Taxpayers should not fund Pope’s visit, says survey

Some 77% of Britons think taxpayers should not help pay for Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Scotland and England, a survey suggests.

An online poll of 2,005 adults issued by think tank Theos also found 79% had “no personal interest” in his visit.

The Pope is due to arrive on 16 September, the first papal visit since Pope John Paul II’s 1982 trip.

The cost of the trip to UK taxpayers, previously estimated at £8m, could rise to between £10m and £12m.

The Catholic Church is also expected to make a contribution of between £9m and £10m towards the costs, which do not include an expected multi-million pound bill for policing the visit.

In the Theos survey, some 76% also rejected taxpayer funding for the visit on the grounds that the Pope was a religious figure.  Read Article