Could the Pope actually cancel state visit to Britain?
Some people just can’t take a joke.
The Pope could cancel his planned visit to Britain because of a “hugely offensive” Foreign Office memo mocking his stance on abortion and birth control, sources in the Vatican said.
Senior Papal aides suggested the Foreign Office had not taken strong enough disciplinary action against those responsible for the document, which suggested the Pope should open an abortion clinic, bless a homosexual marriage and launch his own range of condoms while he is here.
No-one has lost their job over the memo, which was sent to Downing Street and at least three Whitehall departments, and the civil servant who authorised it has simply been moved to other duties.
One highly-placed source in the Vatican said: “This could have very severe repercussions and is embarrassing for the British government – one has to question whether the action taken is enough.
“It is disgusting. Britain’s ambassador to the Holy See has been in to see the Secretary of State and explain what happened and this will all be relayed to the Pope.
“It’s even possible the trip could be cancelled as this matter is hugely offensive.”
Cardinal Renato Martino, the former head of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, said: “The British government has invited the Pope as its guest and he should be treated with respect.
“To make a mockery of his beliefs and the beliefs of millions of Catholics not just in Britain but across the world is very offensive indeed.”
The British Humanist Association is part of the Protest the Pope campaign. While the campaign generally supports the right of religious leaders to travel where they will, the Pope is also the head of a state which is responsible for opposing the distribution of condoms and so increasing large families in poor countries and the spread of AIDS; promoting segregated education; denying abortion to even the most vulnerable women; opposing equal rights for lesbians, gay, bisexual and transgender people; failing to address the many cases of abuse of children within its own organisation; rehabilitating holocaust-denying bishops; resisting many major human rights treaties, while forming its own privileged treaties (‘concordats’) with many states which negatively affect the human rights of citizens of those states. The Protest the Pope campaign maintains that the Pope is an unsuitable guest of the UK government and should not be accorded the honour and recognition of a state visit.
Every single comment coming from the Vatican about this issue is dripping with irony, hypocrisy and contempt. How dare they demand an apology and sackings from us over a bit of silliness by a couple of junior civil servants, when they consistently refuse to accept responsibility for their part in the longstanding, highly organised and systematic institutional abuse of children around the world? Really, which is the greater crime? Where does their sense of moral entitlement come from? How can they possibly accuse Britain of harbouring “dark forces” when their own organisation has harboured some of the darkest behaviour many of us have ever heard of – and refused to accept responsiblity, apologise or make amends for it? What about sacking the Pope? This affair crystallises everything that disgusts and dismays me about religion and religious organisations. Please protest against the Pope’s visit – it is the only sane and rational course of action for decent people in the UK.
I am a more than a little concerned that a person known to have covered up so much abominable crime is visiting the UK at vast cost to the public purse. We should, of course, recognise his great achievements and also that many of his faithful will deeply appreciate his presence. I assume he will be afforded diplomatic immunity to prosecution.
As a supporter of the arts, I wonder if Roman Polanski, the acclaimed film director, would be afforded similar immunity were he ever able to attend say a premiere of his acclaimed work, or accept an award, before being shipped back to wherever he was residing?