THE TELEGRAPH: The British people have a “deep thirst” for the message of Christianity, the Pope said as he ended his historic state visit to Britain.
On his arrival, the Pope said the country’s Christian culture was under threat from “aggressive forms of secularism”. But before his departure he said that he had seen evidence of a continued interest in religion.
He called upon the local Roman Catholic bishops to help people turn away from the “vain enticements of this world”.
The Pope made his comments to Catholic bishops in Birmingham after beatifying Cardinal John Henry Newman, the Victorian theologian who converted to Rome.
Despite controversy over his speeches in some quarters and a well-attended protest rally, the Vatican believes the first papal state visit to Britain has been a “wonderful” success with an estimated 500,000 attending open-air services or lining the streets to see the Pope over the past four days.
Images of the Pontiff meeting the Queen at Holyroodhouse Palace, embracing the Archbishop of Canterbury at Westminster Abbey and addressing four former prime ministers in Parliament will go some way to restoring the Church’s reputation after the scandal over clergy abusing children.
Last night Britain’s most senior Catholic, Cardinal Keith O’Brien, spoke of his hope that the four-day trip would lead to a “Benedict bounce”. >>> Martin Beckford, Religious Affairs Correspondent | Monday, September 20, 2010
