To be fair, Pope John Paul II visited in 1982 but it was a "pastoral" visit, meaning he did not meet any state officials. (He did meet the Queen because she is the head of the Church of England.) But in 2,000 years of history -- and with 5 million Catholics in the UK -- I am shocked there had never been a Papal visit prior to that.
28 years ago, Pope John Paul II hosted a 6-day visit, with nearly 2 million attending various events. The Church funded the entire cost, and most of the events were free. There were some minor protests, but in general the Pope was warmly welcomed by both Catholics and non-Catholics alike.
By contrast, today the Pope is visiting for four days, the UK Government is footing £10 million pounds for secural events, and the Church is selling tickets for £25 to religious events (plus the sale of official souvenirs). Security will be tight, and a group called "Protest the Pope" has united secular, gay, feminist and other activist groups in a coordinated campaign. Many celebrities are openly critical of the Pope's visit, including Stephen Fry, Terry Pratchett, Philip Pullman, and Ken Follett. The final ceremony was moved from a 200,000 person venue to a 60,000 person venue; even so, thousands of tickets are reportedly unsold.
The poll numbers paint a similar picture: 11% of the population oppose the visit, and 76% indicate they will not be following it. Even among Catholics, less than half "strongly support" the Pope's visit, which is not surprising given that British Roman Catholics are very bad Catholics:
- 65% believed Catholic priests should be allowed to marry.
- Two-thirds think women should have more authority and status within the Church.
- 71% said contraception should be used more often.
- 41% say gay relationships should be celebrated.
- 44% thought abortion should be permitted under certain circumstances, and 30% said it should always be allowed.
- 52% said the sex abuse scandal had shaken their faith in the Church's leadership. (I can't imagine what it would take to shake the faith of the other 48%...)
So what was that miracle? Jack Sullivan, at the age of 60, had enrolled in a four-year ecumenical program in Boston, Massachusetts. During his second year, a vertebrae in his lower back had turned inwards and was squeezing his spinal cord, requiring surgery. The next day, lying in bed and flipping channels, he saw a program about Cardinal Newman which ended with an appeal for anyone who had received a "divine favour" after praying to Cardinal Newman to get in touch.
According to Mr. Sullivan, he prayed: "Please Cardinal Newman help me to walk so that I can return to classes and be ordained." The next day, he said, the pain had gone, allowing him to complete his third year of classes before it returned, on the final day of the academic year. Doctors say a laminectomy (the type of surgery Mr. Sullivan had) usually involves a two-day recovery period. A Vatican panel of medical experts, however, after eight years of investigation, declared Jack Sullivan's healing as miraculous.
But here is the odd thing: Under the Pope's own rules, beatification is done by the senior cardinal in the home country. (The Pope performs the canonization in Rome.) This is the first beatification the Pope has overseen in his 5 years in office. Even more interesting, Cardinal Newman was an Anglican priest who wrote several books denouncing the Roman Catholic church, then converted to Roman Catholicism and wrote two more books countering his earlier works. Newman closest relationships were with younger men, and he lived with Ambrose St John for 32 years, starting when Newman was 42 and St John was 28. Newman's diaries described their intense love for each other, and at Newman's direction they were even buried in the same grave. Newman also described slavery as "a condition of life ordained by God in the same sense that other conditions of life are."
Some conspiracy theorists note that the Pope personally beatifying someone who converted from the Anglican church might be conveying a message, especially after the recent ordination of women and openly gay men as bishops is threatening to tear the Anglican communion apart. In fact, last year the Pope issued an open invitation to Anglicans to convert. But then, this is the same pope who told Muslims that Muhammad spread a message of violence, and Africans that condoms hindered the fight against AIDS.
For me, though, the most interesting thing I've learned from the Pope's visit is that last year he personally rescinded the excommunication of British Bishop Richard Williamson, who is best known for his anti-semitism and denial of the Holocaust. (The Church has forbidden Williamson from speaking out publicly about historical or political matters.)
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