Catholics reflect on Pope Benedict's Visit to the UK

• Benedict XVI in UK: Bold and Triumphant: Government and Vatican Hail Success of State Visit (Zenit):

  Benedict XVI's four-day state visit to Britain defied doomsayers and the negative publicity that preceded it, bringing out an estimated 500,000 people in Scotland and England as well as countless others who heard his messages in the media and on the Internet.

  Both the government and the Vatican were delighted with how well it went. Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said it was a “wonderful visit” and, above all, a “spiritual success.”

Pope Benedict XVI waves as he boards the Alitalia jet to Italy on September 19, 2010 in Birmingham, England. Source: Getty Images

• "The key to the Pope's success in Great Britain", by Phil Lawler (Catholic Culture):

  Most of the reporters writing about the papal visit are clearly surprised by this outcome, and more than a few are betraying their disappointment. A week ago the same reporters were predicting a debacle, and some of them were relishing that prospect. The Pope would face angry protesters wherever he turned, they said. The crowds would be small and subdued. There would be empty seats at the Pope’s public appearances. The staid, jaded secular world of Great Britain would listen skeptically, perhaps nod and clap politely, and then quickly move on to other things, dismissing the old man from Rome.

  But Pope Benedict didn’t follow that script. ...

• Pilgrims reflect on Birmingham visit by Pope Benedict (BBC News. September 20, 2010)

• Francis Phillips exclaims "The Holy Father should put his feet up and have a glass of whisky!" The last few days have been stupendous. Here are some immediate impressions. (Catholic Herald)

• The ‘People’s Pope’ made one thing clear: he wants an empowered laity -- And, in some ways, Catholics in Britain have already risen to the challenge Anna Arco (Catholic Herald)

• Bishop Crispian Hollis: Benedict had “gone out of his way to speak not simply to our Catholic community but to the nation” (Catholic Herald)

• Pope Benedict’s UK Visit: The News Everybody Missed, by Raymond Arroyo (National Review "The Corner"):

  The Pope saved the most important news of his visit to the United Kingdom for the end. Most people didn’t even hear or see it. But I imagine Thomas More and John Henry Newman were smiling . . .

• William Oddie: The Pope has routed his enemies and brought joy to the faithful (Catholic Herald)

• Reflections on the Pope's visit: What will the lasting legacy be for the Pope's visit to the UK? - That's the question posed by the BBC to a diverse array of citizens.

• "If only the Archbishop of Canterbury dared to speak with a fraction of Benedict's authority!" Stephen Glover (Daily Mail)

• The Pope in Great Britain, by Joanna Bogle. (Inside Catholic):

  The visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Britain brought so many extraordinary, magnificent, unforgettable moments. It was a time of grace, a time of healing, a time for an unprecedented gathering together of British history, a people somehow making peace with its past.

• "The Pope and the Crowds" (New York Times):

  All in all, the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Britain over the weekend must have been a disappointment to his legions of detractors. Their bold promises notwithstanding, Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens didn’t manage to clap the pope in irons and haul him off to jail. The protests against Benedict’s presence proved a sideshow to the visit, rather than the main event. And the threat (happily empty, it turned out) of an assassination plot provided a reminder of what real religious extremism looks like — as opposed to the gentle scholar, swathed in white, urging secular Britons to look with fresh eyes at their island’s ancient faith. ...

• Benedict Busts Stereotypes - Kathryn Jean Lopez (First Things):

  Leonie Caldecott is a Catholic writer living with her family in Oxford. She and her husband run the Centre for Faith and Culture and work with Thomas More College New Hampshire on a journal of faith and culture, Second Spring, as well as a regular summer school. They are also the U.K. editors of Magnificat is the author of What do Catholics Believe? This weekend, she was among the singers at the beatification Mass for now Blessed John Henry Newman. She talks about the experience and the controversy and where apostles of Christ might go from here ...

• C.S. Lewis, Pope Benedict and Blessed John Henry Newman, by William Van Ornum (America):

  Lewis was a member of “The Inklings”, a group including J.R.R. Tolkien, best known for “The “Hobbit” and “Lord of the Rings,” but also a translator for The New Jerusalem Bible, where his name may be found among the small group of translators. The Inklings met weekly to discuss their ongoing writing projects, their own lives, and politics and culture. So I think it is appropriate, and even valuable, to think about how C. S. Lewis might respond to events in Britain this week were ink still flowing from his pen. ...

• Benedict's Surprising Visit Michael Kelly (Catholic World Report):

  ... It’s too early to tell what the legacy of the visit will be. The hope is that it will serve as a shot in the arm for all Britons and not just Catholics, for, as Prime Minister Cameron observed, the Pope’s message was for all of Britain. The visit has also given many Catholics an opportunity to express their faith in a public, unapologetic fashion. The sight of thousands of young Catholics carrying their rosary beads and papal flags as they marched past Tyburn, where their forefathers were martyred for refusing to renounce their faith, is surely a sign that, as Pope Benedict, “the Church is alive, and, yes, the Church is young.”

• "With Pope Benedict back in Rome, the Catholics of Great Britain are now left to rely on their own bishops for a powerful and unflinching presentation of the faith. Good luck with that." - Diogenes (Off The Record)

• Wrap up of the pope's UK trip National Catholic Reporter senior correspondent John Allen traveled with Pope Benedict XVI during the Sept. 16-19 papal trip to Scotland and England. Other NCR contributors offered commentary and insight during the trip. Following is a complete list of NCR stories covering the trip.

• "Are we still acting surprised when, once again, Pope Benedict turns out to be nothing like the angry caricature so often painted of him?" wonders Margaret Cabaniss (Inside Catholic)

• Papal Visit 2010: a round-up of reactions compiled by Rupert de Lisle (Catholic Herald)

Additional News

• Every parish to receive image and candle blessed by the Pope (Catholic Herald):

  Three thousand images blessed by the Pope will be distributed to parishes in England and Wales as a legacy of the papal visit, the bishops’ conference has announced.

  The images, copies of the pre-Raphaelite William Holman Hunt’s Light of the World, will be distributed to parishes in England and Wales, with 145 being sent to prison chaplains. The framed images are meant for use in prayer groups, as well as schools, prisons, and hospitals, and can be obtained through Catholic parishes.

  Also being distributed to parishes are a similar number of candles, also blessed by the Holy Father.