Are we the dopes for bankrolling the Pope?

LIFE AND OTHER BITS: THERE were clearly different reactions to the Pope’s visit to Glasgow and Edinburgh. While the devout dropped to their knees in worship, enterprising Scottish street traders flogged tacky souvenirs, including Pope-on-a-rope soap and car air fresheners.

At least the traders, most of whom were unlicensed, will make some money out of the visit of Pope Benedict XVI, the rest of us — Catholics and non-Catholics alike — will end up footing a bill for £12 million for the visit.

As four-day breaks go, I’m sure you’ll agree that that comes out a bit on the pricey side and there are those who wonder why the Catholic Church could not foot the bill itself with the proceeds of its collection boxes or by flogging off some of its treasures. While there are, no doubt, many poor Catholics in the world, the church itself is definitely not poor.

It could be, of course, that the potential £8 million bill for the 150 compensation cases for boys who claim to have been abused in a school run by the Catholic Church threatens the petty cash.

But at least the church has petty cash. In these straightened times, is it really necessary for our taxes to pay for 30 Vatican officials, including 11 cardinals, to stay in a posh hotel and to allow them £150 a day spending money?

Don’t cardinals and the like get paid? Does the Vatican not run a holiday club (maybe they should contact the Chronicle).

And, you will be pleased to know, that your TV licence money will be paying for the BBC to deploy no fewer than 400 staff to cover the Pope’s visit.

Don’t you sometimes fancy a career in religion?



IT was no surprise that the inappropriately named tax boss David Hartnett initially delivered a decidedly heartless response to the 1.4 million people who, because of mistakes in their tax codes, will have to fork out £1,428 that most of them simply will not have, to the Inland Revenue.

Anyone-who-had-a-heart Hartnett initially said that as there had been no computer error and no mistakes by anyone working for the Revenue he had no need to apologise for the unexpected bills that so many people will face.

If there had been no computer error and no one had made a mistake calculating tax codes, how come 1.4 million folk now have to pay a bill they didn’t know they had?



FINAL WORD: The decision of David and Samantha Cameron to give their new daughter a Cornish name to mark her birthplace inspired Endellion, but wouldn’t Pasty have done the job better?