The Pilgrims

[Julia]

I've been reading news reports of the many thousands of young Catholics descending on Sydney in the coming few days and rather feeling for all those ordinary citizens who will find their usual passage about the city impeded.

And also the extraordinary "nuisance law" which dictates apparently that ordinary Sydneysiders may not in any way annoy the pilgrims but that the reverse does not apply, i.e. any frenzied chanting, gatherings etc of the enthusiastic young Catholics may not be deemed annoying to anyone else. Seems a bit lopsided to me.

But then, having seen various shots of bunches of healthy, happy looking young people, replete with their bounteous idealism, I've been forced to admit that perhaps they are a positive influence overall.

I can't go for their religious message in any way at all. And it all seems a bit hypocritical in the face of the recent disclosures of further cover up of sexual abuse by Cardinal Pell, but if we compare their general demeanour and behaviour with that of some of their peers who are so into drug and alcohol abuse, physical and sexual violence, then perhaps we have to concede they have something going for them.

Interested to know what others think.

 

[Whiskers]

I just feel sorry for anyone who so idolises another mere mortal... or worse, a church.

Seems to be a bit of a vacuum in many peoples sense of identity.

 

[Awesomandy]

I just feel sorry for anyone who so idolises another mere mortal... or worse, a church.

Seems to be a bit of a vacuum in many peoples sense of identity.

Judging by their ability to navigate, it appears that there is a bit of a vacuum in their brains too. Usually, it is not a good idea stand around like a herd of sheep, scratching your collective heads and trying to work out which way to go for an extended period of time when you are standing in the middle of a train station between the ticket gates and the stairs leading to/from the platforms during peak hour in one of the busiest station in Sydney.

 

[MRC & Co]

High AUD, high oil prices. Tourism Australia and RET need to do something. Good publicity for Australia, good for the economy, potential of attracting skilled foreign workers at the same time.

Just a few thoughts.

Lol, awesomeandy, that description reminds me of being in Asia. They don't seem to have a clue what is going on around them. I find it rude, but that is their culture.

 

[Wysiwyg]

The deep seated belief in a god, which will likely be perpetuated for the term of human life on this planet, binds large groups together.Without this large group bonding (via belief) there might have been widespread chaos on Earth with many smaller groups roaming the planet.Many small groups with stranger beliefs.

They seek good in people, are not super-beings and are a necessary weaving in the fabric of societies.


.

 

[roland]

just another reason to stay clear of the city - also gives the terrorists a larger area of interest than my locality


SORRY JUST A JOKE - for the sensitive ones!

 

[disarray]

living in sydney there always something going on causing street closures or mass gatherings of people. sports events, concerts, festivals, pilgrims, whatever, its hundreds of thousands of people shuffling around the city and its constant, so its not that much of a hardship to most people. a bit of expenditure in public transport would make a world of difference, people are even protesting against more roadworks and demanding more buses and trains, but unfortunately state government attracts cretins so nothing will ever change.

i see what the nuisance law is trying to do, its to stop other people being deliberately offensive. in the old days if someone was an obnoxious prick you could belt them, but now if you do its your fault blah blah. so the christians just want to celebrate their faith, praise spaghetti monster, have a big love in, then go home and make babies under controlled conditions so we don't Populate or Perish.

but no, all these other douchebags aren't content with just making a civilised point, they want to walk into the middle of it and protest and hand out condoms and deliberately make the pilgrims feel uncomfortable. how about doing that outside friday prayers at lakemba mosque because islam punishes homosexuality with death? thought not.

it's really starting to piss me off, some people can run around like assholes and suffer little consequence, while generally unoffensive people who take a stand get screwed. its a shame the nuisance law is necessary but if you don't let people stand up for themselves then you need to draft laws to stand up for them. so there you go.

i'd prefer to hit someone, its much more civilised.

 

[juw177]

High AUD, high oil prices. Tourism Australia and RET need to do something. Good publicity for Australia, good for the economy, potential of attracting skilled foreign workers at the same time.

Just a few thoughts.

A little bit of Howard rhetoric (propaganda) there?

Attracting more migrant workers means our wages go down, our infrastructure overloaded, our land overdeveloped and inflation in general.

Unless you are a property developer I dont see the benefit out weighing the cost.

 

[MRC & Co]

A little bit of Howard rhetoric (propaganda) there?

Attracting more migrant workers means our wages go down

and inflation in general.

Tourist dollars are bad are they? Not just for economic growth, but the Australian trade balance?

Immigration in areas of skill shortages will at least aid wage inflation and social wellbeing. Unless you want to spend 17 hours at emergency?

Whilst Howard definately went too far IMO (and I was happy when he got booted), all he spoke was not simply rhetoric, the man actually knew a thing or two.

