A head of State, "as Parliament states", or a pilgrim as "they say in Lourdes"? In what capacity will Benedict XVI accomplish his first visit to France? In the file of the French catholic weekly "Pèlerin" published on the website of the paper "La Croix" (www.la-croix.com), the Pope’s journey that starts on September 12th is defined "two visits in one", and the Pontiff is presented as a "head of state, a pastor, a pilgrim, a man of culture and dialogue who never gives up on the need of the truth". What will be his response to the speech that Sarkozy gave in the Lateran Palace last December which caused some "tensions in the French opinion?" According to philosopher Thibaud Collin, "Benedict XVI, longing to start a dialogue with all of society, is not however a man who settles for the lowest common denominator. As a theologian, he risks emphasising the permanent search for truth and justice". "Special space in his agenda" is given by the Pontiff to the young, the reception of whom "promises to be very warm comments father Jacques Gagey, general chaplain of the scouts and guides of France (Sgdf, 60 thousand members), according to whom the coming of a Pope is a time in which the Church, asleep in the hearts of the young, naturally comes to the fore". (continued)
