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By Stephanie Gosk, NBC News Correspondent
EDINBURGH – It was a tawdry affair. In 1534, the King of England asked the Roman Catholic Church to grant him a divorce, so he could marry his mistress with a clear conscience. The Vatican wouldn’t allow it. Furious with the decision, Henry the VIII chose the measured response. He broke with Rome, granted himself an annulment, and started the English Reformation.
Pope Benedict the XVI landed in the U.K. on Thursday for a four-day visit, with healing the divisions from that centuries old split as one of his major objectives. But it won’t be the pontiff’s only challenge.
The Catholic Church faces a list of issues in this country and throughout Europe that could be potentially far more damaging.
Revelations of sexual abuse by priests, which first surfaced in the U.S. ten years ago, have now spread across the continent.
Many European Catholics have grown increasingly frustrated by what they see as Rome’s unyielding conservative doctrine.
A recent poll of Catholics in the U.K. showed that 49 percent say celibacy in the priesthood should be relaxed and 62 percent believe women in the church should have more authority.
Growing secularization
But perhaps the single most challenging issue for any religion in this part of the world is the growing trend of secularization. Only 12 percent of the British population regularly celebrates any faith at all.
It is only the second time since the reformation that a serving pope has visited the U.K., (Pope John Paul II was here in 1982) and the first official state visit since then, so the novelty of Benedict’s visit is generating excitement even amidst the controversy.
Mugs and tee-shirts are on sale all around the country emblazoned with the trip’s theme "Heart Speaks Unto Heart: The Papal Visit to the UK 2010."
The first stop is Scotland. In Edinburgh, Catholic school kids are practicing their hymns and getting ready to march in a parade alongside the pope Thursday morning.
When we visited one of those schools on Wednesday, the ten year-olds I talked to could barely contain their nerves and excitement.
One little boy turned to me with wide eyes and said, “You know the pope-mobile can go 150 miles an hour.” Who knew?
There are several outdoor masses scheduled as well as a string of meet and greets with notables like Queen Elizabeth, Prime Minister David Cameron, and Scottish singing sensation Susan Boyle, who is scheduled to perform for the pontiff in Glasgow.
The trip will culminate with a rare beatification ceremony, the penultimate step before sainthood, for the 19th century Cardinal John Henry Newman, who was a leading figures in the Oxford Movement within the Church of England.
The group argued that its church should adopt some Catholic beliefs and Newman eventually converted to the Catholic faith.
Few here believe that Benedict will be able to solve the myriad of problems the British Catholic Church faces in just four days, but as many of the Catholics here have told me, it is still a visit a rare visit from the Pope and they are glad he is coming.
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Yorkie here again.
Yes,the pope is coming - it may be the death of him!!
The British are suckers for Pomp and Circumstance. The Catholic Church can give the Royals a run for their money there, so this should be interesting.
This is going to be a Robe, Jewel, Ceremony and Attendants smackdown!
For centuries, pomp, ceremony, etc. were indicative of authority and power, and still are, even in democracies like America. The "pomp and ceremony" "jewel wearing" set has, historically, given the world great works of art, glorious architecture, and the likes of masses by Bach and others which have enriched humankind and the public sphere, and we will likely never witness this kind of thing again. What have elected politicians operating out of concrete boxes given to the world in this regard? Human beings are creatures of habit and creatures genetically wired for ritual, whether aborigines or British. Displaying the best that we have in representing ourselves and our traditions to other nations or to God, hardly makes us "suckers". Nor does doing so negate focusing on bettering the lives of all people in ways that matter.
Anybody who belonged to Hitler youth and managed to claw his way up the hierarchy of the Catholic Church (i.e., ultimately befriending Pope John Paul II) is no draw for me. While others in his village refused to join Hitler youth, Ratzinger joined up, thereby avoiding the firing squad his more courageous and certainly more principled young friends met.
