Publisher brands Pope a Nazi

Published on Wednesday 8 September 2010 16:28

A PROMINENT Christian bookshop owner and publisher has sparked outrage after dubbing the Pope "a Nazi from the Vatican".

&#149 Dr Danson-Smith says most people don't want the Pope to visit Edinburgh

Dr Theodore Chalmers Danson-Smith, owner of the city's McCall Balfour book store on George IV Bridge, has written to the Queen, Prime Minister David Cameron and the Evening News, claiming the Papal visit has been "planned to visit a very small minority of citizens" and that the city would not welcome any other religious leader in the same way.

Dr Danson-Smith, who is an often controversial independent minister, also criticised the city council for allowing the roads to be closed on September 16.

In the letter to the News, he wrote: "It appears that the city council have decided to close off most of the city roads on the 16th to facilitate the presence of a Nazi from the Vatican.

"Many Scots died through the influence of Nazi Germany in the last war. Many people in our city will be greatly hampered in getting around.

"Furthermore, this visit is planned to please a very small minority of citizens.

"Would the City Fathers close off all the roads for a similar visit from Lord Bannside? (Ian Paisley] I think not."

When contacted by the Evening News, Dr Danson-Smith defended his claims.

He said: "I don't think my letter would be regarded as anything that controversial really. There's an awful lot of ill-feeling about this visit.

"The thing is that the man is not wanted here. Edinburgh is nominally 95 per cent non-Catholic."

But Peter Kearney, a spokesman for the Catholic Church in Scotland, said: "These very offensive comments should not be dignified with a response. There's no question that remarks like this are thankfully in no way representative of wider Scottish opinion.

"It's a matter of fact that as a teenager Joseph Ratzinger, like his entire generation, was forceably conscripted into the Hitler Youth and the German army. The fact that he subsequently deserted speaks volumes."

City leader Councillor Jenny Dawe insisted the Pope's visit was a "superb opportunity" for Edinburgh to be seen on the world stage and to "showcase the city as an excellent host of major events".

This is not the first time that the McCall Balfour book store has sparked controversy. In 1995 it stocked a comic titled Doom Town, the story of Sodom, which was soon anonymously sent to the Lothian Gay and Lesbian Switchboard.

It was accompanied by hate mail, stating that "AIDS is God's judgment on your actions."