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  Pope Benedict's State Visit Is a Mission to Restore the Gift of Faith to All of Britain

By Vincent Nichols
The Mirror
July 6, 2010

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2010/07/06/pope-benedict-s-state-visit-is-a-mission-to-restore-the-gift-of-faith-to-all-of-britain-115875-22385254/

Pope Benedict XVI is the first pontiff to be invited on an official state visit to Britain.

The four-day event starts in Scotland on September 16 when he meets the Queen at Holyroodhouse before travelling to Glasgow to celebrate mass.

He will go on to meet the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams and deliver an address in Westminster Hall.

But the high point will be a service to beatify Cardinal John Henry Newman at Cofton Park, Birmingham.

Pope Benedict may also meet victims who suffered sexual abuse by Catholic priests.

The move could help placate campaigners who have threatened demonstrations during the visit.

Archbishop Vincent Nichols, the leader of Catholics in England and Wales, said the issue was being given "careful consideration" but any meetings would be private.

He added: "It is very important that it is not seen as a way of using those who have suffered to satisfy some kind of public agenda for the public curiosity."

The cost of the trip is set to rise by up to £4million to £12milllion due to the "complexity" of the arrangements.

But here, Archbishop Nichols explains why it is so important:

'Last Friday, escaping the stifling heat and chaotic traffic of Rome, I went in to see Pope Benedict who didn't hesitate to say he was looking forward to getting to the Papal summer residence in the hills outside the city.

'But with great enthusiasm, he also said how much he was looking forward to coming to the UK in September.

His visit will be historic and unique: the first time ever that the Pope has come to the UK on a state visit. He will come as the guest of Her Majesty the Queen and the Government.

It is she who will welcome him, at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh on Thursday, September 16, in an opening ceremony which will be watched by the world and set the tone for the entire Papal visit.

Pope Benedict has been invited on this state visit by the Queen and her Government precisely so he can speak to everyone who lives in the UK.

He will, of course, speak to Catholics, but also to other Christians, to people of other faiths and no faith, to school children, to political and civic leaders.

He is coming here because he has a message that is relevant to our lives and times, because he wants to discuss important moral and social issues in our joint search for what is best for all of us.

He will stand in the iconic places of our history: in Lambeth Palace, the home of the Archbishop of Canterbury; in Westminster Hall, in the place where the Lord Chancellor of England, Thomas More, was condemned to death for his faith; in Westminster Abbey where he will pray at the tomb of Saint Edward the Confessor, King of England.

What will he say? Pope Benedict speaks from the heart of the Christian faith which has so shaped our way of life for almost 2,000 years. He will invite us to look again at that treasure house of wisdom and beauty.

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He will say that faith in God is not a problem to be solved but a gift to be discovered afresh. Some today, and some who make the most noise, want to see faith in God locked in a box and hidden away. But faith in God, as I see it, is a great gift, helping us to be more fully ourselves.

Faith helps us to be more passionately concerned for justice and fairness, to take up our social responsibility and help those in need. It teaches the importance of putting others first. It shapes expectations about right and wrong and guides us in making moral choices. It enlarges our world, opening up a sense that beyond difference there is a fundamental unity of all humanity.

That is what we strive to do and what we hope to become.

Of course not all Catholics or believers live like that - but countless thousands do, unsung heroes of kindness, compassion and forgiveness. One hero will be celebrated during this Papal visit. He is Cardinal John Henry Newman who will be declared 'Blessed' by the Pope, in Birmingham on Sunday, September 19.

He will be held up as an example of Christian living for the entire Church throughout the world. This is the first time ever such a ceremony has taken place in this land. John Henry Newman is the first English Catholic, apart from those who were martyred for their faith, to be declared 'Blessed' for almost 500 years.

Who was he? This hero of faith was a scholar, a poet, a great writer and speaker, born in 1801 of an Anglican family and died in 1890 as a Catholic priest and Cardinal.

The people of Birmingham loved him, for he was their parish priest for more than 30 years.

He visited them in their sickness, brought fuel and food for the needy, protected the workers, and received the great and the good who wanted guidance. When he died over 20,000 people lined the streets to salute his funeral cortege. And now he will be declared Blessed, one step short of being made a Saint for all time.

Pope Benedict has a real soft spot for Cardinal Newman, for Pope Benedict himself is a gentle and loving proponent of this same faith.

His visit will be full of stunning images, inspiring words and actions.

I thank Her Majesty the Queen for this invitation and I thank Her Majesty's Government for their lead in organising this Visit. It is going to be a historic and great occasion. I hope it will be enjoyed by all!


While this is a state visit and the Pope comes as a guest of the country as a whole, some considerable costs for this visit properly fall to the Catholic community.

If you want to support the Pope in this visit, please do contribute to those costs by going to www.thepapalvisit.org.uk where you can donate online and also find out more about this unique occasion.'

'THE POPE'S TIMETABLE

Thurs 16 SEPT Pope Benedict arrives in Scotland to be met by the Queen at Holyrood House( left) in Edinburgh. Open-air evening mass at Bellahouston Park, Glasgow, before flying to London.

Friday 17 SEPT Meeting schoolchildren to celebrate Catholic education. Later he will meet the Archbishop of Canterbury (right) at Lambeth Palace.

He will speak at Westminster Hall and celebrate evening prayer at Westminster Abbey.

Sat 18 SEPT Mass in Westminster Cathedral (right) and openair vigil of prayer in Hyde Park.

Sun 19 SEPT Celebrates beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman in Cofton Park, Birmingham, near Rednal where Newman was buried. Flight back to Rome.

 
 

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