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World Youth Day pilgrims during the storm that swept across Cuatro Vientos airfield. Credit: Official WYD Flickr.com-madrid11 Rome, Italy, Oct 13, 2011 / 03:08 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- As thunder, lightning and wind whipped through the World Youth Day prayer vigil this past August, Pope Benedict XVI was advised to leave the event three times. But he insisted that if the young people stayed, then he would too. The revelation comes from a young Honduran woman was who stood next to the Pope throughout the event. “The masters of ceremony were asking him if the wanted to leave because it was raining,...

When the Vatican announced that World Youth Day would be held in Denver in 1993, many news experts predicted that the event would be a failure. The United States, they said, was different than countries like Poland and Argentina, where previous World Youth Days had met great success. The United States, they claimed, lacked an entrenched tradition of Catholic pilgrimage, the traveling distances required to assemble a large gathering from across the country were too large, and most importantly American young people would simply be uninterested in the pope or his message. On August 10, 1993, stunned reporters crumpled their...

MADRID, August 26, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Spain’s largest homosexual organization, the Spanish Confederation of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, and Transgender People (COLEGAS), has issued a statement condemning “kiss-ins� and other forms of protest carried out by homosexuals against the pope and Catholics at the country’s recently-concluded World Youth Day. The organization has issued a communiqué not only denouncing the protests, but has called for the “immediate dismissal� of the government’s delegate to Madrid, Dolores Carrión, for allowing the vulgar protests to take place. The organization noted its differences with the Catholic Church on sexual morals and condoms, but added, “we cannot...

Pope Benedict XVI saw that 1.4 million young people could be buffeted by gusty winds and drenched by a driving rain and still fall silently to their knees to adore the Eucharist. At the final Mass closing the 26th World Youth Day Aug. 21, the pope challenged the Catholic pilgrims to take that faith, make it grow and share it with the world. Despite the hardships of getting to the Cuatro Vientos military air base in blistering heat Aug. 20 and the downpour during the nighttime vigil with the pope, hundreds of thousands of young people from around the world...

What a way to end the pilgrimage! This morning, I gathered with a million other young people to celebrate at the Papal Mass, held on the Cuatro Vientos airfield. It is a moment I will not forget. Most pilgrims headed out to the field the night before for Eucharistic Adoration with Pope Benedict XVI and spent the night sleeping out in the field. The field itself was a massive open space, mostly dirt and dust, with no shade from the sun or heat. However, that did not deter any of the pilgrims there, and merely added to the unforgettable experience....

Pilgrims from Brazil celebrate after the announcement of WYD2014 in Rio de Janeiro Madrid, Spain, Aug 21, 2011 / 11:59 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Rio de Janeiro in Brazil will host World Youth Day in 2013, Pope Benedict XVI told a million young pilgrims after celebrating Mass at Mardrid’s Cuarto Vientos airbase on August 21.“Even now, let us ask the Lord to assist all those who will organize it and to ease the journey there of young people from all over the world, so that they will be able to join me in that beautiful city of Brazil,” the Pope...

Thomas Zeng, WYD pilgrim from China Madrid, Spain, Aug 21, 2011 / 01:19 pm (CNA).- The final Mass of World Youth Day was a sea of national flags. In the million-strong crowd, however, it was hard to find one particular flag – China. That’s until CNA bumped into Thomas Zeng.“This week has been absolutely fascinating,” said the university student who’s traveled all the way from Shanghai to be at World Youth Day in Madrid. Thomas says he doesn’t know of any other pilgrims from China.“It is wonderful that I can meet so many Catholics, more than one million. That...

The pope speaks despite the storm Despite gusting winds that blew off his hat and driving rain that cut short his sermon, Pope Benedict XVI spoke to a crowd that the Associated Press estimated at �more than a million young people� Saturday night.In the middle of the crowd was 19-year-old Blanca Beas from Green Forest, Arkansas, who for a week has faithfully sent home photos and updates of her pilgrimage with 30 other kids and chaperones from two rural parishes near the Missouri border.“Pulling an all nighter with the Pope!! � she texted home to anxious parents and friends worried...

video http://madrid11.com/Hunh, guess the media doesn't want to cover this mob.Probably 'cuz it's their kindgdom that's being looted and burned.

