Sydney Hosts Pope Benedict

[Matilda]

Pope Benedict arrived in Sydney this morning, as part of the World Youth Day festivities beind held
here this week.

He spent the last four days at a Retreat outside Sydney, where he was provided with a kitten for
company and a piano for relaxation while he rested from his long flight to Australia.

About 500,000 young pilgrims and Sydneysiders are expected to be in the city later this afternoon,
when the Pope will address pilgrims at Darling Harbour (near the southern end of the Harbour Bridge),
following a motorcade through the city.

The WYD event is turning into a great success, in spite of earlier attempts by our inept State
Government to turn it into a debacle. Police were given APEC-style extra powers to stop and search
people in the city, and a ruling was issued by the Government banning the sale or wearing of t-shirts
or badges with slogans that would be annoying or offensive to pilgrims. Of course, that caused
general ridicule and anger, much of it deflected to the Catholic Church - the Catholic-haters really
came out of the woodwork.

Things weren't helped by the Cardinal's handling of a sex-abuse case which has been ongoing for many
years (he had lied about the sexual history of a priest who later died in jail). The victim in
question is pushing for compensation, which he says the Cardinal is deliberately stalling (that's
probably true), and what better time to publicise it?

But the Federal Court threw out the stupid "annoying t-shirt" rule, the sun is shining, the sea is
blue, and most people have calmed down and are enjoying the spectacle.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/07/17/2306556.htm

http://www.smh.com.au/news/world-youth-day/sorry-courage-praised/2008/07/16/1216162959930.html

[CBHagman]

1. MARSUPIAL BREAK!

We know that the Holy Father likes cats. He seemed pretty taken with the Australian wildlife, too, at least the cuddlier specimens.

http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2008/07/16/pope_and_koala_wideweb__470x328,0.jpg

[Matilda]

2. It was an unplanned response to the Pope's request to see some native animals.

I rather liked the name of the "red-necked joey" (a baby kangaroo) -
Tammy Faye.

It was also good to see that, following his harbour trip to The Hungry
Mile* for his greeting to the pilgrims, Pope Benedict motioned for the
priests and bishops accompanying him to move back and allow the young
people to move up to walk with him. He chatted most of the way with a
young Aboriginal man who had taken part in the smoking ceremony of
welcome to the Pope. Nice.

I'm one of those Sydneysiders who deplore the renaming of The Hungry
Mile, a walkway that stretches along the wharves at Darling Harbour.
The area became famous (or notorious) during the Depression, when wharf-
labourers walked from wharf to wharf every day in search of work. When
the area was redeveloped a few years ago, it was decided to rename it
"Barangaroo" after a famous Aboriginal woman of the early days of
settlement. I think the original name should have been kept in honour
of those men who suffered so badly during the dark times of the 1930s.