Papal visit to Britain will be "terrific success."
Saturday, July 31st, 2010

The pastoral and state aspects of Pope Benedict’s visit to Great Britain will provide a platform for the government to show just how much it has to talk about with the Catholic Church, according to Chris Patten. 

He listed shared areas of concern as, the Millennium Development Goals, environmental protection, global equity, and disarmament issues.  On the domestic front, the two will be able to discuss ways to strengthen the relationship between faith groups. 

Patten said he hopes that the visit will ensure that the Catholic community and other faith communities can relate very closely to the Pope at pastoral events and interfaith events.

Speaking to Vatican Radio in a wide-ranging interview, Chris Patten, said that the importance of Great Britain's relationship with the Holy See could surprise critics during the papal visit there in September.  In spite of the complications in planning the joint state and pastoral visit, the U.K.'s special representative for the occasion is predicting it will be a "terrific success."

“I think at the outset, and this is no criticism, people had perhaps underestimated the complexity involved in fitting together the state visit aspect and the pastoral aspects as if they were a seamless whole,” he said.

It is estimated that 70,000 will attend the beatification ceremony for Cardinal John Henry Newman in Birmingham.  Tens of thousands are expected at an evening prayer ceremony in London's Hyde Park, and a Mass in Glasgow's Bellahouston Park is each expected to draw tens of thousands of people.

Chris Patten said that some had criticised the Pope's visit but they represent a “small minority” and that people have the right to protest peacefully.  But he explained that there seems to be a religious intolerance that is particularly directed at the Catholic Church because of the Catholic Church's prominence, and longevity and self-confidence in asserting some basic truths.

"I think we have to stand our ground, recognising that when we do so, we've often been intolerant ourselves of others in the past,” he added.  “We must argue that it's ironic that some secularists - not all - are being as intolerant of Church groups, as Church groups were of them in the past.  I think this is one of the many ironies of life.”

Chris Patten was appointed by David Cameron to take control of arrangements for the papal visit.  He is considered highly qualified having overseen event like the handover of Hong Kong to China, and chaired the Independent Commission on Policing - better known as the Patten Commission in Northern Ireland. 

According to British media, his great grandfather was a refugee from the Irish potato famine.  Papers describe him as “Catholicism-lite” or a liberal Catholic, and state that he will be a human shield between Pope Benedict and the public, making Benedict XVI’s moral teachings more palatable for media and public.

by Ann Marie Foley