WYD 08: Pope warns world against the dangers of Angel Food Cake!

On SBS World News Hour last night an excerpt from the papal mass was shown in which the world heard Pope Benedict (with an unfortunate stress on the first syllable) warn the young about a growing spiritual dessert [sic].

In the interests of public safety, posted below is the likely culprit - Black & White Angel Food Cake.
Please report any sighting immediately to the nearest bishop.

Photograph from Culinary in the Desert Country.

Best World Youth Day photo of the week

Darth Vader gets into the act in this photo posted at Larvatus Prodeo during Catholic World Youth Day 2008.
Hats off to ProjectEye for the original.

Worst World Youth Day quote of the week

Original picture found at Google Images

Bishop Anthony Fisher making a mockery of the pain and suffering experienced by sexual abuse victims and their families.

Time to get out the butterfly net, Julia Gillard and capture that flighty PM

Original photo from Google Images

Extract from edited version Kevin Rudd's speech at the official opening of Catholic World Youth Day 2008 found at the Australian Prime Minister's website.

"Some say there is no place for faith in the 21st Century. I say they are wrong. Some say that faith is the enemy of reason, I say, also they are wrong.
Because faith and reason are great partners in our human history and in our human future. Rich in humanity, rich in scientific progress.
Some say only that which they see wrong in Christianity and in the church, I say let us speak also about what is right in Christianity and the church."

With so many Aussies now having a religion that isn't 'christian', only paying lip service to their family's religion or having no religion at all, this is a perfect example of an increasingly evangelical Rudders on an electoral losing trail.

Julia, you delivered the party votes to this egotistical idiot - rein him in before he promises Bene and George that we will become a theocracy!

How many 'pilgrims' does it take to make a circus?

I have to confess to having a bit of a grin on my face whenever a spokesperson or apologist for Catholic World Youth Day 2008 congratulates themselves on a combined estimate of domestic and international 'pilgrim' numbers, ranging from 100,000 to 160,000 so far.
They obviously think that everyone has forgotten that the original numbers, with which the Catholic Church wooed the Iemma Government, were in the vicinity of 225,000 pilgrims/tourists.
How much debt did the Church leave behind in Toronto in 2002 - around $24 million wasn't it?

What doesn't bring a smile to my face is Morris Iemma's statement that; "My faith directly influences my Government's policies in areas like mental health, disability services and housing for the needy and homeless."

Think I'm somewhat in sympathy with the sentiments expressed by Rod of Grafton who comments;
"If Dilemma feels so strongly that his policies are directed by religion then no wonder the state is in ruins. Take all your other highly religious cronies with you Morris and go and become a priest. Good riddance to all of you."
And agree with Ken L. (Road to Surfdom) when he opines;
"I can’t be bothered writing much about the Vatican Circus that’s hit Sydney. I’m sure the indulgence stalls in Hyde Park are doing a roaring trade and the crowds are queueing to see a coffin with a saint inside and crowds of good-natured happy-clappy-Catholics are terrorising passers-by with chants of ‘Jesus Jesus Jesus, Oi Oi Oi!’."

Take that Morris Iemma! Rachel Evans deals a body blow to World Youth Day regulations

BBC NEWS today:

A court in Sydney has struck down a controversial state law that made it illegal to "annoy" pilgrims gathered for a Roman Catholic youth festival.

The judges ruled that the law, which allowed the police to fine people protesting over the Vatican's stance on various issues, limited free speech.
The ruling came as the World Youth Day festival opens. It will be attended by Pope Benedict XVI later this week.
The challenge to the law was brought by a coalition of protest groups.
Activists say they plan to hold a rally on Saturday at which they will demonstrate against the Church's stand on homosexuality and birth control, by handing out condoms and wearing provocative T-shirts.
Civil liberty groups had denounced the New South Wales state law - which threatened fines of up to A$5,500 (£2,680) against anyone causing "annoyance" to pilgrims - as unnecessary and repugnant.

