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Militant antipapal Protestants staged their demonstrations, but they seemed eerily irrelevant in the glow of celebration and history that emanated from the Pope. Uniformed police and plainclothes agents were out in force to suppress any mob trouble, but they were never put to the test. In Liverpool, where police were ready for the worst, the Orange Order, a group of bitter opponents of the papal visit, launched no demonstrations.
This restraint left matters to a few extremist clergymen led by Ian Paisley, a Member of Parliament from Northern Ireland, who declaimed, "The name of this man of sin, this son of perdition, this Antichrist, this false prophet, must be brought down." But his oratory and leadership inspired a mere 60 protesters to join him in waving signs and Bibles at the papal motorcade. For weeks Paisley had insisted that "anyone blessed by the Pope is cursed." When John Paul II spotted the knot of angry dissenters on a side street, he turned and, with a smile, coolly bestowed his blessing upon them.
In Calvinistic Edinburgh the Pope also doused protesters with a shower of papal blessings. A band of young extremists who hurled eggs at the Popemobile (none hit their mark) were quickly hustled away by police. In Glasgow a paltry 100 militant Protestants paraded in protest near by while the Pope led the main worship. At every protest demonstration, he seemed unfazed—and unmoved.
In Liverpool on Sunday, in the vast Anglican cathedral, John Paul was as emphatic as he has ever been about Christian ecumenism, linking peace and the desire for unity in a tight bond. "As Christians today strive to be sources of reconciliation in the world," the Pope said, "they feel the need, perhaps more urgently than ever before, to be fully reconciled among themselves. For the sin of disunity among Christians, which has been with us for centuries, weighs heavily on the church." He continued, "The restoration of unity among Christians is one of the main concerns of the church in the last part of the 20th century. And this task is for all of us. No one can claim exemption." England's George Basil Cardinal Hume later said he was overwhelmed by the applause with which the Anglican audience responded.
With unemployment running at 18.7% in Liverpool, the Pope sought to inspire British youth: "The young, unable to find a job, feel cheated of their dreams, while those who have lost their jobs feel rejected and useless. . . All these ills of society could bring us to disillusionment and even despair if we were not a people of hope, if we did not have a deep and abiding confidence in the power and mercy of God." During the Liverpool motorcade, the Pope passed through Toxteth, the scene of last summer's ugly riots, which was decorated with photos, flowers and lights. Observed Jeremy Griffin, a student: "All of a sudden we have only one religion in this city today. Even in Liverpool, which is full of unemployed people, they are joining together."