AFP/Madrid
Pope Benedict XVI has called for the economy to work for people, not profit, as he landed in crisis-torn Spain where protesters decried the cost of his visit.He delivered the message hours after demonstrators clashed with pilgrims and riot police in Madrid as they vented fury over the expense of World Youth Day celebrations at a time of belt-tightening and massive unemployment.“The economy cannot function as a self-regulated economy,” the leader of the world’s estimated 1.2bn Roman Catholics told journalists accompanying him in the papal plane from Rome.“Man must be at the economy’s centre, which is not profit but solidarity,” he said.Stock markets plunged in Europe and the United States yesterday after investment bank Morgan Stanley warned that the West was teetering on the brink of a new recession.
The Pope landed in the sweltering capital for the rock festival-style celebration, lavish religious festivities lasting to Sunday that have lured more than a million pilgrims from around the world.The Pontiff was greeted by King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia before parading in his popemobile through Madrid’s streets.Hundreds of thousands of cheering supporters crammed bridges and pavements, throwing confetti and balloons over the popemobile, amid tight security.The crowd chanted “Long live the Pope!”; “Benedicto, Benedicto!”; “This is the youth of the Pope!”In the evening, the papal cortege headed to the central Plaza Cibeles for a welcoming ceremony complete with an air force fly-past painting the colours of the Vatican and Spanish flags in the sky and an equestrian show.Spanish gays and lesbians say they will hold a protest “kiss-in” against the church’s attitude to homosexuality.Huge speakers blared out pop music in the city as hundreds of thousands of the Pope’s fans waited in the heat in floppy hats, with yellow and red backpacks containing alcohol-free beer and fans.But the party atmosphere was shattered the previous night when thousands of anti-papal protesters and hundreds of young Catholics hurled insults at each other in the central Puerta del Sol square.Lines of riot police separated the two sides late on Wednesday, before they finally moved in with batons swinging to dislodge the anti-Pope demonstrators from Puerta del Sol.Seven people were arrested and 11 were slightly hurt, a national police spokeswoman said yesterday.More than 100 protest groups took part, uniting many causes, including those seeking a change in the church’s attitude to gay rights and those fighting for a clearer separation of church and state.Protesters – including some priests – fume over the official 50.5mn-euro ($73mn) price tag, excluding the cost of police and security, of the August 16-21 celebrations.Spain’s economy has been one of the worst hit by the global economic downturn and its output has grown by only 0.2% in the last quarter.Nationwide unemployment stands at more than 20% while youth unemployment is running at more than 45%.In a speech at the airport, Benedict voiced sympathy with the unemployed, saying that “many young people look worriedly to the future, as they search for work, or because they have lost their job or because the one they have is precarious or uncertain”.Some protesters argue the real cost to taxpayers of the Pope’s visit is more than 100mn euros including the policing, cleaning and discounts to pilgrims such as half-price bus fares.Organisers, though, say most of the cost will be covered by a registration fee from the assembled pilgrims, and the celebration will be a massive tourist boost for Spain.A Mexican chemistry student appeared in a Madrid court yesterday after being accused by police of plotting a gas attack on the anti-papal protesters.Jose Alvano Perez Bautista told the court his threats on the Internet were only meant as “joke” and he was given conditional release, facing charges of making aggravated threats.Benedict celebrates mass at an air base near Madrid on Sunday morning at a white altar almost 200m long in front of a wave-shaped stage and under a giant parasol “tree”, made of interwoven golden rods.