Pope Benedict XVI will not go to Canterbury when he makes his historic visit to this country later this year, Mandrake hears. At a time of tension between the Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches, it would have been seen as a highly symbolic event.
However, my man in the Catholic Church, says: “The Holy Father will meet the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, but he is expected to do so in London, probably at Lambeth Palace, rather than in Canterbury.”
During the last papal visit in 1982, Pope John Paul II’s meeting with the then head of the Anglican Church, Robert Runcie, was seen as a success.
It was the first time that a pope had visited Canterbury and up to 25,000 well-wishers greeted him.
Pope John Paul told the congregation of his happiness at visiting the cathedral, adding that it was a day “which centuries and generations have awaited”.
The pair knelt in silent prayer at the spot where St Thomas à Becket was murdered in 1170.
They issued a common declaration, which thanked God for “the progress that has been made in the work of reconciliation” between them.
Vatican sources insist that if Pope Benedict does indeed fail to repeat his predecessor’s journey to Canterbury, it should not be seen as a snub for Dr Williams.
The English part of the Pope’s visit is expected to last only two days before he travels to Scotland, where he will meet the Queen at Balmoral.
Jim Murphy, the Secretary of State for Scotland, who heads the government team in charge of the visit, said last month that the Pope would not stay at Buckingham Palace and had declined an open-carriage procession and palace banquet.
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