disaster' they have been predicting.]

The results of the latest CVR-ITV survey have particularly impressed Bernard Wynne of the [COLORE=#001-FF]Stand Up For Vatican II network (http://www.standup4vatican2.org.uk/), who says:

"Our experience in a range of Catholic reform organisations confirms our belief that around 50 per cent of Catholics in the UK broadly support the reform agenda."

"On some issues however, this survey suggests that the percentage is much higher, for example the number supporting a married priesthood is well over 60 per cent. The response regarding gay relationships indicates that a high percentage of respondents support more tolerance in respect of celebrating such relationships." [EXCUSE ME!!!! Where is it in the 16 documents of Vatican II that gives a green light to married priesthood and celebrating gay relationships???? These 'spirit of Vatican-II' fanatics are even more unhinged and dishonest than I'd thought. Not much choice between them and the New Atheists!

When the Popemobile becomes
the object of a photo-op...



Where else but in the UK has the Popemobile become a news subject in itself? It sure is a good way to show how 'little interest' there is in this trip! The photo opportunity was at a North London police station where the Popemobile is being kept for safekeeping.


One does expect more pre-visit photos than just the two below:



In Glasgow, they have started setting up the altar for the first papal Mass on Thursday, Sept. 16, in Bellahouston Park:

The altar and chair were crafted of white ash by Glaswegian craftsmen.



Pope's visit:
The appeal of memorabilia
By Claire Heald

Sept. 14, 2010


Thousands of worshippers are expected to turn out for Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the UK, and some will return home with a keepsake by which to remember their visit.

When the Pope stretches out his arms to the masses gathered in parks in Glasgow, Birmingham and London this weekend, the rock star parallels will be exaggerated by the appearance of the adoring crowds.

Some will be wearing the official papal visit T-shirt (£18) while holding aloft an electronic flashing candle (£3).

Others may sport, against the autumn chill, an official baseball cap (£15) bearing the slogan of the newly beatified Cardinal Newman: "Heart Speaks Unto Heart".

In their pockets they may, in prayer, thumb an official papal visit rosary or jangle an official key-ring picturing a smiling Benedict XVI, with mitre and papal cross, lest they be locked out post-pilgrimage.

As activity around the Pope's UK visit intensifies, so the faithful have been flocking to the altar of consumerism, with its mixture of official and unofficial souvenirs manufactured to mark the event.

At the west London warehouse of IVS, the official merchandise supplier, project manager Matt Hassall is overseeing the 75-80 different lines of memorabilia for the visit.

Pilgrims can record the Pope's words with a... Benedictaphone. He won't comment on sales figures but says some profits will be diverted to the Church to fund the Pope's visit.

The Catholic Church is expected to make a contribution of between £9m and £10m for a visit which could also cost the UK taxpayer £10-£12m, excluding policing.

Mr Hassall says there has been a conscious effort to make sure the candles, mugs, clothes, crockery, Lance Armstrong-style yellow rubber bracelets, flags, and prayer cards, designed with the church's input, are "in good taste".

He expects the thousands of boxes of official visit programmes to be his best-seller.

Then there is the unofficial merchandise. Among those selling online, Catholics With Attitude offers T-shirts, hoodies and bags proclaiming "I heart Papa Benny", "God Bless the Pope", "Team Benedict" and "BXVI".

Religious memorabilia is not for everyone - even those with an unshakeable belief in God may see a discrepancy between the absoluteness of spiritual belief and something as inherently trivial as a trinket.

Style setters, meanwhile, have in the past seized on such items not for their religious significance but their fashion value.

Stephen Goddard, who co-edits a Christian online magazine, says it's all about having a keepsake.

"We live in a world where people want items to remember things by and they cherish them, that's part of what we are ritualistically, whether religious or not," he says. "I think there's a novelty aspect. People buy them for people they think are notionally Catholic."

Goddard recognises that such memorabilia is not always purchased earnestly.

A chance to crack open the Benny Beers?... Every year, his magazine, Ship of Fools, compiles a list of the most kitsch items of religious paraphernalia for its "12 days of Kitschmas" feature.


(Other than the German Shephered T-shirt, which could do with a beter design, Eeeew!!! Why does kitsch have to be ugly when it could be 'quaintly charming'? (Like some Bavarian, Austrian or Swiss tchothckes.)

He has done a "papal visit" special for Pope Benedict's tour - among its items a steering wheel rosary for drivers, Benny Beer for drinkers and a Benedictaphone for recording the Pope's speeches.

How does he choose the merchandise to highlight? "The unusual or clever products that are not there to offend or upset the faithful.

"The official stuff is a little dull and a tad predictable," he says. "It's nice, it's colourful but I would like us to think we can be playful without being cynical.

"There's a view you can't have a sense of humour with faith, you have to be pious. But the Bible is rich with irony, Jesus was a master communicator - he can't have held the attention of 12 geezers for three years without a sense of humour."


They're selling Benny-Beer instead of the Benny-Bear that did brisk business in the US 2 years ago; the mini-Popemobile should join the mini-fleets of minicar collectors everywhere; and the Benedictaphone, while it has a clever name, unfortunately shows a mitered gargoyle (That can't be B16!).

It's not just the religious faithful who have got in on the memorabilia act. The Pope has many critics and for those opposing his visit, options include the National Secular Society's "Pope Nope" T-shirt.

But if simony is the sin of trafficking sacred things, isn't buying religious memorabilia wicked shopping?

...or the right moment for a pocket Popemobile? Probably not, says Goddard. After all, some of the items are sanctioned by the church.

Yet for some, such as design critic Stephen Bayley, even the official merchandise falls foul on aesthetic grounds.

While art is a powerful promotional tool, he says, "when art loses its life, the corpse that's left behind is kitsch" and the proliferating papal kitsch is astonishing.

"It would be charitable to believe this is touching evidence of the survival of medieval piety in our almost totally desacralised world," he says. "But it's not. It's just evidence of cynical and crass brand extension."

All the above is really odd commentary from Britons who commemorate anything that has to do with their royal family and individual members thereof, on a whole range of products, from kitchen towels to the inevitable commemorative plates and spoons, which are kitschy more often than not. The memorabilia business trades on the human penchant for keepsakes, and why not? I don't see why cynics should scoff at it, if it helps some of their fellowmen earn something out of the enterprise, and brings even just one moment of joy or fun or satisfaction to the purchaser. Spoken, of course, by an inveterate decades-long keepsake hunter - me!

Mons Kurt Koch:
Ecumenical dialog hinges on
friendship, love and truth
Interview by Giampaolo Mattei
Translated from the 9/15/10 issue of



He will make his first official visit as President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I in Istanbul on November 30 for the Feast of St. Andrew.

But on Sept 16-19, he will be travelling with the Holy Father to the United Kingdom, and on Sept. 20-27, he will be in Vienna for the 2010 working sessions of the Mixed International Commission for Theological Dialog between the Orthodox and Catholic Churches.

Mons Kurt Koch, former bishop of Basel, spoke to us about his first steps in this new job he has held since July 1 and the program which he will spell out in November at the plenary assembly of the Council.

As a good Swiss, he said, "I have had ecumenism bred into me from birth". At age 12, reading the Passion of Christ "shook and overwhelmed him" because "the Roman soldiers did not want to divide up the tunic of Jesus but we Christians have torn it apart off the one Body of Christ".

It was during Vatican-II, "a great event within the course of living tradition". Later, after studies in Lucerne and Munich, ecumenism also became part of his theological concerns. Ordained a priest in 1982, and named Bishop in 1995 of Basel, the largest Swiss diocese, he welcomed John Paul II to Bern in June 2004, organizing an encounter with the youth "to launch the new evangelization in Switzerland through the transmission of the faith", which is his other great pastoral passion.

Mons. Koch points out that the Council is not a sort of international corporation "that can do what it pleases. Christian unity is what Jesus himself wants, and I have a precise mandate from the Pope to try an do what I can to repair the scandal of our divisions".



A mandate that Benedict XVI must have further spelled out for him when they met on August 30, after he had been invited to be the principal lecturer at the annual Ratzinger Schuelerkreis seminar, during which he spoke about the correct interpretation of the Second Vatican Council and its subsequent liturgical reform.


What did the Holy Father tell you when he entrusted you with the responsibility of heading the Council for Christian Unity?
The Pope called me to the Vatican on February 6, and during the private audience, he told me he thought of me for the position because I was a bishop who knows the community of reformed Protestants not only from books but from actual, direct experience.

He knew that in Switzerland, I was able to dialog with them and meet with the reformed churches often. We had discussed these meetings together during our ad limina visits when he was Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and I was bishop of Basel.

Sine 2002, I had been a member of the Council for Christian Unity, and the work I have done there has made me even more aware of the great responsibility that Benedict XVI has entrusted me with.

Could you tell us which strategies you will be using in the various dialogs you must carry on, with the eastern Churches as well as with the western communities?
The central focus for me is to acknowledge the spiritual dimension as the basis and soul of the entire ecumenical movement. It is not anything new - it's found in Section 8 of the conciliar decree Unitatis redintegratio - and take the cue from direct experience. Without the spiritual dimension, we won't get anywhere.

What are the indispensable ingredients for the ecumenical dialog?
Friendship, first of all. A credible and sincere dialog can be carried out only if we have what has been called the ecumenism of love. When relations are not good, it is difficult to pray together and to confront theological issues.

To meet each other, know each other directly, and form true friendships, are the basic ingredients to make the theological dialog proceed much better.

Truth and love...
Love and truth are also the two principal words used by Benedict XVI, the center of his theological body of work. If love and truth do not go together, then dialog is blocked. For instance, there is no future for a man and a woman who apparently love each other but are not truthful with each other. Just as love without truth is not love, then truth by itself, without love, can be difficult to accept.

Looking back at the progress and setbacks so far, what is the state of health of ecumenism?
We have made progress in every direction. But we should not expect immediate results, precisely because the basis for ecumenism is spirituality. Every dialog is always a new challenge, with its specific characteristics. I have experienced this personally as a member of the Mixed Commission for theological dialog with the Orthodox churches, and of the International Commission for Lutheran- Catholic unity. There is a specific difference in how one proceeds.

With the Orthodox we have a great common foundation in faith and some differences in culture. With the world of the reformed churches, on the other hand, the common foundation of faith is not as great but we have the same culture.

The common foundation of faith with the Orthodox is producing unexpected results. From Moscow, you received a message of good wishes from Patriarch Kirill who said he looked forward to "new prospects of collaboration to the benefit of both sides", underscoring the positive and constructive development in the relationship between the Catholic adn Russian Orthodox Churches...
It is true. With the Orthodox, we are even making progress in the theological dialog. In Vienna, from Sept. 20-27, we could make more progress, as we continue examining the role of the Bishop of Rome in the first millennium [before the Great Schism].

On the Feast of St. Andrew, Nov. 30, I will be in Istanbul. It is significant that my first official visit will be to Patriarch Bartholomew I in the annual exchange of visits between Rome and the Fanar for our respective patronal feast days.

On the part of the Protestants, your appointment was greeted positively, with the hope for renewed 'ecumenical openness', as expressed first of all by the Lutheran pastor Olav Fykse Tveit, secretary general of the Ecumenical Council of Churches.
The basic condition is for us to define what is the Church, examining teh various points of view, especially since there is the risk of losing the vision itself of Church unity.

The experience I had in Switzerland has shown me the priorities and urgencies of the ecumenical effort. As a priest and as a bishop, I was always faced, for example, with the problem of so many mixed marriages, of families composed of Catholics and Protestants. It is said that husbands and wives, parents and children, cannot participate together in their liturgical celebrations. In Basel, this was always a practical challenge to me.

What will be useful to you in Rome from that experience?
In my country, the reformed church communities are a rather special case, even for the fragmented Protestant world. According to the evangelical theologian Lukas Vischer, who died in 2008 and was part of the Ecumenical Council of Churches, the Swiss communities "have the confession of not having a confession".

I carry with me the attitudes to dialog and a knowledge of the different ecumenical issues that have matured in the field.

The Pope's opening towards the Anglicans with the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum coetibus has resulted in great ferment. And now the Pope is going to the UK...
The situation in the Anglican world is not simple. With Anglicanorum coetibus, the Pope has opened the door to all those who asked on their own to live in full communion with the Catholic church.

During the Pope's visit to the United Kingdom, we shall be able to personally discuss questions that can help relaunch the dialog with the Anglicans. It is significant that in every visit abroad by the Pope, there is always an ecumenical event. But it is not surprising since in his first address after his election, he clearly identified Christian unity as his priority.

What are the themes to be discussed by the plenary assembly of your Council in November?
We are in the process of preparing for that. Two years ago, in the last plenary, we reviewed the progress made in ecumenism over the preceding 40 years.

Now we must identify the paths to pursue in the future. We are aware that Christian unity is an urgent mission to carry forward, notwithstanding the obvious difficulties, with a dialog that finds its basis in the Second Vatican Council.

Can you tell us about your team at the Council for Christian Unity?
I know I have extremely well-qualified collaborators, whom I got to know well in recent years, starting with the secretary, Mons. Brian Farrell, who has a precise picture of all the different situations. Then there is Mons. Eleuterio Fortino, a kind man whom everyone sees as a friend, and whose experience preserves the tradition of the dicastery.

How would you describe your work?
My task involves first of all establishing a tight network of meetings and visits with representatives of organisms that are very different from each other.

But there is an aspect that is particularly interesting but is hardly ever highlighted: this is meeting with Catholic bishops who come to Rome for their ad limina visit. I find these direct meetings fundamental, when we can examine specific situations case by case.

I have been a bishop for 15 years, and I was vice-president for nine years and then president for three years for the Swiss bishops' conference. Thus, I know how important these ad limina visits are. And on those occasions, our visits with Cardinal Ratzinger, then CDF prefect, was always very valuable. Before then, I felt I knew him well but only through his books.

