Reaction to the Papal Visit

Pope Benedict's visit has certainly generated plenty of reaction over the last 4 days and has dominated the news schedules. The BBC showed a helpful summary programme last night examining the significance of the visit, with contributions from Lord Patten and the historian Diarmaid MacCulloch, amongst others. Pope Benedict's speech in Westminster Hall, where Thomas More and Guy Fawkes had both been put on trial, was considered to be particularly significant, and it was a nice touch for him and the Archbishop of Canterbury to publicly pay their respects at the tomb of (Saint) Edward the Confessor in Westminster Abbey.

Further reactions can be seen in this BBC article, including comments from the British Humanist Association and the National Secular Society. It will be interesting to see if the visit will have make a significant contribution to the debate of the role of religion and politics and society, particularly in the light of the comments of Baroness Warsi this week who said that the Coalition "does God".

Trouble with Bishops

The Church of England is heading for a difficult weekend when it wil discuss in its synod (meeting) whether women should be allowed to become bishops. Meanwhile news was leaked this week that Dr Jeffrey John, the Dean of St Albans (top picture) would be appointed as the next Bishop of Southwark. This led to an outcry from the conservative wing of the church as Dr John is openly gay (but celibate) and Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury (bottom picture), has now decided to block that decision. The events have led to heated comments on both sides of the debate as shown here and here. There are concerns that the issue of gay bishops could lead to a schism and there are even demands that David Cameron should intervene on the issue. The Guardian's editorial today uses the controversy to examine the wider role of the Church of England within the state, suggesting its official position is an "accident sustained by apathy". However it believes that any move to disestablish the church would fail due to huge Parliamentary effort that would be needed to thoroughly disentangle it.