And for someone to claim that he represents Christ on this earth, it is absolutely reprehensible that he wears Prada shoes each and every day, and designer sunglasses as well. Millions of people are dying due to the dictates of a bunch of cossetted men, who are light years away from real life. The Church owns hundreds of millions of dollars in art, domiciles its minions in ivory towers and tells the poor that they will "receive their reward in the next world". Why? Because the poor don't know how to play the game? Because the Pope and the other need to "dress for success"? A simple soutane is not expensive, what's up with the Lady Gaga hoopla, Ratzinger et cie? At least Lady Gaga entertains. You are simply a figurehead--and a divisive and hypocritical one, at that. Stay in the U.K., maybe you'll score some Stella McCartney.
BTW: I am a practicing Catholic, have sixteen years of Catholic education, and attended post graduate school where I became a lawyer and am a prosecutor. Ratzinger will never be my Pope. He's what the cardinals deem a "placeholder", i.e., a filler who will do little harm until something better comes along.
Hitler youth, indeed! What a fine example and what shame you bring to this Church. Disgusting.
You obviously have an agenda, and will grasp at anything to make it the correct one.
1. Membership in the Hitler Youth in Germany during WW2 was MANDATORY. Do you understand the meaning of that word?
2. The pope doesn't claim that he represents Christ on earth. Church TRADITION does, going back to Saint Peter.
3. The pope recently spoke out against the intended death by stoning of a woman in Iran, and his objections helped stay her execution. What exactly have YOU done for the betterment of humankind? What little indulgences do YOU go without in your puny life so as to benefit others?
4. Church art is not the personal property of any pope or body to dispose of. It's the collective inheritance of all Catholics and the world in general. You're a lawyer. (fine image you people have) Do you own a diamond ring or an antique? SELL IT and give to the poor. Do you wear nice suits or suits from thrift shops when you are "lawyering"? Why not the latter? Hypocrite!
True charity, compassion, and Christian living begins with YOU, but all your post denotes is sour bitterness and self righteous indignation. ALL institutions need reforming and have problems. I make no excuse for them. I also make no excuse for you or your remarks.
You're a Catholic indeed. What a fine example and what shame you bring to this Church. Disgusting.
Please see 4.1
God Bless the Pope.
Put down the magic mushrooms, and step away from the Kool-aid dispenser.
Indeed we are suckers for Pomp and Circumstance but even our legendary eccentricity is waning to welcome such an atrocity-excusing chesspiece.
Then respect the office that he holds and respect him as representative of his church and all those within. You can still dislike him as an individual if you wish.
the reformation and the renaisance failed. time for a new ajenda. settle with god the truth that we chose . come christian ,budda ,hindu and jews. what we give for the good of a new world will be our eternal merit.
I was a Catholic, and found that the problems they have, stem from the Dogma they live. Now as a Christian "No Denomination" I'm much happier walking in the Spirit, not in Dogma. Christ died for my sins, once and for all, it was finished, complete. I don't need to confess to a person other than God Himself, and I don't need to fill myself up with His "Grace " by going to communion every Sunday. When I became a believer, Christ lives within me by His Spirit, teaches me, comforts me, and never will leave me. I don't have to continually be saved over and over again, as you are taught in the Catholic Church.
As a Catholic
I sin, I need to go to confession, I then need to go to Communion. If somehow I die before going to confession, I will go to Hell or Purgatory.
Now I believe in Christ's sacrifice for my sin, I'm always saved. NO WORKS REQUIRED. Except to love God, love my neighbor, and follow the Spirit of God..
That is not what the Church teaches, we are saved once. However sin can separate you from God and you can lose your salvation in this way. The sacraments are instruments of God's grace that bring you back into full communion with Him.
JZig13
God loves and values you, and God protects you. John wrote of this protection, “And I give unto them [ETERNAL LIFE]; and they shall never perish, neither shall [ANY MAN] pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and [NO MAN] is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand” (John 10:28-29).
Everybody is missing the point as to why the Queen received him in Scotland; and not England......
