Pope Benedict vsit uk,
At the start of his historic state visit to the country, Benedict XVI delivered an uncompromising message that excluding religion from public life can lead to the “atheist extremism” of the Nazis and Soviet Russia.
He described Britain’s attempt to be “modern and multicultural” as a “challenging enterprise”, in comments that may be likened to those of the Cardinal who said it resembled a “Third World country”.
Most Rev Vincent Nichols unveiled as new head of Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales
Vatican says women priests a 'crime against faith'
The Pontiff also spoke frankly about the clergy abuse scandal that has engulfed the worldwide Roman Catholic Church, claiming that paedophile priests are suffering from an “illness” and that the Vatican will now focus on helping victims.
His comments drew criticism from campaigners who had already planned to protest against the £10million, four-day trip, particularly from secular groups who claim he had equated atheism with Nazism.
But as Benedict’s Popemobile journey through Edinburgh was greeted by cheering crowds, and images of him wearing a tartan scarf and meeting the Queen for the first time filled television broadcasts, Vatican officials declared that the start of the first-ever papal state visit to Britain could not have gone better.
Last night the Pope presided at an open-air Mass in Glasgow in front of flag-waving pilgrims resembling a music festival audience, dispelling fears that complex and costly ticket arrangements would keep numbers down.
Benedict, only the second Pope to set foot on British soil since the Reformation, arrived at Edinburgh International Airport on Thursday and was treated to an official state welcome full of pomp and pageantry.
After being greeted by the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, senior politicians and religious leaders at Holyroodhouse Palace, the monarch’s official residence in Scotland, he delivered a speech warning Britain what it stands to lose if it ignores its Christian roots.
Benedict said the Bible’s message had been an “integral” part of Britain’s language, thought and culture for more than 1,000 years and cited the end of the slave trade and the creation of a stable post-war Europe as some of the country’s greatest achievements.
The 83 year-old Pope, who was forced to join the Hitler Youth during the Second World War, praised Britain’s efforts in fighting a “Nazi tyranny that wished to eradicate God from society”, and went on: “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 that Britain remains a key figure on the international stage but concluded: “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.”
He said contemporary culture must not “obscure the Christian foundation that underpins its freedoms”.
Later in his homily to more than 60,000 people gathered at Bellahouston Park, having kissed babies and toddlers in the audience on his way to the stage, the Pope expanded on this message, saying: “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.”
He urged Catholics in Scotland not to live in a “jungle of self-destructive and arbitrary freedoms” but to put forward the case for the “wisdom and vision” of faith.
Benedict also told young churchgoers to beware the temptations of “drugs, money, sex, pornography, alcohol” and said that although society claims they will bring happiness, “these things are destructive and divisive”.
Earlier on the papal plane, he had made some of his strongest comments yet to reporters asking about cases of sexual abuse and violence by priests around the world.
Speaking in Italian, the Pope said it was a “great shock” to learn about “this perversion of the priestly ministry”.
He admitted “the church authorities were not sufficiently vigilant” and did not respond quickly and decisively to the problem, while paedophile priests were suffering from an “illness”.
The Pope promised that the church would help victims of clerical sex abuse overcome their trauma and would screen candidates for the priesthood better, in answer to critics who say not enough action has been taken.
He did not address the damaging allegations of a cover-up in the church hierarchy, prompting further criticism from survivors.
His comments on the secular drift of his host country were also attacked by campaigners.
The British Humanist Assocation said: 'The notion that it was the atheism of Nazis that led to their extremist and hateful views or that somehow fuels intolerance in Britain today is a terrible libel against those who do not believe in God.”
Terry Sanderson, President of the National Secular Society, added: “The secular identity of the British people is not something to criticise, but to celebrate. We have rejected dogmatic religion devoid of compassion.”
But police estimated there had only been about 80 protestors on the streets of Edinburgh, while as many as 125,000 had lined Princes Street to wave at the passing Popemobile, in which Benedict sat wearing a tartan scarf.
Today Benedict will address thousands of schoolchildren at an event celebrating Catholic education in Twickenham, before delivering his key address to MPs and Peers in Parliament and praying with the Archbishop of Canterbury at Westminster Abbey, the first Pope in its 1,000-year history to do so.
Meanwhile, Tony Blair’s former spin doctor has warned the senior Tory who has pledged to put faith back in the heart of public life in Britain that mixing religion and politics is dangerous and unpopular with voters,.
Alastair Campbell claimed that Baroness Waris had misunderstood his “throwaway” remark that the ex-Prime Minister did not “do God”, wrongly taking it to be a “major strategic statement”.
But he added that although he believed conversation between different faiths was as important as diplomatic dialogue, attempts to combine politics and religion tend to fail and are usually misinterpreted.
Mr Campbell made his comments after Lady Warsi, the Conservative party chairman and the first Muslim women to sit in Cabinet, told Church of England bishops that the new Coalition government does understand religion.
As he made his way to the open air mass in Glasgow last night, the Pope blessed a toddler.
Pope Benedict XVI’s kissed Maria Tyszczak of Poland, as he arrived at Bellahouston Park.
As he made a circuit of the park in his Popemobile, under heavy security, he was allowed to stop.
The window of the vehicle was rolled down and the Pontiff kissed Maria, dressed in a pink romper suit.
Shortly afterwards, she was held aloft from the crowd and again the Pope stopped and kissed the child twice.
(source:telegraph.co.uk)
No comments:
Post a Comment