Pope Benedict steps into gusts of controversy in Britain

Pope Benedict XVI stepped into blustery winds and controversies as he began his visit to Britain today.

He addressed the leading item even before arrival, using his in-flight press moment as he has on several recent trips to apologize for the clergy sexual abuse crisis.

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Now he merely must face the other issues testy Brits are throwing up at him. These range from challenges to the church's stance on religious education in an increasingly secular society to the Catholic Church's teaching -- unalterable say recent popes -- on women's ordination. There are many in the Church of England angry that he abruptly threw the gates of Rome open to Anglican traditionalists who oppose having women bishops.

The next four days will see if he garners friendly crowds, if the words of love, peace, outreach -- and apology -- are heard above the din. Reuters' FaithWorld is carrying texts of Benedict's speeches. Also, the official papal visit site is webcasting.

Catholic News Service reporter John Thavis, who was on the papal flight from Rome, says the pope described the still-boiling sex abuse scandal...

... a shock, and a great sadness. It is difficult to understand how this perversion of the priestly ministry was possible.

Thavis wrote that Benedict told the media on board,

... it was inexplicable to him how a priest who has promised at his ordination to act in the person of Christ, as a good shepherd, could "fall into this perversion."

"It is a great sadness. It is a sadness, also, that the authority of the church was not vigilant enough, was not sufficiently fast and decisive in taking the necessary measures."

For all these reasons, he said, the church is experiencing a moment of penitence and humility, making an effort to renew its "absolute sincerity."

He also said the church's "first priority" is the recovery of sex abuse victims -- to help victims "overcome their traumas, and restore their trust in the message of Christ; to "mete out justice to guilty priests and help make sure they are excluded from any contact with young people," and to prevent future cases by carefully screening candidates for priesthood.

Then, from the moment he arrived in Edinburgh, Benedict hit directly on the education issues, saying:

Today, the United Kingdom strives to be a modern and multicultural society. In this challenging enterprise, may it always maintain its respect for those traditional values and cultural expressions that more aggressive forms of secularism no longer value or even tolerate. Let it not obscure the Christian foundation that underpins its freedoms...

In his sermon delivered later in the day, the British Broadcasting Company reports he said a "dictatorship of relativism" threatens "to obscure the unchanging truth about man's nature, his destiny and his ultimate good," with some seeking "to exclude religious belief from public discourse, to privatize it or even to paint it as a threat to equality and liberty." The pope reportedly said,

Society today needs clear voices which propose our right to live, not in a jungle of self-destructive and arbitrary freedoms, but in a society which works for the true welfare of its citizens and offers them guidance and protection in the face of their weakness and fragility.

These themes are familiar, of course, part of the pope's most fundamental message since his election in 2005 and in all his travels. Yet he never seems to draw the attention to his presence or his ideas that went to his exuberant globe-trotting predecessor, Pope John Paul II, although the message is only changed by the messenger.

A new collection of photos and commentary that may counterbalance all the critical books on Benedict goes on sale in the U.S. Sunday, Benedict XVI: Essays and Reflections on His Papacy, edited by Sister Mary Ann Walsh, spokeswoman for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Rather than a pope stepping into rough weather, hanging on to his hat, Walsh's book, according to the press release, highlights images and essays, she says show,

... a man who can walk calmly through troubled times as he seeks to heal wounds and bring people together. He has faced the searing sexual abuse scandal with compassion and moved head-on to meet inter-religious challenges to build understanding among diverse people...

Will anyone in Edinburgh or London agree? Benedict seems to have that papal trait of infinite patience. On the arrival flight, he told reporters,

I would say that a church that is trying above all to be attractive is already on the wrong road. Because the church is not working for itself, it is not working to increase its numbers. The church is at the service of others.

Catholic or not, have you learned something from Pope Benedict XVI about God or faith or the way to live in the world?

;NOTE: Be civil in your comments. All views, respectfully presented are welcome.