Here Comes The Pope!

The Catholic Church has, in 2010, a lot of issues to deal with.  Child abuse, the role of women in the Church and apathy towards religion as a whole. The person charged with leading them through these tough times was in Birmingham today and I was there to see him.

Organised religion is not for me.  I do not belong to any church or group and am happy the way I am.  The reason I decided to go and stand on the Hagley Road, along with thousands of others, was to witness a piece of history.

Pope Benedict XVI is, to some, a controversial figure. Outspoken, he has been criticised for his views and the way he has dealt with some of the issues facing the Catholic Church. He has been on a 4 day state visit to the UK. This in itself has proved controversial as it is the taxpayer who has had to pick up the bill.

He was in Birmingham  today to beatify Cardinal Newman a 19th century clergyman who converted to Catholicism. Following a public mass in Cofton Park he headed to Birmingham Oratory (founded by Cardinal Newman) and I managed to get a spot a couple of hundred yards down the road.

A wait of about 2 hours followed by a bit of jostling from latecomers and then the Pope Mobile came into view. It came to a halt just up the road and the Pope got out and headed for the crowd before going into The Oratory. Fifteen minutes later and he was out. The Pope Mobile had been replaced by a BMW and he drove past us on his way the Catholic Seminary of Oscott.

Once he had passed we headed back towards the city centre and then home.  The atmosphere of the day had been quiet and subdued. It was only when the Pope arrived that the crowd become animated. 

I'm glad I got to see him albeit from a distance. Whatever your view of The Pope and the Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI will go down in history and when he visited Birmingham I can say I was there.