Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Pope to give 'moral guidance' during UK visit

Leaders of the Roman Catholic Church in Britain attempted to distance the Pope from the sex abuse scandal engulfing the institution, instead pledging that Benedict XVI will “give guidance on the great moral issues of our day” when he visits Britain in September.

The visit threatens to be overshadowed by the crisis, with protests planned by victims, support groups and equality campaigners.

The Queen announced that the visit — the first official Papal visit to the UK — will take place from September 16-19.

The visit by Pope John Paul II in 1982 was a pastoral visit only.

Although it has official status, the usual trappings of a state visit will be absent. There will be neither a procession in a gilded carriage up the Mall nor a banquet at Buckingham Palace, as the Queen will be in Scotland. The Pope will stay in Church accommodation as is normal when he visits other heads of state around the world.

The Archbishop of Canterbury today offered an uncharacteristically terse welcome ahead of the visit.

Dr Rowan Williams, recently surprised by the Catholic announcement of a new Anglican Ordinariate in England to tempt dissatisfied Anglicans over to Rome, said: “The Pope's visit will be an opportunity to cement ties not only between the Holy See and the United Kingdom but also the Roman Catholic Church and other Christian churches in Scotland, England and Wales. I look forward particularly to welcoming Pope Benedict to Lambeth Palace on behalf of the Church of England.”

In Scotland, the Pope will be received at the Palace of Holyroodhouse by the Queen and in London will give a speech to British civil society at Westminster Hall.

He will also visit the West Midlands to beatify the nineteenth century theologian and educationalist Cardinal John Henry Newman at a public Mass in Coventry.

Other key elements of the visit will include a public Mass in Glasgow, a prayer vigil in London and an event focusing on education.

Further details of the visit will be announced nearer the time.

The subdued press conference at the Foreign Office in London today came as the row over paedophile priests continued to bedevil the Church.

It emerged that the German priest abuser, whose case has dragged Pope Benedict XVI into the scandal, was only suspended from the ministry this week.

The New York Times reported: “The priest at the center of a German sexual-abuse scandal that has embroiled Pope Benedict XVI continued working with children for more than 30 years, even though a German court convicted him of molesting boys.

“The priest, Peter Hullermann, who had previously been identified only by the first letter of his last name, was suspended from his duties only on Monday. That was three days after the church acknowledged that the pope, then Archbishop Joseph Ratzinger, had responded to early accusations of molestation by allowing the priest to move to Munich for therapy in 1980.”

There is growing international outrage that despite being a convicted child molester, Father Hullermann was allowed to continue to work with altar boys and girls for decades.

Pope Benedict XVI was both Archbishop of the diocese where the priest worked also later served as the cardinal in charge of reviewing sexual abuse cases for the Vatican.

The Pope also caused outrage among equal rights campaigners with recent remarks condemning Britain's equality legislation.

Terry Sanderson, president of the National Secular Society, said: “At a time when the Pope is swirling in a very unpleasant scandal of his own making, the Government chooses to announce that it is to spend a huge amount of money on lauding him. To do this now makes it appear that we don't care about the Vatican's crimes against children.

“The Church over which the Pope is presiding is embroiled internationally in a series of revelations that show it to be institutionally corrupt. It has systematically covered up the horrendous abuse of children by its priests, protecting its own interests at the cost of the health and well-being of thousands — maybe tens of thousands — of vulnerable children.”

Mr Sanderson said: “I cannot believe that we are lauding the head of an organisation that not only insults and denigrates homosexuals, tries to restrict the rights of women by banning contraception and abortion, but deliberately lies about the effectiveness of condoms in the fight against Aids. This invitation is a rebuke to all those Britons who are incensed by the horrific revelations that are emerging daily about the Vatican's activities. The Government should be sharply criticising rather than welcoming this man.”

A new campaign group has been formed called Protest the Pope which is to organise demonstrations and other events around the time of the visit.

Last week the society handed over a 28,000 name petition to the Prime Minister objecting to the state funding of the visit.

Earlier today at the United Nations Human Rights Council, the society's executive director Keith Porteous Wood said: “The Vatican is a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, but has contravened several of its articles, and is more than 10 years behind in its reporting. It has habitually compounded the abuse and facilitated multiple reoffending by moving offenders around and shielding them from prosecuting authorities.”

He said major investigations in the US and Ireland had been “deliberately and cynically obstructed” by the Church at all levels without censure from above.

Referring also to the latest revelations from Ireland, where the head of the Church Cardinal Sean Brady is refusing to resign in spite of revelations that he attended meetings where child victims of a paedophile priest were asked to sign vows of silence, Mr Porteus Wood said: “All this has led to abusers being allowed to continue offending and to escape justice, while their victims despair — some even committing suicide.

“The Church cannot claim it is being victimised. It still places the protection of its reputation, and even more its assets, above the protection of those entrusted to its care.”

However, Jim Murphy MP, Secretary of State for Scotland and a senior lay Catholic said: “This is an historic visit at an important time. The Pope will receive a very warm welcome from Catholics and people of all faiths.”

Cardinal Keith O’Brien, Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh said: “A defining feature of Pope Benedict's teaching has been to remind Europe of its Christian roots and culture and to give us guidance on the great moral issues of our day and it is my hope that we all open our hearts to his words.”
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