The main headquarters of the FSSPX is in the territory of your former diocese, Basel. As you have observed the situation closely, how do you evaluate it?
I did not have particular contacts with the FSSPX. But I hope that the dialog offered by the Pope may be understood by everyone and can lead to good results.

It is also your task to carry on the dialog with the Jews. In your intervention at the 2008 Synod on the Word of God, you said "there is much we can learn from Judaism" in considering Scripture as 'a living reality'.
Often, it is overlooked that the president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity also heads the Commission for Religious Relations with Judaism. It is not by accident, or a mistake. In fact, it is very significant, and a task that I feel strongly about.

I was very happy that among the first to visit me in Rome, although it is summer, were some Jewish representatives, and that we have evidently positive signals from the Jewish world.

My predecessor, Cardinal Walter Kasper, must be credited for having given a significant impulse to improving relations with the Jews, overcoming many obstacles and prejudices.

On my part, I wish to continue depending the work of reciprocal knowledge among us. Relations with the Jews are not about politics - it is the religious dimension that counts. And the Pope has confirmed that in his visits to the synagogues in Cologne, New York and Rome.

Obviously, the question of the new evangelical sects is also on your agenda...
We must ask ourselves why so many people are turning to the sects. What do they find? Why do they appear so appealing? Why do these persons no longer knock at the Doors of our churches? The phenomenon of the sects poses serious questions.

Certainly, we should not use their strategies, but we are forced to rethink how to announce the Gospel, how to do it credibly. I was very impressed at the 2008 Synod, with the testimonials by representatives from Latin America who have to cope with the aggressiveness of the sects. So in the coming ad limina visits of Latin American bishops, we shall be discussing this issue better to see what can be done.

The Pope called you, a theologian, to carry on the ecumenical work of another theologian, Cardinal Kasper. The continuity has also helped clear the field of those inevitable attempts to label prelates as conservative or progressive.
I think there are no substantial differences between Cardinal Kasper and myself. We have known each other for years, and it was he in 2002 who asked me to become a member of the Council for Christian Unity. And he has made himself available to be consulted in order to facilitate my taking the office. I can give assurances that I will follow the work that Cardinal Kasper has established so well.

What to expect during
the Pope's UK visit
By Phil Lawler

Sept. 14, 2010


What should discerning Catholics be expecting when the Pope begins his visit to Great Britain?

1. Expect a lot of nasty rhetoric
The anti-Catholic activists have been stirring up their followers for several weeks now, with some generous assistance from the mass media. In the last few days before the Pope's trip, the rhetorical temperature had risen high enough to prompt the Irish Catholic to denounce a "wave of anti-Catholic hate" sweeping the country.

Criticism of the Church has become almost an obsession, and old-fashioned undisguised anti-Catholic bigotry has become socially acceptable.

A little group led by the atheist campaigner Richard Dawkins managed to attract publicity with its absurd calls for the arrest of the visiting Pontiff.

A television network aired a nasty attack "documentary" on the Pope, focused heavily on the sex-abuse crisis, directed by a gay-rights activist. (That activist, by the way, has advocated lowering the age of consent for sexual activity, putting him in a strange position to criticize priests who prey on teenagers!)

The anti-papal frenzy will undoubtedly produce some nasty public demonstrations, to which the media will surely provide extensive coverage.

To complicate matters, the English hierarchy has been reluctant to engage in any sort of head-on confrontation with the reigning secular culture. The bishops will answer the anti-Catholic charges gently, quietly, and sometimes not altogether persuasively.

When he tackles the most controversial issues of the day - as he will, because he always does - Pope Benedict will be exposed to more criticism, and it is not clear that the British hierarchy will speak out to deflect that criticism.

In fact, one of the more delicate challenges facing the Holy Father during this trip may be the effort to persuade the British bishops that they must be bolder in confronting secularism. The unabated anti-Catholic frenzy that we are now witnessing shows how far the forces of secularism have advanced, often largely unopposed.

2. Expect a continuing struggle over the legacy of Cardinal Newman
The beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman will be the high point of this papal trip. It will also be the primary point of contention between liberal and conservative Catholics.

Liberal Catholics would like to cite Newman in defense of their favorite causes. During the next week, we can expect a spate of essays claiming that Cardinal Newman was sympathetic toward theological dissent, or independence from the Vatican, or homosexuality, or even (improbably) Anglicanism.

Fortunately, we can also expect a masterful answer to these arguments, delivered by Pope Benedict himself at the beatification ceremony. The Holy Father clearly sees the importance of this battle for the Newman legacy. He is traveling to Britain and presiding at the beatification not only to honor Cardinal Newman but also to illustrate his importance as a guide for today's Church.

3. Expect criticism of the organizers, and finger-pointing after the fact
The planning for his papal trip has been marred by confusion, gaffes, budget problems, and maladroit public relations-- all avoidable. With the resources at their disposal the bishops of the United Kingdom should have been able to organize things smoothly. If there are miscues during the trip, as seems likely, there will be recriminations afterward.

4. Expect the unexpected
Pope Benedict has established a track record. He never fails to produce headlines, particularly during his trips abroad. But his most provocative statements do not always come when they are expected, and he rarely says exactly what he is expected to say.

Vatican-watchers unanimously expect the Pope's sermon at Cardinal Newman's beatification to be the most important papal message of the trip. But do not dismiss the possibility that the Pope will make his most newsworthy statement in some other venue: during his flight to Britain, or his meeting with the Queen, or even his talk with the British bishops on the last day of his visit.

If in fact the beatification homily is the centerpiece of the Pope's visit (as I think it will be), expect the Holy Father to press the argument in an unexpected direction. Given the ferocity of the attacks on Catholicism, the media will expect the Pope to defend the Church, to answer those attacks.

But this Pope doesn't allow himself to be pinned down on defense. He will, I am sure, seize the offensive and press forward with his argument. In what direction? We can only wait and see.

5. Expect the media to miss the point
Because they invariably expect the Pope to respond to their concerns, secular reporters often fail to recognize the most important points in a papal address. The mass media still don't understand the thrust of his Regensburg speech - which was every bit as much as a challenge to European secularism as to Islam.

If the Pope challenges the secular culture again in Great Britain, don't expect the media, the guardians of that secular culture, to catch his point.


I say simply: expect the worst from his critics and the best from the Pope.

Wednesday, Sept. 15, 24th Week in Ordinary Time
FEAST OF OUR LADY OF SORROWS

MATER DOLOROSA - OUR LADY OF SORROWS
Illustrations, from left: Greek icon, undated; Mater Dolorosa, El Greco, 1565; Pieta, Michelangelo, 1496; Pieta, William Bouguereau, 2876; Mater Dolorosa, Carlo Dolci, 1650; Our Lady of Sorrows, prayer card.
For a while there were two feasts in honor of the Sorrowful Mother: one going back to the 15th century, the other to the 17th century. For a while both were celebrated by the universal Church: one on the Friday before Palm Sunday, the other in September. The principal biblical references to Mary's sorrows are in Luke 2:35 and John 19:26-27. The Lucan passage is Simeon's prediction about a sword piercing Mary's soul; the Johannine passage relates Jesus's words to Mary and to the beloved disciple. Many early Church writers interpret the sword as Mary's sorrows, especially as she saw Jesus die on the cross. Thus, the two passages are brought together as prediction and fulfillment. St. Ambrose saw Mary as a sorrowful yet powerful figure at the cross. Mary stood fearlessly at the cross while others fled. Mary looked on her Son's wounds with pity, but saw in them the salvation of the world. As Jesus hung on the cross, Mary did not fear to be killed but offered herself to her persecutors.
Readings for today's Mass:
www.usccb.org/nab/readings/091510.shtml


Today's OR features a page 1 essay by Tony Blair on the spiritual and intellectual kinship between Benedict XVI and John Henry Newman. An essay in the inside pages traces the origins of Christianity in the British Isles. Page 1 international news: A new FAO report says most nations have failed to meet their commitments so far for the Millennium Development Goals to 2015, particularly with respect to fighting hunger - 923 million are estimated to be suffering from chronic hunger in the world today, down by 93 million from last year's total of over a billion; Israelis and Palestinians seek to get the new talks off the ground; and Mexico's worsening drug wars obscure the 200th anniversary of Mexican independence. The inside pages also carry a major interview with Mons. Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (translated and posted on this age two posts above).


THE POPE'S DAY

General Audience - At the Aula Paolo VI, the Pope's catechesis today was devoted to St. Clare of Assisi.
At the end of the GA, he expressed his concern for recent anti-Christian violence in India, Pakistan and
Afghanistan. He appealed for respect for religious freedom, and that the logic of reconciliation and peace
may prevail over hatred and violence.




The Holy Father has elevated two prelates recently appointed to top Vatican positions to the rank of Bishop:

- Mons. Ignacio Carrasco de Paula, of the Opus Dei, President of the Pontifical Academy for life

- Fr. Enrico dal Covolo, S.D.B., Rector magnificus of the Pontifical Lateran University

Actually, the essay is a bit of a letdown, because Blair fails to really draw the parallels between Benedict XVI and John Henry Newman, so the title is misleading. He also ends up plugging his Faith Foundation, which is rather out of place in this article, and introduced by a premise that I find questionable since I have no way of quickly tracing the Newman quotation on which he bases that premise...

The Pope and Cardinal Newman
by Tony Blair
Translated from the 9/15/10 issue of


In England, there have been very few saints in recent times, at least those recognized by the Church. English Catholics are therefore very happy at the beatification of John Henry Newman.

For this occasion, a Pope is coming back to our land, but most especially, a Pope who is profound harmony with the spirit and ideas of Newman.

The life and thought of Newman manifest the chasm that divides us from his world. His fame as a theologian, his constant concern for the truth of religion, the scientific reasoning, the profoundness of his historical studies which led him to leave Anglicanism for Rome, the scandal caused by such an act, all belong to another era.

Certainly, one remains impressed by his intellectual acceptance of the Catholic faith. Some continue to follow this path although in much less spectacular manner. I should know.

But in 2010, writing about theology, no matter how elegantly and acutely, does not get anyone the front page. Are his ideas still important today?

Newman considered spiritual truth supreme above all other values. In search of this, he was ready to consider friends old and new as secondary.

While he was preparing to join the Catholic Church formally, he wrote: "No one more than I myself can have such an unfavorable view of the present situation in the Church".

It certainly was not the most diplomatic thing to say. But for him, it did not matter, because he was doing what he thought to be right, no matter how inconvenient and unpopular it may be. Such intellectual courage is admirable. It is the same thing that many Catholics see in Benedict XVI.

Newman's ideas cannot be expressed easily in a brief article.

"A man of conscience is he who never acquires indulgence, wellbeing, success, public prestige and the approval of public opinion at the expense of truth", he wrote. It is a severe opinion in a world where, in such a crushing way, it is the media that forms public opinion.

As we know, Newman considered conscience supreme, even above the Pope. But he did not claim that the voice of conscience facilitates the choice of the right and true path, nor that this choice would be independent of the Pope's teaching authority (Magisterium).

"Our sense of what is right and what is wrong... is so delicate, so fragmentary, that it can be confused, obscured or perverted so easily... being so influenced by pride and passion".

This, he said, is where the magisterial authority of the Church comes in with its gift of discernment and definition, in order to correct and proclaim our personal judgment.

Therefore, although the chasm between us and Newman's world is great, nonetheless the issues he wrote about concern every Catholic and every politician today.

Newman was the first to introduce the concept of development. His idea of how doctrine develops proved to be extraordinarily influential in his time. He made development a key concept both inside the Church and outside. It is quite possible that today we would not be using terms like "millennium development goals' or 'international development' is Newman had not first used the word in his theology.

It is obvious that for the life of the Church, Newman's reflections today on the development of ideas have implications that are no less profound. He concluded that it was impossible to set a point at which the growth of doctrine could cease in the Church. Implicitly, such growth continues today.

"An idea was never a category that necessarily prospers and lasts, but like mathematical truth, it incorporates nothing from external sources", he wrote.

To decide which is 'true' development is certainly the premise for the teachings of the Church. Newman called the consensus of the entire 'body of the faithful' on doctrinal questions as 'the voice of the infallible Church". [I obviously do not have the time nor scholarly facility to check back on this statement - which I am translating from Italian! - but I am alarmed that Blair is using it to justify his own divergence from the Magisterium on some social issues, as he proceeds to do! What exactly is meant by "the consensus of the body of the faithful" - which sounds like putting Church doctrine to a majority vote! Which contradicts Newman's counsel about the dependability of the Magisterium for its discernment.]

I ask whether this voice is still taken seriously enough or if we have fully understood the implications of this thought. The tendency of some religious leaders to place a great number of diverse ideas into one single envelop labelled 'secularism' and to consider them as somewhat sinister creates divisions in a pluralist society. This tendency precludes the possibility of new development of thought within the Church. [To underscore that a doctrine or practice is contrary to the Catholic Magisterium is not 'sinister' - it is stating the truth - except for those who think it is sinister because it opposes their own views!]

But Benedict XVI's dialogs with important lay thinkers are a different example. I think Newman would have been a firm ally in promoting various forms of dialog among religions, precisely because of his theory of development. Intuitively, it might seem the opposite.

Newman, like Pope Benedict, fiercely opposed relativism. But the inter-religious activity of my Faith Foundation produces the opposite of relativism, confirming people in their respective faiths, and encouraging respect adn understanding for the faith of others.

Linking schools and faiths around the world, enrolling universities in consortia for interdisciplinary courses on faith and globalization, working in an inter-religious manner to promote the Millennium Development Goals, all those who share our ideas also wish to deepen their knowledge of their own respective faiths.

In the course of my life, the growing understanding by the Church of the nature and importance of inter-religious dialog has produced a flowering of ideas. Particularly in the last few decades, we have witnessed a development that encourages the Church to appreciate the spiritual significance of other religions.

The bishops of England and Wales explained this eloquently in their recent document Meeting God in Friend and Stranger.

It was predictable that some controversies have arisen over Newman's beatification. Some have asked very simply if this is the right way to honor him. [It's one way, not the only way, so what's the problem?]

