Sydney Youth Day Seen as Act of Faith

(July 14, 2008) Choosing Sydney as the venue for World Youth Day 2008 was an act of faith on the part of Pope Benedict XVI, and the Archdiocese of Sydney, says a Vatican spokesman. Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican press office, and Vatican radio and Television affirmed this in the most recent edition of Vatican Television's "Octava Dies." Fr Lombardi is travelling with the Pope as part of his entourage to Australia. He said he believes that with the Pope's and pilgrims' arrival, "the countenance of the Australian metropolis is being transformed for a week into the world capital of youth, and not just Catholic" youth. World Youth Day is proving to be the most popular event in Australia's history. It will attract some 125,000 young pilgrims from all over the world, more than the 2000 Olympic Games. "It was an act of faith and courage of Cardinal George Pell and of the Church in Australia to invite young people worldwide to Sydney," Father Lombardi acknowledged. "It was an act of faith and courage of the Pope to accept.” However, no place of the Church is far away. The Spirit leads the disciples to proclaim the Gospel to the ends of the earth. "Today's young people, tomorrow's adults, and this Sydney experience will be wonderful for their lives," said Fr Lombardi.