Posted on 04/26/2010 5:58:03 AM PDT by marshmallow
The Pope could cancel his planned visit to Britain because of a “hugely offensive” Foreign Office memo mocking his stance on abortion and birth control, sources in the Vatican said.
Senior Papal aides suggested the Foreign Office had not taken strong enough disciplinary action against those responsible for the document, which suggested the Pope should open an abortion clinic, bless a homosexual marriage and launch his own range of condoms while he is here.
No-one has lost their job over the memo, which was sent to Downing Street and at least three Whitehall departments, and the civil servant who authorised it has simply been moved to other duties.
One highly-placed source in the Vatican said: “This could have very severe repercussions and is embarrassing for the British government - one has to question whether the action taken is enough.
“It is disgusting. Britain’s ambassador to the Holy See has been in to see the Secretary of State and explain what happened and this will all be relayed to the Pope.
“It’s even possible the trip could be cancelled as this matter is hugely offensive.”
Cardinal Renato Martino, the former head of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, said: “The British government has invited the Pope as its guest and he should be treated with respect.
“To make a mockery of his beliefs and the beliefs of millions of Catholics not just in Britain but across the world is very offensive indeed.”
The memo, sent out in March following a “brainstorm” session by Foreign Office staff who are helping prepare for Pope Benedict XVI’s visit in September, warned recipients that the contents “should not be shared externally” because the offending document, titled “The Ideal Visit”, contained “even the most far-fetched of ideas”.
As well as suggesting the launch..........
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
I certainly hope the Pope doesn’t cancel his trip. He’s going to piss off a lot of secularists in the UK just by showing up. :)
Really rub these jerks' noses in it.
I can’t imagine what sort of memos were passed along regarding George W Bush.
I would imagine that the leftists in our own State Department circulate a lot of similar garbage ... not to be "shared externally", of course.
Come on! He’s the Pope! He’s used to insults, certainly this is nothing worse than the NYT’s and others spew daily. This is England!
Just get over there and give a show of support to all the new Catholics that are coming on over to the Church.
Pelosi and Biden and all those “Catholic” pro-abort politicians with legislative power openly desecrate Christ everytime they receive the Eucharist, and He puts up with it FOR NOW out of love for them to repent, SURELY then my pope can take spitting words and intended humiliations out of love for these.
This is proof positive that the Foreign Office is riddled with left-wing lunatics who lack the ability or decency to censor themselves. It is almost a given that the US State Department is equally capable of sinking to this level.
This is just a little game of diplomatic protocol in order to express displeasure at the actions of Foreign Office's sleazy denizens.
I agree!
Leni
Scandalous!
I can’t imagine that he won’t go, although I sometimes wish he would go a little easier on himself.
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