England a "Third World" Country?

There is a funny little story going around about comments made by Cardinal Kasper about England and surmising that this is the reason he is not accompanying the Pope on his journey to England. Cathnews picked it up, but the source is here, on the website of the German magazine Focus.

A google translation of the Focus article reads:

Cardinal Walter Kasper is too embarrassed to accompany the Pope to Britain? The British media are in any case after Kaspers interview with FOCUS.
A FOCUS interview makes headlines in the UK: Cardinal Kasper's comparison of the island with a land of "Third World" should have led to Kasper, differently than planned, not the Pope, accompanied on his trip to England and Scotland, British media speculating.

In the interview in the current issue of FOCUS Kasper replied to the question of why so many Britons expressed their displeasure with the pope: "England is now a secular, pluralistic country. If you land at Heathrow Airport, you sometimes think you had landed in a third world country. "Kasper also affirmed the question of whether Christians would suffer in the kingdom, and said:" Particularly in New England is an aggressive atheism spread . If you are around at British Airways and carrying a cross, you will be penalized. But we want to show our faith in public. Anyone who knows England knows that there is also a great Christian tradition. Europe would no longer be Europe if it could not maintain this tradition. "

Kasper was referring to a four-year-old case of an employee of British Airways, which had been prohibited, while working a necklace with a cross over her uniform, and thus contribute to visible to customers. The case had been matter of dispute in the UK.

When it was announced on Wednesday that Kasper "health reasons" other than scheduled will not accompany the pope, British media immediately drew the connection to Kasper's statements in the FOCUS interview.

On the other hand stressed Kaspers spokesman, Oliver Lahl, the Cardinal was really ill. And indeed, the cardinal health problems have been known for some time. Moreover, the Vatican has since tried to straighten Kaspers "Third World"-Quote: Kasper had referred to the great international importance of London, with its cosmopolitan population. The observation of the Cardinal over the "aggressive new atheism is true" some well-known authors that appear aggressive and make scientific or cultural arguments, but which are not really of such great value," the Vatican was trying to clarify.

British journalists, however, presented this declaration is not completely satisfied. "To make these remarks on the eve of the journey was a little awkward," said relatively restrained the Rome correspondent for the BBC, David Willey. Much more violent reaction Clifford Langley of the Catholic weekly newspaper The Tablet. " The Cardinal speaks "clearly nonsense," Langley said the BBC. "I do not think he believes Britain were in the grip of a secular atheism, and he had not said that. They claim that his poor health had forced him to cancel the tour. I wonder if he has not called off because his presence would be embarrassing now. "

British Airways defended himself, the Cardinal was "seriously misinformed" about the case of employees, the crucifix she was not allowed: "It is completely untrue that we discriminate against Christians or the followers of any faith." The employee had lost two years ago, a labor court against the airline. Beginning of the year and of appeal judges ruled in favor of British Airways. The "Daily Telegraph" points out that Pope Benedict "contrary to the tradition," will just take the return flight with Alitalia rather than with the former state airline of the host country, British Airways.