 

[2020hindsight]

well , Sydney has put on a ripper day for it
Hopefully it stays around for the week.

Saw a group of French-speaking students in town - including some bloke with a giant yellow flag - reminded me of Don Quixote lol - almost using it like a lance jokingly - up and down the platform at Wynyard as a marshalling point for the trains arriving -

I asked his friend "what's with the flag ?"
"eet eez zee Vatican flag" I was told
"but no, we are no Swiss guards?"
- had a good laugh together .

great atmosphere in town - thousands of different accents.

Anecdote #2 - my friend is billetting some young pilgrims - turns out they are from IRAQ - (we have some delightful Iraqis who are the cleaners at work btw)
Anyway, their visas were slow coming through - they will arrive late Wednesday - after much of the festivities for the youngsters

 

[agro]

as a catholic, i regret not going! i will be glued to the tv when it's on SBS this arvo

an event which gathers together the many people from across the world strengthens my belief which is often hard to do living in a secular country such as australia..

 

[ghotib]

I've been reminding myself for months that before the Olympics Sydney was full of negativity and predictions of doom which were all proved wrong. But this is different, IMO.

The best thing to be said for it so far is that the Sydney Catholic Church has made such a shambles of its own arrangements that it's made the NSW state government look like competent planners, which is a miracle if you like.

What kind of institution invites "youth" from all over the world and after they arrive has to start asking the public for blankets?

What kind of muddleheads declare a world youth DAY and never get around to telling anyone in the city at large which of the 5, 6, or 7 days of disruption it's supposed to be. It's not a day, it's a week. Or something.

Even before that, Sydney has an Olympics precinct which was set up for major events - so how come the church and the government between them changed the venue to the state's major race course and are compensating the AJC from public funds.

The "Annoyance Law" is a disgrace. So is a leader of a major religion who declares climate change a major moral issue but continues to treat condoms as some kind of threat to human life. Not to mention flying a corpse all over the globe.

I don't wish the "pilgrims" - or are they tourists - any harm and I have no doubt they'll have a great time. Why wouldn't they? Woodstock - the first one - was a great time for large numbers of youth too. As a religious event this is quite big and will no doubt be meaningful to many. Why wouldn't it. The Billy Graham crusades were. The hajj is every year, though that's much bigger than this event.

I also acknowledge that these tourists are much more fun than the APEC - or was it OPEC - mob. Though the Chaser might not agree.

But as a public benefit. Bah Humbug!!

 

[2020hindsight]

I also acknowledge that these tourists are much more fun than the APEC - or was it OPEC - mob. Though the Chaser might not agree.

rofl m8

As for the Chasers, I heard them say last week - "It's much harder to hire a decoy Pope-mobile than a stretch limo "

 

[ghotib]

UPDATE: The court has thrown out the annoyance law. Cop that young Iemma.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/world-youth-day/no-to-annoy-laws-court/2008/07/15/1215887596459.html

 

[cuttlefish]

I have no problem at all with the pilgrims being here and I hope its a great event for them, but I am opposed to the nuisance legislation and see it as quite hypocritical that the government is willing to pander to one religious group in this way.

 

[disarray]

i think it was more a "proof of concept" thing. if it was successful it could then be applied to anything at all, like APEC or protests outside parliament house or anyone with enough clout to get it enacted for their big event.

unless anyone knows about the machinations i'd imagine it was more about getting the legislation through and tested than "pandering to christians". any kind of mass social gathering could have been eligible for this law.

 

[juw177]

The last time we had a worldwide event in Australia was the Olympic torch relay and all the attendees were portrayed as brainwashed people that hate other cultures (Tibetans). The hypocrisy is quite sickening.

Sorry for the rant. That was not aimed at you disarray.

 

[sam76]

"I lost my virginity at World Youth Day"

 

[Rafa]

tend to agree disarray, it was a stupid peice of legislation thats served no purpose other than test how far the big brother govt can further infringe upon the rest of society in the long term.



as for WYD... yeah, its a great event, having been to one myself in Canada... its like being at world cup soccer tournament, or the carnivalle in rio, without the sex, drugs and alcohol... good clean fun, as they used to say. i think you'll find there are more cultures and religions participating in this event that you would find at a UN gathering, which only adds to it even more.

i would appeal to any sydneysiders, if you are free, to check out the atmophere and the entertainment.... certainly, i wouldn't be it comparing to the hajj, which is a rather more serious event, and is stipulated under islamic law as a must do event.

 

[professor_frink]

as for WYD... yeah, its a great event, having been to one myself in Canada... its like being at world cup soccer tournament, or the carnivalle in rio, without the sex, drugs and alcohol... good clean fun, as they used to say.

pfffft

What's the point of that?