It is right that Pope Benedict XVI is visiting Great Britain at the invitation of Queen Elizabeth II. Today he received a warm welcome in Scotland. Despite the hostile behavior of the atheists and secularists toward the Holy Father his visit will be successful. For the historical record Pope Benedict XVI did not voluntarily join the Hitler Youth. He attended one meeting. A mathematics teacher excused him from attending other meetings. Other youths bullied him because he did not want to participate in Nazi activities. His anti-Nazi father and mother moved the family around to rural areas in order to avoid suspicion. With respect to the clerical abuse issue, Cardinal Ratzinger's dicastery (the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith) was not responsible for this problem until 2001. Cardinal Ratzinger moved aggressively to prosecute guilty clergy. This is substantiated by the distinguished American lawyer, Robert Bennett who worked pro bono with the US Council of Catholic Bishops on this problem. He asserts that Cardinal Ratzinger was the most helpful member of the Curia in assisting them. Also, the historians George Weigel and John Allen substantiate Mr. Bennett's records. Mr. Allen states that Cardinal Ratzinger was known as the Eliot Ness of the Vatican. These clerical abuse crimes were heinous and the Holy Father is still trying to provide both material and spiritual solace to the innocent victims. Therefore, it is wrong for the toxic critics to unjustly blame the Holy Father for sins committed by others over the last fifty years.
Zowee! Hans needs to get a life. Has he been at the computer all day, playing verbal badminton with anyone who threatens his Ratzinger-palooza tour? Actually, yes: I do have an agenda, as does everyone else. That is why we are individuals. You, Hans-y, have an agenda. I do believe in justice and fight every day to keep murderers, rapists, child molesters and other heavy duty criminals off the streets. No one would want to see or hear what I have seen.
And part of what I have been privy to are the attorneys who represent the Catholic Church in my jurisdiction, men who fight tooth and nail to keep the local Cardinal from being subpoenaed to appear before the Grand Jury, who hide files on pedophile priests, who cover for those who moved those priests around without warning the new parishioners that they were receiving child molesters as their "spiritual advisors". I have watched these scum in action, their fees paid for by the Church. If the Church were a corporation, there would be a federal class action suit, the likes which has never been seen before.
And "Mandatory", Hans-y, yes, I do know the meaning of the term "Mandatory". I also know that God gave us free will, I learned that from the nuns in grammar school. I grew up during the "Cold War" era, and one of the things that was drilled into us, each and every day, as we learned our catechism, is that if we as individuals were to be faced with choosing between Godliness and "Communism"--we were to choose God, even if that meant our own death. This lesson, imparted to us when we were six or seven. There were some in Ratzinger's village who chose God over Hitler, and paid the ultimate price for their decision: they were killed. Instead of choosing God, Ratzinger and others chose to go along with the "Ultimate Solution", saving their own skins instead of standing up for what was right and true and good.
And now this spawn of evil tells us what to do? WTF? I do not think so. Because I THINK. And I am proud of who I am, with the tremendous education I was fortunate enough to receive, and I am proud that I am such a capable prosecutor with such a high conviction rate on very difficult cases, and I am proud to believe in and love God that gave me life and gave me the abilities that I have.
Call me a hypocrite? I don't give a whit what you think of me. I will not be judged by you, nor by any other person. God will judge me, when it is time.
It is, however, hypocrisy to preach humility, simplicity, charity--and to continue to permit ongoing crimes and, indeed, give shelter to the perpetrators of those crimes. Those actions, in and of themselves, are crimes. It is hypocrisy to preach Godliness and Christian principles, and continue to perpetuate wealth and flaunt it by wearing couture accessories. Christ lived simply, spoke earnestly, sought justice. He did not tout becoming a huge "corporate-like" entity.
The people who manage the Church are a huge conglomeration of hierarchical minions, waiting for their chance at the big prize. When a Pope is selected, it is done in secret and simply perpetuates the political and social connections that have been curried over the years.
Let Ratzinger go where he wants. He cannot run away from his past.