Pope Visit UK 2010: Live
Pope Benedict XVI is in Britain from September 16-19, making the first Papal visit to the UK for 28 years. Follow the latest news, commentary and reaction to his trip here.
Pope visit: dates and itinerary
14.50: Jesuit orders in Germany are prepared to offer payouts to victims of sexual abuse by their priests without waiting for action by the Roman Catholic Church, their leader has said.
The top representative of the Jesuits in Germany, Stefan Kiechle, said they were ready to become the first German Catholic institution to compensate those molested by priests.
"This is not intended to go behind the backs of the Ecumenical Conference and especially not against the bishops," he said, referring to the Church hierarchy in Germany.
14.45: The Pope was in "excellent form", Cardinal O'Brien, said after the pair's lunch.
"The Pope seems in excellent form, as did Her Majesty, and of course they both appear to be extremely happy in one another's company," he said.
"Along Princes Street I really felt so proud. You could look to one side and see the backcloth of the castle and the ramparts and so on, and on the other side a sea of faces welcoming Pope Benedict XVI to our country.
He said it was clear the "love radiating" to him from the people who were lining along Princes Street.
14.40: Child abuse victims have criticised the pope for his "disingenuous" remarks on the Catholic Church's lack of vigilance on the issue of pedophile priests.
The pope's comments were "hurtful, not helpful", claimed the US-basedSurvivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP).
"It's disingenuous to say church officials have been slow and insufficiently vigilant in dealing with clergy sex crimes and cover-ups," said Joelle Casteix, a spokeswoman for the group. "On the contrary, they've been prompt and vigilant, but in concealing, not preventing, these horrors."
Bishops worldwide, she added, "continue to deliberately choose secrecy and deception over safety and honesty in child sex cases. That's the sad, simple truth." The Vatican action on against abuse had been "virtually insignificant".
14.32: The Queen wishes Benedict XVI 'fruitful' visit. Watch video here.
14.28: Telegraph blogger Tom Chivers says it was "silly and demonstrably wrong" of the Pope to blame atheists for Hitler and the Holocaust.
14.22: Baroness Warsi misunderstood and "missed the point" Labour's "we don’t do God" comments, Alastair Campbell has claimed in a new blog-post.
14.19: Jonathan Wynn-Jones says he was struck by the Pope's physical frailty during the flight from Rome. "He had to steady himself while walking up the aisle and "when the curtain was pulled back, instead of an impressive figure you saw this small, frail old man."
14.15: Terry Sanderson, president of the National Secular Society, has also criticised the Pope's speech, claiming the "Pope is working hard behind the scenes to increase his Church's power over democratic institutions".
The Pope is hardly off the plane before he launches his first attack on secularism - or the 'new aggressive form of secularism' - as a threat to the power that he feels should be his alone to wield," he said.
"The secular identity of the British people is not something to criticise, but to celebrate."
14.12: More than 125,000 people lined the streets in Edinburgh, Scottish police now reporting.
14.10: Catholic leaders must confront their cover-ups of child abuse honestly and completely if they want to fulfill their mission as Christians, Dublin's archbishop, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin.
14.09: Damian Thompson writes: "Catholics interested in liturgy will be watching the Pope's Mass in Glasgow this afternoon very carefully.
"There has been quite a tussle between traditionalists (supported by the Vatican) who want the Mass to be as solemn and grand as possible, and officials from Glasgow archdiocese who want a more populist, less ornate ceremony. Scottish liberals are already cross that the Pope will be celebrating the main part of the Mass in Latin – his decision."
14.07: The Pope faces "inquisition in reverse", says Prof Frank Furedi.
14.01: Fr Lombardi tells reporters it has been the "best beginning of the trip that we could desire".
14.00: While the Pope has looked somewhat awkward during his engagements, his personal secretary lacks nothing in terms of charisma. In Italy he's something of a pinup.
13.57: Police say 100,000 people have turned out to see the Pope in Edinburgh, the Catholic Herald reporting.
13.54: While the majority of twitpics posted on Twitter push the boundaries of taste, this is one of the few clean photographs out there. Here is anotherthat has been taken in such a way it make the Pope appear similar to a Vampire.
13.50: Stephen Fry has defended his letter questioning whether the Pope is entitled to a state visit, in an extensive blog post on his website.
13.47: Right Rev John Christie, moderator of Church of Scotland, put in side room in error when Pope came to Holyrood, Ruth Gledhill, from The Times, reporting.
"Apalled Cardinal and first minister wondered: 'Where in heaven's name is John Christie?' as waited to meet Pope?
"When poor John Christie discovered languishing in side room, special private audience with the Pope hurriedly arranged."
13.42: Peter Robinson, the Irish first minister, did not attend the reception in Scotland, the BBC reports.
