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PDF versionFour questions about the pope's trip to the UK
by John L Allen Jr on Sep. 03, 2010
Now that September has arrived, news agencies are beginning to focus in earnest on Pope Benedict XVI's Sept. 16-19 trip to the United Kingdom. I know that because of the phone calls and e-mails I've received from colleagues in Scotland and England in the last few days, seeking a sound-bite for whatever curtain-raising piece they have to do.
Press culture in the U.K. is extremely competitive, so when there's no actual news to report it has to be manufactured. Here's a recent case in point vis-à-vis the papal trip: Not long ago, local organizers put out a "pilgrim's guide" for people attending the big events. It included tips on stuff not to bring, such as booze, BBQs, and open flames. Also on the list were musical instruments, which prompted a reporter from the Daily Telegraph to call the bishops' conference to ask: "Does that include the vuvuzela?" (That, of course, is the god-awful horn made famous by the South African World Cup.) The person on the other end of the line said something on the order of, "Well, yes, I suppose it would."
The next-day headline, which predictably became a mini-sensation in "News of the Weird" columns all over the world: "Pope Bans Vuvuzela."
It was great fun, even if each of the three words in that header was misleading. (The pope didn't do anything; this was more of a suggestion than a ban; and nobody specifically nixed vuvuzelas. Though, to be honest, Benedict probably ought to be grateful -- this is one instance in which the media made up something that probably helped his reputation.)
In the spirit of feeding the media beast, I'll present my answers to the four most common questions I've received about the trip. By no means does this add up to a comprehensive analysis of the most important points. Instead, it's a window into the questions reporters are asking, which may preview themes likely to loom large in media coverage.
1. Is this the most challenging trip of Benedict's papacy?
My basic answer is, "Don't flatter yourselves." This will be Benedict's 17th foreign trip, and not only is this probably not the most strenuous test he's faced, it's arguably not even his most demanding visit in Western Europe.
In terms of immediate context, Benedict's 2006 trip to Turkey was far more dicey -- his first to a Muslim nation, hard on the heels of his Regensburg speech which triggered fierce protest around the Islamic world. The pope's 2009 trip to Israel and the Palestinian Territories was also a high-wire act, both on the diplomatic and inter-religious levels.
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Within Europe, Benedict's July 2006 trip to Spain was at least as potentially choppy, featuring his first-ever showdown with Socialist Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero -- seen by many European Catholics as an avatar of secularism on steroids. Spain's fierce anti-clerical rage is at least arguably more menacing for a pope than gentle English ridicule. (Remember the line from "A Man for All Seasons" -- "This isn't Spain, you know. This is England.")
That said, there are challenges aplenty awaiting Benedict.
After all, he's a religious conservative colliding with a fairly liberal, secular culture; a German visiting a country that fought two wars against Germany in the 20th century; a pope travelling to a place where ambivalence about the papacy is part of the DNA; and the head of the Catholic church visiting a culture where the main Catholic storyline of late has been about pedophile priests. All in all, it's a tough room.
Let's count the ways: High-profile atheists want the pope arrested for alleged complicity in covering up sexual abuse scandals. A Foreign Office bureaucrat has suggested that Benedict visit an abortion clinic or launch his own brand of condoms. There's a growing chorus of complaint about why British taxpayers should pay $18.5 million for the trip. Reportedly, British Catholics have been reluctant to pick up their share of the tab, or even to get tickets for the big events, despite the lure of marquee performers such as Susan Boyle. Human rights lawyer Geoffrey Robinson is publishing a book called The Case of the Pope, arguing that Benedict should be stripped of his status as "the one man left in the world who is above the law."
There will be some intra-Catholic noise. Advocates of women priests have paid for ads on fifteen red buses in London reading "Pope Benedict -- Ordain Women Now!" Next week, a group called Catholic Voices for Reform is holding a press conference to present Benedict with questions on matters such as "corruption" and "mindless obedience." Outside the Catholic fold, a mix of secularists, gay rights activists, and others plan to march in London on Sept. 18 under the banner of "Protest the Pope!" A smaller group is organizing a separate demonstration against his visit to the Twickenham neighborhood the day before.
