Thousands of tickets for Pope Benedict UK visit unsold

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bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11292846
Thousands of tickets remain unsold for events during the visit of the Pope, who arrives in Scotland on Thursday.
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The largest organised event is an open-air Mass at Bellahouston Park in Glasgow on the opening day of Pope Benedict XVI’s trip to the UK.
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The capacity has been reduced to 80,000 after a slow take-up of tickets.
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I’m saddened, and somewhat surpirsed this is the case. 😦 Maybe it’s the cost thats putting some people off, but I would have thought the chance to see the pope would outweigh most considerations.
 
the agenda is …

**REPEAT AFTER ME
**
make the pope look bad … make the pope look bad …
 
I must be among few who think selling tickets to see the Pope is unseemly. How much more worldly and materialistic can it get? I suppose there will be vendors selling bobble-heads and other kitsch (statuettes, painted shot glasses, flags, tee shirts) as well as distastefully named food (e.g. Popeburgers) as well. What should be a religious experience is being turned into a commercial exhibition. I can almost hear barkers calling, "Step right up, ladies and gentlemen . . . . "
 
Well, the way it’s been put is that people are paying for the cost of transport. The only way you can get to that gig (sorry, I can’t help myself with this) is by organised buses.

I’m not surprised that the tickets have not sold out. The Mass in Glasgow with travel and all included will take about 13 hours. I can’t imagine older people going. Plus the weather here is always a bit tricky. Several of my friends have concerns about this and have decided not to go. I’d love to go but have a very young baby and 13 hours is just too much. But I’m going to Princes Street with a flag to greet him 😃
 
OriginalJS said:
I must be among few who think selling tickets to see the Pope is unseemly. How much more worldly and materialistic can it get? I suppose there will be vendors selling bobble-heads and other kitsch (statuettes, painted shot glasses, flags, tee shirts) as well as distastefully named food (e.g. Popeburgers) as well. What should be a religious experience is being turned into a commercial exhibition. I can almost hear barkers calling, "Step right up, ladies and gentlemen . . . . "
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I saw JPII - several times, not once did I have to ‘‘pay’’ to enter anywhere, nor did I have to belong to a designated church organised group to get entry. I think the ‘‘security’’ issues are also a negatrively contributing factor, and the cynic in me cant help wondering if some of this ‘‘security’’ procedure isnt a way a extracting guaranteed money to offset the costs. Such a shame that the logistics and costs are putting people, faithful and otherwise, off, from possibly a once in a lifetime chance of seeing a living pope.
 
The BBC is obsessed with the Catholic Church, like CNN is obsessed with Islam.

I don’t believe it was to do with pricing. We paid £5 for our tickets.
 
From the reign of Henry VIII to the present there has always been a virulent, anti-Catholic
bias in England. The recent cover, of course, is the pedophile scandal. I wonder if any
English have ever read a neutral history of their country relative to Catholicism. The wholesale destruction of the Faith that was once the faith of the country to the forced
importation of Protestantism to Ireland.

This goes way beyond current events…
 
Thyme said:
I don’t believe it was to do with pricing. We paid £5 for our tickets.
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I guess that means you will be attending the evening prayer service at Hyde Park? I glad you will be able to participate.

According to one of the news links that Kaninchen shared with us, a spokesman for Opus Dei, which is advocate for the cause of Cardinal Newman, said that he
…believed the Hyde Park event would be at full capacity at 80,000, but was less confident that Cofton Park in Birmingham would receive the full number of 60,000 visitors. He attributed this to health and safety and security arrangements which would necessitate visitors arriving at the park between 3am and 7am for the 10am mass, and said that “those who can’t face getting up at 2am” would be deterred.
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independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/administration-problems-blamed-for-pope-benedicts-ticket-slump-2077548.html

I’m not sure why the afternoon Mass in Glasgow’s Bellahouston Park which requires £20 has not sold out. But it is on a weekday, so perhaps work, too, is a factor.
 