But no one could seriously doubt that he was and is veritably a Doctor of the Church. And the time will come when he will be declared as such.

[I don't know if there is a rule that says a Doctor of the Church must necessarily be a canonized saint first. But what if the big surprise Benedict VI has for us all is that upon beatifying John Henry Newman, he will also declare him Doctor of the Church, which is the Pope's prerogative alone???]



'Newman, A Mind Alive'

Sept. 15, 2010

Monsignor Roderick Strange, author of John Henry Newman, A Mind Alive, sat down with Veronica Scarisbrick for a chat focusing on one of the most significant figures of the 19th century, whom Pope Benedict XVI is due to beatify in Birmingham on Sunday 19th September.

---

(He had)...a strong pastoral drive that shaped everything that he did, he wasn't just a remote academic ..the mind was alive not because he was some icy intellectual locked in a a tower but because he didn't want to move minds without touching hearts...

His legacy to the average Catholic today would be to help them perhaps understand questions which they might puzzle over whether they are questions of authority... the significance of Our Lady in ecumenical discussion , the place of the laity in the Church, attitudes of spirituality but also just the example of faithfulness when things are difficult ...

one influence which the Pope has spoken about...some years ago when Ohe was cardinal here in Rome was how as a young seminarian... he valued Newman's teaching on conscience... the importance of reason not in the narrow sort of dry intellectual sense....to explore and try to discover objective truth ..

---

The interview can be heard on
212.77.9.15/audio/ra/00226641.RM
BTW, if RV's Italian service can dutifully provide full transcripts of their audio reports, I don't see why the English service cannot and does not!

A second group of national publications in the UK has expressed an editorial welcome for Pope Benedict XVI. The first group was the Telegraph publications.


Let Pope Benedict XVI's visit
to Britain be a joyous trip
Editorial

15/09/2010

Millions of Britons, including people of other faiths as well as Catholics, are looking forward enthusiastically to the four-day visit of Pope Benedict XVI.

He will be welcomed warmly in Edinburgh, Glasgow, London and Birmingham on what is the first Papal visit to the UK for 28 years.

Yet there's no denying it's tinged with controversy.

Not least over the child sex scandals which have wracked the Catholic Church.

It is the democratic right of every British man and woman to speak his or her mind and protest if they wish but we would urge any demonstrators to be dignified.

The Pope is a religious figure and a head of state and we'd be furious if the Queen went to Italy and was abused or her tour disrupted.

Our six million Catholics who in particular look forward to his arrival must be allowed to celebrate their faith with the Pope.

We are proud Benedict XVI has chosen to come to our country and wish him a successful, joyous and very spiritual visit.


I am only posting the following because it comes from the Washington Post, and is a textbook illustration of the relentless bias and shameful lack of initiative that dominates journalism today, even in one of the world's most prestigious newspapers. This article contains not a single new insight or fact (other than some dubious gossip about Cardinal Kasper, of all people) and is just a facile recycling of same-old-same-old noisy yada-yada, ersatz sound and fury that really signify nothing...


Pope Benedict XVI set to begin
controversial state visit to Britain
By Anthony Faiola

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

LONDON - The first state visit by a Pope to Britain, a country that unceremoniously broke with the Vatican over Henry VIII's divorce in the 16th century, seemed doomed to controversy from the start.

Months before Benedict XVI's scheduled arrival on Thursday, a memo making the rounds at the British Foreign Office suggested he be invited to preside over a same-sex marriage and visit an abortion clinic while in town.

The young diplomats responsible were later reprimanded, but the note's mixture of comedy and outrage aptly captures the mood of many Britons as the pope begins a four-day tour here. By visiting this heavily secular nation, Benedict is, to quote the Guardian newspaper, "walking into the Lion's Den."

Various groups - including the victims of sexual abuse by Catholic priests - have banded together into an alliance dubbed "Protest the Pope" and are set to march on Saturday through the streets of London as the German-born pontiff hosts an outdoor vigil in Hyde Park.

A number of Britons, some with deeply held suspicions of Vatican motives, are also still smarting from a campaign launched by Benedict to woo dissident Anglicans angry over the ordination of gay and female clerics. [He's assuming this. I am not aware that a poll was ever done to determine reaction to Anglicanorum coetibus, to which as usual this journalist gives unfairly short shrift.]

Still more are furious over the $30 million price tag for the trip, largely funded by British taxpayers as is customary for state visits.

On Wednesday, the controversy surrounding the Pope's visit deepened when Cardinal Walter Kasper, a senior Vatican aide, pulled out of the trip after being quoted in a magazine article saying London's Heathrow airport resembled a "third world country" and that the nation is plagued by a "new and aggressive atheism." Officially, the Vatican said Kasper withdrew from the trip because of a flare-up of gout. [This is the first time I am reading such an account. Why would Kasper, who is now retired, be brought along anyway? It's his successor, Mons. Koch, who is coming on this trip.]

For Benedict, his British trip marks a broader campaign to raise the profile of religion in increasingly secular Europe, as well as to ease outrage over the string of sex abuse scandals by Catholic priests that continue to rock the region from Ireland to Austria. He also appears to be doing something his critics have said he has thus far been reluctant to do: mend fences. [The usual uninformed and presumptuous statement. First of all, if there was any fence-mending to be done, he already met with Rowan Williams at the Vatican earlier this year, a fact that the reporter appears completely unaware of!]

In what is set to be a historic highlight of the trip, Benedict will pray together with the archbishop of Canterbury, the symbolic head of the Anglican Communion [He is not a symbolic head, he is the actual Primate of the Church of England, and by extension, the Anglican Communion], at Westminster Abbey on Friday. On Sunday, he goes to Birmingham to beatify Cardinal John Henry Newman, who began his calling as an Anglican before being ordained to the priesthood in Rome in 1847.

At the same time, the Vatican is dismissing the planned protests. "It is not surprising because these [protests] have happened before," the Rev. Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, told reporters in Rome this week.

But, he added, in Britain, the issue of protests is "a broader one because in the United Kingdom there are atheist groups, some of them anti-papal in nature, but also this forms part of a plural society like the British one."

Benedict, however, appears to be facing an uphill battle to restore the church's battered image in Britain and beyond. This week, for instance, the Catholic Church in Belgium is being taken to task again for its weak response to sex allegations, and a fresh report surfaced in Britain showing that half of the Catholic clergy jailed for pedophilia remain in the priesthood, with many still receiving financial support. [That 'fresh report' is the usual malicious exaggeration, and Catholic Voices already has a response to it, which I will post later.]

Though die-hard faithful have flown in from Ireland and points farther afield for the papal visit, observers say Benedict is unlikely to enjoy the same outpouring of affection that Pope John Paul II's saw here in 1982.

Though that trip - the first ever by a Pope to Britain - lacked the full pomp of an official state visit, it nevertheless saw huge numbers turn out to greet that very popular Pope. He earned kudos despite his denunciation of the then-raging Falkland Island's War with Argentina.

This time, organizers are already scaling back turnout estimates for Benedict, who has become a lighting rod among social liberals because of his strict conservative line.

With only a few hours to go before he lands, none of his major public events - including the Hyde Park Mass - appeared set to fill to capacity. One poll conducted for the Guardian showed only 14 percent of those asked strongly backing the pope's visit, with a majority of 57 percent angered over the cost of the trip.

"We are not anti-Catholic, just anti-Benedict," said Terry Sanderson, president of the National Secular Society, one of the groups leading the protests this week in London. "Even polls among Britain's 6 million Catholics show they do not support his stance on contraceptives or homosexuality. This Pope is quite clearly out of step, and there are lot of people in Britain who have a beef with him."

GENERAL AUDIENCE TODAY
Catechesis on St. Clare of Assisi






The Pope's catechesis today was devoted to St. Clare of Assisi. At the end of the GA, he expressed his concern for recent anti-Christian violence in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. He appealed for respect for religious freedom, and that the logic of reconciliation and peace may prevail over hatred and violence.

Here is how he summarized the lecture in English:

---

Our catechesis today deals with Saint Clare of Assisi, the great mystic, friend of Saint Francis and foundress of the Poor Clare Nuns.

Born to a family of means, Clare chose to embrace a life of radical poverty, chastity and trust in God’s providence; received by Francis, she consecrated herself completely to Christ and, together with her companions, embraced the common life in the Church of San Damiano in Assisi.

The spiritual friendship between Clare and Francis reminds us of how the great saints have found in such friendships a powerful impetus to greater love of Christ and renewed strength in the pursuit of the way of perfection.

Clare’s Rule, the first written by a woman, sought to preserve and foster the Franciscan charism in the growing number of women’s communities which followed the example of Francis and her own.

Her spirituality, nourished by the Eucharist, was based on the loving contemplation of Christ as the source and perfection of every virtue.

Saint Clare shows us the value of consecrated virginity as an image of the Church’s love for her divine Spouse, and the decisive role played by courageous and faith-filled women to the Church’s renewal in every age.

---

After the audience, the Pope received the latest addition to his collection of headwear from a company of Italian bersaglieri (special corp of infantry marksmen) - their distinctive headwear is decorated by a plume of capercaillie feathers from the wood grouse:




Afterwards, he was presented with two state-of-the-art Ducati police motorcycles for use by the Vatican gendarmerie.



He looks all bouncy and fresh for his trip tomorrow! GOD BLESS OUR PAPI-DEAREST!

A much appreciated reflection by Damian Thompson, written at the right time...


This Pope is a great man,
badly served by bishops
unfamiliar with his writings
By Damian Thompson

September 15th, 2010





The Pope will be with us in less than 24 hours, and to a worrying extent the success of his visit depends on how he portrays himself during his four-day visit.

A great man is arriving here, but his representatives in Britain are only dimly aware of his intellectual stature and so the groundwork has simply not been done.

The media have paid lots of attention to the bungling of the “papal visit team” over the past few months. But it’s worth putting that incompetence in the broader context of the failure of the bishops of England, Wales and Scotland to come to terms with the figure of Joseph Ratzinger.

Most of them didn’t want him to become Pope. Their chief source of information about him was the Tablet, which spent 20 years misrepresenting his activities at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Even now, I doubt that many bishops are familiar with the theology of Pope Benedict, who is an important Christian intellectual quite irrespective of the position he holds.

Benedict has devoted more time to exploring the relationship of Christianity to Western civilisation than any of his predecessors. His vision of the magisterium is blindingly intense compared to the muddled, dumbed-down apologetics we associate with the Catholic Church in England and Wales, in episcopal terms one of the most intellectually impoverished in the world.

The following quotation from the Ratzinger scholar Fr Aidan Nichols hints at the richness of Benedict’s thought:

---

For Ratzinger, the role of the Magisterium is, in continuity with the ethical element in the original apostolic preaching, the assessment of the consonance, or coherence, of moral norms proposed in the Church community with the vision of creation and redemption provided by revelation as a whole.

Pope and bishops, when offering authoritative guidance on questions, actualise in the realm of ethics the distinctive charism of episcopal and papal office.

That charism is not meant to substitute for the exercise of the experiential and learned elements in the Church but to ‘place’ the results of the latter within a wider whole: the apostolic Church in its response to apostolic revelation.

This does not preclude the development of doctrine in morals; but it does not presume its necessity either. The spirits must be discerned.

---

[How uncannily apropos to that part of Tony Blair's commentary in the OR today in which he quotes Newman to the effect that the consensus of the entire 'body of the faithful' on doctrinal questions is 'the voice of the infallible Church". It couldn't be. since in the same article, Blair cites Newman's dictum that informed conscience must be guided by "the magisterial authority of the Church which provides discernment and definition".]

These ideas are far removed from the caricature of an ancient reactionary muttering outdated formulae and suppressing the “Spirit of Vatican II”. Yet this caricature has not been properly challenged by the Bishops of England and Wales and Scotland, and one has to wonder why.

Consider their failure (in some cases, refusal) to respond to the Holy Father’s initiatives to reform the liturgy: their mistaken belief that he is trying to “turn back the clock” suggests that they have never read The Spirit of the Liturgy, in which Ratzinger offers a theory of the cosmological significance of worship that transcends hippy “relevance” and traddy nit-picking.

I’ll be interested to see whether Pope Benedict chooses to address the function of worship and ministry during his trip. If he does, our bishops should listen carefully, because he really is not wildly impressed by them (as he made clear during their ad limina visit, though the Bishops Conference pretended otherwise).

Perhaps you think it’s disloyal of me to keep harping on about the bishops – they certainly do. All I can say it that it’s hard to take lectures on loyalty from a Magic Circle which plays so fast and loose with the concept of obedience to its own chief pastor.

As it is, I expect that the Pope will spend more time addressing the wider theme of the relationship between faith and society. Here, too, his reflections are more radical and more intellectually refined than anything emanating from British Church leaders – with the possible exception of Rowan Williams, whose addiction to word-spinning obscures his message.

It’s a shame that our secular intellectuals are so crazed with hatred for the Catholic Church that they refuse to engage with Benedict’s ideas. Twenty years ago, before Richard Dawkins became… odd, shall we say, he could have held a fascinating debate with Joseph Ratzinger, who was always perfectly comfortable taking on spiky leftist scholars.

(In 2004 he not only held his own in a discourse with Jürgen Habermas, but also established a surprisingly wide area of common ground.)

Britain is the most irreligious country that Benedict has visited as Pope. There’s a real danger that he will be greeted with indifference from the general public and schoolboy rudeness from celebrities who think they’re intellectuals. That is a shame, but at least this particular Pope is used to being hated.

What bothers me more is the knowledge that a growing number of young Catholics derive special inspiration from the holiness and intellect of Benedict XVI – yet they have been elbowed aside by ambitious monsignors anxious to “sanitise” the Pontiff for the benefit of their friends in public life and the bossyboots in their parishes.

Does the Pope realise how much support there is for him in the only truly dynamic parts of the Catholic Church in Britain? And, if not, how can we let him know?


