The missing Pope petition

By WILLIAM CRAWLEY - WILL & TESTAMENT RELIGION BLOG @BBC
Added: Sun, 18 Jul 2010 18:17:43 UTC

A 10 Downing Street petition critical of the Pope has been removed by Whitehall officials more than three months before it was due to close. During the short period it was online, the petition gathered 12,339 signatures. This is the full text of the petition:

"We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to disassociate the British government from the Pope's intolerant views ahead of the Papal visit to Britain in September 2010. We urge the Prime Minister to make it clear that his government disagrees with the Pope's opposition to women's reproductive rights, gay equality, embryonic stem cell research and the use of condoms to prevent the spread of HIV. We ask the Prime Minister to express his disagreement with the Pope's role in the cover-up of child sex abuse by Catholic clergy, his rehabilitation of the Holocaust-denying bishop Richard Williamson, and his decree paving the way for the beatification and sainthood of the war-time Pope, Pius XII, who stands accused of failing to speak out against the Holocaust. We also request the Prime Minister to assure us that the Pope's visit will not be financed by the British taxpayer."

The Prime Minister's office has now posted a response to the petition, which, in part, reads:
"Pope Benedict XVI will visit the UK from 16 to 19 September at the invitation of Her Majesty The Queen. The visit is described as a Papal Visit with the status of a State Visit."
...
"The Holy See has a global reach and so is a valuable international partner for the UK Government."
...
"Since the visit has the status of a State Visit, and some parts of the programme are being organised by the British Government, a proportion of the costs of the Visit will fall to the Government."
Click here for the full text.

The Protest the Pope coalition, which posted the original petition, have rejected the government's response and expressed their disappointment that an online petition has been removed ahead of time. Their spokesman, human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, says: "It is appalling that the government is not willing to disassociate itself from the Pope's extremist, fundamentalist opinions. Even many Catholics criticise him as intolerant and out of touch."

The Protest the Pope Coalition plan to rally against the Pope's visit on Saturday 18 September in London.