If the POPE wishes to come to this country the Vatican should transfer the estimated costs of £12 Mil before being allowed in !!

Does anybody really care whether he comes here or not. This is not a roman catholic country. Recently noticed that the NHS refuses to stock a drug that extends the life of our own citizens who have bowel cancer as we apparently cant afford the £20k to treat each patient. How many times does £20k go into £12 million one wonders. Makes me sick.

What a sad state our country has sunk to. We read from our newspapes that Gordon Brown as Labour Prime Minister invited the Pope as Head of the vatican and the biggest Church in the Christian Church and yet people continue to peddle untruths about this. Why is this? Perhaps given the economic situation the invitation should not have been extended given the costs. However they are insignificant against the scale of finance this country enjoys.

The more worrying aspect is that this Country was built on Christian values of the Gospels of honesty, integrity, truthfulness and respecting the faith and values of every human being of every creed or persuasion. Does not the visit of the Pope deserve this respect.?

I am not a party political animal and choose an MP as my conscience dictates. However even though as I live in a staunch labour stronghold I will not be making any representations against the Pope's visit. Indeed to do such a thing would have to be of a more serious matter than that advocated in these columns and tabloid newspapers.

Why are these questions being used as a platform for such biggoted opinions by a minority of readers? They are spoiling a great facility. The question is fair and warrents proper considered anwers. Not rants about the provision of cancer drugs, or suggesting a link to child abuse. Come on we can do better
Regards
Geoff

As the Pope has been invited by the UK Government as Head of State, the costs of the state visit have to be paid by the taxpayer.

However as he will also take time during his visit to take part in purely sectarian religious matters, surely the cost of these - including security etc. - should be paid for by his followers!

A bigot is someone who claims to be inspired by God and uses the scriptures (of whatever religion) to justify extreme positions. The word bigot is a contraction of "by God". I am an atheist.

The facts I listed about religious intolerance in the UK are all verifiable history. I tried hard to include intolerance of protestants as well as Catholics. The RC church has been going longer so has more crimes justifiably laid at its door. Not just in the UK. Many people believe that there is a psychological link between priestly celibacy and child abuse. There is also a connection between church authoritarianism and child abuse as in the notorious cases involving the Christian Brothers in Ireland. The Catholic Church and its minions have been involved in all kinds of brutality against children in care homes, reformatories, hostels for unmarried mothers and so on and so forth. It has also used its influence to suppress the truth and help criminals avoid prosecution. I know some of the victims.

There are some pretty sick deeds to be laid at the doors of various Protestant churches, the Mormons and of course various forms of Islam. Let us not forget the Hindu riots at the Ayhodya Mosque. I will not list the crimes of the other religions because nobody could live long enough to do the research and this forum is primarily about the Papal visit.

@Jon Gallacher "This is not a roman catholic country." You want to go shout that in parts of NI, Glasgow & Liverpool!

Practicing Christianity is a minority interest in this country. I'd argue that plenty of people follow the values that Mr Dillon reckons this country was built on without the religious nonsense to go along with it. Actually, I think the country was built on a heck of a lot of other values but it depends on how far back you want to go.

Personally

Is it a State visit to which the public should contribute or a pastoral visit funded by the R C church. If the Vatican could sent two divisions to assist N A T O forces in Afganistan even Joe Stalin might consider it to be a State visit, otherwise the Vatican should use their advertising budhet.

Anonymous 3 needed this 'Off the Record'

Jeremy Bosk has produced a good summary of a selection of the UK's turbulent history of religious intolerance.

Religion, and Christianity in particular, does not have a monopoly on war and persecution. All violence, bullying and intolerance, etc is a product of human nature and vested interests: irrespective of the of the veneer of belief, piety, legality & respectability devised to cloak the underlying motivation and aims.

Putting religion and Christianity in the Dock enables some people to cast themselves as somehow personally detached from the less attractive manifestations of human nature and so quailified to point the finger of pure moral authority at others. These folks present themselves as free-thinking types with no-hangups, unbiased and full of love and toleration. However just disagree with them or put forward a contrary view and see how open-minded and relaxed they really are.

No person is reared, nurtured or lives life in a vacuum. All have a religion/value-system of some type or shade no matter how they may protest that they don't have any compass - moral or oterwise. There are many Godless "religions" and "causes" in the 21st Century with their Prophets, Priests, Missions and Star Performers and which display proselytising fervour like Victorian missionaries and the intolerance of The Inquisition.

So to The Pope's visit. As Head of The Vatican State duly recognised by HMG he has been invited here by the British Government - who the Prime Minister was who issued the invitation is immaterial. The costs associated with his time here as a Head of State are correctly paid by the UK State - he is our guest.

Any costs associated with The Pope's celebration and promotion of The Roman Catholic Church should not be born by UK taxpayers. Unlike the Church of England, the Roman Catholic Church is not part of the UK Establishment. The Church of Scotland holds to the separation of Church & State and, though having some influence, is not part of the UK Establishment.

It should be noted however that the Roman Catholic Church is essentially a non-democratic, and allegedly theocratic, monolithic institution. Among it's claims are that only it has Divine authority as the only True Church; that The Pope is God's representative on Earth as the direct successor of Christ's Disciple Peter; and that this Church is the only Divinely established authority in matters of Christian doctrine, faith, dogma, governance, worship, liturgy, Bible interpretation and practical daily living. Other Christian Churches are not really recognised as such and, being out of fellowship and kilter with Rome, are in error.

Any alternative views are to be discouraged, suppressed and could be heretical. A number of observers believe that it's long-term strategic UK aim is to regain as much as possible of it's pre-Refomation status, privileges and influence as eventually to usurp the Church of England's Establishment position. The campaign to change The Act of Settlement of 1701, which prohibits prohibits any Catholic from becoming King or Queen, or marrying the heir to the throne, may be perceived as part of this process. The recent switch of support by the Roman Catholic Hierarchy in Scotland from Labour to SNP may also be seen as part of a strategy to develop their influence in Scotland. The special visit to Scotland has much significance.

This visit has more than one dimension and implication.