John Paul II

Pope prays for a warm welcome

In 1982, Pope John Paul II came to Britain. The charismatic Pole drew huge crowds wherever he went. The Catholic Church was reinvigorated. People spoke of the feel good factor he left in his wake.

Twenty eight years on, Pope Benedict will come on a short state visit which has already been plagued by discontent and threats of protest.

There are three main reasons why events during this Papal visit might still not be sold out, why people are questioning the wisdom of a visit right now.

First there is church dogma.

Despite strong medical evidence that condoms help prevent the spread of HIV, the virus that can lead to Aids and that they can help with population control, particularly in poorer countries, the Catholic Church still believes their use is sinful, that they are against God's teachings. Many Catholics believe this - and the Church's position on homosexuality - are out of step with society.

Political controversy in Jerusalem

The tests this trip was going to throw at Pope Benedict XVI came, as expected, during the second, and most challenging phase of the journey: Jerusalem. A shared city, a crucial place for Christianity, Islam and Judaism, and one of the main sticking points of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.

During Benedict's two hectic days here (hectic for the press too, so please forgive the  two days in one diary entry) it would have been easy to forget that one of the key parts of his trip was to support and visit the region's dwindling Catholic community.

When the word Christian was mentioned in news reports it was in passing: what all the headlines focused on was the pope's relationships with Israelis and Palestinians.