From Ruth Gledhill in the Times UK:
One of the Pope’s senior advisers today pulled out of the visit to Britain after describing the UK as a Third World country marked by “a new and aggressive atheism”. A day before the Pope’s state visit to Britain Cardinal Walter Kasper made a series of embarrassing remarks in an interview with the German....
Sorry, that's all you can read without a paid subscription to the online version of the newspaper. Cardinal Kasper is at it again. Ruth Gledhill is about all I miss from the Times, but I do miss Ruth. Well, I'd love to read the article, but I won't pay.
That Cardinal Kasper! He has a knack for saying just the right thing, don't he?
Thanks, Lisa.
Oh wait! All is not lost. The Telegraph covers the story, too.
Cardinal Walter Kasper, a senior aide to the Pope, has pulled out of the Pontiff's visit to Britain after saying the country resembled a “Third World country” where “aggressive new atheism” is rife.
Although officials insisted that the 77 year-old had dropped out of the trip for medical reasons, as he had been ill “for some days”, his comments represent another embarrassing PR blunder for the Roman Catholic church at a critical time.
The[y] are all the more embarrassing because the Cardinal's position makes him responsible for promoting Christian unity around the world.
The Vatican, the hierarchy in England and Wales and the Government are all desperate for the first-ever state papal visit to Britain to be a success.
Count me out from amongst the desperate.
The cardinal’s abrupt withdrawal from the trip prompted speculation in Rome that it was linked to an interview he gave this week to a German news magazine, Focus.
In an article headlined “A Third World country” he was quoted as saying: “When you arrive at Heathrow you think at times that you’ve landed in a Third World country.”
His secretary, Mgr Oliver Lahl, said the remark was a reference to the diverse, multi-cultural population of Britain, which the Cardinal has visited three times in recent years.His secretary, Mgr Oliver Lahl, said the remark was a reference to the diverse, multi-cultural population of Britain, which the Cardinal has visited three times in recent years.
Well, Monsignor, that changes everything. We all understand why the cardinal would want to avoid the multicultural hoardes.
Meanwhile one of England's most senior Catholics, The Most Rev Peter Smith, Archbishop of Southwark, has warned that "crackpots and lunatics" may try to disrupt the papal visit.
The Protest the Pope coalition has promised its rally will be peaceful and that no attempt will be made to arrest Benedict for alleged "crimes against humanity".
For better or for worse, tomorrow is the big day. In all sincerity, I pray that the protesters and the police will exercise restraint and that the protests during the pope's visit will be non-violent.