Will the Pope pay after all?

source: http://www.humanistlife.org.uk/2010/02/will-the-pope-pay-after-all/

Will the Pope pay after all?

HumanistLifeFeb 04, 2010 10:44:25 GMT Share

Gordon Brown invited the Pontiff, but is understood to have made clear that the Government will not cover all the costs.

“We are now in a situation where we don’t know who’s paying for it,” says an official of the Roman Catholic church. “It’s not in the Government Budget and is probably going to cost the Church about £3million to £6million.”

Gordon Brown's invite to Pope Benedict XVI leaves Church anxious about costs
Delighted though the faithful are that Pope Benedict XVI is coming to Britain later this year, concern is growing about who is going to pay for the visit.


By Tim Walker
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/7138643/Gordon-Browns-invite-to-Pope-Benedict-XVI-leaves-Church-anxious-about-costs.html
Published: 10:00PM GMT 02 Feb 2010


Gordon Brown?s invite to the Pope has left the Church anxious about costs
Gordon Brown invited the Pontiff, but is understood to have made clear that the Government will not cover all the costs.
“We are now in a situation where we don’t know who’s paying for it,” says an official of the Roman Catholic church. “It’s not in the Government Budget and is probably going to cost the Church about £3million to £6million.”


Concern has been heightened by memories of the first papal visit to this country, in 1982, which left the Church heavily in debt.
The Government is expected to cover security, but officials are involved in delicate negotiations about other costs.
The Church may be able to fund part of the trip with merchandising and broadcasting rights, big private donors or collections.
The National Secular Society has launched a campaign against public funds being used. “The taxpayer in this country is going to be faced with a bill of some £20million for the visit," said its president, Terry Sanderson. “If the Catholic Church wishes its leader to come here, it should pay for the visit itself.”

Protests Planned for Pope Visit to UK

source: http://www.iheu.org/protests-planned-pope-visit-uk

The National Secular Society (an IHEU member organization in the UK) has announced a large-scale campaign of protest against the state visit of the Pope to Britain in September.

Terry Sanderson, president of the National Secular Society, said: “The taxpayer in this country is going to be faced with a bill of some £20 million for the visit of the Pope. A visit in which he has already indicated he will attack equal rights and promote discrimination.”

Sanderson said that a coalition of groups that have suffered because of the Pope’s teachings will ensure that wherever he goes he will be aware that he has caused damage and hurt in the lives of real people. He said that he was seeking to bring together gay groups, feminist groups, family planning organisations, pro-choice groups, victim support groups and anyone who feels under siege from the Vatican’s current militancy. “We hope that the many people who are outraged at the Vatican’s apparent indifference to the abuse of children by its priests will turn out to make their feelings clear.”

Sanderson added: “We have an online petition where people can make clear their opposition to the state funding of this visit. If the Catholic Church wishes its leader to come here, it should pay for the visit itself. I am sure many others feel the same resentment as we do at the NSS at funding the presence of someone who wishes to impose a reactionary agenda of social change on us.”

The 'Make the Pope Pay' Coalition will officially launch later this week.

The NSS plans include a festival of films that show the wrong-doings of the Vatican, among them The Magdalene Sisters and The Boys of St Vincent’s – a film about the cover-up of sexual abuse at a Catholic orphanage in Canada.

Add your name to the Make the Pope Pay petition.

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BHA condemns Pope’s attack on equality

source: BHA

FEB022010BHA condemns Pope’s attack on equality

The British Humanist Association (BHA) has condemned the Pope's criticisms of the UK’s equality laws.
Naomi Phillips, BHA Head of Public Affairs said, ‘It comes as no surprise to hear yet more uninformed and homophobic remarks from the Pope and, yet again, he is wrong. Equality laws do not impose unjust restrictions on religious freedom. What the Pope, together with other religious leaders such as the Bishops sitting in our own Parliament are actually seeking, is for religious people to be allowed to discriminate against others in employment, services, education and many other areas, unfettered by the laws that everyone else in society must abide by and respect.’
‘As well as a religious leader, the Pope is a head of state which has been responsible for opposing the distribution of condoms, promoting segregated education, denying abortion to even the most vulnerable women and opposing LGBT rights, including universal decriminalisation of homosexuality. This latest attack on modern, liberal values is yet another reason why we will be opposing the Pope’s State visit to the UK later this year.’
The BHA has set up a Facebook group protesting against the Pope’s State visit.

Notes

For further comment or information, contact Naomi Phillips on 07540 257101, 020 7079 3585.
The British Humanist Association represents and supports the non-religious. It is the largest organisation in the UK campaigning for an end to religious privilege and to discrimination based on religion or belief, and for a secular state.