And thus, one of the biggest stories on the planet right now. Certainly, the most positive and hopeful one at the moment. Where are all the social commentaries now? After weeklong rioting and violence in London by hostile youth mobs seized world media attention in continuous news cycles filled with political and social analysis, we have a weeklong ‘event’ in another European capital with a million young people pouring in from all over the globe and it’s largely and intentionally ignored by big media. Never mind them. Here’s the story. On the eve of Pope Benedict XVI’s arrival in Madrid,...

Lunch with Pope Benedict XVI (Credit: Official WYD Twitter.com) Madrid, Spain, Aug 20, 2011 / 10:38 am (CNA/EWTN News).- World Youth Day volunteers who were selected to have lunch with Pope Benedict XVI on August 19 experienced a relaxed, communal and exciting atmosphere, sharing their thoughts and experiences.“The Pope was very happy, (and) laughed with all of us. That is a side of him that I wish more people would know, because it is not well known,” said 33-year old Juan Carlos Piedra, from Ecuador, in an interview with CNA.Piedra was one of twelve World Youth Day 2011 volunteers...

Lucas and Laurent Masila Madrid, Spain, Aug 20, 2011 / 11:37 am (CNA).- It took a long trip, and “a lot of sacrifice,” for Lucas Masila and his 6-year old son Laurent to make it to Madrid for World Youth Day 2011. But they're glad to be here, and to have their faith strengthened by Pope Benedict XVI. “It was not easy to come, so we are thankful,” Masila told CNA on August 20. Catholics, he said, “are the majority in Kenya,” but “it is challenging, because of the hardships …  Social-economic situations make it hard, but we are...

Young people carry the World Youth Day cross during the Way of the Cross led by Pope Benedict XVI in Madrid Aug. 19. (CNS/Paul Haring) By Cindy Wooden and Gretchen R. CroweCatholic News Service MADRID (CNS) -- The mood at World Youth Day changed dramatically late Aug. 19 as Pope Benedict XVI and hundreds of thousands of young people turned their thoughts to suffering. The vividly painted, graphic statues that illustrated each station of Jesus' passion and death were accompanied by meditations focused on individuals, groups and nations enduring serious suffering today. Many young people -- even those blocks...

Pope Benedict proclaimed St. John of Avila Doctor of the Universal church on Saturday at a Mass for young seminarians in the cathedral of Santa María la Real de La Almudena in Madrid. Emer McCarthy reports from the Spanish capital:On Saturday, to the joy of Spaniards, priests and Catholics around the world Pope Benedict XVI declared St John of Avila Doctor of the Universal Church.Madrid’s neo-gothic cathedral of Santa María la Real de La Almudena filled with the voices of young men raised in prayer Saturday morning, the future pastors of the Spanish Church. “Looking at you�, - Pope Benedict...

It was the first great ecclesial event of this 26th WYD to take place in the presence of Pope Benedict XVI, and it was the very essence of Spanish devotion. The world had come to Madrid and Madrid brought the Iberian Holy Week and in particular, their Way of the Cross, to the world stage. Fraternities, ancient guilds of artisans, custodians of Stations had carried the precious statues from all four corners of the nation to Madrid’s Cibeles square. The station from Malaga leaving the city boundaries for the first time in its centuries old history.The sun was still high,...

Pope Benedict XVI, centre, arrives at San Lorenzo del Escorial monastery in Madrid on Friday, part of a four-day visit for the Roman Catholic Church's World Youth Day festivities. (Arturo Rodriguez/Associated Press)Pope Benedict XVI lamented modern society's "amnesia" about God as he travelled Friday to a famed Spanish monastery on the second day of his four-day visit for the Roman Catholic Church's world youth festival.Several hundred young nuns cheered, waved flags and performed the "wave" at El Escorial monastery as they waited for Benedict inside a courtyard of a 16th-century complex, a UNESCO world heritage site about 50 kilometres northwest...

Pope Benedict XVI attends the monastery of El Escorial in San Lorenzo de El Escorial on the second day of his four-day visit to Spain coinciding with the World Youth Day festivities August 19, 2011. Your Eminence,My Brother Bishops,Dear Augustinian Fathers,Dear Professors,Distinguished Authorities,Dear Friends, I have looked forward to this meeting with you, young professors in the universities of Spain. You provide a splendid service in the spread of truth, in circumstances that are not always easy. I greet you warmly and I thank you for your kind words of welcome and for the music which has marvellously resounded in...

