Comments and Controversy Threaten Focus of Papal Visit

Every word and gesture by the Holy Father and his representatives are under the microscope during trip

For weeks, reporters have been looking eagerly for a black lining in every silver cloud regarding the trip and on Thursday they found one in remarks made in Rome by German Cardinal Walter Kasper. Another came during the Holy Fathers first address at Holyroodhouse.

WASHINGTON, DC (Catholic Online) - The wheels on Pope Benedict's plane had not even touched the runway in Edinburgh, Scotland when the media began to escalate the drama of the Holy Father's historic visit to the United Kingdom.

For weeks, reporters have been looking eagerly for a black lining in every silver cloud regarding the trip and on Thursday they found one in remarks made in Rome by German Cardinal Walter Kasper.

In an interview with a German magazine this week, the cardinal said that "When you arrive at Heathrow you think at times that you've landed in a Third World country." The media landed upon this as a demeaning comment to the British people.

London's Daily Telegraph contacted the Cardinal's Secretary, Monsignor Oliver Lahl, concerning the remark.

In explaining exactly what the Cardinal meant, Lahl told the Telegraph that he was actually making reference to "a cosmopolitan reality, a melting pot of ordinary humanity and all of its diversity and its problems."

"All he was saying is that when you arrive in Britain today it is like landing in Islamabad, Mumbai and Kinshasa all at the same time, because there are so many cultures and religions and races from all over the world.

"He was simply saying that Britain is no longer a mono-cultural country. There was nothing racist or xenophobic in that. He can't understand why this has become such a big issue in the past. He is in bed so he can't check the internet to look at the coverage, but he has been informed."

Cardinal Keith O'Brien, head of the Catholic Church in Scotland, called on Cardinal Kasper to apologize for the statement.

The Cardinal was also taken to task for stating that a "aggressive new atheism" was rampant in British society. While some have portrayed that as a harsh criticism, reports coming out of the UK years have indicated that church attendance has remained as single digit percentages for many years and secularism is overwhelmingly on the rise.

In addition, groups like the National Secular Society (NSS), which began in 1866, have been experiencing increased strength in numbers and influence. While they have long been viewed as an nemesis for the Church of England, this week they have organized a protest against the Papal visit on Saturday, September 18 in Hype Park, London.

Today, NSS President Terry Sanderson criticized the Pope regarding his first address, given at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, where the Holy Father stated, "Today, the United Kingdom strives to be a modern and multicultural society. In this challenging enterprise, may it always maintain its respect for those traditional values and cultural expressions that more aggressive forms of secularism no longer value or even tolerate."

Reacting to this speech, Edinburgh Anderson said, "The Pope is hardly off the plane before he launches his first attack on secularism (or the 'new aggressive form of secularism') as a threat to the power that he feels should be his alone to wield. Despite the declines in mass attendance in most of Europe, the Pope is working hard behind the scenes to increase his Church's power over democratic institutions, especially the EU."

The NSS wasn't alone. The British Humanist Association (BHA) expressed its disappointment in his statement that "Even in our own lifetimes we can recall how Britain and her leaders stood against a Nazi tyranny that wished to eradicate God from society and denied our common humanity to many, especially the Jews, who were thought unfit to live.

"As we reflect on the sobering lessons of atheist extremism of the 20th century, let us never forget how the exclusion of God, religion and virtue from public life leads ultimately to a truncated vision of man and of society and thus a reductive vision of a person and his destiny."

In response, the BHA countered, "The notion that it was the atheism of Nazis that led to their extremist and hateful views or that it somehow fuels intolerance in Britain today is a terrible libel against those who do not believe in God.

"The notion that it is non-religious people in the UK today who want to force their views on others, coming from a man whose organization exerts itself internationally to impose its narrow and exclusive form of morality and undermine the human rights of women, children, gay people and many others, is surreal."

The Pope will fly to London tonight and maintain a full schedule tomorrow including a meeting with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams. The two will share in a Vespers service tomorrow evening.

The highest point of the visit will take place on Sunday morning in the celebration of Mass with the Beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman, at Cofton Park, Birmingham. He will also meet with his bishops in the United Kingdom before returning to Rome on Sunday evening.

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