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	Cardinal Pulls out of Pope's Trip to Third World Britain Press and Journal September 16, 2010 http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1920610?UserKey= The Pope's historic state visit to Scotland hit more turbulence last night when a cardinal due to travel with him pulled out of the trip after claiming Britain was like a "third world country". As he prepared to fly to Edinburgh, the pontiff was also facing demands from the survivors of abuse by Catholic priests to "make amends" for their suffering. Vatican officials claimed German-born Cardinal Walter Kasper's decision not to accompany Benedict XVI was based on his ill health. However, the decision followed an interview the 77-year-old cardinal gave to German magazine Focus, in which he commented on the godlessness of a section of UK society and claimed Britain was facing an "aggressive new atheism" and that "Christians were at a disadvantage". Asked about the protests expected to greet the Pope's visit, he remarked on Britain's multicultural population, telling the magazine that someone landing at Heathrow might think they were in a "third world country" as there was such a variety of faces there. Groups planning to protest the papal visit include Scotland's Orange Order, the Church led by veteran Ulster Unionist politician Ian Paisley and the survivors of clerical abuse. A group of abuse victims renewed their calls for the Pope to hand over all information on the scandal that has rocked the Catholic Church and go further than offering an apology. Peter Saunders, chief executive of the National Association for People Abused in Childhood, said: "We need the Pope to say, 'I will hand over all the information I have about abusing priests wherever they are in the world. I will hand it over to the authorities of the countries where these people are being protected'." The Pope is expected to meet child-abuse victims during his four-day visit, which starts in Edinburgh today, but survivors told a news conference in London that they had not heard of anyone being offered an audience with the pontiff. Margaret Kennedy, 57, from Dublin, said she would like to speak to the Pope but did not want a secretive meeting behind closed doors. Sue Cox, 63, from Warwickshire, who was raped by a priest as a child, said she felt offended by the visit and did not want to meet the Pope. "I don't think the Pope should meet abuse victims," she said. "Why would abuse victims want to be part of this publicity stunt? Saying sorry is easy, offensive and inadequate. What he needs to do is make amends." The survivors urged the Catholic Church to provide better funding for the support of abuse victims. Mr Saunders, 53, said: "We need resources. The Catholic Church is the richest organisation in the world. They could make resources available, no strings attached." He added that, if the Pope was a head of state, he should be arrested when he came to the UK. He said: "I'm not a lawyer, but my understanding is he should probably not be accorded a state visit because he's head of something which is not really a state. "But if he was the head of a legitimate state, then I would say that under international law he should probably be arrested, in the same way that we arrested General Pinochet when he was in the country." Meanwhile, activists staged a rally in Edinburgh yesterday calling for tougher action from the Vatican to protect children from clerical sexual abuse. Members of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests had travelled from the US to make their point. Spokeswoman Barbara Blaine, from Chicago, said: "We're hoping Catholics will speak up and demand accountability from the Church officials and that they take dramatic action so that children can be protected." Speaking in the centre of Edinburgh, Ms Blaine, 54, added: "I think the Pope has done enough apologising. We don't need any more lofty words from the Pope. We need concrete action. "We want him to reveal the identities of all the sexual predators, both in Scotland and across the globe. "We believe that the Pope should be announcing that any bishop who covers up for a predator priest will be fired." Thousands of people are expected to greet the Pope when he makes his way through the centre of Edinburgh today before he travels to Glasgow for a huge open-air Mass at Bellahouston Park. He will also visit London and Birmingham and meet the Queen, Prime Minister David Cameron and First Minister Alex Salmond during his stay.
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