THE TELEGRAPH: Britain remains a country in which Christian faith is “still strong and active at every level of society”, Pope Benedict XVI said in his first remarks after returning from his historic four-day visit to England and Scotland.
The Pope said the visit, which was widely judged a success despite being preceded by months of controversy over cost, clerical sex abuse scandals and the issue of gay and married clergy, marked a new phase in the Vatican’s “complicated” relations with the Church of England.
"This was a historic event marking a new and important phase in the long and complicated history of relations between (the British) and the Holy See," he said during his weekly general audience in St Peter’s Square, after flying into Rome by helicopter from his summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, in the hills outside the capital.
"In the course of the intense and very beautiful four days spent in this noble country, I had the great pleasure of speaking to the heart of the inhabitants of the United Kingdom and they spoke to my heart, most particularly with their presence and the testimony of their faith," he said.
"I witnessed how the Christian faith is still strong and active at every level of society," he said. >>> Nick Squires in Rome | Wednesday, September 22, 2010
