Pope jokes lead to apology from UK
Source: Agencies |
April 26, 2010, Monday
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BRITAIN'S Foreign Office yesterday issued an apology to the Pope after publication of an internal memo in which officials joked he could open an abortion clinic, launch a range of condoms or sing a duet with the Queen during a four-day visit in September.
The document, sections of which were published in The Sunday Telegraph newspaper, also proposed the Pope could bless a gay marriage, and acknowledge the clerical sex-abuse scandal by establishing a hotline for abused children, or honoring abuse whistleblowers.
Junior officials wrote the memo following a brainstorming session intended to discuss ideas for the visit, the first to Britain by the head of the Catholic Church since Pope John Paul II in 1982.
Though some included advice for Britain's government on how to approach the abuse scandal, the ministry condemned many of the proposals as "ill-judged, naive and disrespectful."
Britain's Ambassador to the Vatican, Francis Campbell, met senior Vatican officials, offering a formal apology, and one individual involved in drafting the memo had been transferred to other duties, the ministry said.
'Far-fetched'
"The Foreign Office very much regrets this incident and is deeply sorry for the offense which it has caused," the ministry said in a statement.
"We strongly value the close and productive relationship between the UK government and the Holy See and look forward to deepening this further with the visit of Pope Benedict to the UK."
The document featured a diagram listing people likely to have an influential role during, or in commenting on, the visit - which ranked Scottish singer Susan Boyle, the surprise reality-TV star, as more important than Archbishop of Westminster Vincent Nichols, the head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales.
An accompanying note acknowledged many ideas contained in the memo were extreme. "These should not be shared externally," it read, saying the document was "the product of a brainstorm which took into account even the most far-fetched of ideas."
Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said an apology from Britain had been received through the Holy See's Embassy. "They supplied all the explanations, and there is nothing to add," Lombardi said.
The document, sections of which were published in The Sunday Telegraph newspaper, also proposed the Pope could bless a gay marriage, and acknowledge the clerical sex-abuse scandal by establishing a hotline for abused children, or honoring abuse whistleblowers.
Junior officials wrote the memo following a brainstorming session intended to discuss ideas for the visit, the first to Britain by the head of the Catholic Church since Pope John Paul II in 1982.
Though some included advice for Britain's government on how to approach the abuse scandal, the ministry condemned many of the proposals as "ill-judged, naive and disrespectful."
Britain's Ambassador to the Vatican, Francis Campbell, met senior Vatican officials, offering a formal apology, and one individual involved in drafting the memo had been transferred to other duties, the ministry said.
'Far-fetched'
"The Foreign Office very much regrets this incident and is deeply sorry for the offense which it has caused," the ministry said in a statement.
"We strongly value the close and productive relationship between the UK government and the Holy See and look forward to deepening this further with the visit of Pope Benedict to the UK."
The document featured a diagram listing people likely to have an influential role during, or in commenting on, the visit - which ranked Scottish singer Susan Boyle, the surprise reality-TV star, as more important than Archbishop of Westminster Vincent Nichols, the head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales.
An accompanying note acknowledged many ideas contained in the memo were extreme. "These should not be shared externally," it read, saying the document was "the product of a brainstorm which took into account even the most far-fetched of ideas."
Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said an apology from Britain had been received through the Holy See's Embassy. "They supplied all the explanations, and there is nothing to add," Lombardi said.
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