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	Catholic Show of Faith for Pope As Worshippers Decline By Marcus Kuczynski Courier Mail June 28, 2008 http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,23931759-953,00.html A GIANT altar for 500 cardinals and bishops was raised this week for what is being heralded as the biggest event in Sydney since the 2000 Olympics. When Pope Benedict XVI pays his first visit to Australia for World Youth Day, to be held from July 15-20, it will be an opportunity for the Catholic Church in Australia to showcase its faith and might, and also show that it can still draw a crowd - anticipated to reach close to 500,000. But the church's influence in Australian society is waning. The 2006 Census shows more than 5 million Australians claim to be Catholic, but a national count of mass attendance found the percentage of the Catholic population attending mass on a typical weekend had slid from 15.3 per cent in 2001 to 13.8 per cent in 2006.
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