Pope Benedict XVI is expected to warn of a growing threat to religious freedom in a speech he will deliver in Westminster Hall, London this Friday, While 
praising Britain’s role in establishing religious liberty, he is expected to warn that the country will suffer if it allows secularism to destroy its Christian heritage.
Writing in The Sunday Telegraph at the weekend, Archbishop Vincent Nichols, the leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, said that Pope Benedict XVI will emphasise that religious belief should not be divisive, but should be seen as “a source of energy and inspiration” and that “when we forget, minimise or even reject this inheritance, then we risk losing our profound identity and creating a vacuum of values at the heart of our society.”
In recent years a number of British Christians have lost their jobs or have faced disciplinary action for practising their faith at work by wearing a crucifix or expressing their views on biblical teaching.
The Pope’s message will likely be interpreted as a criticism of the introduction of equality laws earlier this year which have curtailed the freedom of religious groups.
Last February, in reference to these laws, the Pope told the Catholic bishops of England and Wales gathered in Rome: “Your country is well-known for its firm commitment to equality of opportunity for all members of society.
“Yet, as you have rightly pointed out, the effect of some of the legislation designed to achieve this goal has been to impose unjust limitations on the freedom of religious communities to act in accordance with their beliefs.
“In some respects it actually violates the natural law upon which the equality of all human beings is grounded and by which it is guaranteed.”
The Pope will travel to Edinburgh on Thursday before going to London for his speech in Westminster Hall on Friday. This speech is being seen as one of the major speeches of his Pontificate. It is understood that Pope Benedict plans to use the address to defend the place of religion in society and to argue that Christians and people of other faiths should not lose their freedoms in favour of the state’s emphasis on equality.
This message carries particular significance in Britain following the introduction in Britain of homosexual equality laws, which led to the closure of the Church’s adoption agencies.
Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, stated his belief that Christians in Britain were being persecuted and “treated with disrespect,” describing the discrimination against Christians as “unacceptable in a civilised society”.
Fr Federico Lombardi, the Vatican’s spokesman, said the Pope’s speech would be intended as “a positive contribution” to the debate on British society and that “it will be presented as an attempt to show that the Church engages with the world around it and will not be delivered in a polemic way.”