Scottish Catholic Observer

CARDINAL Keith O’Brien has said he never imagined he would be welcoming the Pope to Scotland but says he detects huge enthusiasm for the Holy Father’s visit ahead of his arrival.

“I’m getting on now and I never thought I’d be welcoming the Pope to Scotland,” the cardinal said on Monday. “When Benedict XVI was elected he was a much older man than his predecessor and it was thought he wouldn’t travel like John Paul II did so I didn’t think this would land on my plate.

“I travel all over Scotland and everywhere I detect a huge enthusiasm from Scottish Catholics for this visit. What I’m hearing from people of all ages are things like ‘we can’t wait to see him’ and ‘we’re going to give him a great welcome’ so I’m feeling very positive about it.”

Hurdles and benefits

The cardinal said that while there had been ‘ups and downs’ in the preparation for the visit he was sure that the problems were miniscule compared to the benefits the Pope’s visit would bring.

“Obviously it has been a tremendous amount of work,” he said. “But I look on it as being very well worthwhile as the moral value will far outweigh any costs value.”

The cardinal highlighted the lack of time to make arrangements for the Pope’s arrival and the difficulty of transporting pilgrims to the Mass at Bellahouston as problems the Church in Scotland had faced but said such issues were inevitable with an event of this size.

“We are looking at potentially 100,000 people in Edinburgh and another 100,000 in Glasgow and it’s not easy to manage numbers of that size,” he said. “I know well that even when you have a parish fete for 100 people you have wrangle over who runs what stall, or should we hire a marquee.

“So I thank God for the great many people who have given of their time and talent to help us deal with the larger upsets we’ve had to deal with.”

Private moment

The cardinal said he was particularly looking forward to hosting the Pope in a private lunch at his St Bennet’s residence after the Holy Father arrived in Scotland.

“I’ve welcomed a great many different people into my house over the years,” he said. “But I think this really will surpass them all. In the garden I have a piece of the turf Pope John Paul II kissed when he arrived in Scotland and I think Pope Benedict will be interested to see that.”

The cardinal also added that the Pope was a source of great personal inspiration.

“I’m 25 years a bishop and you do feel tired sometimes,” he said. “But I look at all the Pope is fitting in during his visit to the United Kingdom and it does inspire me to go and do better.”

Government honour

First Minister Alex Salmond, who hosted a pre-Papal visit reception in Edinburgh Castle on Tuesday night, said he was looking forward to the Pope’s arrival. Mr Salmond said he was ‘honoured’ to be attending the Mass being celebrated by the Holy Father at Bellahouston Park as it would be a spiritual high point for Scots of all faiths.

“The Papal events in 1982 were an enormous success and this visit will be a wonderful occasion for the whole of Scotland,” Mr Salmond said. “The Scottish Government will be working with the Palace, the Catholic Church and UK Government to ensure that the Pope’s visit is a successful and memorable event.”

—     ian@sconews.co.uk

Pic: Paul McSherry