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The Pilgrims’ Return
BY Father Owen Kearns, LC Publisher
July 27-August 9, 2008 Issue |
Posted 7/22/08 at 10:37 AM
World Youth
Day was, as always, a great success. The dynamic we have noted here before
didn’t fail. Locals often start out hostile. When they see the excitement — and
good behavior — of the young people in their midst, a change of heart begins.
When the Holy Father arrives, and with him, an intangible kind of feeling of
peace and joy, they are completely won over.
At the Register’s blog about the
event, Pope2008.com, Tim Drake compared headlines in Sydney from before and
after the Pope came. The headlines started out wary: “Living on a Prayer,”
“Pope in Sydney: Mass Hysteria” and “Sea of the Young and Devout Swamps Dormant
Dockland.”
On the last day, the headlines were
enthusiastic: “Tsunami of Faith and Joy,” “From Darkness to Light in the
Cauldron of Souls” and “Pope’s Age of Renewal.”
But one last headline from the Daily
Telegraph is telling: “In Good Faith: The Irrepressible Spirit of
the World Youth Day Pilgrims Has Transformed an Entire City,” proclaimed the
paper.
When the pilgrims return to their
homelands, they can do more than transform a city. They can transform the
future of the Church and, with it, our society.
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