Vatican reveals features
of papal trip to UK
Vatican City, Sep 10, 2010 (Adapted from CNA/EWTN News)- At a press briefing today on the Pope's upcoming U.K. visit, Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi aaid there is much more to the Holy Father's schedule than what appears on the official itinerary.
Additional features include a welcome by bagpipers in Scotland, a gathering with young people and a possible meeting with sex abuse victims.
Fr. Lombardi highlighted the major events on the program, as well as and lesser known elements to be included in the Pope's Sept. 16-19 journey.
On the first day, next Thursday, the Holy Father will meet Queen Elizabeth II at her summer residence near Edinburgh. Fr. Lombardi confirmed that to mark his arrival and the coinciding celebration of St. Ninian's Day, hundreds of bagpipers will parade and play their instruments in the streets.
Mass will be held in Glasgow that evening, after which the Pope will head to the Apostolic Nunciature in London, where he will stay for the next three nights.
The following day, Benedict XVI's "very intense and very rich" schedule will include ceremony to mark the 70th anniversary of the bombing of London by Nazi Germany and a meeting with four former prime ministers — Margaret Thatcher, John Major, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. This will take place after a meeting with civil society in Westminster Hall.
Later, although the Pope will not take part, Fr. Lombardi said a state dinner will be held so religious, civil and political leaders can meet to speak of matters of "common interest." The conversations will include the themes of climate change, education, disarmament/non-proliferation, health and the future of Europe.
On Saturday, after Mass at Westminster Cathedral in the morning, the Holy Father will meet with young people and Catholic pilgrims from Wales. The prayer vigil later in Hyde Park is being held by special decree from the local government - normally the city does not allow religious celebrations there. These Vespers, Lombardi said, will usher in "the Newman event."
Commenting on the final day of the visit, Fr. Lombardi highlighted that organizers were fortunate to have use of Cofton Park for Cardinal Newman's beatification. It was an "optimal solution" for the question of where to hold the Mass because it's located near Cardinal Newman's grave at Rednal and is also much more aesthetically agreeable for a religious celebration than the Coventry Airport.
Fr. Lombardi said that there will be other encounters, which are not traditionally announced on the schedule. Among possible audiences, he said, could be a meeting with victims of sexual abuse by clergy.
Pope will travel
with team of top aides
By John Thavis
VATICAN CITY, Sept. 10 (CNS) -- When he visits Great Britain in mid-September, Pope Benedict XVI will be shadowed by a roster of aides who ensure smooth sailing for the 83-year-old Pontiff whenever he travels abroad.
This "mini-Vatican" is small enough to fit on his chartered jet, but diverse enough to respond to challenges in strategic areas -- including diplomatic crises, security breaches, liturgical snafus, reporters' questions and even medical emergencies.
Many of the key players on the Vatican's traveling team are veterans with on-the-road experience going back decades. But the plane to Britain will also carry at least one "rookie" making his first papal trip.
Probably the most visible figure on the papal plane is the one standing next to him when the Pope answers reporters' questions: Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman. Father Lombardi, a 68-year-old Jesuit, has had his share of public relations ordeals during papal trips, beginning with the Pope's speech on Islam in Regensburg, Germany, in 2006.
The pope's off-the-cuff comments on his plane have also ignited public debate, on topics ranging from Marian apparitions to condoms. Although the questions on these flying news conferences are now pre-selected from reporters' submissions, Father Lombardi apparently tries not to over-vet.
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican secretary of state, is never far from the Pope's side throughout foreign trips, and takes part in many of the private meetings with political and state leaders. Cardinal Bertone doesn't speak much English, and assisting him on this visit will be 49-year-old Msgr. Leo Cushley, a Scot who heads the secretariat's English-language desk.
In addition, because this is a state visit, the Pope is bringing along Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, the Vatican's secretary for relations with states, who routinely deals with the details of foreign relations.
Msgr. Georg Ganswein, Pope Benedict's personal secretary, is well-known to TV viewers around the world as the sandy-haired prelate who ushers the Pope to his seat, hands him his texts and generally keeps an eagle eye out for the Pontiff when he's on the public stage.
On papal altars, it's Msgr. Guido Marini, the master of liturgical ceremonies, who seems ubiquitous. Msgr. Marini, a tall, slender figure with a pious demeanor, has spent months preparing the U.K. liturgies, personally visiting Scotland and England for on-site inspections of the Mass venues.