GeoCyclist said:
bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11292846

I’m saddened, and somewhat surpirsed this is the case. 😦 Maybe it’s the cost thats putting some people off, but I would have thought the chance to see the pope would outweigh most considerations.
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Don’t be saddened. These kinds of stories are like the story in Numbers where the spies went ahead to Cannan and came back and told the Hebrew people all sorts of exaggerated, scary things. In turn it weakened their faith in the mission God gave them to press on. They were greatly punished for listening to the spies reports. Don’t listen to these things.

Pray that ALL hearts in the UK be open to the Holy Father’s message. That many graces and conversions will come through his visit.

That said, why on Earth are they selling tickets? And in England no less! Where the Church is small as it is. When the Holy Father comes to the US, the tickets are free and given out through one’s diocese. They liberally try to get everyone a space to one of the events.

Our Lady of Walsingham, pray for them!
St Benedict, Pray for them!
Cardinal Newman, pray for your people!
 
Security is a genuine issue, not a contrived issue. There have been so many threats. The viciousness of the militant atheists and secular humanists (gee, I thought they were for tolerance) has been shocking.

I see that people must show a picture ID to get into the papal events. And the passes are not being distributed until the day. I attended papal events in June and we did not need to show photo ID. We got our passes 2 days before or the day before, depending.

It’s a shame the security has to be so tight. It’s partly the fault of the strident, nasty protest-the-pope types, who at the same time they are making threats, have kept up a long-running tirade objecting to tax-payers paying for his visit. (Rather hypocritical considering that some unsavoury leaders have been welcomed on state visits before with no fuss). So the costs sky-rocket.

The fact that it’s a work-day today is probably a factor. With the economy so tough, and anti-Catholicism rife, how many can take a day off work to go see the Pope?

People might find the FAQs and Guide here interesting: thepapalvisit.org.uk/2010-Visit/Visit-event-Information/Attending-Events/How-can-I-see-the-Pope-in-the-UK/Guide-to-Bellahouston-Park/Liturgical-Information
 
Oh, I forgot that I wanted to say that in June, the events were free, but we were asked to pay for transportation. The price the parish asked was quite reasonable, 10 euros for a 2-hour round trip coach ride. That was a bargain rate. And nobody in our parish was made to feel embarrassed if they could not pay, the way it was done-- on the honour system.
 
It is sad that all tickets have not been sold and one never knows what will happen on the day. However, it is also a real concern for the Church if this is the case, sadly Scotland, Ireland and Wales were deeply affected by the (alleged) abuse to children by its clergy, it sounds to me that a huge amount of healing needs to take place within these communities if the Church is to regain its status. Don’t know the answer.
 
On the plus side though. My parish sold out. And a neighbouring parish didn’t, so they’ve told us we’re allowed to take them.

Plus side for me anyway 😃
 
Let us try to look at the good side of this. England has a small Catholic population and it is strongly anti-Catholic. Couple that with the horrific sex abuse crisis, and the neverending attacks on the Church and the Pope, and it is a miracle that so many thousands are going to see the Holy Father. That represents thousands who might very well be touched during this trip.

The world is a mess with at least a minor apostasy going on, and quite possibly a major or great apostasy in reality. To have thousands go see the Pope in an anti-Catholic nation during these anti-Catholic and anti-Christian times is the work of the Holy Spirit. IMO. 🙂
 
irishpatrick said:
To have thousands go see the Pope in an anti-Catholic nation during these anti-Catholic and anti-Christian times is the work of the Holy Spirit. IMO. 🙂
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Amen!

Last year the relics of St. Therese of the Little Flower visited the country and an enourmous number of people went to venerate them. It was a surprise to the organisers. Of course, the media went crazy and all sorts of disgusting things were written about the Church and the faithful but the event was a major sucess. It seems that althought there are not many Catholics in the UK that the faith is not dead.
I’m thrilled about the Holy father’s visit and expect good fruits to come out of it!
 
Contra_Mundum said:
Amen!

Last year the relics of St. Therese of the Little Flower visited the country and an enourmous number of people went to venerate them. It was a surprise to the organisers. Of course, the media went crazy and all sorts of disgusting things were written about the Church and the faithful but the event was a major sucess. It seems that althought there are not many Catholics in the UK that the faith is not dead.
I’m thrilled about the Holy father’s visit and expect good fruits to come out of it!
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I agree and share the expectations. 🙂
 
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