Australia delight at Pope's Sydney plans
Australian prime minister John Howard today welcomed news the Pope is to visit Sydney for the World Youth Day celebrations in 2008, an event expected to draw thousands of overseas pilgrims to the city.
Pope Benedict XVI yesterday announced the celebration for young Catholics will be held in Sydney in July 2008.
While the Pontiff did not tell worshippers in Cologne, Germany that he would be attending, a statement from the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney said he would head Down Under.
“Following strong speculation in recent weeks, Pope Benedict XVI yesterday made the official announcement World Youth Day 2008 will be held in Sydney, and that he will be coming here to meet the young people of the world in July 2008,” the statement said.
Sydney archbishop Cardinal George Pell, added: “Sydney is a beautiful city and Australia is a great country, and I look forward to welcoming Pope Benedict XVI and the youth of the world for World Youth Day 2008. Everyone is welcome.”
Howard said Australia’s successful hosting of the 2000 Olympics and 2003 Rugby World Cup had demonstrated its capability of staging such large events.
“It’s a demonstration that Australia is seen as a country that is open and friendly and can organise things,” he told Macquarie Radio network.
“The success of the Sydney Olympics and the success of the Rugby World Cup have both validated, indeed emphasised, the credentials of Australia around the world as a country that is friendly and welcoming and capable and modern.”
The Pontiff announced Sydney would host the celebration at the end of a Youth Day Mass outside the German city of Cologne that drew one million people. The event, begun by Pope John Paul II, is generally held every three years.
