Pope Benedict's Trip to the UK - Weekly Roundup 7/18-7/24

• Faithful in England prepare for Cardinal Newman beatification Birmingham's Cofton Park is set to be filled with Catholics for Cardinal John Henry Newman's beatification ceremony on Sept. 19. The momentum of the occasion is bringing attention to several projects to remember the late cardinal. (Catholic News Agency. July 24, 2010).

• Tens of thousands of people are expected to attend Pope Benedict's Mass in Birmingham The Mass is at the end of the Pope's four-day UK visit. It will be attended by more than 1,000 priests. (BBC News July 23, 2010).

• Miracle deacon to have role at Newman Mass Deacon Jack Sullivan, from Massachusetts, whose spinal disorder was healed after he prayed for the intercession of Cardinal Newman, will proclaim the Gospel and act as deacon when Pope Benedict XVI beatifies Newman in September. (Catholic Herald July 23, 2010).

• "Why are the media so utterly hostile to the Pope?" asks Milo Yiannopoulos. "The sneering vitriol heaped upon the Holy Father in advance of the visit in September has been staggering." (Catholic Herald July 22, 2010).
  

• Priest in English diocese sees ‘great excitement’ ahead of papal visit to UK Catholic News Agency. July 21, 2010.
  

• Pope's visit: What happened to the major exhibition of Vatican treasures at the Royal Academy?, by Damian Thompson. July 21, 2010.
  

• British police have said they are monitoring the internet for threats against the Pope and attempts to disrupt the papal visit in September (Catholic Herald July 21, 2010):

  Chief Constable Meredydd Hughes, who is co-ordinating the national police effort for the papal visit, said police were monitoring extremist websites and other media that appear to be targeting the Pope.
  

  He was reacting to reports that an Islamist website has urged Birmingham Muslims to disrupt the papal Mass at Cofton Park.
  

  Chief Constable Hughes said: “We are aware of this website and are monitoring it closely, as indeed we are monitoring all such websites and media.

• BBC Prepares "Balanced" Coverage of Papal Visit: Reality Betrays the Rhetoric, by Edward Pentin (Zenit, July 22, 2010):

  When Mark Thompson, the director general of the British Broadcasting Corporation, came to Rome in February to prepare coverage of the upcoming papal visit to Britain, he denied the BBC had an innate bias against the Catholic Church.
  

  He and other BBC managers believe that coverage, like much of its programming, is respectful and balanced, and that programs on the Church are of a high standard.
  

  But as the papal visit nears, how true is this?

• UK Prepares Highest Level of Welcome for Pope Zenit's Genevieve Pollock interviews Monsignor Andrew Summersgill, coordinator for the Sept. 16-19 Papal visit to the United Kingdom, about the preparations for the Pope's visit. Monsignor Summersgill explained the significance of the invitation to the Pope by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and some of the ways in which Catholics are being prepared for the visit of the Holy Father. July 21, 2010.