Archbishop Charles J. Chaput speaks at a WYD catechesis session in Madrid Madrid, Spain, Aug 18, 2011 / 12:56 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Archbishop-designate of Philadelphia Charles J. Chaput told thousands of young people gathered in Madrid for World Youth Day that an authentic relationship with Christ isn't based purely on emotions. “Ultimately, it will not be how you feel that will determine how genuine and profound your encounter with Jesus is,” he told pilgrims. “Instead, it will be determined by how much you are transformed into Him and how much you burn in the desire to bring Him to...

Pope Benedict XVI gestures to the crowd as he arrives at Madrid's Cibeles square Thursday Aug. 18, 2011. The Pope arrived Thursday for a four-day visit to celebrate World Youth Day. Madrid, Spain, Aug 18, 2011 / 03:03 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Benedict XVI told the hundreds of thousands of young pilgrims at World Youth Day in Madrid that they will be happy and at peace if they center their lives on the “solid rock” of Jesus Christ. Build “your lives upon the firm foundation which is Christ,” he urged. “Then you will be blessed and happy and your happiness...

(ANSA) - Vatican City, August 18 - As Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Madrid Thursday, Vatican Radio released a statement rebuffing claims from angry Spanish protesters that the pontiff's visit for World Youth Day was an unfair burden on taxpayers. "The event will not cost anything" for Spain, it said. "The burden will fall on the church, the pilgrims, and private donors," it added, citing Spanish Government Spokesman Jose Blanco. The Spanish leftist union CGT instead estimated that the real cost to taxpayers is around 100 million euros when taking into account security, public buildings and spaces made available,...

Archbishop Dolan greets World Youth Day pilgrims from New York in Madrid. (CNS/Paul Haring) By Gretchen R. CroweCatholic News Service MADRID (CNS) -- World Youth Day pilgrims got down to business in Madrid Aug. 17 as the first catechesis classes taught by archbishops and bishops were held in locations throughout the city. Sessions were divided by languages, and pilgrims were encouraged to go to the session closest to their accommodations. At San Ricardo Church, northwest of the city center, cheers and cries of welcome greeted New York Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan as a group of approximately 350 young people...

Pope Benedict XVI waves as he arrives at Madrid's Barajas airport from Rome, August 18, 2011. The Pope arrived in Spain's capital for a four-day visit culminating in a mass on Sunday in the Cuatro Vientos aerodrome which over two million people are expected to attend. MADRID - Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday denounced the profit-at-all-cost mentality he says is behind Europe's current economic crisis. The pontiff insisted that morals and ethics must play a greater role in formulating economic policy in the future."Man must be at the centre of the economy and the economy must not be measured only...

MADRID, Spain, August 16, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Cardinal Archbishop of Madrid, Antonio Maria Rouco Varela, has granted all of the 2,000 priests attending World Youth Day this week the special power to the lift the excommunication and to grant absolution in confession to those who have committed the sin of abortion. According to the Catholic Church’s Code of Canon Law, any person who procures an abortion is automatically excommunicated from the Church (can. 1398).  This penalty – the worst penalty there is under canon law - can only be lifted by the pope and bishops, as well as...

Pilgrims fill Madrid's Plaza de Cibeles for the opening Mass of World Youth Day. The Aug. 16 Mass was dedicated to Blessed John Paul II, who hosted the first such international gathering of Catholic youths in Argentina in 1987. (CNS/Paul Haring) By Gretchen R. CroweCatholic News Service MADRID (CNS) -- A cloudless blue sky turned to inky night as hundreds of thousands of pilgrims participated in the opening Mass for World Youth Day, celebrated by Madrid Cardinal Antonio Rouco Varela in the Plaza de Cibeles. Protected from the heat by white umbrellas and streams of soft mists, dozens of...

Tetsu Itoh and Kyoko Kitagawa hold their Love from Japan banner in Madrid Madrid, Spain, Aug 15, 2011 / 07:00 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Although Japan's population is only one percent Catholic, two World Youth Day pilgrims from that country are getting a lot of attention for their handmade banner that says “Love from Japan.” “A friend of ours stitched it – it is the Virgin Mary, all the way from Japan,” said Tetsu Itoh, a World Youth Day social media volunteer who explained the attention-grabbing banner to CNA.The light gray banner depicts the Virgin Mary wearing traditional Asian attire, holding the boy Jesus,...