SNAPSHOTS OF PREPARATIONS
FOR THE POPE'S VISIT


At Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh

Special regiments rehearse for the official welcome to take place at the palace where Queen Elizabeth will welcome the Pope tomorrow.


At Bellahouston Park, Glasgow

The altar-stage taking shape for the Pope's Mass tomorrow afternoon. (And people complained about the design for the Cofton Park beatification altar!)


At Westminster Cathedral, London

The Pope will say Mass here on Sept. 18. Center, a statue of St. Peter is polished; right and below, promo materials on the Pope and Cardinal Newman.



At Hyde Park, London

This will be the site for the prayer vigil on Saturday, Sept. 18. Another hangar-like stage.



The Scotsman asked John Allen to write a backgrounder on Benedict XVI, and though it may seem like Allen is being positive, if not downright admiring, in the first part, he quickly reverts to type, the objectionable (almost detestable) kind! As for the title of the article, what side has Benedict XVI been showing all this time - the inhuman side????


Visit is a chance for the Pope
to show Britain his human side
By John L Allen Jr.
of the National Catholic Reporter

Sept. 16, 2010

THERE'S A tradition in the Vatican press corps that when one of us writes a book about the Pope, we make sure he gets a copy. Thus when my volume The Rise of Benedict XVI appeared shortly after the papal election of April 2005, I made an appointment to deliver an inscribed copy for the new pontiff.

The book was divided into three sections: the final days of John Paul II, how Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger emerged as his successor, and my predictions about where the new papacy would go.

To be honest, I had always assumed the Pope never sees these books. To my surprise, a few weeks later, I received a call from the Vatican spokesperson, at the time the Spaniard Joaquin Navarro-Valls, who was with the new Pope at his summer vacation chalet in northern Italy.

Navarro-Valls told me Benedict had come down to breakfast that morning with my book in his hands, and wished to relay a message.

"Please thank Herr Allen for having written this book," Navarro-Valls quoted his boss as saying, "especially the last part about the future of my papacy … it has saved me the trouble of thinking about it for myself!"

The anecdote illustrates one of the best kept secrets about Pope Benedict XVI - his lively sense of humour. On a personal level, he is an infinitely more affable figure than his fearsome public reputation suggests. Scots should get a taste of that today - on previous foreign outings people expected to meet a Grand Inquisitor, but found a gentle pastor instead.

All this is a reminder of the dominant storyline about this papacy, the dramatic gulf between insider and outsider perceptions of Benedict XVI.

Among those who pay attention to papal activity, Benedict XVI has emerged as one of history's great teaching popes. Experts compare him to Leo XIII in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, another intellectual pontiff elected late in life. Probably the first Pope Leo, Doctor of the Church, is a better analogy, even if Attila the Hun, whom he met outside the gates of Rome, was probably a model of civility compared to the barbarians and vulgarians in the MSM today who are singlemindedly fixated on crushing Benedic tXVI if they can!]

Leo launched the tradition of Catholic social teaching and laid the foundation for Catholicism's détente with democratic modernity, just as Benedict has made the post-modern relationship between reason and faith an idée fixe.

The most distinctive element of Benedict's teaching is what I've dubbed "Affirmative Orthodoxy," meaning his determination to present traditional Catholic doctrine in the most positive fashion possible.

His first two encyclicals reflected that motif: Deus Caritas Est (God is Love), and Spe Salvi (Saved by Hope). The former was actually a historic first, a lyrical papal tribute to erotic love. [That was just part of it and hardly the distinguishing part!]

Benedict's case for religion in a secular age is premised on the idea that real freedom is not license to do whatever one likes, but the freedom to become the kind of person God intends, and thereby to taste happiness that lasts. Faith isn't a set of rules and limits, but a roadmap to joy.

Whatever one makes of that, it's hardly the message of a fire-breathing Savonarola.

A concise account of Affirmative Orthodoxy came after Benedict's 2006 trip to Spain. Some anticipated a slugfest between the pope and Socialist Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, but it never came.

Afterwards, Benedict said: "Christianity, Catholicism, isn't a collection of prohibitions - it's a positive option. It's very important that we look at it again, because this idea has almost completely disappeared today. We've heard so much about what is not allowed that now it's time to say, we have a positive idea to offer."

Of course, Benedict XVI as the "Pope of Hope" is hardly the normal perception in the outside world, where headlines and sound-bites shape impressions.

[So having dealt with the 'positive' side that will make the article 'objective', Allen now homes in with all of his favorite biases against Benedict XVI - and even more annoyingly formulated this time!]

For that constituency, Benedict's papacy isn't defined by its teaching but its train wrecks.

Recently two Italian journalists published a book cataloguing the debacles under Benedict XVI, including a conflagration with Muslims after he quoted a Byzantine emperor linking Muhammad and violence, a row about condoms and AIDS while Benedict was in Africa, a Holocaust-denying bishop, and, of course, paedophile priests.

The Italians titled their collection Attack on Ratzinger, as they believe these disasters are fuelled by media hostility and intramural Catholic opposition. Others would argue Benedict's PR woes are largely self-inflicted, but in any event they're a fact of life, with devastating consequences for Benedict's moral authority. [One must really dispute this facile assertion by the MSM every time they raise it. What they think is not necessarily what the vast majority of the Catholic faith ful think - and they are Benedict XVI's primary audience, not the MSM.]

Mismanagement of the sexual abuse mess is also the most acute instance of a deeper malady in Rome, one which even the Pope's best friends have been forced to acknowledge as a crisis of governance. At times, it seems no one is minding the store.

Earlier this year, Italians were stunned by the surreal "Boffo case," featuring charges that senior papal aides had leaked fake documents implying the editor of a Catholic newspaper had harassed the girlfriend of a man with whom he wanted to carry on a gay affair. It took the Vatican 18 days to issue a denial, and when they finally did so, one Roman daily splashed this headline across its front page: "Vatican denies everything, but no one believes it!"

So convincing people there's another story to be told about Benedict XVI is often futile.

HENCE the tragedy of Benedict's pontificate - a magnificent teaching pope, whose classroom is all but empty as his school burns down. [That is the worst condescension yet from Allen. In the past, when retailing his litany of 'Benedict train wrecks', he has generally portrayed Benedict XVI as if he were a astubborn schoolby who does not learn from his mistakes and persits inr epeating them. He's now elevated the Pope to adult status but alas, with his head in the clouds and so obtuse and self-centered that he doesn't notice when 'the school is burning'. The term 'magnificent teaching Pope' is only tthere to provide Allen with covere, because no teaching Pope, magnificent or otherwise, would be so foolish, because if anyone were that foolish, he has no business teacing at all]!

Benedict may take solace in the conviction that things will look different down the road. Such thinking in centuries is, of course, part of the corporate culture of the Vatican, where the working motto often seems to be "Talk to us on Tuesday and we'll get back to you in 300 years."

Even in that environment, Benedict is legendary for taking the long view. I once asked Cardinal Ratzinger if he was stung by criticism from former theological colleagues. With a smile, he replied that his predecessors had cracked down on Jansenism, a sort of Catholic version of Calvinism, in the 16th and 17th centuries. Probably not too many minds were changed right away, Ratzinger said, but three centuries later, Jansenism is no more.

Such perspective helps explain Benedict's permanent calmness. It may also help explain why he sometimes seems painfully slow to grasp the depth of a crisis, or to do anything about it. [Example, please!!! Can't be the pedophile priests. Can't be Regensburg. Can't be the Williamson case - which gave rise to that epochal letter to the world's bishops. Can't be the Boffo case, because that was a wrangle among his subordinates and their subordinates. Hmmmm, what crisis has Benedict, that brat with a brain deficit, tut-tut!, been 'painfully slow to grasp'???? Doesn't Allen realize how offensively condescending he is to the Pope of all people? Or perhaps that really is his intention!]

For the rest of us, who live in the here-and-now, the drama would appear to be whether Benedict's visit to the UK can close the gap between insider and outsider impressions.

If nothing else, it allows him to bypass the usual media filters and public preconceptions, and that augurs well.


I did not realize that Scottish composer James MacMillan blogs for the Daily Telegraph. He offers his personal reflections on Benedict XVI and his influence on him before he was Pope....

The Pope on liturgy and liberation theology -
and why he is the worst enemy
of Britain's vicious secular elites
By James MacMillan
September 15th, 2010

Cardinal John Henry Newman, it is said, is one of the most important English-speaking Catholics of the last 200 years, and is being beatified on Sunday morning by Benedict XVI. For this reason I decided to name my new Mass for the Papal Visit Mass of Blessed John Henry Newman.

It was commissioned by the Bishops of England and Wales and the Bishops of Scotland. The task was to write a setting which ordinary people in the pew (or in the fields of Bellahouston and Cofton Parks) would be able to sing. Since the earliest days of the Church, and in its roots in the Synagogue and Temple, ordinary people have been engaged in the singing of their prayers to God.

The much-discussed Second Vatican Council re-emphasised the importance of the participation of the assembly, pointing to the beauteous practicalities of chant through the ages, which allowed people to raise their voices to Heaven at the altar.

This, I think, is why the music of the new papal Mass is simple and chant-influenced. There is also a flavor of Protestant hymnody in it too. Protestants have a 400-year start on us in community singing. Hymns are not really part of the Catholic tradition, but by God, can they be sung lustily by ordinary people expressing themselves and their community in their own language.

Christians have worried away at the question of what is appropriate to sing in their divine praises since the early days of the Church. There have been schisms and reformations over the very issue. Even today there is heated debate about what should be sung in our most sacred rituals.

Joseph Ratzinger has been a major guide for the Catholic Church on this matter, in much that he has written on the Liturgy. He points us in the direction of the Church’s Tradition, to the paradigmatic nature of Gregorian Chant and its attributes of beauty and perfection in melodic line and form.

Ratzinger’s writings on Liturgy are very much in my mind when I write music for ordinary people to sing at Mass.

When he was elected Pope in April 2005, it was not just musicians who were cock-a hoop. Many had known about this distinguished academic theologian for decades. My first encounter with his ideas and writings was as an undergraduate at Edinburgh University when the then Catholic Chaplain and Dominican, Fr Aidan Nichols, was talking about his influence.

In those days many young Catholics like me were seduced by the cul-de-sac political romanticism of “Liberation” Theology. It was a huge mistake, and it took the power and charisma of John Paul II to shake us out of our self-indulgent, irresponsible reverie.

Joseph Ratzinger too, was a potent voice in warning the Church of its dangers. As Michael Burleigh argues in today’s Daily Telegraph,“In its extreme forms this [Liberation Theology] meant that the Kingdom of Heaven would be realized through liberal resort to the AK-47s with which the Soviet Union flooded the Third World, and the kind of coercive measures that the likes of Salvador Allende or Hugo Chavez have used.”

This political point is worth making, since the Left, having lost the economic arguments are now channeling all their energies into “reforming” our culture, institutions, public manners and ethical norms.

Ratzinger saw this coming when he was exposed to the rabid intolerance of the left-wing 68ers at Tubingen University, where according to Burleigh “campus Marxists imagined that their dogmas explained both the entirety of history and all human knowledge”.

As has been well documented since, these campus Marxists have ascended to power and influence all over western Europe, and now form the secular elites who control governments, universities and what we read, see and hear in our media.

This is why the reception of Pope Benedict in this country has been so vicious, one-sidedly negative and unfriendly. They sense their worst enemy! Literally.

---

APOSTOLIC VISIT OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI

TO THE UNITED KINGDOM

FOR THE BEATIFICATION OF

CARDINAL JOHN HENRY NEWMAN

September 16-19, 2010

P R O G R A M


Thursday, 16 September

08:10 Departure from Ciampino Airport, Rome

EDINBURGH
10:30 Arrival at Edinburgh International Airport

11:00 State Welcome and Audience with HM Queen Elizabeth II,
Palace of Holyrood House

11:40 State Reception, Palace Grounds, Holyrood House
Address: HM The Queen
Address: The Holy Father

13:00 Private Lunch with the Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, Archbishop's House

GLASGOW
17:15 Mass, Bellahouston Park
Homily: The Holy Father

20:00 Departure from Glasgow Airport for London Heathrow

LONDON
21:25 Arrival at London Heathrow Airport

Friday, 17 September

08:00 Private Mass, Chapel of the Apostolic Nunciature, Wimbledon

10:00 Celebration of Catholic Education, St Mary's University College, Twickenham
- Prayer with Representatives of Religious Congregations, St Mary's Chapel
Greeting: The Holy Father
- Gathering with Schoolchildren and Students, Sports Arena,
and the inauguration of the John Paul II Institute for Sport
Address: The Holy Father

11:30 Meeting with Religious Leaders and People of Faith
Waldegrave Drawing Room, St Mary's University College.
Speech: The Holy Father

16:00 Fraternal Visit to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Lambeth Palace
Speech: Dr Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury
Speech: The Holy Father

17:10 Address to Civil Society, Westminster Hall, Palace of Westminster
Speech: The Holy Father

18:15 Celebration of Evening Prayer, Westminster Abbey
Speech: The Holy Father
Speech: Dr Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury


Saturday, 18 September

At Archbishop's House, Westminster:
09:00 Courtesy Call from the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon David Cameron MP
09:20 Courtesy Call from the Deputy Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Nick Clegg MP
09:30 Courtesy Call from the Acting Leader of HM Opposition, the Rt Hon Harriet Harman MP

10:00 Mass, Cathedral of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Westminster
- Pope Benedict will greet 2,500 young people gathered in the Piazza to welcome him
- Pope Benedict will greet the people of Wales
Greeting and Homily: The Holy Father

17:00 Visit to St Peter's Residence for Older People, Vauxhall
Speech: The Holy Father

18:15 Prayer Vigil on the Eve of the Beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman, Hyde Park
Speech: The Holy Father


Sunday, 19 September

08:00 Farewell to the Apostolic Nunciature, Wimbledon
08:45 Departure by Helicopter for Birmingham from Wimbledon Park

BIRMINGHAM
09:30 Arrival by Helicopter
10:00 Mass with the Beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman, Cofton Park
Homily and Angelus: The Holy Father

13:10 Private Visit to the Oratory of St Philip Neri, Edgbaston, Birmingham

13:45 Lunch with the Bishops of England, Scotland and Wales and the Papal Entourage, Oscott College
16:45 Meeting with the Bishops of England, Scotland and Wales, Seminary Chapel, Oscott College
Speech: Cardinal Keith Patrick O'Brien
Speech: Archbishop Vincent Nichols
Speech: The Holy Father

18:15 Departure Ceremony, Birmingham International Airport
Speech: The Holy Father

18:45 Departure by air from Birmingham International Airport

ROME
22:30 Arrival at Ciampino Airport, Rome

Time Zones
Rome: +2 GMT
UK: +1 GMT

---

Pope Benedict XVI says Church failed
to act fast enough on child abuse

Sept. 16, 2010




Pope Benedict XVI, has begun a visit to Britain, by acknowledging that the Catholic Church failed to act decisively or quickly enough to deal with priests who abused children.

