should we,the british taxpayer be expected pay 12 million pounds [plus police expenses]

[stokemaveric]

for the visit of a harborer of sex offenders??.sorry i mean the visit of the pope to the uk???

[karenmac60]

It seems to me that the Catholic Church is absolutely loaded, they should be paying for it. After all, we are in the grips of a recession and the visit will only be of interest to Catholics, so let them dig into their own pockets. And that's before we get onto the whole sex offenders debate... :)

[Captin Kirk]

would £6 million be ok?

[boxtops]

It's extraordinary, they were just talking about it on the news, all the extra policing etc which will will be necessary.
I remember the last time a pope visited - late 1970s was it? my mate went to see him at Coventry airport, borrowed my flask. I can honestly say "My Thermos Flask Saw the Pope".

[stokemaveric]

well said karenmac60... i wonder what would be happening to someone who gave forgiveness and provided alibis for gary glitter...not reverence and worshipping thats for sure....

[karenmac60]

It was 1982 Boxtops, they cut down all the trees in Bellahouston Park in Glasgow for it and it caused a big stramash.

[ELVIS68]

Why so much money?, the last pope who came here was a ringer for our Ice Cream Man, Tonibell, so no-one took much notice where we lived

[Captin Kirk]

so it's not about the money then ...

[ummmm]

Do we actually know, for a fact, that he was covering up for paedos?

[karenmac60]

Well the Catholic Church has long been known to cover up abuse and simply move abusers to another diocese. As head of that church he is ultimately responsible whether he personally covered anything up or not - he turned a blind eye at the very least which is just as bad in the circumstances. Wasn't he also in the Hitler Youth?

[ummmm]

He hasn't been the head of the Catholic Church long enough to take the blame....

Hitler youth....I think that was compulsory.

[karenmac60]

He might not have been head for long, but he didn't just walk into the job - he must've been pretty high up for a good while and had a part in covering things up. If he hadn't he would have come out and made a stand against it when he became pope.

[stokemaveric]

he was instrumental in the cover up of peadophile priests....

[Captin Kirk]

I'm surprised then that other countries are willing to pay for the policing when the Queen visits their lands ....

[stokemaveric]

well captain has the queen ever given child sex offenders an excuse??? has she ever been part of a group that was involved in the slaying of millions of jews?? [involuntary or not?]...if this were anyone other than the pope the politicians would be clamouring to get the visit banned....

[Captin Kirk]

The Queen as the head of the christian church ... surely we don't think the christian church somehow had less sex offenders amongst it's ranks?

[ummmm]

No...it would seem that only Catholic priests are guilty of this.

[stokemaveric]

its not being highlighted as such captain has it?...that is if it has happened..but who knows what goes on in the church [of all denominations]....??

[Jan1957]

Surely only Catholics should pay for this. Us atheists shouldn't be charged a penny.

[stokemaveric]

thank god im an atheist jan....

[tinkerbell23]

my taxes get spent on things i dont agree with....such is life!!!