A DERRY pastor is leading local opposition to Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Britain next week and is encouraging Roman Catholics to leave their church for one where the Bible is preached.The Pope plans to visit England and Scotland from September 16-19, 2010. In advance of the Papal visit a million copies of the "Magnificat - Liturgies and Events of the Papal Visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the United Kingdom" have been distributed to parishes across England, Scotland and Wales.
During his "Apostolic journey to the UK" Pope Benedict will declare "blessed" the Victorian Catholic theologian John Henry Newman.
But Rev Campbell says Pope Benedict's planned celebration of the mass in Glasgow, Prayer vigil in Hyde Park, alongside the proposed beatification of Cardinal Newman in Birmingham are a "direct attack upon the finished work of Lord Jesus Christ on the cross 2000 years ago."
The Londonderry Minister said it would a different matter if Pope Benedict XVI was visiting the United Kingdom as a tourist but this was not the case.
"I have no objections to the Pope coming as a tourist. If that was the purpose of his visit then he has as much right to be here as anyone else," he told the Sentinel.
"But he is NOT coming as a tourist. He will be celebrating an open-air Mass in Glasgow. The Mass is a direct attack upon the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross 2000 years ago.
"It is, as Article 31 puts it, a blasphemous fable and a dangerous deceit. The Pope will beatify Cardinal Newman. In layman's terms this means that Newman will become a saint," he explained.
Rev Campbell said the beatification will contradict Bible teaching and that sainthood is not in the gift of Popes.
"But the Bible teaches that a person becomes a saint the moment they trust in the precious blood of Christ for the forgiveness of their sins. Sainthood cannot be conferred by the Pope," he stated.
He went on to blame Pope Benedict XVI for presiding over a system that has the blood of innocents on its hands. He cited Father James Chesney's alleged involvement in the Claudy bombing of 1972, the burning of Protestant Reformation martyrs and Catholic child sex abuse scandals as examples.
"The Pope presides over a system that has the blood of innocent people on its hands," he said.
"From the burning of the Reformation martyrs right up to present-day atrocities such as Claudy with Father Chesney's involvement, the church of Rome has always been a violent organisation.
"The Pope presides over a system of paedophile priests. Countless individuals are still hurting today because of the unbridled lust of Roman Catholic clergy."
Rev Campbell thus urged Londonderry Roman Catholics to abandon the church of Rome for one based on Biblical teaching. He said they would receive a warm welcome at Newbuildings
Indpendent Methodists.
"I would therefore encourage Roman Catholics to leave their church and make their way to a church where the truth of the Bible is preached," he said.
"They will receive a warm welcome in Newbuildings Independent Methodist. These are just some of the reasons why I am totally opposed to the upcoming papal visit. And I haven't even mentioned the fact that the Pope was a member of Hitler Youth," he concluded.
SIC: LDT/UK