euro|topics - The World Youth Day in Sydney

Main focus of Monday, July 21, 2008

The World Youth Day in Sydney

Yesterday the 23rd World Youth Day of the Roman Catholic Church came to an end in Sydney. Around 400,000 young people from all over the world attended the closing mass, led by Pope Benedict XVI. Europe's press discusses the impact of this religious festival.

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung - Germany

The conservative daily the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung comments on how the World Youth Day (WYD) has changed over the past ten years: "Rome, Toronto, Cologne and now Sydney stand not only for superlatives but for a rhythm of alternating ecstasy and daily routine that now allows us to speak of a 'WYD generation' that spans the entire world and embraces millions. This generation is united by a consciousness fundamentally different from that of the 1968 generation and their children. Its horizons are determined not by the constraining and alarming factor of the Cold War and competing views of the world ..., but instead by a world without boundaries in every sense of the word, in which globalisation and the accelerated [pace of life] that goes with it overcome all boundaries. ... In this world without restraints the Catholic Church's claim to be not just an organisation but an institution is increasingly proving to be a constraining, indeed increasingly resistant element. For precisely that reason it is in accord with the hopes of people living in the North and in the South for justice, peace and the preservation of the Creation." (21/07/2008)

Tagesanzeiger - Switzerland

The Swiss daily Der Tagesanzeiger criticises the Pope during his visit to Australia for not receiving the parents of two victims of sexual abuse by priests, Anthony and Christina Foster, personally: "The Pope may have addressed the subject of sexual abuse in Sydney, but he limited himself to platitudes. He recognised that those responsible had 'damaged the credentials of the church' and said the victims should receive care and those responsible be brought to justice. But that happens only very rarely in Australia. Instead of alerting the police, charges are often investigated internally by the church. And usually the outcome is a quiet agreement between the victims and the church. ... The joy that the World Youth Day has brought to Sydney has been marred by the fact that words like 'sympathy' and 'love of one's neighbour' sound hollow in the mouth of the Pope so long as people like Anthony and Christina Foster do not get a hearing." (21/07/2008)

Dnevnik - Slovenia

In his column on the website of the Slovenian daily Dnevnik journalist Andrej Mrevlje describes the Catholic Church's World Youth Day as an offensive against the secularisation of the world: "Australia is one of the world's most secular countries. Its economy is stable and Australia is seen as the country of a thousand cultures. And it is precisely this that most troubles the Roman Catholic Church. ... The criterion that decides where the World Youth Day takes place is no longer the holiness of a given location, which serves as spiritual inspiration. On the contrary, for its World Youth Day the church of Pope Benedict has sought out those places that most need the presence of Catholics. In other words, the goal of these gatherings of young Catholics from all over the world is no longer to move away from secularism but to confront it on its own territory. ... It is difficult to say whether the Church was successful in Australia. ... What we do know for sure is that the Church is present in every pore of modern society, and with the aid of modern means employs its own specific and conservative language which does not allow for fallibilities. There are no fallibilities as far as the darkest sides of the Catholic Church are concerned. These dark sides deprive it of moral authority." (21/07/2008)

» To the complete press review of Monday, July 21, 2008

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