No winner from this gamble

It is entirely fitting that World Youth Day will culminate at a racetrack when both government and church have made such a giant gamble on the event.

By all estimates this will be the least successful WYD, and the most unpopular with non-Catholics to date.

Indeed Australia is the least Catholic country ever to host the event, at a cost of $160 million to State and Federal Governments, with in-kind support blowing out to $86 million.

Why such a bail-out was needed when the Catholic Church is one of the wealthiest organisations in both Australia and the world is anyone’s guess, but the number of Catholics in our current State Government ranks may have something to do with it.

The inappropriateness of this largesse will not be lost on gay voters when our community holds a larger event every year with no cash from government, causing far less disruption to the wider community.

One must also question how much WYD will contribute to the NSW economy when so many pilgrims weren’t even prepared to pay for accommodation.

And far from strengthening the Catholic Church in Australia, it may actually end up alienating many young Catholics when they come face to face with some of the more outlandish Catholic practices found elsewhere but rarely seen in Australia.

Take, for example, the veneration of saintly corpses. On a trip to Rome some years ago I saw more bits of mouldy, dead bodies on display than I could point a stick at. My favourite was the severed head of a nun -“ complete with habit.

Sydney has just taken delivery of the 80-years-dead body of Pier Giorgio Frassati. The venerable Frassati died of polio, a virulent disease that crippled millions during the 20th century, so keep that in mind before kissing the casket. Considering that one of Frassati’s supposed miracles is that his body refuses to rot, was it entirely wise to rush him through quarantine?

Disappointing too that our Premier saddled potential successor John Watkins with the task of signing the Government’s ridiculous anti-annoyance measures into law. Either Iemma has no care for his party after he’s gone, or he’s successfully tarred a rival.

Things aren’t looking good for Cardinal George Pell either. Rumours are that a successful WYD would have meant his leaving Australia for a plum position in Rome. On second thought, I hope this is the best WYD ever.