Gordon Brown's invite to Pope Benedict XVI leaves Church anxious about costs
Gordon Brown invited the Pontiff, but is understood to have made clear that the Government will not cover all the costs.
“We are now in a situation where we don’t know who’s paying for it,” says an official of the Roman Catholic church. “It’s not in the Government Budget and is probably going to cost the Church about £3million to £6million.”
Concern has been heightened by memories of the first papal visit to this country, in 1982, which left the Church heavily in debt.
Dr. Alan Cairns | 8/3/2009