The Sydney Morning Herald today:

Annoyance clause invalid
The judges said that the interpretation of clause 7.1 of the act, which allowed regulation of conduct deemed to be a cause of "annoyance", was invalid because it "affects freedom of speech in a way that, in our opinion, is not supported by the statutory powers".
There was "no intelligible boundary" on what "causes annoyance".
The regulation relating to annoyance "could be expected to have a chilling effect upon the exercise of their freedom of speech because of the very uncertainty about the degree of its infringement upon that freedom", they said.

Well done Ms. Evans. I hope you stand for election again in the future.
Australia needs its fighters.

O to be a pilgrim

Now the Catholic Church has issued an urgent appeal for donations of blankets and winter clothing to warm pilgrims to its Sydney World Youth Day 2008 events this month.
Have I missed something here? This isn't the first such international event, so the Church should have been able to anticipate this need arising.
Could it be that Cardinal Pell was simply too mean to fork out church funds for these items?
Are Bene and George just trying to screw more out of the populace?
Fair crack of the whip, boys - you've already had over $80 million in cash and kind from the Australian taxpayer.
Time to put your hand in your own pockets and draw out the readies for these 'pilgrims'.
In case you hadn't noticed, there are also plenty of Aussies who have few blankets and warm clothes to make it through winter, as well as lacking money to afford any form of international travel.
World Youth Day is providing one PR blunder after another.

World Youth Day 2008 - nobody's happy

Eureka Steet, a publication of Jesuit Communications Australia reported on the opinion of Frank Brennan SJ AO, a professor of law in the Institute of Legal Studies at the Australian Catholic University and Professorial Visiting Fellow, Faculty of Law, University of NSW.

The NSW Government's controversial Amendment to the World Youth Day Act is a dreadful interference with civil liberties, and contrary to the spirit of Catholic Social Teaching on human rights.
As an Australian Catholic lawyer, I am saddened that the state has seen fit to curtail civil liberties further in this instance than they have for other significant international events hosted in Sydney.

The president of the Bar Association, Anna Katzmann SC, has this to say in an SMH letter to the editor.

On its face this law threatens basic civil rights. Moreover, it is bad law to criminalize conduct by regulation and so avoid the level of parliamentary and public scrutiny that attends an act of parliament.

It seems that New South Wales is paying out around $86 million dollars for the dubious privilege of having our human rights extinguished in over 600 locations within the Sydney area for the entire period of World Youth Day events.

Will Morris Iemma pass the collection plate when (not if) this religious event fails to do more than break even financially? The hints that all may not be well are already surfacing in relation to 'pilgrim' numbers.

Last Monday The West Australian raised the possibility of a WYD backlash.

Australian Catholics are treated far more tolerantly today than they were 50 or 100 years ago. But the Church is pushing its luck. It now risks a backlash after the Catholic-dominated NSW Labor Government made it a criminal offence to do anything which “causes annoyance or inconvenience to participants in World (Catholic) Youth Day”....
Unless he wants to resurrect sectarian tensions, Cardinal Pell should support the immediate repeal of the repressive new law and pay a much bigger share of the costs.

Somehow I think the damage has already been done if Australian Catholic University vice-chancellor Greg Craven's rant is any indication.

JUDGING by the fulminations in Sydney against World Youth Day, Benedict XVI may soon become the first pontiff in living memory to paraphrase Mae West. "Is that bigotry in your pocket, or are you just not glad to see me?"

The vice-chancellor likes to think of these draconian regulations as "an unsolicited gift from the State Government."
Sister Mary Clement would have put him in the naughty corner for playing with the truth in this way.

World Youth Day Amendment Regulation 2008 here.

Come all ye faithfull and Sieg Heil George Pell

Stone the crows! Cardinal Pell's wet dream has finally come true.

This month, in connivance with the NSW Iemma Government, he has managed to roll back political and social history as far as the Middle Ages, when church and state were so closely intertwined that they were virtually one.

Annoying or inconveniencing participants in the Catholic Church's taxpayer-funded indulgence, World Youth Day, is now an arrestable offence in this state.

And no, George, I won't believe any hot air about these draconian measures not being sought by the Church. This sort of thing is exactly your style. As is beating up on victims of sexual abuse.

