THE POPES VISIT

Buckingham Palace confirmed details today of the first official visit to Britain of a pope, which will see Benedict XVI celebrate two public masses, meet the Queen and move a 19th century theologian closer to sainthood in a ceremony at Coventry airport.
Non-policing costs amount to £15m, a sum to be met by the state and the Catholic churches of England Scotland and Wales. Policing costs will depend on the venue for each engagement and will draw on existing budgets for the forces involved ‑ Strathclyde police, the Metropolitan police and West Midlands police.’[1]
So we are expected to fork out for the visit of this appalling man with a track record, form as they say in the police fraternity, of covering up the sexual manipulation, rape and molestation of children, thus making him guilty of being an accessory after the fact. If this represents the worst aspect of this man's sordid career of obfuscation, denial and outright obstruction of justice there is more. The man is an obsessed homophobe, who has attempted to obscure the reality of child abuse within the church by seeking to pin the blame on liberal legislation:-
'When such a claim is made and when homosexual activity is consequently condoned, or when civil legislation is introduced to protect behaviour to which no one has any conceivable right, neither the Church or society  at large should be surprised when other distorted notions and practices gain ground, and irrational and violent reactions increase." '[2]
Thus with a neat sidestep child abuse is laid at the door of legislation ensuring the protection and equality of gay men and women. With icy logic like this we can say that the abuse of older people is a direct consequence of the actions of Age Concern!
Perhaps the one good thing about the Pope’s visit is that he lays himself open to the possibility of a citizen’s arrest.


[1] Gaurdian.Tuesday 16 March 2010
[2] London review of Books Vol. 32 No. 16 · 19 August 2010

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