Speaking to reporters aboard his plane en route to Britain, the Pontiff said the Church's top priority was now helping victims heal and regain their trust in the church.

The Pope's comments marked his most thorough admission to date of church failures to deal with the sex abuse scandal, which has exploded anew with revelations in Belgium of hundreds of new victims, at least 13 of whom committed suicide over the years.

Benedict's four-day visit to Britain has been overshadowed by anger over the abuse scandal and marked by indifference in the highly secular country where Catholics are a small minority.

He also said abusive priests must never have access to children, saying they suffered from an illness that mere "goodwill" couldn't cure.



The Pope was answering questions, submitted in advance by journalists traveling with him to Britain, where anger about the abuse scandal remains high.

He acknowledged the opposition, saying Britain had a "great history of anti-Catholicism. But it is also a country with a great history of tolerance."

The Pope was asked about Britain's history of anti-Catholic sentiment and polls that suggest that the faithful had lost trust in the Church as a result of the scandal.

He said he was shocked and saddened upon learning of the scope of the abuse, in part because priests take vows to be Christ's voice upon ordination.

He said he felt "sadness also that the Church authority was not sufficiently vigilant and not sufficiently quick and decisive to take the necessary measures" to stop the abuse and prevent it from occurring again.

The Pope said the victims were the Church's top priority now.

He said he expected a warm welcome from Catholics and other believers and "mutual respect and tolerance" among those with anti-Catholic sentiments.

"I go forward with much courage and joy," he said.

The Pope emerged at Edinburgh Airport from the flight from Rome to be greeted by a seven-strong welcoming party .

Wearing his white cassock, he made his way down the steps on to the tarmac.

A decision was taken not to roll out the red carpet for his arrival because the conditions were deemed too windy for it to remain securely in place.

The Duke of Edinburgh, who wore a dark overcoat for the occasion, was first in line to great the Pontiff warmly. The Pope then shook hands with Cardinal Keith O'Brien, leader of the Scottish Catholic Church.

The Pope then met the Queen at Holyrood Palace.


Vatican Radio has unusually released the full transcript - in unofficial translation - of the Pope's inflight enws conference this morning:

PAPAL INFLIGHT Q&A TRANSCRIPT

Sept. 16, 2010

In his now customary inflight news conference enroute to an apostolic visit abroad, Pope Benedict XVI held a mid flight press conference with journalists accompanying him on his four day visit to the United Kingdom. Here is a Vatican Radio translation of the question and answer session:

---

FR. LOMBARDI: Your Holiness, welcome among us and thank you for being available for our questions. We have a group of 70 journalists present here from different parts of the world. Of course some have come especially from the UK to join our group for the flight. As usual, in recent days my colleagues have given me several questions for consideration in this initial conversation, the beginning of a long-awaited and challenging journey, which we hope will be truly beautiful. I chose a series of questions, from among those that were submitted, and I will ask them in Italian so as not to tax you too much.

My colleagues will help those who are not familiar with Italian, to understand. The first question: during the preparation for this journey there have been contrary discussions and positions. The country has a past tradition of a strong anti-Catholic position. Are you concerned about how you will be received?

THE POPE: Firstly, good day to you all and I wish you a good journey. I must say that I'm not worried, because when I went to France I was told: "This will be a most anticlerical country with strong anticlerical currents and with a minimum of faithful."

When I went to the Czech Republic it was said: "This is the most non-religious country in Europe and even the most anti-clerical".


So Western countries, all have, each in their own specific way, according to their own history, strong anticlerical or anti-Catholic currents, but they always also have a strong presence of faith.

So in France and the Czech Republic I saw and experienced a warm welcome by the Catholic community, a strong attention from agnostics, who, however, are searching, who want to know, to find the values that advance humanity and they were very careful to see if they could hear something from me in this respect, and tolerance and respect for those who are anti-Catholic.

Of course Britain has its own history of anti-Catholicism, this is obvious, but is also a country with a great history of tolerance. And so I'm sure on the one hand, there will be a positive reception from Catholics, from believers in general, and attention from those who seek as we move forward in our time, mutual respect and tolerance. Where there is anti-Catholicism I will go forward with great courage and joy.

The UK, like many other Western countries - there is an issue that you have already touched on in the first answer –it is considered a secular country. There is a strong atheist movement, even for cultural reasons. However, there are also signs that religious faith, particularly in Jesus Christ, is still alive on a personal level. What can this mean for Catholics and Anglicans? Can anything be done to make the Church as an institution, more credible and attractive to everyone?

I would say that a Church that seeks to be particularly attractive is already on the wrong path, because the Church does not work for her own ends, she does not work to increase numbers and thus power.

The Church is at the service of another: she serves, not for herself, not to be a strong body, rather she serves to make the proclamation of Jesus Christ accessible, the great truths and great forces of love, reconciling love that appeared in this figure and that always comes from the presence of Jesus Christ.

In this regard, the Church does not seek to be attractive in and of herself, but must be transparent for Jesus Christ and to the extent that she is not out for herself, as a strong and powerful body in the world, that wants power, but is simply the voice of another, she becomes truly transparent for the great figure of Christ and the great truth that he has brought to humanity - the power of love. In this moment one listens, one accepts.

The Church should not consider herself, but help to consider the other and she herself must see and speak of the other. In this sense, I think, both Anglicans and Catholics have the same simple task, the same direction to take.

If both Anglicans and Catholics see that the other is not out for themselves but are tools of Christ, children of the Bridegroom, as Saint John says, if both carry out the priorities of Christ and not their own, they will come together, because at that time the priority of Christ unites them and they are no longer competitors seeking the greatest numbers, but are united in our commitment to the truth of Christ who comes into this world and so they find each other in a genuine and fruitful ecumenism.

Thank you Your Holiness. A third question. As is well known and as was also highlighted by recent surveys, the sexual abuse scandal has shaken the confidence of the faithful in the Church. How do you think you can help restore that trust?

First, I must say that these revelations have been a shock for me, not only a great sadness. It is difficult to understand how this perversion of the priestly ministry was possible.

The priest at the time of ordination, after having prepared for this moment for years, says yes to Christ, to be his voice, his mouth, his hands and serve Him with his whole life, so that the Good Shepherd who loves and helps and guides to the truth is present in the world.

How a man who has done this and said this may also fall into this perversion is difficult to understand. It is a great sadness, a sadness that even the authority of the Church has not been sufficiently vigilant and not fast or decided enough in taking the necessary measures.

Because of all of this, we are in a time of repentance, humility, and renewed sincerity. As I wrote to the Irish bishops, I think we now realize its a time of penance, a time to renew and relearn humility with complete sincerity.

Regarding the victims, I would say there are three important things. Our first interest is for the victims: how can we repair the damage done? What can we do to help these people overcome this trauma, to regain their life and rediscover confidence in the message of Christ?
Care, commitment to victims is the first priority, with material, psychological, spiritual aid.

Second, the problem of the guilty persons. The just punishment is exclusion from all possibilities of access to young people because we know that this is a disease and free will does not work where there is disease. So we have to protect these people against themselves and find ways to help them, protect them against themselves and exclude them from any access to young people.

The third point is prevention in education, in the choice of candidates for the priesthood to be so careful that, as much as humanly possible, we exclude future cases.

And I would now also like to thank the British Bishops for their attention and cooperation with both the See of St. Peter and with public bodies. It seems to me that the British Bishops have done a great job in their attention to the sensitivity of the victims and the law and I am very grateful to them for this.

Your Holiness, the figure of Cardinal Newman is obviously very significant: you have made an acception for Cardinal Newman to preside over the beatification. Do you think that his memory will help to overcome divisions between Anglicans and Catholics? What are the aspects of his personality which you would like to give stronger emphasis to?

Cardinal Newman is mainly, on the one hand, a modern man, who took on all of the problems of modernity, he experienced the problem of agnosticism, the impossibility of knowing God, of believing; a man who throughout his life was on a journey, a journey to let himself be transformed by the truth, in a search of great sincerity and great willingness, to learn more, to find and to accept the path to true life.

This modernity of his inner-being and life points to the modernity of his faith: it is not a faith in the formulas of a bygone age, it is a most personal form of faith, lived, suffered, found through a long process of renewal and conversion.

He is a man of great culture who on the one hand participates in our sceptical culture of today, in the question: "Can we understand something certain about the truth of man, of the human being, or not? And how can we arrive at the convergence of the verisimilitude? ".

A man who, on the other hand, with a great knowledge of the culture of the Church Fathers, he studied and renewed the internal genesis of the faith, thus acknowledging his figure and his inner constitution,

He was a man of great spirituality, a great humanism, a man of prayer, of a deep relationship with God and a relationship with himself, and therefore also of a deep relationship with the other men of his and our time.

So I would say these three elements: the modernity of his existence, with all the doubts and problems of our existence today, his great culture, knowledge of the great cultural treasures of mankind, his constant quest for the truth, continuous renewal and spirituality: spiritual life, life with God, give this man an exceptional greatness for our time.

Therefore, it is a figure of Doctor of the Church for us, for all and also a bridge between Anglicans and Catholics. [Will he proclaim Newman Blessed as well as Doctor of the Church on Sunday? That was a thought that suddenly came to me yesterday, and this statement seems to indicate it is not unlikely!]

And one last question, this visit is considered a state visit – this is how it has been qualified. What does this mean for relations between the Holy See and the United Kingdom? Are there are major points of common accord, particularly given the great challenges of today's world?

I am very grateful to Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, who wanted to give this visit the rank of a state visit and who expressed the public nature of this visit and also the common responsibility of politics and religion for the future of continent, for the future of humanity: the large, shared responsibility so that the values that create justice and politics and which come from religion, share the journey in our time.

Of course, the fact that legally it is a state visit, does not make this visit a political matter, because if the Pope is head of state, this is just an instrument to ensure the independence of his message and public nature of his work as pastor.

In this sense, the State visit is substantially and essentially a pastoral visit, a visit in the responsibility of the faith for which the Supreme Pontiff, the Pope, exists.

Of course, the character of a state visit focuses attention on the converging interests of politics and religion. Politics is essentially designed to ensure justice and with justice, freedom, but justice is a moral value, a religious value, and so faith, the proclamation of the Gospel connects with politics in justice and here common interests are also born.

Britain has a great experience and a great record in combating the evils of this time, misery, poverty, disease, drugs and all these fights against misery, poverty, slavery, abuse of man, drugs ... are also the goals of the faith, because they are the aims of the humanization of man, so that the image of God be restored against the destruction and devastation.

Another common task is the commitment to world peace and the ability to live peace - peace education - to establish the virtues that make man capable of peace.

And, finally, an essential element of peace is the dialogue of religions, tolerance, openness to one another and this is a deep aim both of Britain, as a society, and of the Catholic faith: to be open to the outside world, open to dialogue, in this way to open to truth and the common path of humanity and to rediscovering the values that are the foundation of our humanism!

---

EDINBURGH AIRPORT











HOLYROOD PALACE













The Pope arrived at Edinburgh Airport aboard Alitalia flight Shepherd 1 at 10.30am to begin the first papal state visit to the UK.

He was welcomed by the Duke of Edinburgh and later met the Queen at the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

The Queen and the Pope, both heads of state, shook hands for a few moments before watching a performance from military bands, including a rendition of national anthem God Save The Queen.

The Pope had travelled the short distance from Edinburgh Airport, where his Alitalia plane landed, and looked relaxed as he stepped from a limousine which swept into the Palace's courtyard in a motorcade.

Thousands of onlookers watched the cars speed through the streets of central Edinburgh for the meeting at the Queen's official home in Scotland.

The Queen, the Pope and the Duke of Edinburgh entered the Morning Drawing Room at the palace to exchange gifts ahead of the private audience.

As she entered the room, the Queen remarked to the Pope that it was warmer, and she then took him over to the walnut side table where the gifts lay.

She presented him with a facsimile of 85 drawings by Hans Holbein the Younger which included a print of Sir John More. The Pope examined the drawings, leafing through the pages, and thanked her.

The Pontiff then presented his gift, telling the Queen it was a copy of the Lorsch Gospels dating from 778 to 820.

The Queen said: "Thank you very much. It's lovely." She added that he was very kind.

She asked the Pope where he would like to sit, gesturing towards a trio of red velvet-covered chairs in the centre of the wood-panelled drawing room.

The Queen then struck up a conversation with the Pope about his journey, telling him: "The car you arrived in was very small, a very tight squeeze, but you've got your own Popemobile."

The Pope smiled and replied: "Yes."

The Duke of Edinburgh asked: "Do you go to Glasgow in it?"
The Queen then gestured towards Holyroodpark, which surrounds the Palace, telling the Pope: "We have a lovely park here."

The meeting continued in private.



GLASGOW


Pilgrims started streaming this morning into Bellahouston Park for the Papal Mass this afternoon.






Earlybirds were also able to watch events in Edinburgh as they happened on the jumbo screens in the park.

The Pope and the Queen




'80 is the new 40'? - Elizabeth II, 84, and Benedict XVI, 83, are octogenarian models of grace and authority.