With over 10,000 votes recorded by The Sydney Morning Herald online poll and 90% of those votes going against the Labor far-right mafia's new regulations, it seems that many are unhappy with this turn of events.

Annoying pilgrims at Youth Day : What do you think of the new laws?
For them - 10%
Against them - 90%
Total Votes: 10983
Poll date: 01/07/08

In the interests of thumbing a nose at both Iemma and Pell - here's a little something from Rottentoons.

Update:

Today's Herald Sun article revealing legal attempts (by the Church in New South Wales led by Cardinal Pell) to avoid any legal responsibility to compensate victims of abuse.

This is not a matter of historic record. This is the Catholic Church in 2008 using legal devices to avoid responsibility in court for parishioners raped, sodomised or otherwise abused in its "care".

Iemma and Costa miscalculate and the state suffers

With less than half the projected 'pilgrim numbers now likely to turn up, the Iemma Government's decision to go all the way with il papa and Cardinal Pell is likely to see New South Wales further in debt after the Catholic Church World Youth Day held in Sydney over 5 days of official events in July.

The only question seems to be; will the debt be larger than the reported $24 million that Toronto, Canada was left holding after it hosted this event in 2002.

 

The Daily Telegraph 

THE State Government was forced last night to introduce legislation to appropriate an extra $400 million after finding itself short on cash to pay the bills.

Treasurer Michael Costa has asked Parliament to approve a transfer of funds to pay for "unforeseen" expenses over the past year.

They included horse flu, drought, new hospital beds, allowances for foster carers and $140 million to pay off rail debt.

Mr Costa claimed it was nothing out of the ordinary, calling it a "top up".

 

The Sydney Morning Herald

THE arrival of Pope Benedict in Sydney for World Youth Day is looming as an unholy disaster for the luxury hotels of Sydney.

Top-end hotels and businesses are reeling from the huge shortfall in predicted numbers. Domestic tourists are also reluctant to take holidays in Sydney because of the expected disruption to roads. One five-star hotel set aside 1000 beds and has not received one booking.

 

The Age

The NSW government has defended its decision to spend $86 million on World Youth Day, saying it would bring international attention to Sydney at a fraction of the cost of the Olympics.

The NSW government's spokeswoman for World Youth Day, Kristina Keneally, said the government would spend $86 million to support the event, compared to the $390 million it provided for the Olympics.

 

The Sydney Morning Herald

This figure [$86 million] does not include taxpayers' $42 million compensation payment - shared between federal and state governments - to the racing industry for use of Randwick racecourse as the venue for the closing papal Mass.

 

ABC News

Sydney's deputy Lord Mayor says parts of Hyde Park will be closed for three months after World Youth Day to repair the damage caused by thousands of pilgrims using the area.

Tony Pooley says the northern part of the park will be affected by the heavy pedestrian traffic during World Youth Day events in mid-July.

Councillor Pooley says the rehabilitation cost of $100,000 is minimal when considering how much money the event will inject into the state's economy.---

"The Catholic Church has asked us to pay for those costs," he said.

 

World Youth Day 2008 official website

Welcome to the World Youth Day 2008 HomeStay program.

This is your chance to play an important and rewarding role in Sydney's hosting of the world's biggest youth event.

We are asking Homestay Hosts to volunteer to host pilgrims from overseas - or from outside Sydney - from 14 July to 21 July 2008.

Pilgrims will be 18 years or older. Homestay Hosts are asked to provide bed and breakfast (cold or hot) on a complimentary basis.

A virgin birth?

Have organisers of the Catholic Church's World Youth Day 2008 achieved a small miracle with their selection of Sydney man Alfio Stuto to play the leading role in a performance of the Stations of the Cross?

Google reveals that before it was announced that Stuto, 27, was one of the four finalists in the running for the leading role he had no prior history in Googleland.

What? A 27 year old who doesn't have a Google track record?

Perhaps the Catholic church has pulled off the best long shot of the year. Then again, it could be that forces have been at work to ensure the church's selection has the appearance of a clean skin.