Blair extends formal invitation to Pope to visit Britain

BY MARK GREAVES THE PRIME Minister is expected to invite Pope Benedict XVI to Britain tomorrow during a papal audience at the Vatican.
It is thought to be the first time that a representative of the British Government has invited the head of the Catholic Church to Britain.
The Church in England and Wales has already issued a formal invitation to the Pontiff, but no date has yet been set for the visit, and Pope Benedict's schedule is now booked up until autumn 2007.
Dr Austen Ivereigh, director of public affairs for Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, said: "I am sure Pope Benedict will be aware of the warmth of the welcome he would receive in the UK from both the Church and the Government if he were to visit."
During their meeting, Mr Blair and Pope Benedict are expected to discuss Iraq the Pope was opposed to the war — and the reconciliation of the Christian and Muslim faiths.
Observers say the pair may also talk about gay marriage, in the light of Britain's introduction of civil partnerships in December.
The meeting will he Mr Blair's second papal audience in just three years. In 2003, Mr Blair had a private audience with Pope John Paul 11, in which the Pontiff expressed his grave concerns about military action in Iraq.
• It follows shortly after Cherie Blair's audience with the Pope at the beginning of May when she was in Rome to attend a Vatican conference on children and young people.
The unscheduled meeting was a complete surprise for Mrs Blair who was criticised in the British press for wearing white — a colour that only heads of state may wear when meeting the Pontiff.
If Pope Benedict decides to accept the invitation now offered by both the Church and the state, it will be only the second time since 1531 that a pope has come to Britain.
In March a source close to the Vatican said that the invitation issued by the English and Welsh bishops was being considered very seriously by the Holy See.
He suggested that the visit would last for three or four days, owing to the Pontiff's health, and that Ireland and Northern Ireland were likely to be included in the tour.
At the time, a spokesman said Cardinal MurphyO'Connor was "keen that the Pope be aware how delighted the British people would be should he feel able to accept".
A Downing Street spokeswoman said she was unable to comment on the Prime Minister's diary.