We get it, we've got it, let's share it

John L. Allen Jr. | Sep. 17, 2010

Pope Benedict XVI raises the Eucharist as he celebrates Mass at Bellahouston Park in Glasgow, Scotland, Sept. 16. (CNS/Reuters)

Pope Benedict XVI is midway through his trip to the United Kingdom, and so far reaction has been all over the map, from wild enthusiasm among devotees, to overt hostility among determined protestors, to benign indifference in a broad swath of secular society. Of course, the pope always evokes a range of opinions, but they’re rarely on full public view as they are here.

Predictions of disaster in the run-up to the trip have largely failed to materialize, in part because Benedict XVI is simply a more gracious and kindly figure than his stern public image suggests, in part because Benedict has once again dialed up his “Affirmative Orthodoxy,” striking a deliberately positive tone. Within minutes of his arrival, he had told Queen Elizabeth II that Britain should be proud of its Christian and humanitarian traditions and praised the Northern Ireland peace agreement, and this German pope even thanked the British for standing up to the Nazis.

Yet dissent still dogs the visit, which was clear this evening outside Westminster Abbey.

Read the full story here: Benedict in Britain: We get it, we've got it, let's share it [1]

[John L. Allen Jr., NCR senior correspondent is filing reports throughout the papal visit to the U.K. Sept. 16-19. Stay tuned to NCR Today [2] for updates.]

Stories in this series on the papal visit to Scotland and England:

Benedict in Britain: We get it, we've got it, let's share it [1], by John L. Allen, Jr.

Pope calls on religions to defend environment, human life [3], by John L. Allen, Jr.

Full text of pope's comments on the crisis [4], by John L. Allen, Jr.

Of all people, Cardinal Kasper? [5], by John L. Allen, Jr.

Benedict battles the 'dictatorship of relativism' [6], by John L. Allen, Jr.

Pope on crisis: 'We weren't fast enough' [7], by John L. Allen, Jr.

Benedict to step into buzz saw of dissent during upcoming UK visit [8], by John L. Allen, Jr.

Newman still commands our attention [9], an NCR editorial

He even prayed 'with a pen in his hand' [10], a book review by Peter L’Estrange

Hijacking Newman [11], by Dennis Coday

Newman: the 'sense' and 'consent' of the faithful [12], a viewpoint by Robert McClory

All this week in his Distinctly Catholic blog, Michael Sean Winters is interviewing a variety of Newman scholars:

Christopher Pramuk, Assistant professor of Theology at Xavier University in Cincinnati [13]

Ian Ker, Professor at Oxford University and author of a Newman biography [14]

The Very Reverend Richard Duffield, the Provost of the Birmingham Oratory [15]

Archbishop Vincent Nichols, the Archbishop of Westminster and Primate of England [16]

Related items in Distinctly Catholic:

Letters between Newman and the Rev. Charles Kingsley [17]

James Roberts, assistant editor of the British Catholic weekly The Tablet [18]

Christopher Lamb, news editor of the British Catholic weekly The Tablet [19]

Elena Curti, the deputy editor of the British Catholic weekly The Tablet [20]

Catherine Pepinster, editor of the British Catholic weekly The Tablet [21]