• Security hysteria on the Pope's trip to Bavaria
• Gay Catholic youth not wanted
• Vatican's “World Youth Day 2005” funded by European Union
“Make the Pope's visit a pastoral rather than a state one. After all, its main focus ― the beatification of John Henry Newman ― is primarily a Catholic event; and one could argue that, by offering his pastoral guidance to an embattled Church, the Holy Father will achieve far more than by taking part in a state-funded public relations exercise.” ― Catholic Herald, 28 April 2010
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When it comes to papal trips the pope gets the best of both worlds. He claims the diplomatic perks of a head of state to have his visit paid for by the country that has officially invited him [1], yet as a religious leader he doesn’t hesitate to make politically-charged statements about the policies of his hosts [2], which no real visiting head of state could get away with.
The host country is responsible for [the pope’s] travel expenses, room and board, and, most important, [his] large security needs. In order for this arrangement to work in any country that has separation of church and state, the papacy must be recognised as both a religious and political organisation. The host country is often responsible not just for the basic travel expenses, but also for all the street closures, traffic rerouting and police overtime. [3]
Security, the costliest item, was carefully left out of the British Government’s estimates for the cost of the papal visit. [4] However, this includes measures such as closed circuit TV cameras (for public events such as a Pontifical masses), additional police presence on the streets, the assignment of temporary security personnel to the Pope’s entourage, increased intelligence surveillance and the temporary adoption of certain anti-terror measures, such as heightened airport security. [5]
The Pope’s trip to Portugal in May 2010 featured the customary open-air mass with half a million worshippers. [6] Yet, the British state visit in September is shaping up as a tightly-controlled tickets-only event, where even Catholics with tickets will be turned away unless they arrive on buses chartered by their diocese. “Tens of thousands of Catholics will be unable to attend papal events” and thus be denied the chance to see the Pope. [7] If it were a pastoral visit, as recommended by the Catholic Herald, there would be no possibility of protests and one would hope that the faithful could be given better access. Is the Pope’s insistence on being treated as a sovereign interfering with his role as shepherd to his flock?
The popemobile, shipped abroad by air cargo before each papal trip, is a modified Mercedes-Benz M-Class off-road vehicle. It is rugged, powerful and weighs four tons. The Pope sits in a high seat in the back within a cube made of advanced, bulletproof plastic. ...Shortly before the Pope's 2010 tour of Malta in his armoured vehicle, a Maltese enquired if anyone could lend the His Holiness a donkey so that he could use the same transport as Jesus did.
Malta, April 2010: The Government claimed that the papal visit would cost €200,000, but this has been called by one of the country’s leading newspapers “not even enough to pay for the overtime of police officers”, let alone the other security costs. [8]
Furthermore, it is understood that the pope’s personal security costs will be “considerably higher” than when the trip was planned because of an incident during the Christmas Eve Mass at in Rome. As the Pope walked in procession down the aisle of St. Peter’s an unarmed woman scrambled over the barricade and ran towards him. When the black-suited security guards tackled her, she clung to the pope’s robes, pulling him down with her. His mitre and staff clattered to the marble floor, but he was unhurt. [9]
Any government inviting the Pope is responsible for protecting him, even within a church and even from unarmed admirers. In the Vatican the Swiss Guards cope with what they call “religious fanatics” by using pepper spray, however, host governments must take everything very seriously. This is an expensive task and politicians are reluctant to reveal its costs, the British Government going so far as to claim that it could omit security from the estimates because it was covered by “existing budgets”. [10]
Also not acknowledged as associated with the papal visit is the “extensive work being carried out on the country’s roads, the quality of which has already been questioned.” [11] In addition, thousands of flowers have been planted along the papal route. And at the end of his visit, the Maltese taxpayers will pay to fly him out, just as they paid to bring him there. Air Malta flight KM1950 has been chosen to mark the 1,950th anniversary of St. Paul’s visit to the island. [12]
However, the arrival of St. Paul, which this event commemorates, was somewhat different. His ship struck a reef, the hull broke up and the Saint swam ashore. [13] That apostolic visit was accomplished at no cost to the Maltese taxpayers.
Australia, July 2008: The price tag that the Church got an Australian premier to hide has finally been revealed by the Auditor General. On the heels of embarrassing figures showing that the papal youth jamboree scared off tourists, the government of New South Wales has belatedly released figures on the budget shortfall of World Youth Day, July 2008. As a visiting head of state, Benedict XVI had his accommodation and (massive) security paid for by his hosts and now the taxpayers will have to come up with 100 million Australian dollars more.