If the question is whether Benedict XVI has his work cut out for him, the answer is "sure." I've written before that a papal trip anyplace in Western Europe these days is the sociological equivalent of a Gay Pride rally, in that Catholics too now perceive themselves as a misunderstood minority obliged to practice a politics of identity. Recently Edmund Adamus, director of pastoral affairs in the diocese of Westminster, said that Britain has become more anti-Catholic than Saudi Arabia, China and Pakistan, because of its embrace of a "culture of death". Catholic composer James MacMillan, who has produced a new setting of the Mass to mark the papal visit, has called anti-Catholicism "the new anti-Semitism of the liberal intellectual." Whatever backlash awaits Benedict in the U.K. will only strengthen such perceptions.
If the question, however, is whether this trip presents a set of headaches the pope has never seen before, the answer is basically "Been there, done that."
As a footnote, the potential for blowback in Scotland is probably less significant. A recent national poll found only two percent of Scots are "strongly opposed" to the pope's visit, while 31 percent said they're "very or fairly favorable" and 63 percent are indifferent.
2. Overall, what do you expect?
Prediction is a hazardous business, but here's one I feel safe in making: Whatever the consensus public expectations are for the trip, Benedict will almost certainly exceed them. I have three reasons for saying so.
First, when Benedict hits the road, he benefits from the bar being set low. People know his papacy has been marred by a series of PR debacles, so anything that happens short of absolute disaster can be spun as a success. Further, most people have never seen the pope before, and what they've heard second-hand usually isn't good -- that he's cold, aloof, authoritarian, repressive, etc. Measured against that caricature, contact with the real man always seems a pleasant surprise. (Perhaps this is the genius behind the Vatican's apparent PR bungling: they've created a scenario in which Benedict basically can't lose.)
Second, anti-papal protestors usually have a bigger voice in the media than their sociological footprint on the ground, so predictions of massive demonstrations almost never materialize. The few who turn out to jeer seem a footnote in comparison to the enthusiastic crowds greeting the pope, especially because the supporters will be in every camera frame, while the protestors won't get within a mile of the action. The vast majority of folk who are unenthusiastic about the pope's presence will simply ignore the trip, rather than mounting barricades.
Third, Benedict is not going to ride into town and give people excuses to get mad. This is not going to be Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi's recent 48-hour whirlwind visit to Rome, where he hired a bevy of female escorts to listen to him proclaim that Islam should be the religion of Europe, demanded that EU nations pay him $6.5 billion a year to stem the flow of illegal immigrants from Africa, blew off a meeting with Italian Bishop Domenico Mogavero, and then took off -- leaving behind a chorus of protests that the visit amounted to a "national humiliation."
That's just not the style of Benedict XVI, who is an unfailingly gracious and humble guest. The road is actually where Benedict's commitment to "affirmative orthodoxy," meaning the most positive spin possible on the traditional Christian message, becomes especially palpable. Each time people have gone into a papal trip expecting the Ali-Frazier prizefight -- the Cologne World Youth Day in '05, for example, or the meeting with Zapatero in '06 -- what they got instead was "I'd like to buy the world a Coke."
Benedict is likely to extol the riches of English history and culture, declaring the tensions opened by the English Reformation closed. He'll express gratitude for progress in Anglican/Catholic relations and reaffirm his commitment to Christian unity. He'll stress the desire of the church to be a positive force for the common good. He'll also try to offer a shot in the arm to the six million Catholics in the U.K., particularly by lifting up the example of Cardinal John Henry Newman, set for beatification in Birmingham on the last day of the papal trip.
All that will strike even dubious Scots or Brits as more friendly than they expected, and will probably produce a short-term boost in the pope's favorability ratings. (After his April 2008 trip to the United States, which was also a laboratory experiment in affirmative orthodoxy, two national polls found a ten-point bump in the percentage of Americans who approved of Benedict's job performance.)
In a recent piece for the English magazine Standpoint, American Catholic writer George Weigel predicted that "Those who expect to meet 'God's Rottweiler' will find instead a shy, soft-spoken man of exquisite manners … Those looking for a hidebound clerical enforcer will meet instead a man of deep faith, a gentle pastor." Based on my experience of covering papal trips, that's about right.
For all those reasons, the trip may not be a home run, but it's unlikely to be a strikeout either. (Or, to use a cricket image, since this is the U.K., Benedict's not going to be a "walking wicket." I presume someone will tell me if I used that term correctly.)
