Archbishop looks forward to the visit of a pope who has a “clear inspired understanding of humanity”
08/05/2010 11.45am
Archbishop Vincent Nichols, President of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, enthusiastically discussed September’s papal visit in response to a journalist’s question at a Mass and Lecture to mark the 2010 World Communications Day. The address was given on 4 May at Allen Hall – the Diocese of Westminster’s seminary for trainee priests.
The Archbishop said to the audience gathered for the World Communications Day event: “The last visit of a Pope was the chief pastor of the Catholic Church coming to visit the Catholic community to celebrate its sacraments and strengthen them in faith. This is quite different. The first images of this visit will be the Queen and Pope Benedict. This has never been seen before, so it is a continuation, if you like, of that healing of an ancient tension. And here is the Pope invited by the monarch to address the people. And he is a Pope with a vision that is so deeply rooted in a clear inspired understanding of humanity that he will know how to speak to a European capital city – a world capital city – in which so many different influences are found, so many different faiths ebb and flow, and so much misunderstanding exists about the possibilities around religious belief. So this visit is being planned and can be unpacked in a way quite different from the last and a way that can engage people.”
Click here to read the the full transcript and listen to audio of the this event.
