A sampler of possible lunatic fringe outrages that could be commited against the Holy Father before and during his visit to the UK:
UK foreign Office apologises
for Pope 'condom' memo
April 24, 2010
The Foreign Office has apologised for a "foolish" document which suggested the Pope's UK visit could be marked by the launch of "Benedict brand" condoms.
The junior civil servant responsible had been put on other duties, it said.
Called "The ideal visit would see...", the paper suggested the Pope be invited to open an abortion clinic and bless a gay marriage during September's visit.
It was obtained by the
Sunday Telegraph. Foreign Secretary David Miliband is said to be "appalled".
The UK's ambassador to the Vatican, Francis Campbell, has met senior officials of the Holy See to express regret on behalf of the government.
The paper was attached as one of three "background documents" to a memo dated 5 March 2010 inviting officials in Whitehall and Downing Street to attend a meeting to discuss themes for the papal visit.
It suggested Benedict XVI could show his hard line on the sensitive issue of child abuse allegations against Roman Catholic priests by "sacking dodgy bishops" and launching a helpline for abused children.
The official responsible said in a cover note: "Please protect; these should not be shared externally. The 'ideal visit' paper in particular was the product of a brainstorm which took into account even the most far-fetched of ideas."
An investigation was launched after some recipients of the memo objected to its disrespectful tone.
A Foreign Office spokesman said the department was "deeply sorry" for any offence the document had caused.
"This is clearly a foolish document that does not in any way reflect UK government or Foreign Office policy or views. Many of the ideas in the document are clearly ill-judged, naive and disrespectful," he said.
"The text was not cleared or shown to ministers or senior officials before circulation. As soon as senior officials became aware of the document, it was withdrawn from circulation.
"The individual responsible has been transferred to other duties. He has been told orally and in writing that this was a serious error of judgement and has accepted this view."
The Foreign Office's sick attack
on the Pope: what did you expect?
April 24, 2010
A magnificent scoop from my colleague Jonathan Wynne-Jones, who reveals in
The Sunday Telegraph that Foreign Office proposals for the Pope’s visit to Britain included suggestions that he should bless a gay marriage and even launch papal-branded condoms.
[Foreign Minister] David Miliband has apologised; the Catholic hierarchy is furious, accusing the FO of “disrespecting” the Pope. (Yup, Malcolm McMahon, the bishop in charge of education, used “disrespect” as a verb.) My reaction is to say to the Bishops of England and Wales:
NOW do you finally understand what sort of snide, cheap and ignorant prejudice has flourished under this Government and its civil servants – wall-to-wall secularists for whom the Roman Catholic Church is at best an antiquated irrelevance and at worst a sick joke?
And has it occurred to you that this document was probably being drawn up just as your own bureaucrats at Eccleston Square were turning a blind eye to the Magisterium so they could “work with” Ed Balls?
Oh, sure, the Foreign Office says: “This is clearly a foolish document that does not in any way reflect UK Government or Foreign Office policy or views” – and, of course, most of these proposals wouldn’t have seen the light of day.
But
reflect the attitudes of Brown’s government and its politically correct employees is precisely what the document does.
[I'm sorry, but 'political correctness' was hardly the intention of the smart-aleck who drew up the memo and his fellow brainstormers. Unequivocal contempt and ridicule of the Holy Father are what they wished to convey. After all, secularism obviously has no code of conduct except whatever the individual decides that pleases him. In this casae, that can exclude any sense of decency, let alone respect, even if token, for the leader of more than one billion Catholics whom your government has invited as a state guest!]
4/25/10
P.S.
Pop sidebar to the UK visit by the Holy Father:
Susan Boyle will sing
at Papal Mass in Glasgow
By JAMES O'BRIEN
April 25, 2010
Susan Boyle will sing for Pope Benedict at a massive outdoor mass in Glasgow later this year in September.
Catholic Church leaders have asked the 'Britain's Got Talent' star
to perform before a crowd of 150,000.
[Presumably, she will sing an appropriate hymn at Communion, as Placido Domingo and other celebrities have done in previous Papal masses abroad.]
A senior Church source stated: "Susan has agreed to sing and everyone is delighted. It is a done deal.
"There are still some of the finer details to be ironed out but it has been approved by the highest echelons in the Vatican.
"Susan has described it as a dream come true and it will be an extra attraction for everyone attending."
A spokesman for the Catholic Church stated: "We would be delighted if Susan Boyle was to perform on the day at Bellahouston Park. She is top of our wish list."
Pope Benedict XVI will visit Edinburgh and Glasgow at the start of his four-day tour of the UK from September 16-19.
It is now nearly thirty years since the last papal visit to Scotland, when Pope John Paul II celebrated mass at Bellahouston Park on June 1, 1982, in front of 300,000 worshippers.
Susan's album 'I Dreamed a Dream' has sold over ten million copies. The Catholic Celtic supporter has described the notion of singing for the Pope as one of the most exciting moments of her life.
[Notice that the Church in Scotland appears to be expecting a crowd only half of what turned up for John Paul II's Mass in 1982. I hope it is merely setting low expectations 'just in case'...Let us pray the faithful will prove these low expectations wrong!]
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 26/04/2010 03:31]