THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Pope will receive a hostile reception from politicians, paedophile sex victims and gay groups when he arrives in Germany today on his first state visit to his homeland.
The pontiff left Rome on Thursday for the state visit. Even ordinary Catholics are expected to give him at best a lukewarm welcome when he lands in Berlin at the start of the four-day trip.
The shadow of Nazism will hang over an address that Benedict XVI, a former member of the Hitler Youth, will give in Berlin's Olympic stadium, where Adolf Hitler presided over the 1936 Games.
Germans were filled with pride in 2005 when the then Josef Ratzinger was elected the first German pope in nearly 1,000 years, but that enthusiasm has long since faded for many.
He was strongly condemned in 2009 for lifting the excommunication of Richard Williamson, a maverick British bishop who questioned the Holocaust, as well as his perceived inaction over priests who sexually abuse children.
The Bavarian-born pontiff's visit is likely to be marred by protests over his conservative doctrinal views on celibacy for priests and his opposition to admitting women to the Church.
Many Catholics in Germany, as well as in Austria and the German-speaking parts of Switzerland, are frustrated with the Vatican's resistance to moving with the times on such issues. » | Nick Squires, Rome | Thursday, September 22, 2011
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THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Pope's visit to Germany is potential minefield: He may be heading home, but the Pope's visit to Germany is a potential minefield. » | Nick Squires, Rome | Thursday, September 22, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Pope visit: German-speaking Catholics want reform from Rome: Pope Benedict XVI faces a clamour for change as he heads to Germany for his first state visit, with calls for reform on many fronts – from recognising gays to ordaining women to the priesthood. » | Thursday, September 22, 2011