3. Will the sex abuse crisis overshadow the trip?
Probably not. It didn't in the United States or Australia in 2008, both places where the sexual abuse crisis has been more intense. Things have been so comparatively calm in the U.K. that Bishop Kieran Conry of Arundel and Brighton recently suggested that Pope Benedict "may well be relieved to be coming to a place where, unlike some of his other recent trips, there are no big problems for him to sort out."
Here's the main reason, however, why the crisis won't overshadow the trip: A papal journey is one of those rare moments when the Vatican is adept at offering the media another story to do.
While the pope is in town, there will be plenty of compelling pictures and sound: Benedict XVI meeting the Queen, visiting the Archbishop of Canterbury at Lambeth Palace, standing in the spot in Westminster Hall where St. Thomas More was condemned, praying at the tomb of St. Edward the Confessor, and on and on. That's as opposed to the Vatican's usual modus operandi during a crisis, which is to hunker down and wait for the storm to pass, issuing only terse statements, while rogue officials offer unsolicited remarks which often make things worse.
In his Standpoint piece, Weigel complained that "seemingly endless stories of clerical sexual abuse, and the mismanagement of these sins and crimes by Catholic bishops, are not the only story to be told about the church at the end of the first decade of the 21st century." He's right, of course, but the PR reality is that the Vatican is often unable to provide an alternative narrative. A papal trip is the towering exception.
Three other variables may determine how big a deal the crisis seems while Benedict is on the ground.
First, some observers believe that media outlets are planning to reveal new abuse cases in the U.K. just ahead of Benedict's arrival, thus triggering a new cycle of the crisis, akin to what happened in Germany earlier this year. Writing in the Guardian on Monday, Paul Donovan opined that such revelations "would shoot to pieces the strategy that has attempted to separate the church in the U.K. from the rest of the world on child abuse, arguing it acted properly and put in place rigid guidelines."
Second, Cardinal Seán Brady of Ireland has announced plans to accompany the pope in Scotland and England. Brady has been under fire for his role in the massive sexual abuse crisis in Ireland, including charges that in the 1970s he participated in putting the victims of a notorious abuser under a gag order. If Brady is spotted at the pope's right hand, it could spark a new round of commentary about how Benedict "doesn't get it."
Third, the pope himself could put the crisis in the spotlight by holding a meeting with victims. While these encounters are always staged off-camera, at least some of the victims usually speak with the media afterwards, and in any event they make news. Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster recently said that "careful consideration" was being given to holding such a meeting in England. If it happens, it would be Benedict's fifth session with victims, after meetings during previous trips to the United States, Australia and Malta, and one in Rome with members of Canadian "first nations" abused in church-run institutions.
By now, these meetings draw mixed reviews. The pope gets credit for reaching out, and the victims who take part are often moved. Others, however, will object that it's empty PR. The Survivors' Network of those Abused by Priests, the main victims' group in the States, put out a preemptive press release ahead of the U.K. trip asserting that such meetings "change nothing and protect no one," and believing they do is "a sad and silly and reckless assumption."
4. What's Benedict's agenda for the trip?
In the sense in which that question is usually intended, the answer is: "None." This isn't a typical state visit, in which Benedict is hoping to persuade the English Parliament to adopt this law or block that one, or aiming to wrest some commercial or foreign policy concession from the Cameron government. There is no short-term check-list, which means that there will be no way to assess on Sept. 20 whether or not the trip was a success.
That's not to say, of course, that Benedict is traveling to Scotland and England just for the hell of it.
The pope legendarily thinks in centuries, and so his "agenda" in the U.K., as elsewhere, is decidedly long-term. His vision of Christianity in the West today is as a "creative minority" (a term he borrows from British historian Arnold Toynbee). By "minority," Benedict means a church that's no longer a culture-shaping majority but rather a subculture, which of course is no more than a concession to sociological reality. By "creative," he means a subculture clear about its own identity, and passionate about infusing that energy and vision into society.
Building a "creative minority" is thus a two-stage project:
- Fostering a strong sense of Catholic identity by emphasizing traditional markers of Catholic thought, speech and practice;
- Applying that identity to broader social, cultural and political debates, rather than retreating into a ghetto.
In broad strokes, Benedict's "agenda" is to advance the creative minority project in the United Kingdom.
