Day 2 of Our Holy Father's Visit to the UK

The Pope's second day in the UK started with a visit to schoolchildren in Twickenham.  He was very warmly greeted and the children were so delighted to see him.

Later he went to Westminster where he met with the various political leaders past and present.  He also met with the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury as well as other Church leaders at Lambeth Palace. 

In his meeting with political leaders, legislators and Church leaders in Westminster Pope Benedict XVI spoke of the dangers of silencing religion...

Religion, in other words, is not a problem for legislators to solve, but a vital contributor to the national conversation. In this light, I cannot but voice my concern at the increasing marginalization of religion, particularly of Christianity, that is taking place in some quarters, even in nations which place a great emphasis on tolerance. There are those who would advocate that the voice of religion be silenced, or at least relegated to the purely private sphere. There are those who argue that the public celebration of festivals such as Christmas should be discouraged, in the questionable belief that it might somehow offend those of other religions or none. And there are those who argue – paradoxically with the intention of eliminating discrimination – that Christians in public roles should be required at times to act against their conscience. These are worrying signs of a failure to appreciate not only the rights of believers to freedom of conscience and freedom of religion, but also the legitimate role of religion in the public square. I would invite all of you, therefore, within your respective spheres of influence, to seek ways of promoting and encouraging dialogue between faith and reason at every level of national life.