LOOKING FOR SOMETHING DIFFERENT

WELCOMING  THE POPE'S VISIT

On September 16, Pope Benedict XVI will begin an official
visit to Britain but it promises to be a difficult trip.

Already the costs have gone way over budget, and there is talk about
having to cancel or scale back some of the events.

This is an extract from UP FRONT (Editors Word) July August edition of REALITY magazine by Fr Gerry Moloney CSsR.

Then there is the opposition to the visit, which has been strong all
along, and which will become even more intense as it draws
closer. Last March a petition protesting against the visit was
handed in to Downing Street by Britains's National Secular
Society. Gay rights activists have promised to disrupt papal
events, while militant atheists, such as Richard Dawkins
and Christopher Hitchens, have called for the pope's arrest.

They have asked human rights lawyers to produce a case for
charging Pope Benedict over his alleged cover-up of sexual
abuse. Dawkins and Hitchens believe they can exploit the
same legal principle used to arrest Augusto Pinochet, the late
Chilean dictator, when he visited Britain in 1998. The pair
believe the pope cannot claim diplomatic immunity from
arrest because, although his tour is categorised as a state
visit, he is not the head of a state recognised by the United
Nations. Groups representing victims of sexual abuse have
also promised to protest during the visit.

Of course, the pope won't be arrested. The British
government would never allow it, and security will be tight,
but there is no doubt the trip will be diffi cult and potentially
very embarrassing for the pope and the church.

FOR THE COMPLETE ARTICLE READ THE NEW EDITON OF THE REALITY MAGAZINE