Report on papal visit skewed
Sir -- On the occasion of Pope Benedict's recent visit to Madrid most of the media concentrated exclusively on two stories -- the cost and the protests. Indeed, RTE radio news led on the report: "Protests continue in Madrid". Well, the facts have emerged. The Confederation of Businesses of Madrid has stated that the local economy made a profit of €200m because of the visit. Also the Guardia Civil released figures showing that the protesters, all 5,000 of them, numbered 0.33 per cent of those who visited Madrid to welcome the Pope. Strangely enough, RTE has not reported these facts.
Eric Conway,
Navan, Co Meath
