Now the reckoning
Linda Morris; 21/7/08
At the end of yesterday’s papal Mass the Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell, expressed the hope that the seed planted in the Great South Land would “please God, yield a hundredfold harvest”. The show is over. Now comes the hardest part for the church of Australia: capitalising on the goodwill and fervour of the event’s outpouring of religiosity, and stemming the tide of Catholics leaving the church. There will be pressure on it to justify the expense and resources spent on the festivities through tangible signs of renewal in the church, notably more Catholics in the pews and more seminarians. As the driving force to secure World Youth Day, Pell wanted its images of unashamed religious devotion to challenge Australian’s more private “loungeroom” faith.
See: http://www.smh.com.au/news/world-youth-day/now-the-reckoning/2008/07/20/1216492255426.html
Tags: Australia, Christianity, WYD