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Protest marks Pope’s arrival
from http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24012684-5005961,00.html
ABOUT 150 protesters in Melbourne have marked the Pope’s arrival in Australia with a rally against World Youth Day.
Organised by a coalition of secular groups, Youth Against World Youth Day targeted the Pope’s attitude towards women, gay people, abortion, condoms and clergy sexual abuse.
Jason Ball, one of the organisers, said people wanted to vent their frustrations on what World Youth Day represented.
“We’ve got people here who are frustrated it’s called World Youth Day but it’s not all-inclusive, it doesn’t include all youth, it’s organised by the Catholic church and is promoting Catholicism,” Mr Ball said.
“We’re frustrated by the taxpayer funded nature of the event, to the tune of $150 million.”
Mr Ball said people were also angry about the NSW Government’s so-called “annoyance” laws, which critics say place restrictions on what protesters could wear and what placards they could display.
“Seeing as they can’t do it in Sydney, we want to do it in Melbourne. We want to do it constructively, peacefully, and let them know that we have a right to free speech.”
Mr Ball said T-shirts such as the ones worn by protesters today, saying “Pope is wrong, put a condom on” or “Blasphemy is not a crime”, were likely to be deemed annoying to Catholics under the new laws.
Many of the protesters planned to head to Sydney to take part in rallies there, he said.
Pope Benedict XVI this afternoon landed in Sydney for this week’s WYD celebrations, that runs July 15-20.
More articles mentioning the rally:
http://news.smh.com.au/world/pope-to-apologise-for-abuse-by-priests-in-australia-20080713-3egq.html
http://www.stuff.co.nz/4617092a12.html
http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=28&ContentID=84533
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,24012632-5001021,00.html
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24009065-5005961,00.html
http://news.sbs.com.au/worldnewsaustralia/pope_benedict_arrives_in_sydney_for_wyd_551679
http://www20.sbs.com.au/podcasting/index.php?action=feeddetails&feedid=12&id=14567
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jQWrOpONrX_Zx5OMn4NLysrBsDWgD91SSPU80
PRESS RELEASE - FRIDAY July 11
Proteors to greet 50,000 World Youth Day pilgrims at Melbourne’s Telstra Dome
Organisers of ‘Youth Against World Youth Day’, a Melbourne coalition of university student groups associated with No To Pope Coalition, will greet 50,000 World Youth Day pilgrims with condoms and facts sheets as they head to Commissioning Mass at Telstra Dome tonight, from 5-6pm. The Mass is part of the 5 day long ‘Days in the Dioses’ – Melbourne’s own WYD event.
The protestor’s presence at Telstra Dome seeks to gain momentum for what is expected to be a massive turnout on the steps of Parliament House for a public rally this Sunday, July 13. The 13th will mark Pope Benedict’s first ever Australian visit.
T-shirts and placards with slogans such as ‘Gay is OK’, and ‘Pope is wrong, put a condom on!’ may not be allowed in Sydney the following weekend, unless a push to reject the new restrictions is passed by the NSW government.
“What a fantastic opportunity we have here in Melbourne, as the first city to commence actions without the draconian laws inhibiting our freedom of speech” stated Jason Ball, spokesperson for the rally. “We want to show that we can demonstrate peacefully and constructively – censorship by the NSW government will only antagonise detractors.”
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PRESS RELEASE - TUESDAY July 8
Church abuse awareness groups to attend rally at Parliament House
Pam Krstic of HEAR (Healesville Education and Awareness Raising), a group working towards safety of children regarding clergy misconduct and sexual abuse, has been added to the list of speakers addressing the Youth Against World Youth Day rally, at the steps of Parliament House this Sunday, July 13.
The rally plans to address a range of topics relevant in the lead up to WYD, from erroneous NSW government spending and new laws hindering protest efforts, to the Pope’s attitude towards women, gays and condoms. A number of organiations that deal with church abuse of children, including Broken Rites and In Good Faith and Associates have come on board to endorse the rally.
“What a fantastic opportunity we have here in Melbourne, as the first city to commence actions without the draconian laws inhibiting our freedom of speech” mentioned Jason Ball, spokesperson for the rally.
Ms Krstic will be asking why the Catholic Church is allowed to investigate crimes behind closed doors without any public accountability. “Victims of clergy sexual abuse were silenced by the offender, have been further silenced by the Church since then, and now the NSW government is silencing them” said Ms Krstic.
Many of these organisations have been protesting outside St Patrick’s Cathedral on a weekly basis leading up to the rally, seeking restorative meetings with the Archbishop of Melbourne Denis Hart.
Helen Last of In Good Faith and Associates explained; “He came out last week and turned his back on us. He said he would pray for us but it’s too late for prayers, it’s time for proper protective action for children.”
Chirs MacIaac of Broken Rites is calling for an apology to victims of church sexual abuse from the Pope during his visit for WYD. “What we want is a proper apology, not just a “motherhood” statement within a homily.”
Ms Last added; “The Pope has promised there will be a big pastoral engagement and we’re not seeing any of it and haven’t seen any of it for 10 years.”
A spokesman for Archbishop Hart said he had no plans to meet victims of clergy sexual abuse.
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PRESS RELEASE - Monday July 7
Melbourne rally supports growing opposition to World Youth Day
Secular and human rights student activists from around Melbourne have organised a rally to oppose the $150 million in taxpayers’ money going to Catholic World Youth Day. The rally also plans to publicly condemn the Pope’s attitudes towards women, homosexuals, non-believers and contraception.
The rally starts at 1.30pm on Sunday, July 13 and will be held on the steps of Parliament House, Spring Street. Student groups have organised the speakers, who include Australian Humanist of the Year and former Senator Lyn Allison.
On the occasion of World Youth Day, NSW police and emergency service workers have been given the power to hand out fines of up to $5000 to anyone “causing an annoyance or inconvenience” to WYD pilgrims. “Fortunately, in Melbourne we do not have the same draconian laws as Sydney. We want to show our support to Sydney protesters whose civil liberties have been trampled by the NSW government,” stated Jason Ball, President of the University of Melbourne Secular Society and event spokesperson. “These NSW laws are censorship. Not allowing t-shirts or signs that could ‘annoy’ the participants is a blatant attack on freedom of speech.”
On the state sponsorship of the religious event, Lyn Allison commented “Australia does not have a history of debate and discussion about the appropriate interface between church and state. The current issues now provide an opportunity to start a real debate on the need for and ways of separating church and state. Other countries are doing this. Norway is consulting nation wide on formal separation. It is time that Australia followed suit.”
The rally will also be protesting the Catholic Church’s opposition to the use of condoms, even in AIDS ridden Africa. “Restricting contraception in developing countries is a clear breach of the right to health,” says women’s rights activist and speaker at the rally, Sue Bolton. “Furthermore, the Pope’s opposition to abortion condemns thousands of women to death through backyard abortions each year. The Pope labels homosexuality an ‘intrinsic moral evil,’ which is divisive and discriminatory, and only encourages the spread of homophobia.”
At the rally, volunteers will be handing out condoms and collecting donations for the Victorian AIDS Council. They will also be wearing t-shirts and holding banners that openly critisise the Pope’s views, which due to the new laws is a freedom exclusive to citizens outside of NSW.