07 September 2010
Methodist President will meet Pope Benedict XVI
The President of the Methodist Conference, Revd Alison Tomlin,
will meet Pope Benedict XVI during his four day state visit to the
UK next week.
She will travel to Edinburgh on Thursday (September 16) for Pope
Benedict's arrival and Official State Greeting by Her Majesty The
Queen at Holyrood Palace. On Friday (September 17) she will be
presented to Pope Benedict at Westminster Abbey where Church
leaders will join the Archbishop of Canterbury in a celebration of
Evening Prayer.
Revd Alison Tomlin said: "It's great for the whole Church that Pope
Benedict is coming to the UK. It's really important that the
different parts of the Church talk to each other and I am glad
other Church leaders have been invited to meet him.
"Because of my work in spirituality, I meet with a lot of Catholics
involved with Ignatian Spirituality, particularly Jesuit priests.
The Catholic Church has been more ecumenically engaged in this
country than in other countries. It would be good if we could build
on that.
"I think it's important for Methodism that we have been invited to
meet The Pope. I do see it as an acknowledgement of the Methodist
Church in Britain."