What might that mean in practice? Perhaps Peter Sanford, a former editor of the Catholic Herald, had it about right in his piece in Sunday's Guardian: "Pope Benedict may want to stiffen the collective Catholic resolve." Sanford sketched the pragmatic, middle-of-the-road ethos of English Catholicism, often terribly concerned with being socially acceptable. He then quoted an English bishop to the effect that maybe he and his colleagues need to engage in "a little more searching and even brutal debate" with the broader culture.
That, Sanford opined, "will be music to the pope's ears.
[John L. Allen Jr. is NCR senior correspondent. His e-mail address is jallen@ncronline.org.]
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There is great confusion as
There is great confusion as to whether all these visits are from a religious head with those of his religion or from a head of state visiting another government...doing both is dicey at best...the Church really needs to decide whether it's a State or a Church...diplomatic visits are made all the time and security is usually paid for by the visited country (government)...religious visits should not be paid for by a visited country (government), but by the church/church members. Church and State should not be financially entangled.
Unlike all other religions,
Unlike all other religions, the Catholic Church is a religious institution that is not organized and run on a nationalists basis. while there are Lutheran churches all over the world, and a worldwide Anglican Communion, they are run as franchises. The Catholic Church is One. So when the Pope visits somewhere he visits as the spiritual leader of 1 billion people in the world, that makes him a significant world leader.
The Pope's mission is to move
The Pope's mission is to move people closer to God. It's a tough thing to measure.............
I agree
I agree
"There is great
"There is great confusion...". Well said Rachel, but only in the Papal mind. The rest of us think it folly and most presumptive to expect Britian to pay for the Pope's PR trip. " They just don't get it."
There is no confusion. The
There is no confusion. The faithful are paying for the pastoral part. The state for the state part. Where is the confusion?
The statement that "security
The statement that "security is usually paid for by the visited country (government)" is simply not true - it is the tax payer that pays for all of these visits one way or another and will continue to do so.
Can B16 manage this trip w/o
Can B16 manage this trip w/o addressing the new (don't-call-it-Anglican rite) arrangement for disaffected Anglicans?
Pope Benedict could give an
Pope Benedict could give an immense shot in the arm to Catholic appreciation for the Anglican liturgical tradition, musical heritage, and spirituality by permitting the use of Cranmerian and contemporary English for the Extraordinary rite of the Mass. Also, by allowing parishes to use the same translations for Anglican Morning Prayer and Evensong in place of the somewhat stale Pauline liturgy of the hours one finds in most Latin churches.
It would be a papal tribute to the innate beauty of the High Church wing of the Anglican liturgical patrimony. While throwing open the door of welcome even wider to an even larger body of Anglicans by adopting the traditional offices. These could also be used as an alternative celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours.
Morning Prayer has the unique advantage of being a very effective pastoral liturgical tool in ways our current Latin-rite offices fail to be. Morning Prayer unites the old office of Prime with Lauds and the Office of Readings, with provision for a sermon. In the case of Evensong, Vespers has been combined with Compline. Both are coherent with a rich tradition of psalmody, beautifully designed services consisting of incomparable chant in a truly sacral language. Something the average Latin-rite parish in the English-speaking world could only dream to have and rarely will ever experience.
Any Anglican Use or English speaking Latin-rite parish could be permitted to use these liturgical services along with the Extraordinary mass and offices in Latin. Or, with the Ordinary form (Pauline rite) of the liturgy and hours which we have in either Latin or the vernacular.
The English and the music are already there in Anglican missals and the Book of Common Prayer. No need to rely on the International Committee on English in the Liturgy for anything.
5. What of the English Jesuit
5. What of the English Jesuit Martyrs and the Holocaust (properly stated) of Roman Catholics both in Britain and in Ireland?
After seeing how mystifying
After seeing how mystifying it is that the hierarchy of Ireland could fool the laity for as long as they did. Then to see the Primate of Ireland accompanying the pope on his trip to Scotland and England, should lead historians and to a re-examination, and maybe a greater appreciation, for Oliver Cromwell's contribution to the life of the Catholic Church in Ireland.
we need to see the Pope enter
we need to see the Pope enter the Blue Mosque once more in prayer, and to follow in these silk stocking footsteps.
We who mimic and mock outrage in lower Manhattan, rather than pray for peace altogether, as children all of Abraham.