Queen Elizabeth II gave a warm welcome to Pope Benedict XVI upon his arrival Thursday in Edinburgh, Scotland at the start of a four day pastoral journey to the United Kingdom. Philippa Hitchen is with the Holy Father and filed this report:


The past, present and future of the United Kingdom were at the heart of Pope Benedict's words as he addressed Queen Elizabeth II at her official Scottish residence in Edinburgh.

ust as the ancient Holyroodhouse palace, originally built as a monastery in the 12th century, stands opposite the ultra-modern, eco-friendly Scottish parliament, hailed as one of the most innovative buildings in Britain today, so the Pope spoke of the people, ancient and modern, who have helped forge the cultural and deep rooted spiritual values of these nations.

Pope Benedict XVI:

---

The name of Holyroodhouse, Your Majesty’s official residence in Scotland, recalls the “Holy Cross” and points to the deep Christian roots that are still present in every layer of British life. The monarchs of England and Scotland have been Christians from very early times and include outstanding saints like Edward the Confessor and Margaret of Scotland.

---

From saints of past centuries to more modern heroes such as William Wilberforce or David Livingstone who worked to abolish the slave trade, Florence Nightingale, who cared for wounded soldiers during the Crimean War and Cardinal Newman whom the Pope will beatify on the last day of this trip, Pope Benedict underlined the Christian values that inspired their actions.

Touching on the tragedy of the Second World War, he recalled the courage of so many Christian pastors and religious who stood up to brutalities of the Nazi regime and paid with their lives.

---

Even in our own lifetime, we can recall how Britain and her leaders stood against a Nazi tyranny that wished to eradicate God from society and denied our common humanity to many, especially the Jews, who were thought unfit to live.

I also recall the regime’s attitude to Christian pastors and religious who spoke the truth in love, opposed the Nazis and paid for that opposition with their lives.

As we reflect on the sobering lessons of the atheist extremism of the twentieth century, let us never forget how the exclusion of God, religion and virtue from public life leads ultimately to a truncated vision of man and of society and thus to a “reductive vision of the person and his destiny” (Caritas in Veritate, 29).

Sixty-five years ago, Britain played an essential role in forging the post-war international consensus which favoured the establishment of the United Nations and ushered in a hitherto unknown period of peace and prosperity in Europe.

In more recent years, the international community has followed closely events in Northern Ireland which have led to the signing of the Good Friday Agreement and the devolution of powers to the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Your Majesty’s Government and the Government of Ireland, together with the political, religious and civil leaders of Northern Ireland, have helped give birth to a peaceful resolution of the conflict there. I encourage everyone involved to continue to walk courageously together on the path marked out for them towards a just and lasting peace.

---

In modern times Pope Benedict stressed the profound influence the United Kingdom still enjoys on the international stage – a fact that places a particular responsibility on its leaders, its media and its people to act for the common good.

---

Looking abroad, the United Kingdom remains a key figure politically and economically on the international stage.Your Government and people are the shapers of ideas that still have an impact far beyond the British Isles. This places upon them a particular duty to act wisely for the common good.

Similarly, because their opinions reach such a wide audience, the British media have a graver responsibility than most and a greater opportunity to promote the peace of nations, the integral development of peoples and the spread of authentic human rights.

May all Britons continue to live by the values of honesty, respect and fair-mindedness that have won them the esteem and admiration of many.

Today, the United Kingdom strives to be a modern and multicultural society. In this challenging enterprise, may it always maintain its respect for those traditional values and cultural expressions that more aggressive forms of secularism no longer value or even tolerate.

Let it not obscure the Christian foundation that underpins its freedoms; and may that patrimony, which has always served the nation well, constantly inform the example your Government and people set before the two billion members of the Commonwealth and the great family of English-speaking nations throughout the world.

May God bless Your Majesty and all the people of your realm. Thank you.

---

In her greetings to the Pope, the Queen also spoke of our common Christian heritage and the freedom to worship that lies at the heart of multicultural Britain today.

---

Your Holiness, your presence here today reminds us of our common Christian heritage, and the Christian contribution to the encouragement of world peace, and to the economic and social development of the less prosperous countries of the world.

We are all aware of the special contribution of the Roman Catholic Church particularly in its ministry to the poorest and most deprived members of society, its care for the homeless and for the education provided by its extensive network of schools.

Religion has always been a crucial element in national identity and historical self-consciousness. This has made the relationship between the different faiths a fundamental factor in the necessary cooperation within and between nation states.

It is, therefore, vital to encourage a greater mutual, and respectful understanding. We know from experience that through committed dialogue, old suspicions can be transcended and a greater mutual trust established.

I know that reconciliation was a central theme in the life of Cardinal John Henry Newman, for whom you will be holding a Mass of Beatification on Sunday. A man who struggled with doubt and uncertainty, his contribution to the understanding of Christianity continues to influence many.

I am pleased that your visit will also provide an opportunity to deepen the relationship between the Roman Catholic Church and the established Church of England and the Church of Scotland.

Your Holiness, in recent times you have said that ‘religions can never become vehicles of hatred, that never by invoking the name of God can evil and violence be justified’.

Today, in this country, we stand united in that conviction. We hold that freedom to worship is at the core of our tolerant and democratic society. On behalf of the people of the United Kingdom I wish you a most fruitful and memorable visit.

---

At the end of this official encounter between the two octogenarian leaders, the Pope drove away from the palace in the Popemobile to the sounds of bagpipes and cheering schoolchildren lining his route, towards the ancient Edinburgh castle dominating the skyline. A poignant reminder of just how much the history of this proud nation continues to influence the thriving, modern city that it is today.


Here is the full text of the address given by the Pope at Holyrood Palace today:

---

Your Majesty,

Thank you for your gracious invitation to make an official visit to the United Kingdom and for your warm words of greeting on behalf of the British people. In thanking Your Majesty, allow me to extend my own greetings to all the people of the United Kingdom and to hold out a hand of friendship to each one.

It is a great pleasure for me to start my journey by saluting the members of the Royal Family, thanking in particular His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh for his kind welcome to me at Edinburgh Airport.

I express my gratitude to Your Majesty’s present and previous Governments and to all those who worked with them to make this occasion possible, including Lord Patten and former Secretary of State Murphy.

I would also like to acknowledge with deep appreciation the work of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on the Holy See, which has contributed greatly to strengthening the friendly relations existing between the Holy See and the United Kingdom.

As I begin my visit to the United Kingdom in Scotland’s historic capital city, I greet in a special way First Minister Salmond and the representatives of the Scottish Parliament. Just like the Welsh and Northern Ireland Assemblies, may the Scottish Parliament grow to be an expression of the fine traditions and distinct culture of the Scots and strive to serve their best interests in a spirit of solidarity and concern for the common good.

The name of Holyroodhouse, Your Majesty’s official residence in Scotland, recalls the “Holy Cross” and points to the deep Christian roots that are still present in every layer of British life. The monarchs of England and Scotland have been Christians from very early times and include outstanding saints like Edward the Confessor and Margaret of Scotland.

As you know, many of them consciously exercised their sovereign duty in the light of the Gospel, and in this way shaped the nation for good at the deepest level. As a result, the Christian message has been an integral part of the language, thought and culture of the peoples of these islands for more than a thousand years.

Your forefathers’ respect for truth and justice, for mercy and charity come to you from a faith that remains a mighty force for good in your kingdom, to the great benefit of Christians and non-Christians alike.

We find many examples of this force for good throughout Britain’s long history. Even in comparatively recent times, due to figures like William Wilberforce and David Livingstone, Britain intervened directly to stop the international slave trade.

Inspired by faith, women like Florence Nightingale served the poor and the sick and set new standards in healthcare that were subsequently copied everywhere.

John Henry Newman, whose beatification I will celebrate shortly, was one of many British Christians of his age whose goodness, eloquence and action were a credit to their countrymen and women. These, and many people like them, were inspired by a deep faith born and nurtured in these islands.

Even in our own lifetime, we can recall how Britain and her leaders stood against a Nazi tyranny that wished to eradicate God from society and denied our common humanity to many, especially the Jews, who were thought unfit to live.

I also recall the regime’s attitude to Christian pastors and religious who spoke the truth in love, opposed the Nazis and paid for that opposition with their lives.

As we reflect on the sobering lessons of the atheist extremism of the twentieth century, let us never forget how the exclusion of God, religion and virtue from public life leads ultimately to a truncated vision of man and of society and thus to a “reductive vision of the person and his destiny” (Caritas in Veritate, 29).

Sixty-five years ago, Britain played an essential role in forging the post-war international consensus which favoured the establishment of the United Nations and ushered in a hitherto unknown period of peace and prosperity in Europe.

In more recent years, the international community has followed closely events in Northern Ireland which have led to the signing of the Good Friday Agreement and the devolution of powers to the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Your Majesty’s Government and the Government of Ireland, together with the political, religious and civil leaders of Northern Ireland, have helped give birth to a peaceful resolution of the conflict there. I encourage everyone involved to continue to walk courageously together on the path marked out for them towards a just and lasting peace.

Looking abroad, the United Kingdom remains a key figure politically and economically on the international stage. Your Government and people are the shapers of ideas that still have an impact far beyond the British Isles. This places upon them a particular duty to act wisely for the common good.

Similarly, because their opinions reach such a wide audience, the British media have a graver responsibility than most and a greater opportunity to promote the peace of nations, the integral development of peoples and the spread of authentic human rights. May all Britons continue to live by the values of honesty, respect and fair-mindedness that have won them the esteem and admiration of many.

Today, the United Kingdom strives to be a modern and multicultural society. In this challenging enterprise, may it always maintain its respect for those traditional values and cultural expressions that more aggressive forms of secularism no longer value or even tolerate.

Let it not obscure the Christian foundation that underpins its freedoms; and may that patrimony, which has always served the nation well, constantly inform the example your Government and people set before the two billion members of the Commonwealth and the great family of English-speaking nations throughout the world.

May God bless Your Majesty and all the people of your realm. Thank you.

---

'Pride and joy' surround
Pope's visit to Britain
By Maria Mackay



LONDON, Sept. 16 – Controversy surrounding the visit of Pope Benedict XVI has failed to curb the excitement of Catholics as the Pope landed in Edinburgh this morning for his official state visit to Britain.

The Pope was received at Holyrood Palace after his arrival. Among the dignitaries there to receive him were the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, the Moderator of the Church of Scotland, the Rt Rev John Christie, and Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg.

Cardinal Keith O’Brien, head of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland, said the four-day visit was a moment of “great pride and joy”.

He said the visit was an “economic boost in austere times” for Scotland but also spoke of the opportunity for the country “to show its best face to the world.”

“There have been objectors and detractors to the visit but one only needs to look at those involved to realize that they are in no way representative of the overwhelmingly welcoming majority of Scottish citizens,” he said.

It is the first visit to Britain by a pope since Pope John Paul II in 1982 and the first official state visit by a pontiff these shores. Crowds were already taking up their positions in the streets of Edinburgh early this morning in anticipation of the Pope’s tour through the Scottish capital in his famous Popemobile.

The Pope was greeted off the plane at Edinburgh International Airport this morning by senior Catholic figures, including Cardinal O’Brien. [How can the reporter have omitted the Duke of Edinburgh whom the Queen sent to welcome the Pope at the airport, in a move unprecedented in the royal protocol till now???]

There has been strong opposition by atheists, secularists and child abuse survivors. More than 50 well known figures, including Richard Dawkins, Stephen Fry and Terry Pratchett, said in an open letter yesterday that while the Pope was welcome to visit Britain as a European citizen, he “should not be given the honor of a state visit.”

Abuse victims are staging protests along the route to be taken by the Popemobile later in the day.

Also protesting are some Christians, including the Rev Ian Paisley and around 50 members of the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster, who plan to unfurl a banner stating their objection to the visit.

Rev Paisley said: “We’re making a legitimate protest about something that is entirely wrong, and I am looking at myself as a person who is prepared to champion those who have been very, very badly treated by these priests of Rome,” he said.

Controversy surrounding the Pope’s visit deepened last night after papal aide Cardinal Walter Kasper said that anyone arriving at the airport in multi-cultural Britain would think they had landed in a “Third World country.”

In an interview with German magazine, Focus, the Cardinal went on to describe an atmosphere marked by “aggressive new atheism.”

Cardinal O’Brien told BBC Radio Scotland this morning that he expected Cardinal Kasper to apologize “for any intemperate remarks”, while the head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, Archbishop Vincent Nichols said the comments were “inexplicable.”

A spokesperson for the Catholic Bishops’ Conference in England and Wales said the comments “do not represent the views of the Vatican, nor those of bishops in this country.”

“Catholics play a full part in this country’s life and welcome the rich diversity of thought, culture and people which is so evident here.

“This historic visit marks a further development of the good relationship between the United Kingdom and the Holy See. We are confident that it will be a huge success.”

The visit has been welcomed by church leaders from across the denominations, including the Archbishop of Canterbury and Salvation Army Commissioner Betty Matear, who said it was a “cause for hope” for all Christians.

The Evangelical Alliance said the visit came at a crucial time for Britain, when it warned Christians are facing growing hostility from a small but influential secular wing.


NB: I have posted Vatican Radio's translation of the Pope's Q&A this morning on board the flight from Edinburgh to Rome - in the original post about the event a couple of posts above.

I just barely managed to watch the Bellahouston Mass on a lab computer while I was running some assays, and the photos are piling up to be reviewed, sorted, formatted and posted... But it's been 'Deo gratias' all day, for the great start to this trip. Another beautiful Mass that successfully integrated the rather generic music - but in polyphonic settings and with a very good choir - along with the Latin of the Canon and Communion prayers....

