The government is trying to avert fresh embarrassment over the pope's first visit to the UK after learning that a key appearance coincides with the holiest festival in the Jewish calendar.Benedict XVI will spend four days in September travelling through England and Scotland, fulfilling state and pastoral obligations.
The Foreign Office will today reveal further details about the trip, which has already encountered difficulties with funding and hostility from campaigners, who plan to protest against the pope, and was the subject of an embarrassing gaffe by civil servants.
The latest problem arises over the pope's historic address at Westminster Hall on 17 September, which is the same date as Yom Kippur, also known as the Day of Atonement, a solemn occasion marked by 25 hours of fasting and prayer.
Lady Hayman, Speaker of the House of Lords, is one of a number of people who have pressed for the speech to be brought forward to avoid excluding Jewish luminaries, such as the chief rabbi, from the audience, according to Foreign Office sources.
Sunset is at 6.56pm that day, so a late afternoon start would still impinge on preparations for the holy day. To some, attendance at Westminster Hall could infer a person was not preparing properly for Yom Kippur.
Figures from the Jewish community indicated it would be possible to squeeze in a papal address ahead of Yom Kippur, but only just.
A Cabinet Office spokesman yesterday rejected the idea that Vatican had resisted changes to the schedule or that the coincidence had been overlooked.
"Sunset on the 17th is Yom Kippur. All that means is the event in Westminster Hall needs to finish in time for Jewish representatives to return home," he said.
"That's always been planned for. There's no argument around that. The church and parliamentary authorities have agreed the timing on the day."
The Vatican will be keen to avoid accusations of insensitivity or a snub, since the current papacy has a chequered relationship with Jewish communities.
The Foreign Office has already come under fire for its handling of the papal visit.
Last April, it apologised for an internal memo, resulting from a brainstorm among civil servants, which included suggestions the pope could bless a gay marriage or open an abortion clinic.
The resulting furore led to the disbanding of the planning team and the appointment of Catholic peer Chris Patten as David Cameron's personal representative to lead arrangements for the visit.
Patten and the Roman Catholic archbishop of Westminster, the Most Rev Vincent Nichols, will host the latest Foreign Office briefing.
In addition to a new team, Cameron has also reportedly increased the government's contribution to the trip by £4m.
The non-policing costs of the visit are in the region of £19m..
SIC: TGUK