State Visit of Pope Benedict?

There is a report in the Times yesterday by Ruth Gledhill , and taken up by the blogging community (see onetimothyfour
) that there could be a State Visit to Britain by Pope Benedict as early as next year.
I remember the pastoral visit of Pope John Paul II very well, in particular his visit to Pontcanna Fields in Cardiff and (on television) his visit to Canterbury Cathedral and the hopes which it inspired in many of us.
The heady days of ARCIC and dreams of Anglican – Catholic unity (at least in the way we envisaged then) seem to be over, but a visit from the Holy Father, perhaps coinciding with the beatification of John Henry Cardinal Newman and who knows what else, could be a huge factor in the reinvigoration of the life of the Church in these islands and a step towards the reconversion of our society to Christ.
We must hope and above all pray.