Papal Impact

Just about every day, there is something in the local papers about World Youth Day. The press has been rather critical, but Saturday’s edition of the Sydney Morning Herald ran an article from John Allen that is worth reading here.

Contrary to the local news, the various international sources writing about WYD, especially in light of the most recent Papal visit to the U.S., have been overwhelmingly positive.

Two such examples come from H2O News (a quick three minute video clip entitled, Pope’s Visit to US a success found here) and the Brian Lehrer Show of WNYC in New York (a 23 minute audio clip entitled, Message of Hope found here). All three provide answers to some of the criticism and speak of the importance of these visits. God be praised.

As for the local situation here, we asked a few parishioners after mass today how the lead-up to WYD compares to the lead-up to the Olympics. It is as we thought – the press was just as hard on the Olympics before hand, but when everyone arrived, there was not enough praise for what took place. According to parishioners, there is even very little difference in the topics of criticism – cost, logistics and inconveniences all seem to be the only story worth printing. As for the numbers of people at the Olympics: roughly 120,000. Compare that to approximately 400,000 Holy Spirit-filled youth and you get a city that is about to experience the event of their history!