Pope begins historic U.K. visit

Britons’ support for the church is plummeting in the wake of widespread allegations of clerical abuse.

Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Edinburgh today on the first ever papal state visit to the U.K. While en route to the Protestant country the Pope made the fullest admission of church culpability in a widening sex abuse scandal, telling reporters that the Vatican had not acted decisively enough to deal with pedophile priests. Anti-Catholic feelings are running high in the country, and were exacerbated by recent revelations of hundreds of abuse cases in Belgium. At least 13 of the victims have committed suicide. Many of the Pope’s planned events in the U.K. have failed to sell out and “Pope Nope” t-shirts have become popular in London.