More than 100,000 people, including protesters, turned out to watch the 83-year-old pope as he was driven through the streets of the Scottish capital wearing a green plaid scarf.
Benedict has a delicate path to tread in England and Scotland in relations with the Anglican church after his offer last October making it easier for disaffected Anglicans, unhappy over the ordination of women and gay bishops, to convert.
After he was greeted by Queen Elizabeth – titular head of Church of England founded when Henry VIII broke with Rome in 1534 – the pope got to the heart of his message in his first speech on British soil as Roman Catholic leader.
He spoke of the “deep Christian roots that are present in every layer of British life”.
Groups that plan to protest against the pope’s trip, only the second in history, include atheists, secular organisations, and those who want the pope to be held legally responsible for the Roman Catholic Church sexual abuse scandals.
Speaking to reporters on the plane taking him to Scotland, Benedict acknowledged Catholic leaders had been “insufficiently vigilant” during decades of sexual abuse of children.
The pope, out to win over one of Europe’s most secular countries, reminded Britons to beware extremism, saying that the attempt by totalitarian regimes in the 20th century to eliminate God should provide “sobering lessons” on tolerance.
“Today, the United Kingdom strives to be modern and multicultural society. In this challenging enterprise, may it always maintain its respect for those traditional values and cultural expressions that more aggressive forms of secularism no longer value or even tolerate,” he said.
“Let it not obscure the Christian foundation that underpins its freedoms … ,” he said.
The German pope spoke glowingly of Britain’s history and, significantly because of his own background, praised its people for standing up to the “Nazi tyranny” that was wreaked on the country by his own people in World War Two.
The Queen also spoke of the common Christian heritage that Anglicans and Catholics shared, and of their common belief that religion should never be allowed to justify violence and that dialogue could transcend “old suspicions”.
Police said some 125,000 people lined the streets to cheer the pope. Around 150 protesters also turned out, waving gay rainbow flags and banners saying “Pope opposition to condoms kills people” and “Stop protecting paedophile priests”.
He told reporters it was not the mission of the Catholic Church to change with the times “to try to be more attractive”, but to declare what it believed to be fundamental truths.
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