Mr. Scanlon: On 9/11/01 I
Mr. Scanlon:
On 9/11/01 I lived near the WTC, lost a cousin in the attacks, and a number of my students were injured.
While I initially supported Imam Rauf's lower Manhattan mosque complex, despite finding that street impractical due to narrowness (Battery Park City is just as close to Ground Zero, but more open and practical), his really annoying attitude has alienated me.
This is not proposed in conjunction with the two very-well-established lower Manhattan mosques; he has ignored the pastoral advice of priests, rabbis, imams, and ministers who sought to help him; and possibly due to the U.S. State Dept. funding his preaching trips in the Middle East, has come to believe he can do nothing tactless, insensitive, arrogant, or dumb. Imam Rauf is bent on constructing an awkward, empty, 13 to 15 story building to become his private hobby. He has a perfect legal right to be arrogant and foolish, but a sensible man would cultivate his neighbors' goodwill, not antagonize them.
Who now supports him? Well, the extremely dictatorial Mayor Bloomberg, who has exactly the same attitude towards his imperial rule of NYC!
By the way, I've prayed in the Blue Mosque, the Suleymanii, as well as the stolen Ayia Sophia and Ayia Irini, the ruined Basilica at Ephesus, and the house of Or Lady on Bulbul Dag above Ephesus.
Mr Scanlon I worked in NYC
Mr Scanlon I worked in NYC on 9/11 and lost friends there. Please find it in yourself to keep your thoughts of how we feel to yourself.
Catholic composer James
Catholic composer James MacMillan, who has produced a new setting of the Mass to mark the papal visit, has called anti-Catholicism "the new anti-Semitism of the liberal intellectual."
I am a liberal intellectual and a Catholic. I am engaged in my faith in a very active way.
I am not anti-Catholic, I am however, opposed to the men who occupy positions of power in the Vatican [who are meant to be representative of the Catholic Church but who have betrayed us all]. They need to take their ultra-conservative, anti-Vatican II posturings and move on.
Mr. MacMillan should stick to
Mr. MacMillan should stick to composing liturgical music in English. I think his talents appear to lie there, instead of delivering rubbish about "liberals" or anyone else for that matter.
The greatest threat the Catholic Church faces today is not a new form of anti-semitism. It's from it's own leadership and their attempt to impose an ultramontanist, a neofascist model, of unquestioning obedience, strict adherence to tradition, the creation of Latin as a new lingua franca for the liturgy, and to protect and defend a powerful, but increasingly irrelevant hierarchy.
All at the expense of justice towards the victims of sexual abuse. While imposing punishment and restricting the rights of women, gays,and lesbians.
Your observations in advance
Your observations in advance of the pope's visit to England and Scotland are informative and helpful, Mr. Allen. Thanks much.
63% of Scots are indifferent
63% of Scots are indifferent to the Pope's visit to the UK. What about the Welsh, the Irish? The word indifferent conjures up the retort, "Who cares?". I think the Scots have it right. Who cares where the Pope goes or doesn't go? (OK, I guess those of us for whom celebrities and their adventures care about this celebrity as they do that Mother Teresa will soon grace a U.S. stamp) What will change whereever he goes? Oh, I forgot. His purview is centuries long and his mindset is that of catholic identity of a "creative minority."
One thing I did learn from this long piece is another insight into the vehement push by the USCCB collectively and in their own jurisdictions regarding catholic identity. Instead of discerning what's really going on where, demographically and by allegiance, the catholic population is diminishing, the powers-that-want-to-continue-to-be exert their efforts as "creative minority" to restore, to keep imperial Christianity as paradigm for what is supposed to be a church of four marks: universality(catholicity), oneness (arising out of that catholicity like the E PLURIBUS UNUM of the U.S.A.), apostolicity (from the time of the Gospels), holiness (born from practice of the Gospels). My deepest desire is to see a church marked with this kind of "catholic identity"
The Pope, the Church and the
The Pope, the Church and the visit – what Britons really think
The Tablet Ipsos MORI survey
(free to non-subscribers)
http://www.thetablet.co.uk/article/15202
John Allen is usually very
John Allen is usually very perceptive but he has missed a very fine point in his article. May, just maybe, the pope's visit is about none of the points being made. The pope is a bishop and as such he is visiting his flock..."feed my lambs". There are million of English catholics and there is nothing out of the ordinary in having the chief shepherd among them for a short period. The focus of the visit will be Britain's catholics. Any other message which might resonate will be on the periphery. That is what the British media should expect and that is what they should focus on. Not all of this other cant.
