Pope visits Catholic schools in Britain before key meeting with head of Anglican church

Pope visits UK Catholic schools, urges trust

LONDON — Thousands of cheering Catholic schoolchildren feted Pope Benedict XVI on his second day in Britain on Friday, offering a boisterous welcome even as the pontiff urged their teachers to make sure to provide a trusting, safe environment.

It was the second time in as many days that Benedict had referred to the church sex abuse scandal, following his acknowledgment Thursday that the Roman Catholic Church had failed to act quickly or decisively enough to remove pedophile priests from ministry.

Polls in Britain indicate widespread dissatisfaction with the way Benedict has handled the sex abuse scandal, with Catholics nearly as critical of the pope as the rest of the population. Benedict’s four-day visit to the U.K. has been clouded by the abuse scandal, as well as by opposition to many of his policies and widespread indifference to his presence in this deeply secular country.

Catholics are a minority in Britain at 10 percent, and up until the early 19th century, they endured harsh persecution and discrimination and were even killed for their faith. King Henry VIII broke with Rome in the 16th century after he was denied a marriage annulment.

Benedict was to meet with the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams later Friday amid new tensions between the Anglican and Catholic churches and celebrate an ecumenical service in Westminster Abby.

His main event Friday was an afternoon speech to British politicians, businessmen and cultural leaders in Westminster Hall where he was expected to press the need for faith to help shape public policy.

In the morning, Benedict told Catholic educators at a London university that their role was fundamental to forming future generations who had faith and were responsible citizens of the world. But he also reminded them they must “ensure that our schools provide a safe environment for children and young people.”

“Our responsibility toward those entrusted to us for their Christian formation demands nothing less,” he said. “Indeed, the life of faith can only be effectively nurtured when the prevailing atmosphere is one of respectful and affectionate trust.”

Outside the university hall, some 4,000 young students, outfitted in prim school uniforms and waving small white-and-yellow Holy See flags, gathered in a field to serenade the pontiff with songs and hymns.

“For us, our school, it’s very important,” student Maresha Barnes, 13, said. “We have a picture of the pope in the lunch hall.”

A few blocks away, some 30 people opposed to the pope’s stand against homosexuality and the church’s ban on using condoms to fight AIDS protested, holding up inflated condoms and posters. “Condoms are not crimes,” read one. Another read: “Science flies you to the moon: religion flies you into buildings.”

Michael Clark, a 60-year-old cleaner, said he was protesting because he was gay and annoyed that the pope’s visit — which is expected to cost British taxpayers 12 million pounds ($18.7 million) for security — was being funded by the state.

“That means it’s being supported by taxpayers and people who may not have the same ideas,” Clark said. “Sexuality is not evil.”

Benedict began his four-day U.K. state visit on Thursday, greeted by Queen Elizabeth II at Holyroodhouse Palace in Edinburgh, Scotland. In his speech to the queen, the German-born pope warned against “aggressive forms” of secularism and recalled how Britain had stood against “Nazi tyranny that wished to eradicate God from society.”

AP reporters Raphael G. Satter and Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report.