UK on map for Papal visit

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has invited Pope Benedict XVI to visit the UK. The invitation was extended yesterday when the two men met in the Vactican to discuss the global financial crisit and its impact on efforts to help the poor. Although no firm date was set it's thought that the Pope's visit may be arranged around the beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman, which is expected to take place soon. Prime Minister Brown preceded his meeting with the Pope by pledging that the G20 nations, in which 90% of the world's economic activity takes place, would not abandon under developed nations in the face of the economic crisis. In an article in the Vatican newspaper L'osservatore Romano, he wrote the the Holy See and he were in agreement on the need to reduce economic protectionism and pointed to the Holy See's decade long support for the Doha round of trade negotiations which would open the markets of wealthier nations to the world's poorest. The British Prime MInister estimated that the lives of 2.8million children in underdeveloped nations would be threatened over the next five years because of the global economic crisis.