Paul Badde : Die Welt correspondent

Paul Badde is the "Die Welt", Rome correspondent and has followed Vatican affairs for many years. He's also familar with Joseph Ratzinger. That's when he was still a Cardinal.

Veronica Scarisbrick sat down with him for a lengthy interview and began by asking him how Benedict XV's state visit is perceived in Germany.

Badde tells Veronica that the numbers of the people who wish to attend papal events for pastoral reasons are higher than expected. Especially in Berlin which is in his words "a pagan city". Although numbers there are plumped up a Polish contingent of Catholics . Let's recall that Poland is a mere 80 kilometers away.

Badde goes on to say, that the last time he visited in 2006 it was to Bavaria, his home .
But when the Pope arrives in Berlin this time , on his first State visit, it will be a completely different scenario to the previous two. The second occasion being the Cologne visit in 2005 for World Youth Day , planned for John Paul II.

In the course of this interview Badde also expresses his belief that during this visit the Pope will dwell on ideas connected to German identity. He then briefly explores segments of the nation's history, its Catholic roots, the course of the Reformation and the last split with the Nazis who he describes as pagan. Theirs , he insists , was a very modern but very pagan project . One which entailed a loss of identity for the German people.

Other issues Veronica touches on in this interview are connected to the presence of both Jews and Muslims, within the German nation today. The Pope is scheduled to meet with representatives of both these groups on two separate occasions in Berlin.

Also discussed are the ecclesial difficulties following the 1990 reunification, the planned protests and of course issues connected to ecumenism in the land of Martin Luther.

All this and more in Paul Badde's interview with Veronica Scarisbrick .

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