Hey Anonymous - the bishops
Hey Anonymous - the bishops concerned were merely named in the report, not criticised for being complicit. how do you say they were complicit?
God Bless Pope Benedict XVI
God Bless Pope Benedict XVI and the Catholic Church.
The BBC, the British
The BBC, the British tabloids, and Monty Python will arrange to have discovered the long lost tomb of Christ somewhere in Wolverhampton. Just as the pope's plane is about to land in Scotland the next morning.
On the day of the pope's arrival, millions of citizens from lords to commoners,includint the queen, diplomats, members of parliament, rushing to Wolverhampton to see the reported discovered tomb. A minor official from the Foreign Office reminds his superiors,"THE POPE"? He's in Glasgow and we've forgotten to go to greet him at the airport. Everyone breaks forth in song, "Who Cares? They proceed to sing "When Popery Was in Fashion" and other delights from the Caroline Divines.
Camera shifts to Glasgow. The scene: a city empty of crowds. No protesters, admirerers. and official greeters. There is Benedict XVI entering an empty airport terminal with Cardinals Sodano and Bertone carrying his luggage. Looking glum, the angry pontiff goes into a rage,balls out both cardinals. Ranting that he should never have come in the first place.
Of course, there is the ever- on -the job BBC to pickup their exchange with an open microphone.
Not a soul in sight. All three of the old dears having to hail a cab to take them into the city. Once at Holy Rood castle, nobody there either. Everyone, from the royal family to the most loyal of Catholics and the clergy have taken off for Wolverhampton.
"' Pope Benedict may want to
"' Pope Benedict may want to stiffen the collective Catholic resolve.' Sanford sketched the pragmatic, middle-of-the-road ethos of English Catholicism, often terribly concerned with being socially acceptable"
Pope Benedict is in a seriously weakened state. He's in no position to be "stiffening" anyone's resolve until he can answer key questions: what did he know, when did he know it, and what did he do about information coming to him and to Pope John Paul II about sexual abuse? Then, why is he presiding over a hierarchical culture now completely out of touch with clergy and laity alike and thoroughly discredited? With no evidence so far that he, Pope Benedict, is attempting to change this culture.
"and so his "agenda" in the
"and so his "agenda" in the U.K., as elsewhere, is decidedly long-term. His vision of Christianity in the West today is as a "creative minority" (a term he borrows from British historian Arnold Toynbee). By "minority," Benedict means a church that's no longer a culture-shaping majority but rather a subculture, which of course is no more than a concession to sociological reality. By "creative," he means a subculture clear about its own identity, and passionate about infusing that energy and vision into society."
SO THIS POPE retreats to the loyalist, traditionalist minority who fanatically follow whatever course the Vatican sets. That does not portend well for the future of Catholicism nor for Christianity in general. It is so anti-Gospel that I am surprised anyone would embrace it. Pope Benedict makes Catholicism into a sect that just has some weird ideas and practices. The world will just move on as it has been doing.
I have never heard the phrase
I have never heard the phrase "walking wicket". Since a wicket consists of three stumps it conjures up an oddly grotesque picture. "Open goal" may be a cliché, but I think it's the right one here.
It would be better if the
It would be better if the pope made a stop in Ireland and exercised some pastoral ministry to the suffering people there.
Rachel states; "There is
Rachel states; "There is great confusion as to whether all these visits are from a religious head with those of his religion or from a head of state visiting another government..."
I am not sure what she means by "all these visits" but as far as the upcoming visit to Great Britain is concerned there is absolutely no confusion: this is a State visit. Pope Benedict responded positively to an approach from then Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth subsequently issued the formal invitation on the advice of her Prime Minister.
However, mindful of the fact that the Catholic faithful in Great Britain would expect to see their Pope (normally State Visitors are seen more or less by nobody) AND mindful of the fact that that would necessarily entail great expense AND bearing in mind that the Holy Father is not your run of the mill Head of State the Secretariat of State suggested some variations from the usual procedures.
Thus the Holy Father will not stay with the Queen either at Buckingham Palace or Holyrood Palace (nor any other Royal Residence) and he will not attend as guest of honour a State Banquet. And, of course, the Catholic Church and people will stump up a huge chunk of the cost. Normally the receiving State foots the bill.