Pilgrims from the Brooklyn diocese display the 9/11 flag A U.S. flag that has appeared at every World Youth Day over the past decade in remembrance of 9/11 victims has arrived in Madrid. The flag originally belonged to the family of a young Catholic woman from Brooklyn who was killed in the 2001 terror attack on the World Trade Center. “This flag was given to the family of Suzanne Geraty,” said Fr. Gerard Sauer, chaplain to the World Youth Day pilgrims from the Brooklyn diocese. “She was a parishioner of mine and I buried her,” he told CNA. Thirty-year-old...

Tuesday, Aug. 16: Opening Mass (Live) World Youth Day begins with a Mass in Madrid´s Cibeles Square, presided over by the archbishop of Madrid and concelebrated by the bishops and priests participating in WYD2 PM ET (Live) & Wed. Aug. 17, 12 AM ET (Encore) Wednesday, Aug. 17: Life on the Rock WYD Special Father Mark Mary, M.F.V.A. and Doug Barry host a special World Youth Day edition of Life on the Rock, Live from Madrid, Spain.12 PM ET, Thurs. Aug. 18, 9 PM ET (Encore),Fri. Aug. 19, 9 AM ET (Encore), Sat. Aug. 20, 1 AM ET (Encore)...

The Pontifical Council for the Laity has named eight U.S. bishops, including Archbishop Dolan, to lead English-language catechetical sessions during World Youth Day 2011 in Madrid. They will be among 250 bishop-catechists, representing many different countries and languages, who will lead catechetical sessions Aug. 17-19 at various sites around the metropolitan area of Spain’s capital city. The U.S. prelates chosen by the council, official sponsor of the Aug. 16-21 youth gathering, are: Archbishop Dolan, who also is president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops; Cardinals Francis E. George of Chicago and Sean P. O’Malley of Boston; Archbishop Charles J....

The United Nations must love Catholics, we give them their best ideas.Take, for instance, the UN’s latest initiative, aimed at the world’s youth. The International Year of Youth was initiated by the United Nations at the end of last year, and officially began on August 12, 2010. According to the UN, the Year was initiated for the purposes of promoting “peace, freedom, progress and solidarity towards the promotion of youth development and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.”And the year will be started off with a conference in Mexico City, from August 24th-27th, called the World Youth Conference.Hmmm. This...

Madrid, Spain, Jul 13, 2010 / 03:07 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pilgrims attending World Youth Day in Madrid next year will see a monstrance from the 15th century that is known as “the finest example of Spanish silverwork of all time.” The Monstrance of Arfe will used during a time of Eucharist adoration led by Pope Benedict XVI at the international youth gathering. According to a press release, the monstrance “is popularly known for being used during the Corpus Christi procession each year in Toledo.  It measures almost 9 feet tall and is made of gold and silver.” Francisco Portela, professor of Art...

CANBERRA - About 20 Catholic pilgrims who attended World Day Youth services in Australia with Pope Benedict XVI last month have claimed asylum, with more applications expected, refugee advocates said on Tuesday. The majority of applicants were from Africa, including Zimbabwe, where political and economic upheaval have driven millions to flee, as well as Cameroon, Burundi and Kenya, the Sydney-based Asylum Seeker Centre said. "We are seeing utter destitution, we see malnutrition, we are seeing depression, we see homelessness. People are coming to us from a place of crisis," centre spokeswoman Tamara Domicelj told Reuters. Rights watchdog Amnesty International said...

SYDNEY, Australia (CNS) -- In what is often seen as one of the most intensely secular nations in the world, Australia received a wake-up call: the faith of the church on public display over the weeklong celebrations of World Youth Day. For young Catholics used to seeing a steady annual decline in figures such as Mass attendance -- now estimated at approximately 13 percent of Catholics nationally -- and feeling like the only young person in the local parish, the sight of an estimated 300,000 pilgrims from around the nation and overseas may well have provided a much-needed shot in...

Sydney, Jul. 18, 2008 (CWNews.com) - Meeting on July 18 with a group of young people recovering from drug addiction and other problems, Pope Benedict XVI (bio - news) told them that they could be "ambassadors of hope to others." The Pope saluted the young people for having shown "courage in choosing to turn back onto the path of life." The Holy Father began his speech by citing the words of Moses to the people of Israel: "I set before you life or death, blessing or curse." In response, he observed, the Hebrews "had to turn away from other gods...

