Aboard the papal plane, Sep 16, 2010 / 03:57 am
The Holy Father remarked that it was with "great courage and joy" that he traveled to Great Britain on Thursday. Despite the U.K.'s history of anti-Catholicism, the Pope noted that he was sure he would be met with "tolerance."
On the way to Scotland for the first day of his four-day apostolic journey to the U.K., the Holy Father answered several questions posed to him by reporters through Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi.
The issues covered in his traditional "press conference" on papal flights often closely mirror the main points of his overall message on apostolic journeys. Matters ranged from his reception in the U.K. to a loss of trust among Church members for cases of sexual abuse and Cardinal John Henry Newman's relevance today.
Asked first if he was concerned about how the U.K. visit might pan out, considering contrasting voices in the media leading up to the visit, the Holy Father responded immediately, "I must say that I'm not worried."