Thursday, June 10, 2010

Pope Benedict XVI to stir memories of 1982 as he celebrates mass at Bellahouston Park in Glasgow

THE Pope will celebrate an open mass before a crowd of worshippers at Glasgow's Bellahouston Park in September, it was confirmed today.

It will be Pope Benedict XVI's first visit to Scotland, and the first papal visit since predecessor John Paul II's pastoral trip in 1982.

He attracted massive crowds to Bellahouston Park and Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh during the stay.

The venue for the Catholic ceremony was confirmed following a meeting between Glasgow City Council and the Bishops' Conference of Scotland.

The Bishops' Conference of Scotland said: "The Catholic Church welcomes the confirmation given by Glasgow City Council that Bellahouston Park will be available and suitable for the visit of Pope Benedict.

"The park provides a wonderful venue for what will be a tremendous event, it is a place that has a great resonance for Scottish Catholics, many of whom remember fondly the wonderful day in 1982 when Pope John Paul II said mass there.

"We are extremely grateful to Glasgow City Council for supporting the Pope's visit.

"The City of Glasgow will enjoy many benefits as a result of the visit."

The Bishops' expect that more than half of the 185,000 Catholics who attend Sunday services across Scotland will be able to attend the mass on September 16.

Parishes - there are 450 in Scotland - will receive a pro-rata allocation of places based on their mass attendance figures.

Thousands more are expected to line the route of the Pope's motorcade through Edinburgh earlier in the day.

A St. Ninian's Day Pageant in Edinburgh is also planned, with school children and pipe bands taking part.

Pope Benedict will also celebrate an open air mass at Coventry Airport to beatify the 19th century Cardinal, John Henry Newman.

Crowds of 250,000 are expected at the event, which is open to non-Catholics, on September 19.

The Bishops' also said they welcomed the appointment of Lord Chris Patten, the former Governor of Hong Kong, to oversee the visit of Pope Benedict.

The Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland said they found it "offensive" that the UK Government was hosting the Pope as a head of state.

In a statement they said: "We deny that he is the head of the Christian church or that he has any civil power which should receive recognition by any state, particularly one which has renounced his pretended jurisdiction."

The Free Presbyterians said the papal visit coincides with the anniversary of the Scottish Reformation in 1560.

They said: "We find it particularly offensive that this visit will commence in Edinburgh where, 450 years ago, under the brave and godly leadership of John Knox and our other reformers, the jurisdiction of the pope was forever abolished."

The Free Presbyterians also accused the papacy of shielding abusive priests.

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