THE Archbishop of Westminster, the Most Revd Vincent Nichols, has said that the Pope will not be “fishing” for Anglicans when he comes to Britain next week.Pope Benedict XVI will meet the Archbishop of Canterbury next week during the first state visit by a pope to the UK, and the first papal visit for 28 years.
Archbishop Nichols told the BBC that there were “delicate and difficult issues” between his Church and the Church of England.
But there would be no “harsh words” between the two church leaders during next week’s visit.
The Pope’s creation of an Ordinariate for those who chose to leave the Anglican Church was made only in response to repeated requests.
“Sometimes, people want to say, ‘Oh, this is the initiative of the Pope, who is going fishing for Anglicans.’ That is not true. He is responding to requests that he has received, and those requests we have to handle sensitively on both sides. There are delicate, difficult issues between our two Churches at the moment.”
During next week’s visit, the Pope is expected to shake hands with a female Anglican cleric for the first time.
He will be greeted at Westminster Abbey by its Steward, Canon Jane Hedges, a prominent campaigner for women bishops.
The cost of the Pope’s state visit continues to provoke comment. Critics are angry that an estimated £12 million will come from public funds.
But Archbishop Nichols told the BBC that it was right that the taxpayer and the Church shared the bill, because the Pope was coming at the invitation of the Government.
“It is a state visit, and the day that this country closes its doors and says we can’t afford state visits is a very sad day, because it would be a real gesture of isolationism,” he said.
He also hinted that the Pope might meet victims of clerical sex abuse during the four-day visit, which starts in Scotland on Thursday.
The visit will include services in London and Birmingham, the highlight of which will be the beatification of Cardinal Newman, the former Tractarian.
At least four television programmes will focus on the troubles of the papacy next week: The Trouble with the Pope, presented by Peter Tatchell (C4); Panorama, focusing on clerical paedophiles, presented by Fergal Keane (BBC1); Benedict: Trials of a pope, looking at the abuse scandal in Bavaria, presented by Mark Dowd (BBC2); and Tonight: Keeping the Faith? on the Church’s reputation, presented by Julie Etchingham (ITV1).
The BBC is providing live coverage of the Pope’s arrival, the Glasgow mass, and the service in Westminster Abbey.
SIC: CT/UK