Just hours ahead of Pope Benedict's arrival in Berlin on Thursday, our correspondent
Veronica Scarisbrick explored the city and found out more about the city's past
and present when she visited its Catholic Cathedral. Here's her report: "Tough
to see tangible traces of Benedict XVI’s imminent arrival here in Berlin . If
there are, I haven’t seen any . That’s beyond roads being cordoned off, the endless
controversial debates in the media surrounding the Pope’s invitation to address the
Bundestag, the Federal Parliament’s Lower House on Thursday afternoon. And beyond
the photographs on national newspapers of the German Pope , bumper screens with images
of the Pope or postcards even . In an effort to find out something more tangible
, I ventured out to the City’s Cathedral, the first post -Reformation Catholic Church
in Berlin. First consecrated in 1773 It’s called St Hedwig and looks a bit like Rome’s
Pantheon, lay -out, dome and all. Intentionally of course I’m bound to find something
in there, I thought . And what did I find ? One single poster and a Catholic weekly
with a five page spread inside, informing us on the four day visit: details regarding
the Holy Mass the Holy Father will be presiding over in the Olympia Stadion in the
city , information about the liturgies, fanciful images of the Pope donning all kinds
of headgear and a biography of his early days in Bavaria. Also I noticed well-timed
publicity for his brother, Monsignor Georg’s new book by the title of “My brother,
the Pope”. Not much . But my disappointment didn’t last long, I may not have found
the tangible presence of the Pope’s imminent arrival here on the first leg of a four-day
visit which takes him on to Erfurt and Freiburg. Not even in the Cathedral. But what
I did find was something precious , the witness of one of those Catholics who kept
the faith alive behind “The Wall” during the years of the communist regime. Her name
Roswitha Sauer. She belongs to that tiny nine per cent of Catholics in Germany’s
capital Berlin and she acts as guide to the Cathedral, which I forgot to tell you
was until 1989 on the other side of ‘The Wall”. It’s there that she grew up . I asked
her how the Cathedral fared in those dramatic days . Roswitha quoted article 143
of the Constitution of the DDR, the German Democratic Republic and told me that at
the time of the communist regime, free choice of religion was guaranteed, so Church
doors were open . But she added , you had to be careful , making me understand
it was a tight rope walking act: ”I was lucky, she said there was only one Catholic
School in East Berlin,” for girls only” with no male equivalent . And I went to it.
The idea was to stop Catholics studying so they would have no future." But she
insisted we fought for our future , for our freedom, determined to eliminate the 162
kilometre wall surrounding us and in the end we won . We used to come here and pray. Only
then did we go outdoors and and join demonstrations. And eventuall y, as we know,
the Wall did come down . It’s amazing how the past lingers on here in Berlin,
it seems easier to find traces of that than tangible traces of the Pope’s imminent
arrival here, beyond as I said media controversy . I asked Roswitha if it bothered
her there were so few signs, also whether she was upset the Holy Father would not
visit the City’s Cathedral as he will do in the two other venues of his four day visit. “This
Pope, she replied, has taught us clarity, to look at God’s work from the inside ,
no need for outward signs. In the same way I’m not upset he’s not coming to the Cathedral,
at the Olympia Stadion on Thursday he’ll be able to reach out to far more people.
“ I don’t view this as a State visit , she added quietly, Benedict XVI is the Pastor
of the Universal Church.” Awaiting the Pope in Berlin , I’m Veronica Scarisbrick" Listen
to the audio of her report: