Pope Faces Atheist Hate Campaign in UK

(News Today) - The Pope arrives for his historic state visit today, overshadowed by the fallout from an aide's insensitive comments comparing Britain to a 'Third World country'. Benedict XVI will be greeted by the Queen this morning with the full honours due to a world leader, hours after the senior cardinal who made the provocative remarks was dropped from his entourage.

Cardinal Walter Kasper, who accused Britain of harbouring aggressive atheism and discriminating against Christians, was condemned as racist by secular protesters determined to disrupt the Papal trip, the first to Britain for 28 years. The 77-year-old Cardinal had told a German magazine: 'When you land at Heathrow you think at times you have landed in a Third World country.'

Such ill-judged comments from Benedict's close circle were a gift to the collection of celebrities and Left-wing atheists mobilising against his visit. Yesterday a group of 55, including Stephen Fry, author Terry Pratchett and academic Richard Dawkins, claimed it introduced overtones of racism into the controversy.

Gay campaigner and anti-Papal demonstrator Peter Tatchell said: 'This is another own goal from the Vatican. It shows just how out of touch the Pope and his entourage are. Most Catholics will be appalled by the remarks.

'The explanation from the Vatican smacks of racism. It looks as if he is alluding to the large number of Asian and African people who work at Heathrow airport. It is an astonishing statement to come from a church that preaches compassion.'

Roman Catholic leaders in England were quick to distance themselves from Cardinal Kaspar's views. The cardinal is a veteran of Vatican negotiations with the Church of England, and until last year Rome's chief of relations with other Christian churches.

He made his comments in an interview with Focus magazine in his native Germany earlier this week. He also told the magazine: 'An aggressive new atheism has spread through Britain. If, for example, you wear a cross on British Airways, you are discriminated against.'

The airline ran into a religious row four years ago when it banned a check-in worker, Nadia Eweida, from wearing a Christian cross. Yesterday he was pulled out of the Papal party for the state visit, with the Vatican saying he had withdrawn for health reasons.

Monsignor Lahl said: 'He is very disappointed not to be going. He has been ill for a few days and can hardly walk. He was looking forward to seeing his friends.'

The Catholic bishops of England and Wales promptly issued a statement aimed at isolating the Cardinal and minimising the damage. It said: 'The attributed comments of Cardinal Kasper do not represent the views of the Vatican, nor those of bishops in this country. Clearly, they are the personal views of one individual.'

It added: 'Catholics play a full part in this country's life and welcome the rich diversity of thought, culture and people which is so evident here. This historic visit marks a further development of the good relationship between the United Kingdom and the Holy See. We are confident that it will be a huge success.'

But the atmosphere of controversy - and sometimes outright hostility - is likely to persist throughout the four-day visit. Protesters will be in attendance wherever the Pope goes, and Benedict himself will anger anti-clerical critics on Friday when he delivers a speech in Westminster Hall.

The leader of Catholics in England and Wales, Archbishop Vincent Nichols, has said the Pope will say 'he expects secular institutions to have an open and positive attitude to religious faith'.

The 'Third World' remarks only served to inflamed those already lining up to condemn the Papal visit.

Terry Sanderson of the National Secular Society said: 'Compared to the Vatican we are a glowing example of civilisation. To hear the Vatican talking about us in that way is pretty sickening.'

Pope Benedict will arrive in Edinburgh this morning to be greeted by the Duke of Edinburgh. He will be welcomed by the Queen soon afterwards at Holyroodhouse Palace.

The highlights of his visit will include a mass in Bellahouston Park in Glasgow this afternoon and the speech tomorrow in Westminster Hall.

Benedict will lead a prayer vigil in Hyde Park on Saturday and on Sunday will conduct the beatification service for Cardinal Newman, the Victorian convert from Anglicanism, in Cofton Park in Birmingham.

The Pope's visit has been dogged by bad luck, misunderstanding and criticism since it was announced last year.

First, the Vatican was angered by Gordon Brown's decision last March to allow his aides to leak news of the trip. Then there was the satirical memo written by junior Foreign Office officials suggesting a range of 'Benedict condoms', an invitation to the Pope to open an abortion clinic, and a Papal blessing for a gay marriage as ideas to mark the visit. The trip was nearly called off in the resulting row.

In recent months, Pope Benedict has faced accusations of being personally linked to the continuing child abuse scandals involving Roman Catholic priests and bishops.

Critics have also rounded on the £10million bill to the taxpayer for the trip and questioned its status as an official state visit, an honour that secular opponents say should not be granted to a religious head.

Famous names in concerted protest against the state visit

A parade of celebrities - many of them Left-wing atheists - have signed up to an orchestrated campaign against the Pope's state visit to Britain.

In the concerted anti-religious protest, comedians, authors and prominent academics, including Stephen Fry and Terry Pratchett, have joined forces in an attempt to whip up public opposition to the pontiff.

The provocative move comes amid deepening hostility between the Vatican and secular campaigners in Britain. The campaigners said that Pope Benedict was welcome to travel to Britain but he 'should not be given the honour of a state visit to this country'.

They cited a litany of reasons to oppose the trip, including: the Roman Catholic Church's opposition to contraception; its loathing of abortion; its resistance to gay rights; and its slowness to deal with cases of child abuse by priests and bishops.

In a letter from 55 signatories to the Guardian newspaper, they added: 'We reject the masquerading of the Holy See as a state and the Pope as a head of state merely as a conventional fiction to amplify the international influence of the Vatican.'

Those protesting included comedian Stewart Lee, authors Terry Pratchett, Philip Pullman and Ken Follett, and academics Professor Richard Dawkins and Professor A C Grayling. Many have at some time openly criticised Catholics or religion in general.

Evolutionary biologist Dawkins and philosopher Grayling are well-known academic advocates of atheism, Pullman's children's books have a strongly anti-clerical tone, and Stewart Lee is co-author of 'Jerry Springer - The Opera', a show that provoked fierce denunciation from churches.

Fantasy author Terry Pratchett, a sufferer from Alzheimer's Disease, describes himself as a humanist and has claimed the right to assisted suicide. He was given the prestigious platform of the BBC's Richard Dimbleby lecture earlier this year to make his point.

Source : kompas

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