Prayer-Soldier writes "
On 17 Sep 10, Guardian.co.uk reported that Scotland Yard arrested 5 men suspected of a terrorist plot against the pope. The sub-headline of the report related, “Suspects believed to be Muslim, sources say,” but the article failed to elaborate further on this statement.
The report stated, “An assessment of the intelligence judged it to be so severe that police needed to disrupt the alleged plot immediately.” The report continued, “Sources said the arrests were 'precautionary' and detectives were still assessing the scale of the danger, if any, posed to the pope.”
The report quoted a Scotland Yard spokesman as stating, “Following today's arrests policing arrangements for the papal visit were reviewed. We are satisfied that the current policing plan remains appropriate and the papal itinerary has not changed. There is no change to the UK threat level.”
On 18 Sep 10, a New York Post article began, “British anti-terror police arrested six Muslim men yesterday in a suspected plot to assassinate Pope Benedict during his historic London visit.” The report described the men as Algerians ages 26 to 50. The article related that police took action partially as a result of reports that some of the men were overheard discussing potential threats against the pope.
According to an Associated Press article posted 17 Sep 10, “Police said they received information about a potential threat against the pope overnight, prompting the arrests under Britain's Terrorism Act. All six were being questioned and had not been formally charged.” The AP report also noted, “News of the arrests came as the pope was meeting representatives of other religions, including Muslims and Jews. He stressed the importance of mutual respect, tolerance and freedom to follow one's conscience.”
The AP report noted that as the visit continued, Pope Benedict met with the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams. Williams leads the Anglican Communion which was founded as a result of King Henry VIII's dispute with the Catholic Church over his attempt to have his marriage to Catherine of Aragon annulled so that he might marry Ann Boleyn, a lady in waiting to Catherine.
According to a World Civilizations essay outlining the history behind the separation of England from Catholicism, “Despite all this storm of activity, the English church didn't really change. The average person going to church would see almost no change in the practices or dogma of the church. It was still for all practical purposes a Catholic church; the only real difference that anybody would notice was the use of English Bibles in the church. In 1539, Henry reaffirmed his commitment to Catholic practice by passing into law the Six Articles. These articles affirmed the transubstantiation of the Eucharist (that is, that the Eucharist was mystically transformed into the body and blood of Christ), confession, private masses, celibate vows, and the sanctity of the Eucharistic cup. The only substantive change Henry made merely involved the head of the church. The English church, however, would radically change under Henry's successor, Edward VI.”
According to the AP report, “Benedict and Williams greeted each other warmly, with the pope saying he had no intention of speaking of difficulties 'that are well known to everyone here.' Rather, he stressed the need for Christians to work together and bring a greater sense of virtue into public discourse.”
Cited Articles and Posts
Guardian.co.uk (17 Sep 10)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/17/five-arrests-pope-terror-threat
New York Post (18 Sep 10)
Associated Press (17 Sep 10)
Washington State University - World Civilizations (© 1996 Richard Hooker)
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