Pope Fest 2010: The Photos, The Opinions And The Legacy
POPE Fest 2010 is over. And now is the time to wonder what it all meant? Do those who loved the Pope before he came love him any more or less? Do those who hated him, hate him with added vigour? This was a State visit by the autocratic leader of the Vatican. So, will Britain now work closer with the world’s smallest state protected by cross-dressers and the word’s best interior decorators? Or will we view the place as a haven for religious fundamentalists and bomb it?
The columnist react:
* Basic courtesy meant Dawkins and Co never stood a chance. Once again, the media pack got it wrong. The love of Jesus not creationism was the Pope’s “heart to heart” message – and that is an impossible target to hit. And while the contraceptive ban can be deplored as an opener to Aids, it has to be remembered that most Catholics now live in the same Third World. – Slugger O’ Toole
* “That the church of my childhood and youth would have been busy considering Oscar Romero for sainthood, a champion of the poor and fighter for social justice who was murdered in El Salvador at his altar during mass, rather than today’s consideration of Pius XII, a highly controversial figure who did not do enough to save the Jews and others during the second world war, tells us more about the conservative era we live in than the institution itself.” – Bonnie Greer
* The spontaneous crowds, the wall-to-wall media coverage, the seeming fascination with the dialogue Pope Benedict sought to have with Britain, are all indications that this unusually state guest was received not with apathy or hostility — as the media before last Thursday were warning he would be — but with curiosity and receptivity. This has clearly been a shock for a largely liberal, metropolitan media.The Catholic commentator Clifford Longley, with whom I shared a radio studio this morning, drew a comparison with the US media discovering after George W Bush’s election that they had ignored the influence of the flyover states. – Austen Ivereigh, American Magazine
* “Four days after his arrival in Edinburgh, opinions about the ideas of the leader of the world’s Roman Catholics were as polarised as before, if not more so. But the pope had succeeded in his aim of prompting reflection on some fundamental political and religious questions, notably the extent to which the British want faith to play a role in public life. Some spoke of a “Benedict bounce” for Catholicism in the UK, while the pope’s aides were delighted, if not a little relieved, by how the first ever state visit by a pope to Britain had gone down. His spokesman, Father Lombardi, said it had been a “wonderful trip”.
Yet Pope Benedict’s visit also saw the biggest demonstration against any pope in modern times. Some 10,000 people, objecting to his record on clerical sexual abuse and his views on homosexuality, contraception and women’s ordination took to the streets of central London on Saturday – several times more than had been expected by the organisers. – Guardian
* “The Portland Press Herald in Maine published an innocuous front-page article and photo a week ago about 3,000 local Muslims praying together to mark the end of Ramadan. Readers were upset, because publication coincided with the ninth anniversary of 9/11, and they deluged the paper with protests.
So the newspaper published a groveling front-page apology for being too
respectful of Muslims. “We sincerely apologize,” wrote the editor and
publisher, Richard Connor, and he added: “we erred by at least not offering
balance to the story and its prominent position on the front page.” As a blog by James Poniewozik of Time paraphrased it: “Sorry for Portraying Muslims as Human.”I called Mr. Connor, and he seems like a nice guy. Surely his front page isn’t reserved for stories about Bad Muslims, with articles about Good Muslims going inside. Must coverage of law-abiding Muslims be “balanced” by a discussion of Muslim terrorists? Ah, balance — who can be against that? But should reporting of Pope Benedict’s trip to Britain be “balanced” by a discussion of Catholic terrorists in Ireland? – Nicholas D. Kristof
* Speaking from a specially-prepared dais as a helicopter hovered overhead, Prime Minister David Cameron paid tribute to the Pope for challenging Britain to “sit up and think”.
He said he had shown faith was still “a vital part of our national conversation”.
“Faith is part of the fabric of our country. It always has been and it always will be,” Mr Cameron said.
“As you, your Holiness, have said faith is not a problem for legislators to solve but rather a vital part of our national conversation. And we are proud of that.
“You have really challenged the whole country to sit up and think, and that can only be a good thing.
“Because I believe we can all share in your message of working for the common good and that we all have a social obligation to each other, to our families and our communities.” – Telegraph
* Ese Ijasan, 30, from Manchester, had been holding up her 10-month-old daughter Aderonke for a picture when the Pope went by in his Popemobile in Cofton Park, Birmingham.
“I was just standing there waiting for the Pope to come and take a picture of him and Aderonke kept clapping at the Pope, she was so excited, he kind of noticed her and then they picked her out to be kissed by the Pope,” she said.
“She was so excited, I guess the Pope saw the excitement in her.“It is the biggest thing that has ever happened to me, ever.” – Northampton Chronicle
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Posted: 19th, September 2010 | In: Key Posts, Reviews Comments (2) | TrackBack | Permalink
