Pilgrims pulling out of Pope visit claims Catholic church

Sep 1 2010 by Emma McKinney, Birmingham Mail

PILGRIMS are returning passes for the Pope’s visit to Birmingham because of the tight security surrounding the event, a spokesman for the Catholic church has claimed.

Pope Benedict XVI will conduct an open-air Mass in front of 70,000 people at Cofton Park on Sunday, September 19. The park is open from 2am with around 20,000 worshippers expected from the Archdiocese of Birmingham.

Council officials fear the visit will prompt an influx of travelling families desperate to see the Pope, despite all of the so-called pilgrim passes having sold out.

But Archdiocese spokesman Peter Jennings said some parishioners had withdrawn their application for a place at the Mass because of the rigmarole involved in negotiating the security measures.

Mr Jennings, who previously called the security plans “draconian”, said: “The security is extremely rigorous and has put a large number of people off. We are getting people who are saying that they put their name down for a pilgrim pass, but want it to be taken off.