So the Pope has returned back from whenst he came. Now the news might go back to something other than watching his every move. Now we see the things that happened in the last four days beyond the pope being rapidly read on the news so they may catch up with today’s news.

The guardian has put together some quotes bey key figures involved in the popes visit.

HM Queen Elizabeth II:
“Your Holiness, in recent times you have said that religions can never become vehicles of hatred, that never by invoking the name of God can evil and violence be justified.
“Today, in this country, we stand united in that conviction. We hold that freedom to worship is at the core of our tolerant and democratic society.”

Religions should indeed never become vehicles of hatred, yet every holy war that has ever taken place has been both a religious vehicle of hatred and in the name of God. Freedom to worship is definitely at the core of democratic society. However that ability has yet to spread to the Vatican city – non catholic worship does not exist legally in the Vatican.

David Cameron, PM:

“You have really challenged the whole country to sit up and think, and that can only be a good thing.
“Because I believe we can all share in your message of working for the common good and that we all have a social obligation to each other, to our families and our communities.

The prime minister is wise in observing that it is good that the whole country sit up and think. However the message is not necessarily that following along with the catholic church is a wise nor good thing. There are other religions and those may be more worthy than catholicism. Each individual must look inside and think about what is important and what they believe in and none shall face persecution for doing so.

Federico Lombardi, Vatican:

“If there are critics and protests, this is normal for us and the Pope and it is a positive sign of freedom of expression in this society.”

It is good to see that an official of the vatican is recognising the right of freedom of expression as a good and just element of modern society. If there were more of his kind in the Vatican then surely the future would look bright for them.

Archbishop of Westminster Vincent Nichols:

“The church has made a mess of its response to incidents of child abuse, and there is nothing that can be said that excuses the crimes committed by members of the clergy against children.”

Nothing good can be said about it, but what are they going to do about it? Nothing I expect.

References:
The Guardian