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Archbishop says UK taxpayer should help fund Pope visit
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AdvertisementThe Archbishop of Westminster, the Most Rev Vincent Nichols: “The Pope comes as the spiritual leader of one in five of all the people on this planet, so this is not a minor figure”
UK taxpayers should help pay for the Pope’s trip to Britain, the head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales has said.
Critics are angry that up to £12m is to come from the public purse.
But Archbishop of Westminster Vincent Nichols told the BBC it would be a “sad day” when the UK “closes its doors and says we can’t afford state visits”.
He also hinted the Pope may meet victims of the Catholic abuse scandal during this month’s four-day visit.
Pope Benedict XVI will arrive in Scotland on 16 September for first papal visit since Pope John Paul II in 1982
bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11191386
Click to play
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AdvertisementThe Archbishop of Westminster, the Most Rev Vincent Nichols: “The Pope comes as the spiritual leader of one in five of all the people on this planet, so this is not a minor figure”
UK taxpayers should help pay for the Pope’s trip to Britain, the head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales has said.
Critics are angry that up to £12m is to come from the public purse.
But Archbishop of Westminster Vincent Nichols told the BBC it would be a “sad day” when the UK “closes its doors and says we can’t afford state visits”.
He also hinted the Pope may meet victims of the Catholic abuse scandal during this month’s four-day visit.
Pope Benedict XVI will arrive in Scotland on 16 September for first papal visit since Pope John Paul II in 1982
bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11191386