SYDNEY, Australia, JULY 18, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Two young Chileans thought they were the object of a joke when they received e-mails saying they would ride the boat-a-cade that would take Benedict XVI to his World Youth Day arrival. Jorge Juárez and Ane Marie Kampp registered for a random drawing on the official World Youth Day page, without thinking seriously that that click would make possible an unforgettable adventure, reported the Chilean episcopal conference. Juárez said he has been serving the Church for years, but what he experienced in Sydney would make him deepen his faith. "I feel the responsibility to...

SYDNEY, Australia, JULY 19, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI expressed his deep sorrow for the suffering of sexual abuse victims during his homily at Mass with Australian clergy. Departing from his prepared homily during the Saturday liturgy at St. Mary's Cathedral, the Pope said, "Indeed, I am deeply sorry for the pain and suffering the victims have endured, and I assure them that as their pastor, I too share in their suffering." The Pontiff's prepared speech addressed acknowledge "the shame which we have all felt as a result of the sexual abuse of minors by some clergy and religious in this...

In these days I too have come, as the Successor of Saint Peter, to this magnificent land of Australia. I have come to confirm you, my young brothers and sisters, in your faith and to encourage you to open your hearts to the power of Christ's Spirit and the richness of his gifts. I pray that this great assembly, which unites young people "from every nation under heaven" (cf. Acts 2:5), will be a new Upper Room. May the fire of God's love descend to fill your hearts, unite you ever more fully to the Lord and his Church, and...

With WYD's grand finale shortly to come -- the climactic closing liturgy at Randwick (vidstreams and Missal) begins at 10am local (2300GMT, 7pm ET Saturday) -- in one of the week's many nods to Australia's indigenous community, topping the stage at the major events has been a popular Aboriginal rendering of the Holy Spirit known as "Marjorie's Bird." Now, with the design about to take on an even bigger visibility as a key element of the specially-designed vestments for tomorrow's liturgy, Marjorie Liddy, the Tiwi islander behind the image (who never painted before seeing its outline in the sky...

HOMILY OF POPE BENEDICT XVI VIGIL OF THE XXIII WORLD YOUTH DAYRANDWICK RACECOURSESYDNEY19 JULY 2008 Dear Young People, Once again this evening we have heard Christ’s great promise – "you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you". And we have heard his summons – "be my witnesses throughout the world" – (Acts 1:8). These were the very last words which Jesus spoke before his Ascension into heaven. How the Apostles felt upon hearing them, we can only imagine. But we do know that their deep love for Jesus, and their trust in his word, prompted...

On 18 July 2008 in the Church of the Sacred Heart at the University of Notre Dame in Darlinghurst,  the Holy Father delivered the following discourse to the youth and staff involved in the 'Alive' program. Dear Young Friends,I am pleased to be with you at Darlinghurst today, and I warmly greet all those taking part in the "Alive" programme, as well as the staff who run it. I pray that you will all benefit from the assistance offered by the Archdiocese of Sydney’s Social Services Agency, and that the good work being done here will continue long into the...

Sydney has never seen anything like it since the Olympics. Not even that event, however, could match the spectacle of a papal ‘boatacade’ gliding past the bridge and the opera house to deliver Pope Benedict into the cheering embrace of 150,000 young people from around the world. The Pope’s arrival at World Youth Day had a theatrical quality worthy of the media world in which today’s young people live. By contrast, his message to them was delivered in a self-effacing, direct manner, making clear that the Pope refuses to cast himself as a rock star; he is a teacher and...

SYDNEY, Australia (CNS) -- For some participants at World Youth Day, the joy of welcoming Pope Benedict XVI to the World Youth Day celebration July 17 was dampened by the absence of a Chaldean Catholic delegation from Iraq. Salina Hasham, a World Youth Day employee, has been working for months trying to get the 170-member Iraqi delegation to Sydney. At first, it seemed the Australian government would not issue any visas to the group, Hasham said. Then 10 visas were granted and, finally, a total of 25 visas were approved. But as of July 17, she said, "they are stuck...

Sydney, Jul 18, 2008 / 09:36 am (CNA).- Spectacular scenes were played out across Sydney city’s landmarks, as part of the re-enactment of the Stations of the Cross for WYD. An audience of half a billion tuned in to watch the performance that involved around 80 performers and was played out by young people at six major venues. Over 270,000 international and local spectators also made their way to points around the city to watch the Stations of the Cross live and on big screen televisions. The first station held on the steps of St Mary’s Cathedral was attended...