Another familiar figure on the papal-trip landscape is Alberto Gasbarri, the Vatican Radio official who organizes the Pope's foreign visits. Gasbarri, who has been doing this since the early days of Pope John Paul II, is the elegantly dressed layman who typically precedes the Pope by about 10 steps -- all the better to make sure there are no logistical surprises around the corner.
Domenico Giani, the head of Vatican security, has got to be the most pressured man on papal trips. Security is provided by the host country, but Giani's role is to coordinate the interface between the British team and the handful of Vatican agents who travel with the pope. Wearing suits and ties, Giani and his men flank Pope Benedict whenever he moves, then fade into the background.
One member of the papal entourage who is rarely seen is Dr. Patrizio Polisca, the Pope's personal physician. He's essentially on call 24/7 for the duration of the trip. Polisca, however, has another particular interest in this visit: as president of the group of physicians who advise the Vatican Congregation for Saints' Causes, he had a role in approving the miracle needed for the beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman -- the key event of the trip.
Archbishop Kurt Koch, the new president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, will be traveling for the first time on a papal trip. Although there are obvious ecumenical aspects to the visit, don't look for Archbishop Koch to take center stage: Vatican sources view the trip as a chance to spotlight the need for common Christian witness, not as a working session on ecumenical problems.
An assortment of about 20 other officials completes the Vatican roster on the papal plane. The papal aides sit in front, and the 70 or so reporters accredited for the flight sit in coach class -- a hierarchy that hasn't changed in more than 40 years of papal travel.
Here's how OR reports Fr. Lombardi's briefing in its 9/11/10 issue. In this, as in their usual reports about the Pope's activities, the reporting is rather unsatisfactory and erratic, and probably wold not past muster in a freshman journalism class...
Fr. Lombardi says anti-Pope demos
are expected but not 'a great concern'
Translated from the 9/11/10 issue of
"Excessive amplification which has made much greater noise than the true sensibility of the people" is how Fr. Federico Lombardi describes the heated polemics mounted in the UK media ahead of the Pope's visit, when he briefed the Vatican press corps on Friday.
However, he said, "We are not particularly concerned. Hostility to the Pope is entirely from a minority . There have always been demonstrations, even in previous trips. This time, the pre-visit hype is more intense because the UK has more atheist groups, or perhaps anti-Pope, but this is part of a pluralist society like the UK has."
The occasion for the Pope's visit is the beatification of John Henry Newman, whose liturgical feast will be celebrated on October 9, the day he converted to Catholicism.
In addition to the pastoral aspect of the visit, it will also be a state visit - the first by a Pope - because the invitation came from the Queen of England and her Government. It also has a significant ecumenical aspect because of the involvement of the Church of England, of whom the Queen is Supreme Governor.
The Pope will have a private meeting with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, and join him in a celebration of Vespers in Westminster Abbey, where they will pay tribute together at the tomb of St. Edward the Confessor.
In discussing the major events of the Pope's program in the UK, Fr. Lombardi said that the Holy Father's address is particularly awaited to representatives of Britain's civilian society in Westminster Hall, where he will speak about the role of the Church and of Christians in today's society.
Fr. Lombardi said that the Pope will present the Church as "a friend, one that is not hostile, but willing to make its contribution to the common good, above all through its educational and charitable institutions.
He also underscored the special welcome planned in Edinburgh on the day the Pope arrrives in the UK, which happens to be the feast day of St. Ninian, who brought Christianity to Scotland; and the Pope's address from Westnister Cathedral to the Catholics of Wales, whose region he is unable to visit during the four-day trip.
Fr. Lombardi also spoke about a dinner to be given by the British Government for the papal delegation on Friday evening, Sept. 17, at Lancaster House, The Prime Minister and members of his cabinet will meet with the Vatican prelates, Catholic and Anglican bishops to discuss common efforts towards world disarmament, promotion of human rights and development, and wider education in relating reason and faith.
Finally, asked about a possible meeting between the Pope and some victims of sex abuse by priests, Fr. Lombardi said, "It is a possiblity. I cannot rule it out, but neither can I announce anything".
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 11/09/2010 14:43]