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The Trouble with the Pope (Channel 4, 8pm tonight)

Human rights campaigner, Peter Tatchell, presents an hour-long examination of Pope Benedict XVI, at 8pm on Channel 4 tonight, three days before the Pontiff’s State Visit to Britain. Summarising the documentary, Peter Tatchell said:

The programme questions the Pope’s policies on a range of issues including his opposition to contraception, condom use and embryonic stem cell research, as well the Pope’s mishandling of the child sex abuse scandal, his distortions of the life and ideas of Cardinal Newman and his readmission to the church of the holocaust denier, Bishop Richard Williamson.

It examines the impact that Benedict XVI’s pronouncements have had on both the developing and western world – with filming in thePhilippines, plus Italy, Germany and the UK.

Interviewing both critics and supporters of the Pope, many of them Catholics, the programme explores Benedict’s personal, religious andpolitical journey since the 1930s, from liberal theologian to conservative Pontiff. It shows how he was once a supporter of the liberalising, reforming Second Vatican Council but has since undermined it, including by the appointment of many ultra-conservative bishops.

6 Comments

  1. Tom Flanagan says:

    God bless the Pope.And all the viewers.

  2. william smith says:

    brilliant programme Peter. Well researched and powerful. Of all the ills besetting our fellows and this wonderful earth the malign influence of the present pope has to be seen as an avoidable tragedy. The heiratic structure of which he is the mouthpiece makes a nonsense of Christ’s example.The future of humanity depends on the assumption of personal responsibility.

  3. rita says:

    I could not say who is worse – the Pope or Peter Tatchell. The second one (Peter) has tried to impose his ideas through out this documentary and, even, he was not open to listen to people who did not agree with him. I did not like the program because it has not left a space in my mind to think about its issues but it made me feel in the middle of a extremist war of ideas. Not good. Disappointed.

  4. Rachel says:

    I understand Peter Tatchell’s angst over these subjects, which are some of the most heartbreakingly difficult dilemmas that life throws at Christians every day. What I find frustrating is the way that the ANSWERS to his understandable questions were given so little time and explored so inadequately during the program – I noticed that a great deal of time was spent building up the rhetoric and presenting the dilemma from Peter’s point of view while the reasons behind the church’s guidance was hardly given any air time at all – a token expert was wheeled on and given a second or two to answer – I would have liked to have heard more from the lady from Catholic Voices, for example – but, sadly, we weren’t allowed to hear much of what she had to say. It would be so brilliant if we could hear the other side of the story and some balanced reporting – come on guys, please give us a proper debate instead of another piece of brainwashing! I wait in hope.

  5. f.c. minoprio says:

    congratulations to Peter Tatchell for reminding us of the enduring characteristics of the RC church–despotism,obscurantism and misogynism.I hope he apologises to the Queen
    on behalf of his predecessor Sixtus 5 for underwriting the spanish armada and the attempt to burn Elizabeth the First alive.

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