13.40: Exclusive picture from Martin Beckford of the Popemobile "ready to roll".
13.30: More following posting at 13.06. Nick Squires discloses that Cardinal Kasper will not apologise for his remarks.
13.24: Bit of light humour amid the seriousness of the day. Jokes and puns about "Eggs Benedict" is the third top trending "tweet" topic on Twitter, reports colleague Amy Willis.
13.20: Luke Coppen, editor of the Catholic Herald, writes: "The key story of the day so far is not the meeting with the Queen but what the Pope said on the plane – that the Church has often been too slow to respond to child abuse.
"His words are a sign that he understands the problem and is going to tackle it with all his energy. In the past, he's acknowledged the Church's failure when referring to Ireland – but this message is more powerful and wide-ranging."
13.16: A group of school children have experienced a rare moment when the Pope got out of the Popemobile to greet them by the side of the road.
13.10: The Pope's Day 1 visit to the UK in pictures.
13.06: Vatican spokesman Fr Lombardi has defended Cardinal Kasper's comments, saying they were not intended to slight the United Kingdom, but simply reflected the cultural diversity instantly evident upon landing in the capital.
The Telegraph's man in Rome, Nick Squires, reports that Fr Lombardi added that he intended to refer to "a cosmopolitan reality, a melting pot of ordinary humanity and all of its diversity and its problems".
The Vatican said Kasper was pulling out of the visit to Britain at the last minute, but that was due to illness and not related to the comments he made.
13.02: For those that missed it, here is the Pope being greeted by the Queen at Holyrood Palace, thanks again to our colleagues at Telegraph TV.
12.59: Fr Tim Finigan, influential liturgical expert and parish priest from Kent, comments: "What a fantastic start to the visit – the Pope and the Queen were clearly of one mind on the place of religion in public life.
"And how astonishing to have a German Pope coming to praise Britain and her leaders who stood against the Nazi tyranny. Also, despite all the doubts, there were massive crowds in Edinburgh. The Scots have really turned out for the Pope."
12.55: James MacMillan, the composer of the Mass for the Pope's visit, says: "I have just met him! I kissed his ring and told him: 'The musicians of the Church love you, Holy Father.' The reports coming in suggest that the crowds in Edinburgh are bigger than in 1982."
12.50: The Catholic Herald website has the full text of the Pope's historic address in Edinburgh.
12.45: It seems the Pope's speech has sparked yet another row amid claims he has "libelled" atheists.
"The notion that it was the atheism of Nazis that led to their extremist and hateful views or that somehow fuels intolerance in Britain today is a terrible libel against those who do not believe in god," a spokesman for the British Humanist Association said.
"The notion that it is non-religious people in the UK today who want to force their views on others, coming from a man whose organisation exerts itself internationally to impose its narrow and exclusive form of morality and undermine the human rights of women, children, gay people and many others, is surreal."
12.40: On the one hand the Pope deserves credit for showing he's actually been listening to criticism of the church's stance on abusive priests, Martin Beckford says from Edinburgh.
But once again the Vatican may have managed to undo all the good work with a characteristic slip that will once again leave it open to accusations that it applies different rules to its own clergy than to the rest of the world.
12.35: The centrepiece of the Pope's visit is the beatification of Cardinal Newman. Read a profile here.
12.25: The Telegraph's Jonathan Wynne-Jones, who was on board the Pope's plane, points out that the Pontiff appeared to suggest that abusive clergy may not be responsible for their actions. Speaking in Italian he called their problems "an illness" where "free will doesn't work".
12.15: The Pope greeted by thousands of people as he rides in the Popemobile through the streets of Edinburgh.
1210: The Queen and the Pope have exchanged gifts at the reception.
The Pope received a facsimile edition of 16th century drawings by German artist Hans Holbein the Younger. The 85 sketches were encased in a white papal binding specially produced by conservation staff at Windsor Castle.
Including a portrait of Sir John More, the pictures are considered among the greatest treasures in the Print Room at Windsor Castle. The Vatican's gift to the Queen was a copy of the Lorsch Gospels dating from 778 to 820.
12.05: Stephen Hough asks: "Just curious... if the Queen visits the Vatican, do they pay or do we?"
11.55: Keith Stanfield, a 22-year-old Catholic musician, writes: "Pope Benedict seems to combine awe-inspiring austerity and nobility. And nice to see no shenanigans by secular protestors – yet. I wasn't even born when John Paul II visited Britain, so this is a very special moment for me."
11:42 Pope refers to "atheist extremism" and "aggressive secularism", setting out his stall of trying to bring religion back to Britain.
11.38: In her speech the Queen says the Holy See "continues to have an important role in international issues in support of peace and developing the addressing of problems such as poverty and climate change".