The Scotsman's Evening News says the Edinburgh police estimated 125,000 people lined the route of the Pope's motorcade from Holyrood House today. At Bellahouston, Raymond Arroyo was saying the crowd at the Mass looked larger than 100,000 too, even if the pre-Mass hype was that only 85,000 of 100,000 tickets had been taken, but the one aerial picture I have seen is quite impressive:




THE MASS AT BELLAHOUSTON PARK, GLASGOW




'Hold fast to the faith of your fathers'



Pope Benedict XVIth celebrated Holy Mass with over 100.000 people in Glasgow's Bellahouston Park. The Mass came at the end of the Pope's first day in the United Kingdom. Philippa Hitchen is travelling with Pope Benedict and filed this report...

'A hundred thousand welcomes' is the Gaelic expression the archbishop of Glasgow Mario Conti used at the opening of the Mass in Bellahouston Park and the welcome the Scottish people prepared for Pope Benedict has indeed exceed all the organisers’ expectations.

Here in the Catholic heartland of the country, up to 100.000 people turned out to take part in the first open air event of his visit to the UK, in the same leafy suburban park where Pope John Paul urged the spiritual heirs of St Andrew to hold fast to the faith that guided their forefathers throughout the upheavals and conflicts of past centuries.

Wrapped up well against the wind under clear blue skies, the crowds had begun to gather early on Thursday afternoon to enjoy an energetic warm up featuring the ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ star Susan Boyle from West Lothian and ‘Pop Idol’ winner Michelle McManus singing alongside an 800-strong choir and orchestra.

Noting the progress in ecumenical relations that has developed since his predecessor’s 1982 visit, Pope Benedict stressed that the evangelisation of culture is all the more important today when, he said, “a dictatorship of relativism threatens to obscure the truth about man’s nature and destiny:

"There are some who now seek to exclude religious belief from public discourse, to privatize it or even to paint it as a threat to equality and liberty. Yet religion is in fact a guarantee of authentic liberty and respect, leading us to look upon every person as a brother or sister."

The Pope urged his listeners to become clear voices of authentic Christian prayer and action in a society working for the true welfare of all its citizens. He urged young people in particular to avoid the ever present temptations of drugs and alcohol, pornography and promiscuous behaviour, held up as more attractive alternatives to the gospel values of love and service to others.

"There is only one thing which lasts: the love of Jesus Christ personally for each one of you. Search for him, know him and love him, and he will set you free from slavery to the glittering but superficial existence frequently proposed by today’s society."

Despite the regeneration and development of Glasgow that has gone on in recent decades since the decline of the ship building industry along the river Clyde, the city still struggles with high levels of alcohol and substance abuse, fuelled by poverty and family breakdown.

Pope Benedict noted the vital role played by Catholic schools and the ancient Scottish universities in providing an education for young people and the city council has also been very active in setting up public arts and sports centres, including one located in Bellahouston park itself.

Above all though, the Pope urged young people in Scotland not to be afraid and to follow in the footsteps of the great saints and evangelisers who have courageously handed down the faith in this land.
















Here is the full text of the Pope's homily:

---

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

“The Kingdom of God is very near to you!” (Lk 10:9).

With these words of the Gospel we have just heard, I greet all of you with great affection in the Lord. Truly the Lord’s Kingdom is already in our midst!

At this Eucharistic celebration in which the Church in Scotland gathers around the altar in union with the Successor of Peter, let us reaffirm our faith in Christ’s word and our hope – a hope which never disappoints – in his promises!

I warmly greet Cardinal O’Brien and the Scottish Bishops; I thank in particular Archbishop Conti for his kind words of welcome on your behalf; and I express my deep gratitude for the work that the British and Scottish Governments and the Glasgow city fathers have done to make this occasion possible.

Today’s Gospel reminds us that Christ continues to send his disciples into the world in order to proclaim the coming of his Kingdom and to bring his peace into the world, beginning house by house, family by family, town by town.

I have come as a herald of that peace to you, the spiritual children of Saint Andrew and to confirm you in the faith of Peter (cf. Lk 22:32). It is with some emotion that I address you, not far from the spot where my beloved predecessor Pope John Paul II celebrated Mass nearly thirty years ago with you and was welcomed by the largest crowd ever gathered in Scottish history.

Much has happened in Scotland and in the Church in this country since that historic visit. I note with great satisfaction how Pope John Paul’s call to you to walk hand in hand with your fellow Christians has led to greater trust and friendship with the members of the Church of Scotland, the Scottish Episcopal Church and others.

Let me encourage you to continue to pray and work with them in building a brighter future for Scotland based upon our common Christian heritage.

In today’s first reading we heard Saint Paul appeal to the Romans to acknowledge that, as members of Christ’s body, we belong to each other (cf. Rom 12:5) and to live in respect and mutual love.

In that spirit I greet the ecumenical representatives who honour us by their presence. This year marks the 450th anniversary of the Reformation Parliament, but also the 100th anniversary of the World Missionary Conference in Edinburgh, which is widely acknowledged to mark the birth of the modern ecumenical movement.

Let us give thanks to God for the promise which ecumenical understanding and cooperation represents for a united witness to the saving truth of God’s word in today’s rapidly changing society.

Among the differing gifts which Saint Paul lists for the building up of the Church is that of teaching (cf. Rom 12:7). The preaching of the Gospel has always been accompanied by concern for the word: the inspired word of God and the culture in which that word takes root and flourishes.

Here in Scotland, I think of the three medieval universities founded here by the popes, including that of Saint Andrews which is beginning to mark the 600th anniversary of its foundation.

In the last 30 years and with the assistance of civil authorities, Scottish Catholic schools have taken up the challenge of providing an integral education to greater numbers of students, and this has helped young people not only along the path of spiritual and human growth, but also in entering the professions and public life.

This is a sign of great hope for the Church, and I encourage the Catholic professionals, politicians and teachers of Scotland never to lose sight of their calling to use their talents and experience in the service of the faith, engaging contemporary Scottish culture at every level.

The evangelization of culture is all the more important in our times, when a “dictatorship of relativism” threatens to obscure the unchanging truth about man’s nature, his destiny and his ultimate good.

There are some who now seek to exclude religious belief from public discourse, to privatize it or even to paint it as a threat to equality and liberty. Yet religion is in fact a guarantee of authentic liberty and respect, leading us to look upon every person as a brother or sister.

For this reason I appeal in particular to you, the lay faithful, in accordance with your baptismal calling and mission, not only to be examples of faith in public, but also to put the case for the promotion of faith’s wisdom and vision in the public forum.

Society today needs clear voices which propose our right to live, not in a jungle of self-destructive and arbitrary freedoms, but in a society which works for the true welfare of its citizens and offers them guidance and protection in the face of their weakness and fragility.

Do not be afraid to take up this service to your brothers and sisters, and to the future of your beloved nation.

Saint Ninian, whose feast we celebrate today, was himself unafraid to be a lone voice. In the footsteps of the disciples whom our Lord sent forth before him, Ninian was one of the very first Catholic missionaries to bring his fellow Britons the good news of Jesus Christ.

His mission church in Galloway became a centre for the first evangelization of this country. That work was later taken up by Saint Mungo, Glasgow’s own patron, and by other saints, the greatest of whom must include Saint Columba and Saint Margaret.

Inspired by them, many men and women have laboured over many centuries to hand down the faith to you. Strive to be worthy of this great tradition! Let the exhortation of Saint Paul in the first reading be your constant inspiration: “Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering and persevere in prayer” (cf. Rom 12:11-12).

I would now like to address a special word to the bishops of Scotland. Dear brothers, let me encourage you in your pastoral leadership of the Catholics of Scotland.

As you know, one of your first pastoral duties is to your priests (cf. Presbyterorum Ordinis, 7) and to their sanctification. As they are alter Christus to the Catholic community, so you are to them.

Live to the full the charity that flows from Christ, in your brotherly ministry towards your priests, collaborating with them all, and in particular with those who have little contact with their fellow priests.

Pray with them for vocations, that the Lord of the harvest will send labourers to his harvest (cf. Lk 10:2). Just as the Eucharist makes the Church, so the priesthood is central to the life of the Church.

Engage yourselves personally in forming your priests as a body of men who inspire others to dedicate themselves completely to the service of Almighty God.

Have a care also for your deacons, whose ministry of service is associated in a particular way with that of the order of bishops. Be a father and a guide in holiness for them, encouraging them to grow in knowledge and wisdom in carrying out the mission of herald to which they have been called.

Dear priests of Scotland, you are called to holiness and to serve God’s people by modelling your lives on the mystery of the Lord’s cross.

Preach the Gospel with a pure heart and a clear conscience. Dedicate yourselves to God alone and you will become shining examples to young men of a holy, simple and joyful life: they, in their turn, will surely wish to join you in your single-minded service of God’s people. May the example of Saint John Ogilvie, dedicated, selfless and brave, inspire all of you.

Similarly, let me encourage you, the monks, nuns and religious of Scotland to be a light on a hilltop, living an authentic Christian life of prayer and action that witnesses in a luminous way to the power of the Gospel.

Finally, I would like to say a word to you, my dear young Catholics of Scotland. I urge you to lead lives worthy of our Lord (cf. Eph 4:1) and of yourselves.

There are many temptations placed before you every day - drugs, money, sex, pornography, alcohol - which the world tells you will bring you happiness, yet these things are destructive and divisive.

There is only one thing which lasts: the love of Jesus Christ personally for each one of you. Search for him, know him and love him, and he will set you free from slavery to the glittering but superficial existence frequently proposed by today’s society. Put aside what is worthless and learn of your own dignity as children of God.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus asks us to pray for vocations: I pray that many of you will know and love Jesus Christ and, through that encounter, will dedicate yourselves completely to God, especially those of you who are called to the priesthood and religious life. This is the challenge the Lord gives to you today: the Church now belongs to you!

Dear friends, I express once more my joy at celebrating this Mass with you. I am happy to assure you of my prayers in the ancient language of your country: Sìth agus beannachd Dhe dhuibh uile; Dia bhi timcheall oirbh; agus gum beannaicheadh Dia Alba.

God’s peace and blessing to you all; God surround you; and may God bless the people of Scotland!

---

Vatican spokesman pleased
with Day-1 of the visit


Edinburgh, United Kingdom, Sep 16, 2010 (CNA/EWTN News) - “We couldn't desire a better start” for the Pope's visit to the U.K., said Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi, referring to the great crowds in Edinburgh.

The Pope spent the morning at the Queen's residence, but the thousands were able to see him traveling to and from the palace.

Pope Benedict XVI was met by what locals estimated to be 100,000 people on Princes St. in central Edinburgh as he made his way to the Queen's residence on Thursday morning. Among the throng were 1,000 bagpipers who accompanied the Holy Father in a parade.

Upon arriving at the palace, the Pope gave his state welcome, encouraging British leaders to be a force for good. In her speech, Queen Elizabeth II highlighted points of cooperation between the Holy See and the U.K., hoping for mutually better understanding through dialogue so that “old suspicions can be transcended and a greater mutual trust established.”

At a press conference following the occasion, the Vatican spokesman described the encounter between the two heads of state as a meeting between families due to the warm atmosphere in the Palace of Holyrood House.

Their time together consisted of a private meeting along with the Queen's husband Prince Philip, introductions to other members of the royal family, a gift exchange, and a reception with around 400 guests representing different areas of British life.

Of the mix of members of parliament, education, healthcare and other British officials who were invited, around 120 were able to personally meet the Holy Father as he greeted them one by one.

Following the final reception in the back garden of the expansive estate, which is a former Augustinian monastery, the Holy Father made his way to Cardinal Keith O'Brien's house for lunch as the first scarce raindrops of a cool, but otherwise dry morning began to fall.

Speaking to journalists in the frenetically busy makeshift press office on site, Fr. Lombardi reflecting on the numbers of cheering people in the streets, saying, “We couldn't desire a better beginning for this trip ...”


I can almost bet MSM will ignore the crowds to concentrate on the protestors - 25 along the parade route, by police count, and another 65 who gathered in a designated 'protest area' and included the delegation that Ian Paisley brought over from Northern Ireland.


Edinburgh gives Pope
a royal welcome

Published Date: 16 September 2010

POPE Benedict XVI has been given a Royal welcome in the Capital.
The Pope arrived at Edinburgh Airport aboard Alitalia flight Shepherd 1 at 10:30am to begin the first papal state visit to the UK.

He was welcomed by the Duke of Edinburgh and later met the Queen at the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

The Queen and the Pope, both heads of state, shook hands for a few moments before watching a performance from military bands, including a rendition of national anthem God Save The Queen.

The Queen, the Pope and the Duke of Edinburgh entered the Morning Drawing Room to exchange gifts ahead of the private audience.

As she entered the room, the Queen took him over to the walnut side table where the gifts lay.

She presented him with a facsimile of 85 drawings by Hans Holbein the Younger which included a print of Sir John More. The Pope examined the drawings, leafing through the pages, and thanked her.

The Pontiff then presented his gift, telling the Queen it was a copy of the Lorsch Gospels dating from 778 to 820.

An estimated total of 125,000 people lined the streets for the procession along Princes Street towards Morningside.

Police said around 20 protesters gathered at the designated demonstration area outside the Usher Hall while around 60 were present at Festival Square.

Officers said the crowds had started to disperse with no arrests having being made.

A Catholic Church source said there had been no prior plans for the Pope to wear the official St Ninian's Day Papal Visit tartan.

He said Cardinal O'Brien had "hidden scarfs in his own cassock" for the Pope in case he had not been allowed to take them inside Holyroodhouse.

The source said: "He hid them and then put them in the Popemobile."


Here is a complete Day 1 wrap-up - it operates from the usual moldy and moldering MSM perspective but nonetheless acknowledges and reports objective facts about today's events.

The Pope greeted by thousands
during historic visit to Scotland

Sept. 16, 2010

Pope Benedict XVI praised the UK as a “force for good” today after meeting with the Queen and saying mass before a huge audience in Glasgow's Bellahouston Park.

But he also delivered a warning about “aggressive forms of secularism”, urging the nation not to lose its traditional values as it “strives to be a modern and multicultural society”.

