MAY 29 1982 saw a crowd of 80,000 in Wembley Stadium. The venue that had seen England’s World Cup Final victory and would later host Live Aid was packed for the first mass of Pope John Paul II’s tour of the UK.

Pope Benedict XVI’s first visit to Britain is likely to be a more restrained affair, and has triggered a controversy which would have been unthinkable 28 years ago.

But for many Roman Catholics, who make up a large and growing segment of the population, this Papal visit is just as important.

Around 100 people will take a coach from Bournemouth to see the Pope at Hyde Park, and another 70 will go to Birmingham. Many more are likely to make their own way to the events.

Father Denis Blackledge, priest at Corpus Christi church in Boscombe, says this visit, which starts on September 16, will be a chance for many people to get to know the Pope.

He believes many have the wrong impression of the pontiff, based on his former reputation as the Vatican’s “enforcer” of religious orthodoxy.

“People say he’s the most approachable and lovely man to deal with. He was known as ‘God’s Rotweiler’ because of the job he had,” he says.

Bournemouth West MP Conor Burns, a practising Catholic, says this visit will be different from that of 1982. “John Paul II was a charismatic, anti-Communist, campaigning Pope. This bloke is a German theologian so perhaps doesn’t have the same pulling power,” he says.

But for Mr Burns, the significance of this trip is that it is a state visit. And it will see the Pope honoured by the monarchy and the Church of England, almost five centuries after Sir Thomas More was put to death for denying the religious authority of Henry VIII.

“The historic significance of the pope from Rome coming to Westminster Hall, getting an introduction to the Queen and standing with the Archbishop of Canterbury at the point where Sir Thomas More was condemned to death, is a sign that Catholicism is back in the mainstream of British society,” he says.

Preparations for this visit have seen angry criticism of the Pope, following revelations about child abuse by Catholic priests and criticisms of the church’s stand on contraception, IVF and stem cell research. Authors Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens attempted to mount a legal case for the Pope to be arrested for “crimes against humanity”.

The National Secular Society has been selling “Pope Nope” T-shirts, while polls suggest public opposition to the taxpayer picking up a bill of up to £12million.

Conor Burns, however, says he is “relaxed” about criticism of the church.

Former Poole mayor Cllr Judy Butt is a Eucharist minister at St Mary’s Church in Poole, which can claim a 4,000-strong flock and sees 800 people at its three masses each Sunday.

She says the Pope may even welcome the controversy on his visit.

“It’s not only a great instigator of debate and opinion, it actually allows the people of Britain to have something to say about faith rather than say nothing,” she says.

“It’s about having an opinion, it’s about disagreeing, it’s about challenging and it’s about discussing your doubts.

“He wants to hear people say ‘No, I don’t agree with you’.”

Father Denis Blackledge adds. “People like Richard Dawkins and Peter Tatchell, if they want to do their thing, they can do their thing. It’s a free country, but do it respectfully.

“Some of the things that have happened in recent years, particularly the child abuse scandals in Britain and Ireland, have rocked people. But I think the Pope is the first one who’s taken it very seriously and who’s done something about it and who’s actually sacked a few people in high places.”

He believes the Pope may deal, albeit quietly, with some of the recent scandals while he is in Britain. “My quiet little hope is that he would quietly meet up with one or two of the people from Ireland who have been abused. I think that would bring a lot of healing to people.”

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