11:37 Queen to Pope in Holyrood: "The car you arrived in was very small, a very tight squeeze, but you've got your own Popemobile."
Pope: "Yes."
11:35 The Pope and the Queen have a lot in common, including an opposition to gay marriage, according to Damian Thompson.
Pope Benedict XVI with Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh. Picture: PA
11:33 Just in case you thought thePopemobile was powered by the Holy Spirit
11.18: Our colleagues at Telegraph TV have been busy. Watch Benedict XVI's arrival at Edinburgh airport where he was greeted by Duke of Edinburgh
11.14: In his briefing to journalists on the plane, the Pope admitted opposition to his visit, saying Britain had a "great history of anti-Catholicism. But it is also a country with a great history of tolerance".
He added about the child abuse scandal: "These revelations were a shock for me, a great sadness. It is difficult to understand how this perversion of the priestly ministry was possible.
"It is also a great sadness that the authority of the church was not sufficiently vigilant and not sufficiently quick and decisive in taking the necessary measures."
11.12: The Queen and the Duke are showing the Pope around the palace.
11.10: The Queen introduces the Pope to local officials at Holyrood Palace including Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Caterbury, Nick Clegg, the deputy Prime Minister and Mr Salmond (referred at 9.20).
11.06: The Queen greets the Pope and warmly shakes his hand. They then pause on a raised platform as the national anthem is played.
10.49: The BBC helicopter is following the Pope's convey through the streets of Edinburgh, complete with police convoy.
10.45: The Catholic Church "had not been vigilant enough" on the issue of paedophile priests, Pope Benedict XVI told journalists on board the papal plane.
The Priest child abuse revelations "were a shock to me", he added. He said the church "should offer help to victims", protect children and stop paedophile priests from having future contact with children. He calls paedophilia an "illness".
10.39: Breaking news: Both the AP and AFP news agencies reporting that the Pope has issued a statement saying the "Catholic Church not been vigilant enough on paedophilia". More to follow.
10.37: There was no "kissing of the tarmac" this time.
10.35: The Duke is the first official to greet the Pope. The Duke then introduces him to Catholic church officials. The first topic? The weather.
Pope Benedict XVI is met by the Duke of Edinburgh as he arrives at Edinburgh Airport. Picture: PA
10.34: The Pope appears at the top of the stairs. The "carpet lining" party is in place. There is no red carpet due to the wind.
10.30: TV pictures show the "welcome to Edinburgh" stairs being brought over to the plane.
10.16: The Pope has touched down in Edinburgh on board "Shepherd 1". It is 14 minutes ahead of schedule. The cockpit has an Union flag flying out of one window and a papal standard out of the other.
Pope Benedict XVI's plane lands at Edinburgh airport. Watch video
Pope Benedict XVI's plane lands at Edinburgh airport.
10.12: What is on-board the Papal plane. BBC has just shown the first glimpse of the plane, which is due to touch down in Edinburgh any moment.
10.08: The Duke of Edinburgh has arrived at Edinburgh airport as part of the Pope's "welcome party".
09.55: William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, is a late addition to the welcoming party for the Pope at Holyroodhouse Palace, tweets Martin Beckford. He also adds that there are "more journalists and police than pilgrims at Holyroodhouse so far".
09.50: Amid reports that ticket sales for the Pope's visit have been slow he'll be glad to have some travelling support.
Marian Hummel told Martin Beckford she had travelled all the way from Germany to see her fellow countryman.
“I want to see the Pope but not because he’s German,” she said. “I think he is very good for the world.”
09.45: The Pope's plane just heading over Manchester.
09.30: Speaking of the weather, the BBC reports that Edinburgh should experience "sunny intervals" with a light rain shower about 4pm.
09.28: For those who want to read more on the Pope's visit, there is an official website.
09.25: Hopefully the wind will be kind to organisers at Edinburgh airport today. Organisers tried to "roll out" the red carpet yesterday but it failed.
Bellahouston Park, Glasgow, ahead of the mass to be given by Pope Benedict.
09.20: The "sceptics" in the press "may well be confounded today", Alex Salmond, Scotland's First Minister, told the BBC.
"There is a certain amount of excitement in the air. It is not just excitement for the Catholic community in Scotland it is also for the whole nation." He says people in Scotland will give the Pope an "overwhelming" welcome
0915: Damian Thompson comments:"Clearly Archbishop Nichols and Cardinal O'Brien have decided to throw the unfortunate Cardinal Kasper under a bus, as the saying goes.
"They want to squash any perception that the Vatican is being rude about Britain. Having been forced to ask the Government to help meet the Church's costs for this visit, the last thing they want to do is anger Ministers."
