Scots got to Papal Mass for free, other face charges for events

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The Scottish Catholic Media Office has tonight confirmed that Scottish Catholics will not face an entrance fee to attend the open air Papal Mass at Bellahouston Park on September 16.

The statement was prompted by news that Catholics from England and Wales are to be charged to attend the major events in the Papal itinerary, a suggestion that has been met with shock and concern.

scobserver.wordpress.com/2010/07/14/scots-pilgrims-go-to-papal-mass-for-free/
 
Wouldn’t charging Catholics to attend the mass qualify as simony?
 
lizardley said:
The Scottish Catholic Media Office has tonight confirmed that Scottish Catholics will not face an entrance fee to attend the open air Papal Mass at Bellahouston Park on September 16.

The statement was prompted by news that Catholics from England and Wales are to be charged to attend the major events in the Papal itinerary, a suggestion that has been met with shock and concern.

scobserver.wordpress.com/2010/07/14/scots-pilgrims-go-to-papal-mass-for-free/
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Does that mean they get off Scott Free? 😉

Maybe they’re getting the facility in Scotland for free. Maybe the ones in England they have to pay for. We’ve heard all about how Catholics in Britain have been asked to help pay for the Pope to come, and asking them to also pay for facility fees would have probably been way too much.

Also, blogs do not constitute news sites (not now, not ever as far as I’m concerned. And especially if they’re hosted at wordpress.com). Here’s a link to the Catholic Herald.
 
Advocatus_Fidei said:
Wouldn’t charging Catholics to attend the mass qualify as simony?
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Wow, that is a pretty serious charge. :eek:

I can’t speak to it, but am surprised to see it suggested.

As I understand things, the admission charge is to defray the cost of holding the event. The blog article which was cited in the first post is based on this story in the Catholic Herald.
catholicherald.co.uk/news/2010/07/14/faithful-urged-to-apply-as-soon-as-possible-for-papal-visit-places/

That article explains:
Although they may have already contributed to the visit’s costs through the national collection, the faithful will be charged £25 to attend the Mass in Cofton Park and £10 for the Hyde Park vigil. The 1,000 priests concelebrating in Birmingham will also have to pay, though the 2,000 VIPs attending the events will not.
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A spokesman for the Church said: “The idea is that the people who are going are not visitors but pilgrims and they are representing the faithful. So they will have a pilgrim pass, and this will include a journey CD, all the health and safety stuff, a travelcard, the Magnificat [prayer book] and the commemorative branded pack. The whole idea is that they contribute to the cost of travel.”
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The blanket price will also help to pay for people who have to travel far to the event, so that someone from London will pay no more for the Hyde Park event than someone from Cornwall. But there will be a regional bias so that northern dioceses receive more Bellahouston places, with those in the Midlands getting the bulk of the beatification tickets and southern dioceses receiving most for Hyde Park.
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So the admission price is not just for Mass, but, in part, for all of the other gee-gaws. And, in part, to help defray the cost of holding the papal mass. The money has to come from somewhere, after all. And if someone is simply seeking the Eucharist, they don’t need to attend this special event to get it.
 
Dale_M said:
Wow, that is a pretty serious charge. :eek:

I can’t speak to it, but am surprised to see it suggested.

As I understand things, the admission charge is to defray the cost of holding the event. The blog article which was cited in the first post is based on this story in the Catholic Herald.
catholicherald.co.uk/news/2010/07/14/faithful-urged-to-apply-as-soon-as-possible-for-papal-visit-places/

That article explains:

So the admission price is not just for Mass, but, in part, for all of the other gee-gaws. And, in part, to help defray the cost of holding the papal mass. The money has to come from somewhere, after all. And if someone is simply seeking the Eucharist, they don’t need to attend this special event to get it.
Click to expand...
So ask for donations to pay for the costs, but charging a catholic to attend mass is charging them to access the sacrament, they are selling attendance at this mass, if you don’t pay the ticket price presumably you don’t get a ticket and cant go, it is blatant and outrageous simony
 
I have signed up to attend the Mass in Birmingham. On second thoughts, £25 for a pilgrim pack is not on. I only want to go to hold up a sign, saying “help us papa”,anyway. Perhaps an email to the vatican would be more appropriate anyway.Poor Benedict.He is being thrown to the secular lions over here.
 
The idea that Catholics would have to pay to go to Mass just seems wrong. 😦

I attended 3 papal events, including 2 Masses, last month in Cyprus, and I did not have to pay a cent! Of course, the Cyprus government was very welcoming.
Perhaps because British media have been trying to stir up trouble about the cost of the Pope’s visit, this is being done. Sad.
 
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