In preparation for the Pope’s visit to Sydney, Australia, the premier of New South Wales had a financial statement drawn up which he said showed the papal jamboree would bring in $150 million Australian. Then the Catholic Church got the Government of Premier Morris Iemma, who happens to be Catholic, to exempt this report from the Freedom of Information Act, claiming it would be against the public interest to allow anyone to check the figures. [14] All that could be gleaned was that $41 million in public funds was paid to the race track where the event was held and it's been estimated that at least another $20 million was spent on security. Not included here is the cost of providing emergency services and of billeting pilgrims in state schools. [15]
Until late November Premier Iemma's government was still resolutely refusing to reveal the price tag for "the joy it brought to our city". Later, however, Tourism Australia released figures suggesting that far fewer attended the World Youth Day than the Church had estimated. And most of the “pilgrims” who did turn up, quite naturally took the free accommodation provided by the state and didn't use hotels. [16] Furthermore, the tourism department's figures indicate that the event actually ended up costing Sydney some 63,000 visitors who preferred not to spend their holiday in a city full of fervent teenagers. Yet even long after the event the information on the government's expenses is still being treated like a state secret. [17]
In the wake of news of the tourist shortfall, the financial shortfall was made public when the Auditor General was finally allowed to release his “top secret” report. According to this, the Australian taxpayers will have to pay an additional $100 million AUD (about £42.3 million British pounds). [18]
France, September 2008: The costs to the taxpayer of the papal visit to Paris and Lourdes from 12-15 September, are still being held secret. However, from the security measures alone it's clear that also this papal visit didn't come cheap. [19] A few highlights:
Two “popemobiles”, each weighing 4 tons, were flown in by military Hercules C-130 transport planes to Paris 10 days in advance so that the police could become proficient in driving them.
In Paris 2000 police formed a network through the capital, the river brigade was mobilised to watch the banks of the Seine, and sharpshooters were posted on high points.
Glass bottles, large flags, banners, posters or signs were forbidden.
About 72 hours before the pope's arrival in Lourdes, the holy site was “decontaminated” by mine detectors.
Company Number One of motorcyclists from France's élite riot police controlled the entrance to the football stadium where the pope would hold the rally. The local airport of Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrénées was guarded by police, while the hills which overlook the town were patrolled by the mounted brigade.
And finally, Lourdes was blanketed with an aerial security cordon extending for 20 kilometres in all directions, where radar, planes and missiles would be prevented from attacking the pope.
What all this security cost the French taxpayers has never been revealed.
However, for the 2006 papal trip the government took stronger measures: it banned outright the sale of spirits in the cities visited by the Pope — but not, of course, in the duty-free shops for tourists. Thus in Kraków the only place where you could buy vodka during the Pope's visit was at the John Paul II Airport.Brazil, May 2007: Nor do we know the true cost to the Brazilian taxpayers of the papal visit estimated at 50 million Brazilian reais [20] (about 28 million US dollars or 18 million British pounds) — a trip which the Pope used to urge the signing of a concordat.
A massive security operation — the greatest ever adopted in Brazil — was launched to protect the Pope, with some 10,000 police agents as well as helicopters, cameras and two bulletproof popemobiles. [21] However, at least they didn't have to pay as much as the Vatican was expecting. “Reportedly, the Vatican was quite ‘upset’ that Brazil was unable to organise (and pay for) the Pope’s return air trip to Rome.” [22]
Germany, September 2006: Also not revealed are the expenses footed by the German taxpayers from Benedict XVI's first papal trip, (9-14 September 2006). However, in the course of the preparations for it, the president of the Bavarian Police Union, Harald Schneider got a look at the cost of the Pope’s security. This led Schneider to remark that it would have been cheaper if the German taxpayers had given every Catholic pilgrim who wanted it, a round-trip ticket to go and see the Pope in Rome. [23]
Of course, in the end both the Australian and the German taxpayers can afford to subsidise the pope. But unfortunately, papal trips are not confined to lands like these. The much-travelled John Paul II visited 129 different countries, few of them as wealthy as Australia and Germany.
Angola, March 2009: In addition to the cost of the 10,000 police officers, there was security in the form of anti-terrorism measures such as sharpshooters to protect the route taken by the Popemobile. [24] One wonders who protected the poor Angolans from police who are noted for practicing with complete impunity “arbitrary arrests and unlawful detention, torture and ill-treatment, deaths in police custody and extrajudicial executions”. [25]
Tanzania, September 1990: At that time the former nun, Maria Lauda/Majella Lenzen, was working in a Tanzanian hospital. (She was later expelled from the Sisters of the Precious Blood for distributing condoms to fight the epidemic there of AIDS. [26]) As she relates, “Suddenly the order came for every villager to pay 1000 Tanzanian shillings for the necessary security measures. That’s a month’s wages for a family. But, in order to save face, almost everyone paid up. Even when they had to incur large debts”. [27]
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See also: Papal trips: both “pilgrimages” and “state visits”
Further reading about the Pope’s Australian trip: Max Wallace, “World Youth Day wash up”, Online Opinion, 5 February 2009.
Notes
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http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=8475
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Source: http://www.concordatwatch.eu/showtopic.php?org_id=872&kb_header_id=28331
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