Alan Gold; 14/5/08
In July, Sydney will be visited by Benedict XVI, spiritual father to one billion Catholics and occupant of the world’s oldest seat of government. Yet with just weeks to go before the visit, insecurity, top-level resignations and a growing sense of doom have turned the organisation of World Youth Day 2008 into a potential nightmare. Organisers of this vast operation are comparing the Pope’s visit to the 2000 Olympics, but this is hardly a valid analogy. A huge team of experts spent eight years ensuring that the Sydney Olympics ran like a well-oiled machine. The same can’t be said for the organisation of the Pope’s visit. Despite assurances from the organisers, most of the extensive preparatory work needed to ensure the health, welfare and safety of the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims who will descend on Sydney has still to be undertaken. And almost nobody contracted to the organising body is willing to speak on the record.
See: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23693123-7583,00.html
Tags: Australia, Christianity, WYD