The papal visit is in jeopardy

5 June 2010

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Damian Thompson reveals the turmoil behind the scenes in the preparations for Pope Benedict XVI’s keenly awaited visit to Britain — and how the trip has been hijacked by a Blairite cadre

To this day, we do not know who appointed Cleaver. What we do know, however, is that the costings in the bishops’ official fundraising document, which predicted that the final bill would be £6.75 million, are now a woeful underestimate. A spokesman for the Catholic Church told The Spectator as we went to press: ‘The final programme is not confirmed yet. Even going back to the launch of the visit with the minister and the cardinal, what was expressed at that stage were the hopes of what would happen. We’re still working on it. All venues are subject to confirmation — the final itinerary will be fixed in July. Progress is being made quickly.’ But no one else in the Church, it is fair to say, believes that progress has been quick; very much the opposite. And it is this sluggishness and lack of transparency which will leave priests throughout the country desperately trying to explain to parishioners why their money is going down the drain.

‘Why give this information to you?’ says one of our sources. ‘Because this papal visit is heading for the rocks, the two people in charge — Summersgill and Cleaver — are clearly out of their depth. Our parishioners will now have to foot the bill for their incompetence — and Pope Benedict deserves so much better. Without public scrutiny, things can’t be turned around. Enough is enough. Let sunlight be the best disinfectant.’

Damian Thompson is a leader writer for the Daily Telegraph and a director of the Catholic Herald.

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Castpod

June 4th, 2010 5:55pm Report this comment

I fully support shining a light wherever there are shadows - everything should be done openly and by consensus of all Catholics. Catholic beliefs are clearly laid out for everyone to read, but all Catholic decision-making processes, large and small, should be equally public. This should apply to Catholic committees on parish life, education, finances, charitable works etc. etc. There should be no feeling that there are 'powerful' people within any area of Catholic life, if it is to be accepted as a religion based on humility.

Curious

September 12th, 2010 1:08pm Report this comment

I see from the Pope's itinerary that: "He will then go and meet 3,000 young people - schoolchildren, students..."

Has the Pope been required to produce an enhanced Criminal Records Bureau check by the organizers of this event. What steps have been taken to protect Britain's Children during this visit?

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