The Pope’s visit shows that modern Britain remains gripped by its old anti-Catholic hatreds

Katiemac, my friends who were abused were not post-pubescent; they were little boys; little trusting boys who were given by trustin parents into the hands of men and women with a very sick sense of their own sexuality. If you've not ever had to deal face to face with broken bones, broken bodies, or broken lives, then I suggest you go educate yourself, just like I had to do. It is a painful process, but if you follow it through it will give you clarity on this painful sordid matter.

What do I think? I think there are many more thousands of Irish Roman Catholics that hate the Irish Protestant minority than the other way around. As for Muslims, Islam should be outlawed. Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, Great Brittan, Ireland, America, Canada and the West in general is based upon Christian traditions... and that includes the secular West. Pakis, Arabs, Iraqis, Iranians, Afghans, etc., either live according to our Christian ways & traditions... or get the hell out and go back to their Muslim World. Islam has proved across the globe that Muslims don't for long live in harmony with Christians, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, etc., in the lands they migrate to. The old adage remains true.... "When in Rome, do as the Romans do.... or go back to where you came from!"

The intentful neglect by Benedict as Pope, and in his prior postion, to ethically and morally protect children worldwide for the past 20 years has fed the flames of anti Catholicism, while dishonoring past generation of Irish who held steadfast to their faith while they were victimized, starved and evicted from their homes by the Protestants in Ireland. This Pope has had the greatest negative effect on our faith and has made it very difficult for the good parish priests to do their job.

when the brits run the Catholics out of england guess who is going to take there place, Muslims.let see how that gos.

It should never be forgotten that the Norman/English invasion of Ireland was sanctioned by the one and only English pope, Hadrian IV aka Nicholas Breakespeare, who issued the papal bull Laudabiliter to Henry II in 1166. The Vatican has never acknowledged this appalling miscarriage of justice, withdrawn it or apologised for inflicting 800 years of misery on Ireland. After breaking away from Rome, any claims of righteousness for the continued occupation of Ireland by Henry VIII and sequelae should have been invalidated. Ireland, Rome's longest and most loyal supporter, continues to suffer from this histrical abuse and neglect. Can we have a truth commission on this with a joint apology from the Monarchs of Rome and England followed by compensation?

You do of course fail to mention the reasons for the historical anti-catholicism...............

No mention of the thousands of people butchered by the IRA in ulster.De Valera was useless.Like the rest of The Irish establishment.Record nos of people on the dole!

Catholicism is primitive.A s**t cod religion riddled with paedophiles and an old man who thinks he is infallible.People in the southern states of the US have no truck with this nonsense.Lol Lol.

Thanks TomSwinford of course you know the craic, My father worked away in Britain most his working life and we were all reared on that remittance as You rightly put it, and every street around me was the same, tens of thousands of Irish were fully employed in Britain in the 1950s, These were hungry days in Ireland, But with the re-building that was taking place in cities like London as a result of the War the Irish were very much welcomed.and it was indeed a great escape valve for Devalera and the Irish Government, But isn't it incredible that yet another FF Govt: is relying on Britain to yet again employ those who can not be catered for in their own country. Also Tom I remember an old Nun who used to rattle on "They'll never go through the gates" and talked about the devils children who were the protestants in the North and the English who would never get into heaven because they had no confession boxes....lol} The funny thing was no one ever told us there was Catholics up North as well.

What a very good article and it explains a lot of things I wasn't understanding about modern day Brittan. While in my imagination I held onto remnants of the past quite illogically . At the risk of sounding laughable I used to gauge my "image" of Brittan from the sit com "The Bill."but as the more stalwart characters have disappeared the typical "good Brit" has been replaced by other more modern and up to date characters and the only one left of the Britain I thought I could love is "Smitty", The rest are so wishy washy and lacking in true Brit Grit and character as to be just boring.And the political correctness inclusion of the blacks and glimpses of the black criminal sub culture and their arrogance the Bill has to deal with now has completely changed the image of England I nurtured.But I suppose that too is just Emgland's sins come home to roost.Still love ya Smitty don't let 'em ever change you.

Dublinjas and Paul6969, thank you for stating the obvious and bringing some balance and objectivity to this dubious story. Going to the primary school in Ireland many years ago, we learned every day that England was the epitome of evil and responsible for every misfortune to befall our much beloved homeland - while I and my family, and half the families of Ireland waited each week for the remittance from John Bull that kept us from going hungry. I have a lot of family in Britain and have spent much time there and have never experienced, not once ever, the kind of anti-Catholic hatred that Fitzgerald writes about - not at any level of society. There may well be a lingering anti-Catholicism in an insignificant and ever diminishing segment - perhaps some of those who still weep over loss of empire. The simple truth is - and what troubles the pope - that most Brits just don't take religion very seriously anymore and haven't for a long time.

You should never ever as an Irish person have to feel obliged to the british for living and working anywhere in britian. The british while occupying the island of Ireland illegally for centuries have profitted quite well while exploiting our resources through their reign of terror and murder.In the 19th century alone one million Irish people died and millions more were displaced while the brits and their little protestant planters imposed their little racket on the Irish catholic land owners.So really..really Irishman you owe britian sweet f... all. Who cares..especially the Irish what this little deflated so called empire thinks of catholics. Really.

There is very little new in anything you say Rory, But you may have left some things out Like Britain Sustaining a Million Irish Navvies and subsequently their families back in Ireland and the Irish Economy from just after the war right into the 1970s. It gave me a home and employment when I desperately needed it in the early 70s, When there were precious few other places you could get too never mind find a job.. So maybe there was and is an enmity there I was never really aware of it from the ordinary Brits, I know I earned good money there enough to educate myself and acquire life skills,something I never got in my own Catholic dominated Nation of Ireland And maybe it might be time to put Cromwell to bed even though he is the greatest weapon the Catholic church has to bring up when it needs to take the spotlight of its own wrongs, And of course we always have the Black and Tans but one thing you did not mention was how many priests were spies for the Tans and how many IRA Men did the church Excommunicate because of membership of the IRA during the Tan wars??. .. but hey whats a few facts here or there...

Why single out Britian in this case? This argument could be applied equally to Ireland for example and its resurgent anti-semitism and racism. The words "pot" "kettle" and "black" spring to mind (I am a practicing Irish Catholic, resident in Northern Ireland BTW)

A secular Britain may be a good thing actually. Let's just hope the British don't go back to their murderous, fanatical, anti-Catholic Religious phase represented by Oliver "the Butcher" Cromwell and his seventeenth century Puritans. Those sour English Puritans and their various Old Testament thumping sects may be long gone and forgotten.....but the Roman Catholic Church has survived. Indeed not only survived, it's now said to be the largest Christian faith in Britain.