What would you do with £20million?

In September, Pope Benedict XVI will pay a state visit to the United Kingdom. The cost of the visit will be at least £20,000,000, not including security. This is a staggering amount to spend in order to welcome the head of a state (the Vatican City) and head of an organisation which have been responsible for:

1. opposing the distribution of condoms and so increasing large families in poor countries and the spread of AIDS
2. promoting segregated education
3. denying abortion to even the most vulnerable women
4. opposing equal rights for lesbians, gay, bisexual and transgender people
5. failing to address the many cases of abuse of children within its own organisation.
6. rehabilitating the holocaust denier bishop Richard Williamson and the appeaser of Hitler, the war-time Pope, Pius XII.

 -- as well as resisting "signing many major human rights treaties and [forming] its own treaties (‘concordats’) with many states which negatively affect the human rights of citizens of those states."

Several groups have joined together to organise a protest against the Pope, on Saturday 18th September at 1.30pm, at Hyde Park Corner, London. For more information, see Protest the Pope.

Another website to check out is 20million.org, where you can see other people's suggestions of what they'd do with £20,000,000 and submit them yourself, if you are on Twitter. Some examples:

1. 
   
   
   rmc47 http://20million.org - If I had #20million... I'd spend it on educating people about scientific principles, and how statistics works. 03 Sep 2010 from TweetDeck
2. 
   
   
   SimonCarpentier http://20million.org - If I had #20million, I would invest in renewable energy, technology, and alternative transport 03 Sep 2010 from web
3. 
   
   
   kalpana_s http://20million.org - If I had #20million, I would start developing a literacy programme that works in favour of African countries! 03 Sep 2010 from web
4. 
   
   
   Joeyfr88 http://20million.org - if I had #20million, I would donate it all to mental health charities. 03 Sep 2010 from Twitter for BlackBerry®

-- this quote was brought to you by quoteurl



This isn't a matter of the Pope being allowed to visit the UK as a religious leader, which of course he is entitled to do, but of the type of head of state whom the British government thinks it is appropriate to offer a state reception to.
There is a lot more information available at the links above if you're interested in having your say on the issue.