Finally, the anonymous correspondent above should be aware that the two Irish bishops whose resignations were refused by Pope Benedict were NOT "complicit" in the sex abuse scandal, as a careful reading of the Murphy and Ryan reports shows. But then bigots don't tend to read things carefully.
For the "official"
For the "official" version:
http://www.thepapalvisit.org.uk/
"Will sex abuse overshadow
"Will sex abuse overshadow the visit?"
The BBC and the rest of the media here will certainly try to make sure that it does.
Out of all the talks The Pope gave in Australia. The BBC reported on just one. Take a wild guess what it was??!! Correct. Abuse. Not a single word about anything else he said in his time in Australia.
This is what we are confronted with on a daily basis across the pond.
"There will be some
"There will be some intra-Catholic noise."
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/Religion/post/2010/09/pope-bened...
"Advocates of women priests have paid for ads on fifteen red buses in London reading "Pope Benedict -- Ordain Women Now!"
http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2010/08/26/ordain-women-london-bus-a...
Next week, a group called Catholic Voices for Reform is holding a press conference to present Benedict with questions on matters such as "corruption" and "mindless obedience."
http://www.cv4r.org.uk/faith/
Outside the Catholic fold, a mix of secularists, gay rights activists, and others plan to march in London on Sept. 18 under the banner of "Protest the Pope!"
http://www.protest-the-pope.org.uk/
BUT, on a brighter
BUT, on a brighter note:
http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2010-08-25-boyle-to-sing-for-pop...
John Allen, thank you for an
John Allen, thank you for an excellent overview of the Benny 16 visit to the UK. It is instructive for each of us (and I am an Aussie, from a relative backwater in the South Seas) to understand that our place in the scheme is usually smaller than we think. You have done that graciously but firmly, even if your cricketing knowledge is a little dodgy!
While your commentary is generally spot-on, I suspect you have underestimated the significance for the UK and for Catholics in Anglophone countries of the Newman moment during his visit. Newman, a former Anglican and at one time a sound advocate for and reformer of Anglicanism, is a giant in Anglophone Catholic circles and deserves more study and perhaps analysis from you.
In particular, his concerns over the Ultramontanism of the late 19th Century surely deserve some comment please?
Perhaps, as a counterpoint to Benedict's recent "divide and conquer" approach to the Anglican Via Media, you might offer us something on Newman's views on the development of Christian doctrine and the capacity over the coming century for Benedict's narrow Papalism to falter in its "affirmative orthodoxy" (ie: its declining narrowness of doctrine) and embrace a middle road engagement with the reformation thinkers through a genuinely Newmanian approach to the church's development?
PS Did I just invent a new adjective - Newmanian? Or has it been created before.
Thank you Mr Allen for an
Thank you Mr Allen for an insightful piece on the upcoming visit of Benedict XVI to Great Britain. As for denying the Pope the courtesy and right to travel because of so-called "failures" while in office we might have to deny the right to travel to ALL world leaders...including our ever-ready-suitecase-packed-traveling President Barack Obama! Something tells me the more liberal-left readers of "Reporter" would not want to go that far!
A very English centered
A very English centered coverage When the Holy Father visits Scotland he will be surrounded by a sea of Saltire flags and be greeted by Scotland's First Minister, Alex Salmond. Scotland and England are drifting slowly apart and I supect this visit will hasten the process.Written from Glasgow,Sunday 5th September
If I were Benedict, I'd keep
If I were Benedict, I'd keep away from the tomb of St. Thomas Beckett. The man's great project involved keeping secular courts from trying clerics accused of sex abuse. Not a saint for our time.
I'm tired hearing this SPIN
I'm tired hearing this SPIN about ''PR debacles'' as if the Holy Father doesn't know what he is doing. It's all part of the liberal agenda to make the successor of St Peter look foolish and inept which he is NOT. That might work for fools, but not for loyal, good, faithful Catholics who want to be church with the successor of St Peter and see through media lies. We love Pope Benedict and we will support him to the end, for he is sweet Christ on earth. Let the haters hate. They will receive their due reward in God's own time.
