By Paul Goodman
The last and first Pope to visit Britain was John Paul II, the best part of 30 years ago (1982). Benedict XVI, his successor, will arrive at the end of next week. I hope that his visit goes well. But here are seven barriers that he'll have to clear.
- Secularism. Britain is a more secularised country than it was 30 years ago. Social attitudes to (for example) authority, rights, sexuality, privacy and transparency are very different to those of 1982.
- The impact of 9/11. There's a new suspicion of established religion. There's always been some - perhaps much. But 9/11 was a gleam in almost no-one's eye in 1982. That horror produced, unsurprisingly, a chariness towards - and some hostility to - Islam in particular and established religion in general. The writings and actions of Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens and Peter Tatchell with regard to organised religion are in some respects a product of the post-9/11 culture.
- The child abuse eruption. The reaction to it of some senior Bishops was flawed at best and scandalous at worst. Some of the abuse had taken place by 1982. But there was no public recognition of it then.
- Media bafflement. This cocktail of secularism, suspicion of established religion and the child abuse scandal suggests that any Pope visiting Britain today would receive less sympathetic coverage than John Paul II did in 1982. Claims of media antipathy to the Church, and other faith communities, are often exaggerated - though the Times' coverage, as Damian Thompson has proved here, here, here, here, here, here and - please note - here (and elsewhere) is usually unsympathetic and sometimes misleading. However, the main obstacle to fair coverage isn't aversion, or even bias, but incomprehension - a product of the secularisation mentioned earlier. This isn't confined to the media: remember the Foreign Office civil servant who, when asked for ideas to help this Papal visit, suggested that the Pope open an abortion clinic.
- Memories of Pope John Paul II. Pope John Paul was viewed in many quarters, at the time of his visit to Britain, as a heroic battler against Communism - and a novelty as the first non-Italian Pope for over 400 years. With Communism collapsed - an implosion in which the Polish Pope played an epic role - Pope Benedict is in no position to compete. John Paul II was an extrovert, a communicator, and a philosopher by training with a bent for mysticism. He was also young (for a Pope) and fit (for his age) when he visited Britain. Benedict XVI is an introvert, an intellectual, and a theologian of exceptional distinction with a deep understanding of liturgy. He is also a man in his early eighties who will need rest during the visit.
- The deterioration of relations with the Church of England. The early 1980s were years of giddy hope, in some quarters, for reunion between the two Churches. Pope John Paul's visit took place in that context, and was probably its high point. Since then, this prospect - always distant - seems to have vanished. The Church of England has ordained women as priests. The shock waves of the 1960s and 70s no longer rock the Catholic Church, which has since acquired a more traditionalist flavour. Benedict XVI's announcement of a special arrangement to receive converts from the Church of England, set up to allow them to preserve parts of their Anglican heritage, was made without consultation with Lambeth Palace. The reaction of the Church of England and the Archbishop of Canterbury to the visit will be watched closely by the media.
- Money. John Paul II's trip wasn't a state visit. Pope Benedict's is. Taxpayers stump up for state visits, and there's no evidence that they're any more hostile to one by the Pope than one by any other head of state (though many will be surprised and baffled that he is one). But opinion polling suggests that many non-Catholic taxpayers at least don't want to meet the bill.
There is, by the way, an eighth barrier: the tangle of the arrangements for the visit made by the Catholic Church in Britain (hence the appointment of Lord Patten to try to smooth them out). But that's another story.
As I say, I hope that the visit's a success. It will open with lower expectations than those of 1982, which isn't a bad place to start from. And Benedict XVI has a certain understated charm.
By the way, one barrier that would not so long ago have barred a Papal visit altogether - a particular old-fashioned prejudice against Catholicism in particular (as opposed to a more modern dislike of religion in general) - has faded away as a force.