By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
In spite of months of papal-bashing preceding the Pope’s historic visit to the UK, his arrival in Scotland was greeted by thousands of cheering Catholics.
“The Catholics of Scotland can be proud indeed of the welcome they gave the Pope today, confounding and infuriating smug celebs in London who just don’t get it,” wrote the Telegraph’s Damian Thompson. “I was impressed not just by the size of the crowds at Bellahouston but also by the reverence and warmth of their participation.”
Buoyed by the warm reception, in his first address upon landing, the pope called upon the UK not to lose sight of its Christian moorings in its evolving multicultural society. “In this challenging enterprise, may it always maintain its respect for those traditional values and cultural expressions that more aggressive forms of secularism no longer value or even tolerate,” he said. “Let it not obscure the Christian foundation that underpins its freedoms; and may that patrimony, which has always served the nation well, constantly inform the example your Government and people set before the two billion members of the Commonwealth and the great family of English-speaking nations throughout the world.”
The Pope met with Queen Elizabeth II at Holyroodhouse Palace in Edinburgh, then went on to celebrate his first open-air Mass at Glasgow’s Bellahouston Park, which was attended by 60,000 people.
During his homily, he returned to the theme of exhorting Catholics to be examples of faith in action and to defend the influence of Christianity in the public forum.
“There are some who now seek to exclude religious belief from public discourse, to privatize it or even to paint it as a threat to equality and liberty. Yet religion is in fact a guarantee of authentic liberty and respect, leading us to look upon every person as a brother or sister,” he said.
“Society today needs clear voices which propose our right to live, not in a jungle of self-destructive and arbitrary freedoms, but in a society which works for the true welfare of its citizens and offers them guidance and protection in the face of their weakness and fragility,” he said.
He also extended advice to the young people in attendance at the Mass, telling them that faith can set them free from “slavery to the glittering but superficial existence” often proposed by modern culture.
“There are many temptations placed before you every day – drugs, money, sex, pornography, alcohol – which the world tells you will bring you happiness, yet these things are destructive and divisive,” he said. “There is only one thing which lasts: the love of Jesus Christ personally for each one of you.”
The papal itinerary for today, the second of his four-day trip, includes a visit to St. Mary’s University College in Twickenham where he will pray with representatives of religious congregations. He will then meet with 3,000 young people to celebrate Catholic education, followed by a meeting with leaders of other religions. This includes a visit with the Archbishop of Canterbury, the head of the troubled Church of England.
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