The planned visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the UK early next year caused outrage in some quarters from the moment of its announcement by the Vatican.
The move comes following a formal invitation to the Holy See by Prime Minister Gordon Brown during a private audience in February. While a spokesperson for Number 10 said: “The PM is obviously delighted at the prospect of a visit from Pope Benedict XVI to Britain”, a number of UK-based Humanist groups immediately registered their anti-Papal stance.
The Pink Triangle Trust called for gays and Humanists alike to protest the visit, while The National Secular Society said they would “make clear to the Pope that whatever celebrations the government lays on for him, he is not welcomed here by everyone”.
The Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales also sent the Pope a formal invitation in 2007. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, said he had long hoped for such a visit, adding: “I’m sure I speak on behalf of Anglicans throughout Britain, in assuring him that he would be received with great warmth and joy”.
The Pink Triangle Trust’s secretary George Broadhead said: “This pope has shown himself to be paranoid about homosexuality. His opposition to LGBT rights knows no bounds. In his Christmas message last year he declared that saving humanity from homosexual behaviour was as important as saving the rainforest from destruction. This must be the most outrageous and bizarre claim yet made by someone who has already got a well-deserved reputation as one of the most viciously homophobic world leaders on a par with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran and Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe.
“The Vatican reinforced its anti-gay reputation by strongly opposing a UN declaration calling for an end to discrimination against gays and the Pope’s Christmas message provided clear evidence of an obsession about homosexuality which is tantamount to paranoia.
“It is imperative that the strongest possible protest be made when he visits the UK next year. This is not without precedent. During the last papal visit to the UK by John Paul I in 1982, a protest called POPE (People Opposing Papal Edicts) was instigated by the Gay Humanist Group of which I was a founder member. It had the support of other gay and secular organisations including the Campaign for Homosexual Equality and the National Secular Society. On the occasion of the next papal visit we must pull out all the stops to demonstrate our opposition.”
Details have yet to emerge on the Pope’s trip, which will be Britain’s first papal visit since 1982. Even before his succession to the role of Holy See, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was known for his vehemently anti-gay position, and his condemnation of the use of condoms to prevent the spread of HIV in sub-Saharan Africa.