Papal aide Cardinal Kasper under pressure to apologise

This comes from the BBC website – as per normal, I’ll put my comments / thoughts at the end.

Karen

Now some things you hold on to - and some you just let go
Seems like the ones that you can't have
Are the ones that you want most

*****************************************************************

Papal aide Cardinal Kasper under pressure to apologise

A senior papal aide has come under pressure to apologise after saying arriving at Heathrow airport was like landing in a "Third World" country.

Cardinal Keith O'Brien, Catholic Church leader in Scotland, said he expected Cardinal Walter Kasper to say sorry.

Cardinal Kasper pulled out of the Pope's four-day UK visit, with the Vatican citing illness.

The trip is expected to contain a number of protests and statements by groups opposed to it.

Cardinal Walter Kasper gave an interview to a German magazine

Cardinal Kasper had made his remarks during an interview with the German magazine Focus.

"I'm sure Cardinal Kasper will apologise for any intemperate remarks”

Cardinal Keith O'Brien

On Wednesday, Vatican sources said Cardinal Kasper was suffering from gout and had been advised by his doctors not to travel to the UK.

They also said his "Third World" comment referred to the UK's multicultural society.
Ahead of the Pope's arrival in Edinburgh, Cardinal O'Brien told BBC Radio Scotland:

"[The comment] was unfortunate and each and every person's aides sometimes do make awkward, difficult remarks. Sometimes we make awkward, difficult remarks ourselves. And simply, if we do that sort of thing we apologise for it, and I'm sure Cardinal Kasper will apologise for any intemperate remarks which he made some time ago."

The Catholic Church in England and Wales said Cardinal Kasper's comments were "the personal views of one individual".

Open debate

Pope Benedict XVI is making the first state visit by a pontiff to the UK.

The invitation has been criticised by a number of groups, including gay and women's rights organisations.

Protest the Pope, an umbrella group bringing together a dozen humanist, atheist, secular and gay rights groups, has said it opposes the idea of the Pope being welcomed to the UK as a head of state, with the UK taxpayer paying for much of the visit.

Pope Benedict has also faced calls to address public concern over the sexual and physical abuse of children by priests.

And reformist Catholics are using the Pope's visit as an opportunity to call on Benedict XVI to open up the debate on priestly celibacy and the ordination of women.

*****************************************************************

With regards to the comment by the cardinal, all I can say is “this man is supposed to be a diplomat?” That’s not what I would expect from someone who is supposed to be assisting with a rather sensitive tour.

Yes, it does appear that the UK as a whole is secular, but I am afraid that this is not the time to state such a thing, especially with the tensions that are in the air because of the abuses that the church seems unwilling (or more to the point unable) to deal with., and it is this apparent failure that is turning people away from the church.

Ok – I’m not a churchgoer by any stretch of the imagination – I go when it’s hatch, match and despatch and the very rare occasions that I get dragged. But that doesn’t mean that I am an atheist. Far from it – I prefer to refer to myself as a humanist, as I do believe that there is a higher power, but I am unwilling to submit to any one idea of how and where I should give thanks.

Aside from that, I have to admit, I am not a fan of the current Pope. His predecessor, John Paul II was, in my opinion far more approachable, and seemed almost more human. Ok – maybe Pope Benedict does show his emotions in private, but he always strikes me as being rather dour and remote.

As for greeting him as a head of state, sorry, I don’t agree with that at all. The man is either a religious leader, or a church leader – you cannot have it both ways. Yes, in theory, Queen Elisabeth II is the titular head of the Church of England, but I doubt very much that she gets involved in the day to day running of the church – she leaves that to the archbishop of Canterbury.