The British faithful wishing to attend the Pope's prayer vigil in London's Hyde Park or the beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman will have to pay for the experience.
Church officials in England say those who wish to attend the events in London or Birmingham must join a parish group, and those groups will travel to the event by bus, said an Associated Press report in the Sydney Morning Herald.
The church is charging A$43 for transportation to the Birmingham event, where 70,000 tickets are available. In Hyde Park, where up to 130,000 people may attend, the charge will be $A17.
Vatican spokesman the Father Federico Lombardi was quoted as saying that the Vatican understands that the faithful will be asked to make a "contribution" toward the visit but are not being charged a fee as such. Lombardi said he understood that those who cannot pay will be not be required to do so.
Meanwhile, America Magazine reports that Geoffrey Berg, British author of a book called The Six Ways of Atheism, has challenged Pope Benedict XVI to a public debate about the existence of God, which Berg hopes will take place during the pontiff's UK visit.
"In an open letter to the pope (a copy of which also was sent directly to the Vatican) Berg names several reasons he believes he deserves some face time with Benedict," writes Kerry Webber in the article.
"Berg's challenge to Benedict seems like such an obvious PR ploy that I hesitated to mention it at all. But his letter did make me think, in general terms, about the question of God's existence, something with which many people struggle each day; and it brought to mind some of Benedict's writing on that very subject."
FULL STORY
Britons must pay to attend Pope events (Sydney Morning Herald/AP)
British Atheist Challenges Pope to Debate (America Magazine)
LINK AND PHOTO CREDIT
Pope Benedict XVI in the United Kingdom website