As usual John Allen presents
As usual John Allen presents a superficial analysis of positive comments about the projected Vatican view of the pope. Hence the seductive mask that Ratsinger projects is disarming like the passive aggressive personality type. Consequently Allen's description of Benedict as "a shy soft spoken man of exquisite manners" reflects accurately his academic, professorial style and his public manner is that of a "gentle pastor." This is true as long as you agree with his medieval thinking, but he has no tolerance for dissent. He is not an academic you can have an honest difference of opinion with. He has the absolute mindset of a medieval monarch. He sees evil in diversity and desires uniformity instead of unity. He has the absolutism of a tyrant who demands obedience and loyalty at the expense of honesty and mercy. Instead of honestly admitting that his desire is to return to the pre-Vatican II church by reforming the reforms, he uses the term "continuity" as a mask to enable the return to medievalism.
The decision has already been made. The reason he is talking about a "creative minority" is not only because of the "majority" secular world. This "creative minority" will be a minority church without dissenters, without liberals, and without moderates who have accepted the reforms of Vatican II. The Vatican plan is that the dissenters, liberals, reformers, and moderates will be forced out by a re-education campaign that will deny that Vatican II changed anything and a focus on doctrine training, obedience to papal infallibility and the pre-Vatican mindset of the medieval church. (If you don't think so then why is my pastor insisting on installing a communion rail.)
The creative minority then will be a smaller church centered on absolute blind faith in the papacy and unquestioning obedience to papal authority. The indoctrination of this "creative minority" will attack with condemnation any free secular thinkers as evil. It will attack other christians as flawed, and people of other religions as unsaved and in need of conversion to escape hell. The pope's "creative minority" will be an army of condemnation. It will be a return to the "Church Triumphant," the "one true church" that is saved from damnation as opposed to all the heretical non-roman catholics who are going to hell for denying the truth that only the popes have perfectly preserved infallilibly, starting with Peter, of course.
The pope's agenda is mis-direction away from his corruption and the scandal of the hierarchy's abuse of power. His behavior as the "unfailingly gracious and humble guest" is as deceptive as it is disarming. Beware of blind papal apologists. They are the vanguard of the pope's "creative minority" of condemnation.
"Ratsinger should stay home
"Ratsinger should stay home and do some penance and pray for some guidance."
Or then again, maybe a certain anonymous forum poster should think for about 2 seconds to realize that Pope Benedict XVI, and most popes for that matter, do that a lot.
Perhaps the same poster could also refrain from such childish attempts at disrespect as referring to the Pope as "Ratsinger" and/or learn to spell, and maybe refrain from presenting a bumper sticker view of a misrepresentation of a complicated situation as simple truth.
Hopefully the aforementioned 2 seconds of thought would allow the poster to realize that open hostility towards the Pope, to the point of claiming that it should be obvious to all that he is not a capable spiritual leader when many, many, many people obviously do not "realize" this, is not constructive.
If not, perhaps said poster should stay at home, do some penance, and pray for some guidance.
BXVI's popularity kills them
BXVI's popularity kills them
Nice article Mr. Allen. I am,
Nice article Mr. Allen.
I am, however, surprised that no mention is made of Anglicanorum Coetibus. Furthering this project, and the beatification of Newman are clearly the front and center items here. An Apostolic Constitution is not an everyday thing.
I hope the Holy Father does
I hope the Holy Father does something dramatic and provocative.
He is entering enemy ground anyway and so he has nothing to loose and everything to gain by corageously defending Christianity against secularist culture.
Of course I am not holding my breath, but this Pope is often surprising... Let's hope!
John Allen asks if the Pope
John Allen asks if the Pope has an agenda for his visit to Britain. It would appear so.
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/pope-s-glasgow-mass-in-lati...
'Walking wicket'. Never heard
'Walking wicket'. Never heard of it. Translation of a term from baseball perhaps?
Excellent Press Release by
Excellent Press Release by the Vatican PR Office
Walking wicket a very poor
Walking wicket
a very poor batsman, particularly tail-end batsmen, who are usually specialist bowlers. Statistically, any batsman averaging under 5. Also used to refer to a usually good batsman who is in very poor form
according to wikipedia.
Would be nice if NCR would
Would be nice if NCR would provide views on the Vatican doings other than Allen's. Ongoing point/counterpoint articles by Allen and say Robert Blair Kaiser would better balance the NCR's reporting. John is articulate and knowledgeable but rather one-sided.
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