P-6: We're off to see the pontiff

Politics and protests as the papal roadshow rolls into London is the title of the first article of coverage on the website of the London Evening Standard today. The title of my post comes from the caption to the cartoon accompanying the text. The text contains some interesting comments - like the one referring to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as "only liking doing things they have done before" and another making passing reference to the "local difficulty of the Reformation". It is the last paragraph, though, that is perhaps most revealing:

A non-Catholic senior Foreign Office source agrees: “You'd be very foolish as a Government to fall in with the negative voices on a papal visit. Look at Australia — he went there at the height of the backlash about his handling of child abuse and among predictions that it would be a disaster.

“By the time he left, more people had turned out to see him than had seen the Sydney Olympics.”

There is also a link from this page to another page, a page that gives some information about where and when it will be possible to see Pope Benedict during his visit to London.  Within the text of this second page, Archbishop Nichols invites Londoners to take the opportunity to come out and welcome Pope Benedict during his time in London.

And The Times is due to publish a 16 page supplement next Thursday, dedicated to the Papal visit.

H/T Catholic Whistle.