THE STATE visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Britain is another significant step in the normalisation of relations between the peoples of these islands. As such it should be welcomed by all, believer and non-believer alike, whatever the Christian denomination, faith, or lack of adherence to either. This first state visit of a pope to Britain will be unique also in that it will be the first time pope and queen will meet both as heads of State and of their respective denominations: he of the Roman Catholic Church and Vatican State; she as monarch and as head of the Church of England. Though Queen Elizabeth met Pope John Paul II when he visited Britain in 1982, his was a pastoral visit. He was there to meet his flock, not as a head of state.
A high point of this week’s visit will be Pope Benedict’s talk tomorrow evening at Westminster Hall in London where he has been invited to address British society. The choice of location could hardly be more resonant. Westminster Hall could be said to have been at the heart of British civil society for almost a millennium and remains a place where many of its more significant events are staged. Its choice for the papal address indicates the profound seriousness with which the British state regards this visit. Where relations between Rome and England are concerned it has a unique and tragic relevance. Westminster Hall is where the trial of Sir Thomas More was held and where he was sentenced to death for treason in 1535. His crime was his allegiance to pope over king. Thomas More was canonised by Pope Leo XIII in 1886 and added to the Anglican calendar of saints in 1980.
It is expected that Pope Benedict will use the occasion to offer a strong defence of the role of religion in society and draw attention to Britain’s christian heritage, the value of which he is likely to urge should not be lost. He is also expected to praise the tradition of religious tolerance in Britain even if, in practice, that has been extended to catholics only in the last century and a half.
However, in addressing religious tolerance, he is more likely to be conscious of a growing aggressive atheism in Britain as well as difficulties caused for Catholic adoption agencies and schools there by equality legislation. While positive in tone, nuances in his address are once again expected to tick all the boxes when it comes to his observations on the dangers of moral relativism.
On Sunday Pope Benedict's beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman in Birmingham will further deepen the significance for Ireland of this papal visit to Britain. An Anglican priest of formidable intellect who converted to Catholicism, Newman had strong connections with this island. In 1851 he was appointed Rector of the Catholic University in Dublin, precursor of University College Dublin, a post he held until 1858. In 1852 he wrote Idea of a University, which the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin recently said was "not only a work on the concept of university or the value of a liberal education, but also on the relationship between reason and faith". That latter point is expected to be touched on many times over coming days by Pope Benedict.