Pope Benedict XVI Sunday left Britain after what he described as a 'wonderful' four-day visit that was both highly symbolic and controversial. The pope was seen off at Birmingham airport by Prime Minister David Cameron, who said the pope's visit to Britain had been 'incredibly moving.' 'You have challenged the whole country to sit up and think,' Cameron told the pope.
During his stay, the pope forcefully addressed the child sex abuse scandal in the Catholic Church, which he denounced as 'crimes,' and warned of the growing threat of an 'aggressive secularism.' The trip by the 83-year-old German-born pontiff marked the first- ever state visit by a pope to Britain since King Henry VIII's break with Rome nearly 500 years ago. Benedict's predecessor, Pope John Paul II, came to Britain on a church-funded pastoral visit in 1982.
The event will take place at an open-air Mass in Birmingham's Cofton Park in front of a crowd expected to be at least 50,000.
Cardinal Newman converted to Catholicism at the age of 44 and led a group of Anglicans, known as the Oxford Movement, in an attempt to return the Church of England to its Catholic roots.
A beatification is seen as the penultimate step on the road to sainthood and the ceremony will be the first of its kind performed by the current Pope.
The Holy Father yesterday apologised on behalf of the Catholic Church to the victims of abuse at the hands of its ministers, calling their actions 'unspeakable crimes'. He has also used his visit to pose a number of questions and urged Brits to look at their actions and take more responsibility.
Prime minister David Cameron is expected to tell the Pope that, although he does not share a common faith with Catholics, he sees the relevance of the 'searching questions' the Pontiff has asked during the past few days. 'You have really challenged the whole country to sit up and think, and that can only be a good thing,' he will say.
