Richard Gill looks forward to the arrival of Pope Benedict XVI in this country later this month

There are at least four reasons why we should welcome the Pope. The first is that as a head of state, he should be accorded the dignity that is proper to his office. Moreover, he is the head of a state that has influence throughout the world. Because his Church is, numerically, the largest in the world, the influence of Rome is global.

The second reason is that while all Christian churches can regard the Christian past as something they can draw inspiration from, the Church of Rome is better than most in keeping the riches of the past safe. One of the areas in which this is evident is the great tradition of intellectual inquiry. Over the centuries, the best minds have wrestled with the big problems of human life. Rome has helped to keep that thinking alive.

Thirdly, Rome has guarded its artistic heritage: the music, art, architecture and literature of the Christian imagination. Of course, Rome is not the only guardian of Christian art; Bach, we must remember, was a Protestant. Yet Rome's heritage does seem unusually complete and very much a part of its daily life.

Finally, Rome has managed to encourage generations of devotion, as expressed in its rituals, practices and spiritual reading. When too many church leaders give the impression that all that really matters is doing good, Rome upholds a life of holiness.

Before I go any further I ought to say that I do not write as a Roman Catholic, and possibly because of that I can see why some people are troubled by the visit of Benedict XVI.

To put it bluntly: the Church has let its own people down. There have been too many cases when a priest who has molested children has merely been moved to another parish. In doing this, the Bishops have protected one of their own at the expense of the people whom they are supposed to serve. And where are the apologies?

Yet even in this terrible matter, I see some hope. The Pope is coming to beatify John Henry Newman. Newman was what we would now call a polymath – theologian, philosopher, poet, novelist, historian, man of prayer – and one of his emphases was the importance in the Church of the laity – the ordinary people who are not priests. It is they who have been overlooked. And overlooked not only in the Church of Rome. In other churches and in our public life, we have been living through a period in which those in power have tended to use their power against the many. Perhaps the Pope will help us all to listen to the people.

Richard Gill is a teacher, historian and author.