Thousands visit Birmingham's Cofton Park for final day of Papal visit
Sep 19 2010 PA reporter
Thousands of Catholics from the UK and around the world have descended on Cofton Park for a special Mass to beatify Cardinal John Henry Newman on the last day of Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Britain.
Around 1,000 coach-loads of the faithful will converge at the park, in Rednal, for the two-hour ceremony which is set to attract 55,000 people.
The beatification will be the first to be carried out by Benedict since he was elected Pope in 2005, a mark of his lifelong interest in the 19th century clergyman and famous convert to Catholicism.
The ceremony will bring Newman, who died in 1890, a step closer to becoming the first non-martyred English saint since before the Reformation.
Yesterday the Pope purposely broke off from his ecclesiastical duties to speak to victims of the Catholic sex abuse scandal.
The Pontiff revealed his deep shame at the sustained abuse meted out at the hands of the Church.
He spoke for around 40 minutes with five victims who were sexually abused by priests as children.
A statement from the Holy See said: "He was moved by what they had to say and expressed his deep sorrow and shame over what victims and their families had suffered.
"He prayed with them and assured them that the Catholic Church is continuing to implement effective measures designed to safeguard young people, and that it is doing all in its power to investigate allegations, to collaborate with civil authorities and to bring to justice clergy and religious accused of these egregious crimes."
