The Roman Catholic church in England and Wales sought to play down reports last night that Pope Benedict XVI was planning to visit Britain next year. It would be only the second time that a pope has come to the UK since Henry VIII broke with Rome to set up the Church of England in 1534.
A week ago the Catholic church released a statement announcing that it had formally invited the 78-year-old German pontiff to visit. "It is too soon to say either in what that visit might consist, or whether it would be feasible, given the Pope's commitments and the many invitations he has already received from across the world," it said.
"But the president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, is keen that the Pope be aware of how delighted the British people would be should he feel able to accept.
"It is very unlikely that any papal visit would coincide with the 25th anniversary of Pope John Paul II's visit in May 1982."
# posted by Eric : 11:14 AM