The first state visit to the UK by a Pope came amid renewed anger at the worldwide child abuse scandal that has engulfed the Roman Catholic Church and dogged the Pope’s own religious career. [Wow! Bloody bloomin' case of revisionism! Sex abuse cases, in general, were never ever linked to Cardinal Ratzinger at all, even after his Good Friday 2005 denunciation of 'filth within the Church'. They only got linked to him after he became Pope, in a way that the US sex abuse scandals at their most sensational flood tide were never ever associated with John Paul II personally. Even after he seemed to have 'rewarded' Cardinal Law for his admitted errors in Boston!]

As he flew to Scotland, the Pope spoke of his “sadness” over his Church’s handling of child abuse scandals. He said abusive priests had not been dealt with decisively or quickly enough. [And clearly he was talking about how it was in the past, before his CDF was given any competence over the issue!]

The Pope’s comments, to reporters on board his plane, marked his most thorough admission to date of failings in the way the sex abuse scandal was handled.

But despite the controversy, his followers turned out in large numbers in Scotland. [Shows you how you all keep missing the almost transcendent nature of how Catholics relate to the Pope, any Pope! Scottish Catholics today reinforced my gut feeling that the majority of Catholics who have the 'simple faith' such as traditional Catholic families transmit over generations do not shift and sway their loyalties depending on what the 'dominant opinion' is!]

The Pope was greeted by enthusiastic crowds, particularly at tonight’s Mass in Glasgow, where babies were passed to him to be blessed as he arrived in the Popemobile.

In his address at the Mass he made a reference to the size of the turnout, saying: “It is with some emotion that I address you, not far from the spot where my beloved predecessor Pope John Paul II celebrated Mass nearly 30 years ago with you and was welcomed by the largest crowd ever gathered in Scottish history.”

An estimated 250,000 were present in 1982 compared with around 65,000 tonight, but Church leaders in Scotland declared themselves delighted with the reception the Pope received.

After he was officially welcomed by the Queen at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh the Pope spoke of the UK’s important place in history.

He said: “Your forefathers’ respect for truth and justice, for mercy and charity, come to you from a faith that remains a mighty force for good in your kingdom, to the great benefit of Christians and non-Christians alike.”

He cited anti-slave campaigners William Wilberforce and David Livingstone, and women such as Florence Nightingale, as examples of that force for good.

And he praised Britain’s fight against Hitler’s “atheist extremism”, saying that “Britain and her leaders stood against a Nazi tyranny that wished to eradicate God from society and denied our common humanity to many, especially the Jews, who were thought unfit to live”.

The Pope, who was forced to join the Hitler Youth as a 14-year-old schoolboy, said the UK remained “a key figure politically and economically on the international stage”.

“Your Government and people are the shapers of ideas that still have an impact far beyond the British Isles. This places upon them a particular duty to act wisely for the common good.”

And, referring to the future, he delivered an apparent warning about the risks to the nation’s traditional values.

He said: “Today, the United Kingdom strives to be a modern and multicultural society.

“In this challenging enterprise, may it always maintain its respect for those traditional values and cultural expressions that more aggressive forms of secularism no longer value or even tolerate.”

The Glasgow crowd had been warmed up by Britain’s Got Talent star Susan Boyle who got a huge cheer when she took to the stage.

Wearing a long black coat and heels, Boyle, 49, sang the tune that catapulted her to fame, I Dreamed A Dream from the hit musical Les Miserables.

Pilgrims waved flags in the air as she sang.

The leader of Scotland’s Catholics Cardinal Keith O’Brien expressed delight with the turnout in Edinburgh.

He told reporters: “Along Princes Street I really felt so proud.

“You could look to one side and see the backcloth of the castle and the ramparts and so on, and on the other side a sea of faces welcoming Pope Benedict XVI to our country.

“The Pope is a wonderful, warm, friendly character, radiating a certain calm and a certain peace from him, and the respect which was being shown him, and just the love that was radiating to him from the people who were lining along Princes Street.

“I think that he’s aware of all that has been done to make him so welcome from everybody in our country, from the First Minister in the Scottish Government down to the smallest school child.”

Speaking on a visit to Brussels, Prime Minister David Cameron said: “I would like to offer Pope Benedict a very warm welcome to Britain for this incredibly important and historic visit.

“It is the first ever official papal visit to our shores. It is a great honour for our country.

“This will be a very special four days, not just for our six million Catholics, but for many people of faith right across Britain, and millions more watching around the world.

“It is a great opportunity to celebrate the enormous contribution that all faith communities make to our society.”

Lothian and Borders Police estimated that a total of 125,000 people had lined the streets for the procession along Princes Street.

But not everyone was welcoming. Around 20 protesters gathered at the designated demonstration, their complaints ranging from abusive priests to the Pope’s stance on contraception and homosexuality.

Among the dissenting voices was the Reverend Ian Paisley, now Lord Bannside, who mounted a similar protest in Liverpool in 1982 for the visit of Pope John Paul II.

Dr Paisley criticised the fact that the visit was not discussed in the House of Commons, adding that the “whole thing is nonsense”.

Terry Sanderson, president of the National Secular Society, criticised the Pope’s comments on secularism, saying: “British people have embraced a secular identity of their own free will, perhaps as a reaction to the ultra-conservatism of this recent papacy and the extremism that has been manifested by some forms of Islam.

“The secular identity of the British people is not something to criticise, but to celebrate.”

[See, this article quotes liberally from the pope's critics - even though only 20 of them showed up - but apparently did not bother to aget an opinion from a single one of the 124,980 others who were there because they support the Pope!]


Pope warns of 'aggressive secularism',
urges Scots to turn to Christ
by Edward Pentin

Sept. 16, 2010

Newsmax’s Vatican correspondent, Edward Pentin, is traveling with the papal entourage during Pope Benedict XVI’s historic state visit to Great Britain.

So far so good for Pope Benedict XVI after the first and very full day of his controversial yet much-anticipated state visit to the United Kingdom.

The protests that so many had predicted failed to materialize after he stepped off the papal plane in Edinburgh, Scotland, with Queen Elizabeth II there to welcome him.

But Scotland wasn’t expected to be a hotbed of dissent. That may await the Pope during the next leg of his visit to London, which begins tomorrow. The Vatican is largely unfazed at the prospect.

Benedict’s speech to the Queen set the mood for this truly historic visit, and whose themes will doubtless be repeated over the next three days. The Pope is in Britain essentially as a man of reconciliation, to bring the church and state closer together, and to help further the path toward Christian unity. [Those are the secondary motivations for the visit - it is still primarily an apostolic visit 'to confirm his brothers in the faith"!]

He spoke movingly of Britain's contribution to the world, stressing that the good the nation has achieved owes itself to the country's “deep Christian roots.” He praised Britain’s resistance to Nazi tyranny, its achievements in reaching peace in Northern Ireland, and the country’s “key role” politically and economically on the international stage.

But he also criticized “aggressive secularism” and warned of its dangers. “As we reflect on the sobering lessons of the atheist extremism of the 20th century, let us never forget how the exclusion of God, religion, and virtue from public life leads ultimately to a truncated vision of man and of society and thus to a reductive vision of the person and his destiny,” he said.

It was an unveiled matching of radical atheism with the tyrannies of the past, something to which the Pope, who suffered as a child under the Nazis, is particularly sensitive. He also directed a few words at the country's largely liberal media, which has at times been particularly hostile to this visit and to him personally.

“The British media have a graver responsibility than most and a greater opportunity to promote the peace of nations, the integral development of peoples and the spread of authentic human rights,” he said.

The historical weight of this papal trip, one of the most challenging of his pontificate, is not lost on the Pope. As the Scots Guards band played national anthem of Great Britain, he removed his white skull-cap as a mark of respect.

He then walked, smiling constantly, into the palace with the Queen, where the two leaders and Prince Philip had a short private meeting.

The Queen also is well aware of the Pope's benevolent intentions on this trip. In her speech, Elizabeth II, who is also the supreme governor of the Anglican Church of England, noted that the Pope's presence “reminds us of our common Christian heritage” and the Catholic Church's contribution to good in the world.

She also stressed the importance of dialogue and that Britain and the Pope “stand united” in the conviction that “religions can never become vehicles of hatred.”

A reception and a trip in the popemobile through the streets of Edinburgh followed, with what the police estimate were 100,000 people lining the streets of Edinburgh and cheering him on. Later, he celebrated Mass in front of a lively crowd of tens of thousands of pilgrims who had gathered at Bellahouston Park in Glasgow.

“It's wonderful, and we as Scots feel very privileged that the Pope has come here,” said Alice Boyle, who was at the same venue when Pope John Paul II made a pastoral visit in 1982. “The atmosphere is as good as it was then,” she said.

Most cast aside the protests and controversies over the visit. “They're given too much airtime, and no one here pays attention to them,” said pilgrim Tom Emans, although he added that his non-Catholic friends were indifferent to the visit and some quite hostile to it.

In his homily, the Pope stressed the importance of Christian evangelization, saying it “is all the more important” at a time “when a "dictatorship of relativism" threatens to obscure the unchanging truth about man’s nature, his destiny and his ultimate good.

"There are some who now seek to exclude religious belief from public discourse, to privatize it or even to paint it as a threat to equality and liberty. Yet religion is in fact a guarantee of authentic liberty and respect, leading us to look upon every person as a brother or sister.”

One of the Pope's greatest concerns is that Western society is severing itself from its Christian roots, leading to the abuse of human dignity.

He also had words for the young. “There are many temptations placed before you every day — drugs, money, sex, pornography, alcohol — which the world tells you will bring you happiness, yet these things are destructive and divisive,” he said.

But “there is only one thing which lasts: the love of Jesus Christ personally for each one of you.”

After Mass, the Pope was driven in a motorcade to Glasgow airport and a flight to London after a very full schedule. Another historic day awaits him tomorrow, when he will deliver a speech in the heart of Westminster, the place where St. Thomas More, the Catholic Church's patron saint of politicians, was tried and condemned by King Henry VIII for holding to Christian principles in the face of state opposition.

For this reason, and the overall Catholic and state symbolism of the venue, it's being billed as one of the most important addresses of his pontificate.

NB: I've inserted the Mass coverage before this post, but I still have to work on the additional photos from Holyroodhouse and the Pope's motorcade through Edunburgh.

Off to London - and a welcome
crowd at the Nunciature



After the Mass in Glasgow last night, the Holy Father went off to London - but not to see the Queen, whom he had already seen - and two days of intense activity in the British capital.


He will be spending his three nights in London at the Apostolic Nunciature in Wimbledon Village. He arrived to a big crowd of well-wishers that had been forming since the afternoon...

and greeted them from a window...


Still looking for a news report to go with these pictures...

Pope Benedict in Britain:
He speaks to us all -
not just to Catholics
By Edward Stourton

17/09/2010


The official rallying call for Pope Benedict's visit, "Heart speaks unto heart", is a translation of Cor ad Cor Loquitur, the Latin motto chosen by John Henry Newman when he was honoured with a cardinal's red hat at the grand old age of 78.

Pope Benedict is a scholar and an intellectual and, like Newman, believes in following through the logic of his beliefs - even when that loses him friends and puts him at odds with the spirit of the times.

When John Paul II came to Britain in 1982, the texts for his speeches and homilies were largely prepared by the British bishops, and sent to Rome for approval.

Control over the addresses Benedict will give has stayed firmly in the Vatican, and bishops and, indeed, government ministers are unsure about the messages he is bringing. [More than just control - and not by 'the Vatican'. but by the Pope himself. By all accounts, except for routine messages, he crafts all his discourses himself, especially those he delivers on his pastoral and apostolic visits. Of course, he would take relevant points made in drafts or talking points prepared by responsible officials most concerned with each particular message and occasion, but the presentation, style and most of the language is his.]

This is a state visit, so the political dimension of Pope Benedict's role will be evident; he will be speaking to the British nation, not just to Britain's Catholics.

Benedict believes that modern Europe has lost touch with what he once described a s "the indispensable Christian roots of its culture and civilisation".

In multi-culturalism he finds "a self-hatred in the Western world that is strange and can be considered pathological". But even Catholic leaders recognise the risk the message will be lost amid the din of outrage about paedophile priests.

It is difficult to overstate the impact of the steady flow of evidence priests abused children and bishops covered up their crimes. Many Catholics here are deeply ashamed of what their Church has done.

And because Catholics are no longer willing to give their leaders the benefit of the doubt, they are more likely to question Church teaching in general.

In a recent BBC survey of British Catholics, 63% said they felt women should have more authority and status in the Church, and nearly half said they wanted to see an end to the Pope's insistence that priests should be celibate. [Mr. Stourton, the Catholic Church is not a republic or a democracy that has to constantly put itself to a majority vote. It is a unique institution created by Jesus/God, with a structure that developed organically from the early Church in the days of the apostles. What poll respondents think can only help guide the manner of pastoral outreach, not its message, nor Church structure.]

Benedict is a much warmer and gentler person than he is often given credit for, but he has none of the rock-star quality that made John Paul such a crowd puller. But Benedict does have a reputation for producing surprises. [And you miss, or prefer to ignore, the biggest surprise of all: that from the start, he 'outdrew' - as you MSM would put it - his predecessor in terms of weekly 'pulling power' at the Vatican itself. Why is the adjective 'charismatic' used for John Paul because he drew crowds, but denied to Benedict XVI when he does the same thing and sometimes better? Journalists and commentators would do well to check the dictionary for what charisma means - the original meaning is 'a grace from the Holy Spirit', and it obviously works in different ways, not just the so-called 'rock star' route!

As a staunch Benaddict and proud of it, I can only think it's the built-in prejudice of decades against Joseph Ratzinger - plus the natural prejudice against age - that makes people blind even to the fact that he is physically attractive! I think yesterday, the world dramatically saw a trio of octogenarians who wear their age extremely well, in Benedict XVI, Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh!]

Edward Stourton presents John Henry Newman: A Very English Saint on BBC Radio 3 on Sunday., Sept. 19.

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 17/09/2010 13:37]