David Maddox: Meeting on neutral territory

It may just be happy coincidence but Scotland is actually the perfect place in terms of ecclesiastical politics for Pope Benedict to meet the Queen.

The reason for holding the visit in September seems to be more about the symbolic nature of turning up in Scotland on the feast day (the 16th) of the country's first saint, St Ninian, who brought Christianity to the heathen Picts.

This of course falls during the Queen's holiday in Scotland, which seems to be the real reason the two are meeting at Holyrood Palace.

However, the complexities of the constitutional settlement in Britain and history of the Reformation mean that Scotland is best suited for two heads of a churches, as opposed to their roles as heads of state, to meet.

Her Majesty is Head of the Church of England, a role she takes very seriously with deep conviction. But she is, of course, not head of the Church of Scotland so how has no religious role north of the Border.

Maintaining this separate religious status was one of the conditions the Presbyterians put down before the Parliaments were united just over 300 years ago, along with separate education and legal systems. All these aspects of that agreement are with us today and have helped preserve Scotland's identity over the years.
So when they meet in Scotland they are meeting on land where neither the Queen or the Pope have religious authority.

This means they can meet as Heads of State and perhaps avoid awkward discussions over the Pope's efforts to make it easy for thousands of Anglicans to desert the Church of England and return to the fold of the Roman Catholic Church.

The other advantage of Holyrood Palace is that it is holy ground. Irt was the site of a former Roman Catholic abbey built after King David I of scotland had a vision of the Crucifix (Holyrood meaning holy cross) on the site after an unfortunate hunting incident involving a white hart.

So the land is both royal and holy and can be laid claim to by both parties, a perfect place for the two to come together after 450 years of division since the Reformation.

Eddie Barnes - Habeus Papam. Maybe.

The Pope might be coming to Scotland next year. Or the year after. Or he might not be.

We hear that Gordon Brown, visiting the Vatican earlier this week, extended an invitation to Benedict XVI to come to the UK, potentially to mark the beatification of the famous 19th century Catholic convert, Cardinal Newman. Number Ten suggested that such a visit might include a trip up to Scotland.

The Vatican has declared that there are no plans whatsoever for a trip to Britain, and the PM's invite has been met with derision by some, including Scotland on Sunday columnist Gerald Warner. Certainly, as this particular Pope has not exactly clocked up the air miles since his election, it's unlikely at present.

If he does, I wonder if I might drop in on Iona. I understand that Brown's gift to the Pope was a small Iona cross, brought from the tiny island off Mull from where St Columba spread Christianity to these shores. Might Brown have planted a seed? This Pope likes to remind people that Europe is a Christian continent - I wonder if he'll be heading for the Oban ferry?