John Haldane: This is Pope Benedict's real message to Scotland

In the course of the preceding trial, she had addressed the court, saying: "Remember, gentlemen, the theatre of history is wider than the realm of England."

The following year, on 28 May, with the impact of Mary's death still reverberating across Catholic Europe, the Spanish Armada set sail from Lisbon with the aim of landing in Kent and taking London. The purpose of the invasion was not to conquer England, let alone to rule it as part of the Spanish empire. Rather, King Philip II hoped to return the country to the Catholic faith, returning the land and buildings to the Church, reopening the monasteries and convents, and restoring Catholic worship.

Two figures were required for the plan: a Catholic cardinal to head the Church and a Catholic sovereign to rule the country. The first would be William Allen, then in exile in France; but with Mary's death, there was a problem finding a sovereign. Her son, James VI of the Scots, had been raised a Protestant and assured Elizabeth of his loyal support. In the event, of course, the invasion failed, and save for the period of James VII/II who had converted to Catholicism, and the Scottish disturbances of 1715 and 1745, the reformation settlements remained secure on both sides of the Border.

It seems timely to record this history because, to judge from some recent reports, one might think the present Pope is set to resume the battle for the soul of Britain. First, there was last November's document, Anglicanorum Coetibus, in which Pope Benedict is said to have made a bid to bring Anglican bishops, clergy and congregations en masse into the Church of Rome. Then last week, there were the reported attacks on Labour's equality legislation, on the grounds that it was at odds with God's law, followed by similar denunciations of proposed euthanasia legislation in Scotland, and disparaging remarks about the Reformation and its legacy of sectarianism.

Given the Pope is scheduled to visit Britain later in the year, it would, indeed, be striking were he now to be engaged in the sort of campaign that is alleged. In reality, however, the story is quite otherwise and is best told by sticking to the facts. First, the "Apostolic Constitution", regarding the admission of Anglicans, was not an initiative but a long-awaited response to repeated approaches.

In 1991, a group of Anglican churches from across the world formed an association known as Traditional Anglican Communion (TAC), hoping to preserve the historical faith from drifting into schism and heresy. Their hope was for a return to orthodoxy, but 15 years later, they had concluded that the task was impossible and in October 2007, the bishops of TAC met to sign a letter requesting admission en bloc to the Roman Catholic Church. In July 2008, Rome replied, saying it was giving the matter serious consideration, and only 15 months after that did the Pope offer a positive response to the request. Hardly an opportunistic bid to take over Anglicanism.

What, then, of the more recent statements. Context is all. Last week, the Pope was addressing the bishops of England and Wales, and those of Scotland during their "ad limina" visits to Rome. It is worth noting that these were separate visits, because the Churches north and south are distinct. There is no such thing as the British Catholic Church. Rather, there are on this island, as there are across the globe, a number of national Catholic Churches. What makes a member of one of these a "Roman" is that his or her bishop is in communion with the Bishop of Rome.

As an expression of that communion and to strengthen it, the bishops of a nation travel "ad limina", meaning "to the threshold or doorstep", of the Apostles in Rome. This has gone on for centuries in the belief that bishops are the successors of the first apostles, and in the conviction that, in view of its double foundation through Peter and Paul, Rome is the Mother Church.

Interestingly, for the same reason, the "primacy" of the See of Rome is also widely acknowledged by Anglicans and Eastern Orthodox, though, of course, they do not accept the supreme authority of its bishop, the Pope.

So, when the Pope addressed the various British churchmen last week, he was speaking to them as fellow bishops, discussing the situation in their home nations and encouraging them in their work there. He was not addressing the Anglican Church or the Westminster parliament, or the Church of Scotland, or Holyrood; nor was he was he engaged in counter-reformation polemics. To see the last point in particular, it is worth quoting his actual words.

He said: "It is sobering to recall the great rupture with Scotland's Catholic past that occurred 450 years ago. I give thanks to God for the progress that has been made in healing the wounds that were the legacy of that period, especially the sectarianism that has continued to rear its head even in recent times. Through your participation in Action of Churches Together in Scotland, see that the work of rebuilding unity among the followers of Christ is carried forward with constancy and commitment."

Far from being anti-ecumenical, this is an acknowledgement of mutual suffering, an appreciation of mutual progress, and an encouragement to work harder with other Christian denominations towards unity.

In his address on behalf of the Scottish bishops, Cardinal Keith O'Brien noted that the date of the papal visit is close to the feast of St Ninian, who, according to tradition, was ordained a bishop in Rome and in the fourth century became the first apostle of Christianity to Scotland. He also spoke of the founding 1,000 years later of the ancient universities of St Andrews, Glasgow and Aberdeen.

This is the history of Scotland's formation as a Christian nation adhering to the value of education and learning, and those are likely to be the themes of the Pope's visit. Then he will address not just priests and ministers, politicians and dignitaries, but the nation as a whole, acknowledging and celebrating a culture while perhaps also reminding us that the theatre of history is wider than we seem to notice.

John Haldane is professor of philosophy at the University of St Andrews.