IN a return to tradition, the Pope will tomorrow offer communion to kneeling Catholics, and preferably on the tongue rather than in the hand. The final World Youth Day mass at Sydney's Randwick racecourse will attract up to half a million worshippers and will be beamed to as many as a billion viewers around the world. A firm believer in the importance and beauty of liturgical traditions, the Pope will seek to set an example to a massive audience with his return to pre-1960s ritual. "The Holy Father has requested that those whom he gives communion to will kneel, and...

Is Pope Benedict a “rock star”? The question came up recently in Tim Drake’s coverage of World Youth Day in Sydney, Australia, at the Register’s weblog, Pope2008.com, where we are following World Youth Day activities. He found two stories in the the Sydney media comparing World Youth Day to a rock concert and calling Pope Benedict XVI the concert’s “headliner.” It’s a good question to ask, because there are so many superficial similarities between the weeklong World Youth Day and rock-’n’-roll festivals that have attracted young people since Woodstock. But we can think of at least 10 ways World Youth...

A BROTHEL offering a special discount during Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Sydney said business had more than doubled since the pontiff arrived. While the brothel was not targeting pilgrims, a 10 percent discount for people associated with World Youth Day, including the 3000 to 5000 media covering the papal visit, had significantly boosted business, she said. "We put on another five staff and they've all been busy," she said. The owner said the pope's mid-winter Australian visit, for celebrations designed to rejuvenate the Catholic Church among young people, came at a time when business was traditionally slow.

Sydney, Jul 17, 2008 / 02:34 pm (CNA).- The “Vocations Expo,” which has given religious congregations a chance to showcase their charisms and apostolates to the young people attending World Youth Day 2008 in Sydney has been “a true success,” organizers have revealed.Diverse congregations, institutes and movements are reaching out to the thousands of young people that have flooded the vocations fair located at the Sydney Exhibition Center at Darling Harbor.  The vocations expo was opened on July 15 and will end on Sunday, July 20, at the close of WYD.According to Father Donai Pellonar, coordinator of the Vocations Expo,...

Pope Benedict XVI on the Pope-a-boat under Sydney Harbour Bridge Sydney, Jul 17, 2008 / 07:00 am (CNA).- In the midst of jubilant crowds, the Papal “Boat-a-cade” arrived at Barangaroo this afternoon, after sailing around Sydney Harbour, where the Pope waved to tens of thousands people who had lined the foreshore to catch a glimpse of the Pontiff's arrival. “His Holiness stood waving in full-view of the crowd on board the vessel,” said WYD08 spokesman Father Mark Podesta. The Papal Boat carried approximately 530 people including 168 international pilgrims. After thanking the indigenous people of Australia for their warm...

Lest anyone be surprised, everyone's favorite schismatic traditionalist group isn't so high on WYD: The priests, from the Holy Cross Seminary in the New South Wales town of Goulburn, are members of the Society of St Pius the 10th, which is opposed to innovations that followed the Second Vatican Council. In a sharp rebuke of World Youth Day festivities in Sydney, Holy Cross Rector Father Peter Scott said World Youth Day did nothing to help prepare the way for Catholics to reach heaven. "The reason I'm not in favour of World Youth Day is because of what happens and what...

Fr Federico Lombardi, S.J., Director of the Holy See Press Office and Vatican Radio, introduced the question-and-answer session.Lucio Brunelli (Italian Television - RAI): Your Holiness, this is your second World Youth Day. The first - let us say - that is entirely your own. What are your feelings as you prepare for it and what is the main message that you want to communicate to the young people? Then, do you think that World Youth Days deeply affect the life of the Church that hosts them? And, lastly, do you think that the formula of these youth meetings on...

p>SYDNEY, Australia, JULY 16, 2008 (Zenit.org).- The Australian Federation of Islamic Councils is praying for peace and harmony among all people of good will during the World Youth Day activities in Sydney. President Ikebal Patel sent out a statement this week in which he extended "sincere greetings to the Catholic community of Australia on behalf of the Muslims of Australia." He continued, "I take this opportunity on behalf of the Muslims of Australia to also extend our good wishes to all Australians of all faiths on this auspicious occasion of World Youth Day and pray for peace, harmony and goodwill...