Nearly 1 in 6 German parliamentarians to boycott Pope speech

Sep 20, 2011, 15:56 GMT

Berlin - Pope Benedict XVI will be flying into a divided city this Thursday, with Catholic faithful streaming into the capital to attend a papal mass as demonstrators and parliamentarians gear up to protest against the visit.

The leader of the opposition in Germany's parliament defended the right of 100 out of 620 deputies to boycott the pope's speech to the Bundestag chamber on the first day of the four-day visit.

'The fact that there are a few who will not be in the Bundestag by reason of their fundamental view about religion should not prompt us to speak of a lack of respect,' said Frank-Walter Steinmeier, caucus leader of the Social Democrats (SPD). 'We should respect other views.'

Rainer Bruederle, caucus leader of the Free Democrats, a pro-government party, disagreed. 'The pope is speaking. I'm going because it's right,' said Bruederle, who is Lutheran.

The boycott, mainly by Greens and leftwingers, has triggered criticism from Chancellor Angela Merkel's supporters.

Meanwhile, six anti-pope demonstrations have been registered with Berlin police.

The biggest will be organized by gay groups who object to the church's doctrine that homosexual acts are 'intrinsically disordered' while calling for 'compassion and sensitivity' towards homosexuals.

Police said 6,000 officers would be on duty in Berlin Thursday to maintain order.

Carpenters were at work Tuesday erecting an altar at the Olympic Stadium, Berlin's main sports venue which was built for the Nazi-run 1936 Olympic Games. The congregation, including hundreds of priests, will number 70,000.

'It's absolutely booked out,' said Stafan Foerner, spokesman for the archdiocese of Berlin. Entry is by ticket only.

Catholics are only a small minority in the capital. Many of the congregation will come from elsewhere in Germany.

Organizers forecast that procession, ending at St Hedwig's Catholic Cathedral, will draw a crowd of 20,000.

Foerner said he was not worried about reports that protesters planned to shout and make a noise all night near the apostolic nunciature, the Vatican embassy, where Benedict will sleep on Thursday night.

'The holy father will be so tired from his busy schedule that he is bound to sleep soundly,' Foerner said.

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