Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Speculation grows over Pope visit

A well-known priest last night said the Catholic Church in Northern Ireland would welcome any visit from Pope Benedict VXI as speculation mounted over whether the pontiff was planning to make a historic trip.

Father John McManus said the Diocese of Down and Connor would be “delighted” to receive the Pope after news reports yesterday suggested the 265th head of the Roman Catholic Church was considering travelling to the British Isles to coincide with the beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman — who could become Britain’s first saint in 40 years.

However he was quick to stress that there had been no confirmation of any such visit and emphasised it would be wrong to speculate at this stage.

Yesterday, the Sunday Telegraph reported that senior Vatican sources had said Pope Benedict was planning a trip to the UK next year.

Details of the proposed trip were said to be still under discussion but it has been reported that some of the venues being considered are in Northern Ireland.

London and Birmingham — where Cardinal Newman’s |remains are venerated — are two cities which have been flagged up for the visit, although Armagh, Omagh, Belfast and Dublin were also mentioned.

Last week the pontiff released a message strongly condemning the murders of PSNI Constable Stephen Carroll and British soldiers Mark Quinsey and Patrick Azimkar.

Speaking at the end of his weekly public audience in St Peter’s Square, the Pope said: “It was with deep sorrow that I learned of the murders of two young British soldiers and a policeman in Northern Ireland.

“As I assure the families of the victims and the injured of my spiritual closeness, I condemn in the strongest terms these abominable acts of terrorism which, apart from desecrating human life, seriously endanger the |ongoing peace process in Northern Ireland and risk destroying the great hopes generated by this process in the region and throughout the world.”

Last night Father McManus said the Catholic Church would be delighted if the Pope chose to visit Northern Ireland.

“Of course we would like to see him,” he said. “The invitation was extended to him by the Irish Bishops themselves.

“But realistically one understands the pressure he is under to carry out his duties on an international basis and it would be a delight to see him. Having said that I wouldn’t build up any expectation and it would be wrong to build up any expectation at this stage and certainly I have no knowledge whatsoever.

“But it would be delightful to see him. It was also refreshing for him to call for peace in Ireland and make a statement on our current difficulty last week, it was refreshing to hear that.”

According to reports in yesterday’s Sunday Telegraph, a senior cardinal is expected to arrive in Britain in the summer in preparation for the Pope’s visit which could be announced by the end of the year. A visit would first require communication from the Vatican with the Catholic Church in the UK.

Downing Street said the Pope was “very positive about the possibility” of a visit, following Mr Brown’s meeting with the pontiff last month.

During a private audience the Prime Minister, the son of a Church of Scotland minister, told Pope Benedict he would be welcomed by millions.

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, the Archbishop of Westminster, wrote to the Pope in 2006 extending an invitation and Tony Blair also made an invitation when he was prime minister.

If the invitation is accepted, it will be the first papal visit since Pope John Paul II’s six-day trip to Britain in 1982, which included outings to London, Canterbury, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Cardiff.
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(Source: BT)