Pope urged to avoid 'provocative statements'

THE Pope has been urged by his Scottish advisers to avoid making comments that could be seen as provocative during his visit to Scotland later this month.

• Pope Benedict XVI. Pic: Getty

Professor John Haldane, a professor of philosophy at the University of St Andrews who was appointed to the Pontifical Council for Culture in 2005, has advised the Vatican that instead of taking a confrontational stance against atheists and those of other faiths, he should instead reach out to them.

Haldane told Scotland on Sunday he had urged the Pope to stress that all humans are united in a quest for meaning but often come up with different answers. Benedict XVI is due to address 85,000 pilgrims at Bellahouston Park in Glasgow during an open-air Mass on 16 September.

"I have suggested to the Vatican that his speeches ought to rise above the detail of some of the recent disputes and try to fit them and other things within a larger context," said Haldane.

"I think it would be a good idea to talk about the human quest for meaning and say that, at the heart of human self-awareness is this question 'what is life for', and although people may answer this differently there's a basis for mutual respect and toleration that we recognise.

"You could set into that some of these disputes between, say, atheists and believers, by saying it's a very important difference, but underlying that is a very important similarity: we are each seeking an answer to the question, 'What is the meaning of human life?'"

During his visit, the Pope will face protests from an atheist organisation backed by two of Scotland's best-known authors, who have objected to the fact that the trip has been given the status of a state visit.

Over the next week the Humanist Society of Scotland will send out vans with posters designed to promote humanism, posing the question, 'How many Scots are good without God?'

The following week they will unveil a large poster on the Pope's route to Bellahouston Park in Glasgow claiming that two million live happy and worthwhile lives without religion - approximately 40 per cent of the total population.

Crime writer Christopher Brookmyre, who is president of the HSS said: "The Pope is the poster-boy for secularism. Every time he opens his mouth, he makes the case for a secular society so much more compelling."

Novelist and committed atheist Iain Banks was also critical of the Pontiff.He said: "While I think this particular Pope is a fairly unpleasant individual, the entire Roman Catholic hierarchy has been tainted by its reaction to the various abuse scandals, and the whole institution is essentially inane, preposterous and reactionary," he said.

Several other groups are planning demonstrations in both Edinburgh and Glasgow to coincide with the Pontiff's visit, but police sources believe they will be "strictly protest events."

One group of "militant atheists" has made clear its intentions to stage a demonstration on the Royal Mile, gathering by the statue of David Hume.

Two Protestant organisations are expected to stage protests in the capital, with several other events, loosely gathered under the Protest The Pope movement, anticipated in both cities.

A 7 million security operation is being put in place for the Pope's four-day visit to Britain. More than 4,000 officers from Strathclyde and Lothian and Borders Police are expected to be out in force next Thursday with armed response units on standby. Two bulletproof Popemobiles will be used on the day.