Welcome news today that Pope Benedict is to speak on Thought for the Day.
It comes at a time when coverage of the Church on the BBC has generally improved in recent months. The broadcaster's programming during the papal visit was by and large a tribute to its professionalism and balanced reporting. Radio 4 is also planning on setting aside scheduled programming to make way for a marathon reading of the King James Bible.
It could also be argued that having the Holy Father speak for himself on Radio 4 kind of makes up for all those times when orthodox-thinking Catholics have been overlooked by the broadcaster, usually in its news coverage.
Not everyone will be happy with this decision of course - and not just secularists. Some traditionalists will argue that the Pope is not just another religious talking head - a rabbi, Anglican bishop, imam, or even Catholic priest - but the Vicar of Christ. He should, therefore, not put himself on the same level as it emits a kind of "relativist mood music."
They have a point and I have a lot of sympathy with that, but like "Light of the World", I see this as the Pope getting down from his throne (only momentarily of course) to talk to people through another means and in a language they can understand.
It's part of the New Evangelization and for this reason I think, overall, it's a good idea.
Full details of the broadcast on my Register blog page.
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