At the last count there were an estimated 4.2 million Catholics in this country. Perhaps they'd each like to donate the £5 per person required to pay for the visit from this rather odious individual.
They might be counting people like me that have the paperwork to claim catholicism but I would pay the fiver to keep him out.
There are an increased number at the moment as a lot of communist immigrants from Poland and Lithuania are catholics as are some of the Africans from places where misionaries have meddled.
Hi all! 
back online again! phew.
I see David Cameron has hailed the Pope's visit to Britain tomorrow as “incredibly important and historic”
Hmm that's not the same as 'good' though is it. In any case I disagree that it is important. Hardly [i]that significant even to catholics. It's not like they have to actually see the pope to believe he exists. 
He went on to say that the Pontiff’s arrival should lead to “searching questions” being asked about how we treat each other.
Indeed it should. We should look at how the pope has treated others and decide on the best way to treat him. Is it too late to bring back the stocks?
Terry Pratchett has added his voice to many other celebrities objecting to the visit being accorded that of "state visit". I've always respected Terry, but that's gone up a further notch now.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11309357
He's in some pretty good company, too!
I suppose it's progress in a way - can't be too long ago that nobody would have been able even to publish a letter criticizing His Holeiness the Poop.
One of the pope's senior aides has compared Heathrow as being in a third world country. It is thought that the jibe was to do with BA's former secular stance on wearing a cross by one of its staff. However, he is misinformed since BA now allows its staff to wear iconic jewellery for whatever superstition they like. That he is now being pulled from the visit is reportedly on account of his having gout, and nothing to do with his religious intolerance of people who don't believe his silly fairy stories.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11317441
Now if we could just get the rest of them to stay away too .... 
Doesn't garlic work?
Also I should think some of them must flinch at touching holy water these days with their consciences.
His Holiness "extends the hand of friendship to all UK citizens" then compares atheist extremism to that of the Nazis. Well, it's not ALL UK citizens then is it, Herr Ratzinger?
I just wonder how you can make non-belief in a mythical deity out to be extremism. He should at first learn the meaning of the word; outspokenness is NOT extremism, and neither is freedom of speech.
Like so many religious nuts he cannot understand people who can be truly good and generous people without the threat of eternal damnation to ensure that they continue to be so.
Meanwhile, even as he preaches his message, his church is selling cheap tat at every opportunity to maximise profit from his visit. His homophobic, anti-humanist, money-grabbing, child molesting organisation is rotten to the core, as he also is.
Lovin' your work here Eccles 
and everyone 
The thirdworld country thing, he might just have got away with in a 'my this terminal looks a bit crap doesn't it with the trestle tables and the peeling posters' sort of way'. It was the apology afterwards about how the aide 'in no way intended to be racist' that rather gave it all away 
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