09.07: Telegraph blogger Harry Mount has just posted a blog titled: "It's only good manners to welcome the Pope, even if you're not a Catholic".
A car drives past a Humanist Society of Scotland advertising hoarding in Glasgow.Picture: AFP/GETTY IMAGES
09.05: Stephen Fry has just tweeted: "Mm - this is the "atheist hate campaign" that I'm fuelling, apparently." He is referring to this interview he has given to the BBCexplaining why he has signed of a letter calling for the Pope to not be given a state visit to Britain.
09.00: The Telegraph's religion man Martin Beckford tweets that there is a "spoof Twitter feed" for "Gorgeous Georg".
08.45: Cardinal Keith O'Brien, leader of the Catholic Church in Scotland, adds to BBC Scotland: "That was unfortunate and each and every person's aides sometimes do make awkward, difficult remarks. Sometimes we make awkward, difficult remarks ourselves.
"And simply, if we do that sort of thing we apologise for it, and I'm sure Cardinal Kasper will apologise for any intemperate remarks which he made some time ago."
08:35: Archbishop Nichols, describes as "inexplicable" comments from Cardinal Walter Kasper, who said Britain resembled a "Third World country".
"On face value I find the remarks of Cardinal Kasper quite inexplicable," he told BBC Radio.
"This is a very diverse country and we rejoice in that diversity. There's a great richness of people and of cultures and of contributions made in British society and they are an enrichment."
08.30: Calling all budding photographers. Are you going to see the Pope? We'd love to use some of your Pope photos in ourinteractive map of the Papal visit. As well as emailing them in tomypic@telegraph.co.uk or sending them via the Telegraph iPhone App, you can use the Twitter hashtag #TelePope to send images to us."
Pope Benedict XVI waves as he boards the aircraft taking him to the United Kingdom from Rome's Ciampino airport. Watch video
08.25: Stephen Hough, the classical pianist and fellow Telegraph blogger, says that "perhaps it's a good thing that Cardinal Kasper's gaffe happened when it did – before the arrival of Pope Benedict".
"His 'third World Country" comment apart, it is surely superficial to try to measure, as he did, "distance from God" or the "crisis of faith" of one country against another," he says.
"It's particularly insulting to English Catholics who, by percentage, are more loyal and committed to the practice of their faith than Italians, French or Spaniards.
"Moreover, the British commitment to charitable giving and action is exemplary, from those of faith or none, outstripping many nations with more visible nominal Christianity."
He adds: "Kasper is wide of the mark, unable to see beyond the surface flexing of our democratic and liberal muscles to the heart beneath.
Pope Benedict XVI waves as he boards the aircraft taking him to the United Kingdom from Rome's Ciampino airport. Picture: REUTERS
08.15: Damian Thompson, the Telegraph's Blog's editor, reports that the "mood" at Edinburgh airport is one of "nerves, not excitement". He compares this to when "dignitaries and the crowds waiting to welcome Pope John Paul II at Gatwick Airport were thrilled by the historic prospect of a Pope – and a charismatic, youthful Pope at that – visiting Britain for the first time".
He continues: "Benedict XVI is gentle, frail, scholarly and troubled by the terrible scandal of paedophile priests, whose activities was still a secret in 1982.
"The British public is reluctant to foot a bill of more than £20 million for the first state visit by a pontiff to this country. Many, many prayers are being offered up by Catholics that Benedict's visit proceeds smoothly, without any PR disasters.
"But, right up until the last minute, things were going wrong. Cardinal Walter Kasper, the Vatican's ecumenical expert, backed out of the trip on Wednesday after it emerged that he had compared Britain to a "Third world country" where "aggressive new atheism" was rife.
"Kasper is not, in fact, a close ally of Pope Benedict, but the damage was done."
Pope Benedict XVI embarks from Ciampino's airport, on the outskirts of Rome to start his four-day visit to the United Kingdom. Watch video
08.05 On Twitter, @niknightingale asks: "Who's in charge of the Catholic Church when the Pope's not in the Vatican? Is it Nick Clegg?"
07.55 The Most Rev Vincent Nichols, head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, delivers Radio 4's Thought For The Day, saying the motto of the Pope's visit is "heart speaks unto heart".
07.45 Giles Fraser, canon chancellor at St Paul's Cathedral, tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme Cardinal Walter Kaspar's"Third World country" comments are "really quite irresponsible because to me that sounds a little bit like an attack on multiculturalism".
06.20 The Papal plane has left Rome's Ciampino airport with the Pope, about 30 senior Vatican officials and dozens of journalists on board.
Pope Benedict XVI embarks from Ciampino's airport, on the outskirts of Rome to start his four-day visit to the United Kingdom. Picture: AP
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