Pilgrims put off by security measures for Pope visit

A spokesman for the Archdiocese of Birmingham says security measures in place for the visit of the Pope next month have put pilgrims off attending.

Pope Benedict XVI will conduct an open-air Mass in front of 70,000 people at Cofton Park on Sunday 19 September.

The park is open from 2am with around 20,000 pilgrims expected from the Archdiocese of Birmingham.

But its spokesman Peter Jennings says some parishioners have withdrawn their application for a place at the Mass.  Read Article