Pope bids Britain farewell with call for fresh proclamation of Gospel

Pope Benedict XVI departed from Britain today with a fresh call to proclaim the Gospel, as the Vatican hailed his visit a “great success”.

In an address to Catholic bishops from England, Wales and Scotland at Oscott College, Birmingham, the Pope said there was an “urgent need to proclaim the Gospel afresh in a highly secularised environment”.

He said: “In the course of my visit it has become clear to me how deep a thirst there is among the British people for the Good News of Jesus Christ.

“As you proclaim the coming of the Kingdom, with its promise of hope for the poor and needy, the sick and the elderly, the unborn and the neglected, be sure to present in its fullness the life-giving message of the Gospel, including those elements which call into question the widespread assumptions of today’s culture.”

The secularisation of society has been a recurring theme in the Pope’s addresses during his four-day state visit.

In an address to the Queen and other dignitaries, the Pope warned of “aggressive forms of secularism” and the consequences of leaving God out of society, before expressing his concern over the “marginalisation” of religion in Britain in an address to politicians in Westminster Hall.

In his address to bishops today, the Pope turned his attention again to the “shameful” abuse of children by Catholic priests, saying that the scandal had seriously undermined the moral credibility of Church leaders.

“I have spoken on many occasions of the deep wounds that such behaviour causes, in the victims first and foremost, but also in the relationships of trust that should exist between priests and people, between priests and their bishops, and between the Church authorities and the public,” he said.

The Pope went on to address the global financial crisis, saying it caused hardship for countless individuals.

“The spectre of unemployment is casting its shadow over many people’s lives, and the long-term cost of the ill-advised investment practices of recent times is becoming all too evident,” he said.

“The prophetic voice of Christians has an important role in highlighting the needs of the poor and disadvantaged, who can so easily be overlooked in the allocation of limited resources.”

He said the crisis provided an opportunity to reinforce the importance of virtue in public life and encourage people to aspire to higher moral values “against a background of growing cynicism regarding even the possibility of virtuous living”.

The climax of his visit was the beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman – now Blessed John Henry Newman – before 50,000 faithful in Birmingham’s Crofton Park.

His visit has been hailed a success by Catholics, who believe it has helped win the affection of the British people to the Pope and laid the ground for further work in regaining the people’s trust in the Catholic Church after the child abuse scandal.

Vatican spokesman the Rev Federico Lombardi said the Pope’s visit had been a “great success”, even with the crowds being smaller than those who turned out for John Paul II’s visit in 1982.

He told reporters that the real marker of the visit’s success was the fact that “the message of the Pope was received with respect and joy by the faithful”.

In his farewell speech to the Pope at Birmingham airport, Prime Minister David Cameron said it was a “good thing” that the Pope had “challenged the whole country to sit up and think”.

He said: “Faith is part of the fabric of our country. It always has been and it always will be.”