ABC News
July 18, 2008
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/07/18/2307978.htm
Crowds of World Youth Day pilgrims and onlookers gathered in Sydney's CBD for the Stations of the Cross, the re-enactment of the last days of the life of Jesus Christ.
About 80 performers took part in the re-enactment at various landmarks across central Sydney as part of Friday's World Youth Day celebrations.
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| Actors recreate the biblical account of Jesus Christ's final days for Stations of the Cross. Photo by Dean Lewins |
Pope Benedict appeared on the steps of the Cathedral during the first of the stations - The Last Supper.
He began with some words of prayer.
"Lord many people lack the food and drink to bring true joy. They do not know or have forgotten how you wish to meet them at the eucharist and share with them your humanity and divinity," he said.
The streets of central Sydney were again been filled for the event, with large crowds lining the route of the re-enactment.
World Youth Day spokesman Father Mark Podesta says up to 1 billion people around the world will tune in to watch the performance.
"It's sure to be moving and inspiring and probably the event that people will remember for years to come after World Youth Day," he said.
The man who will play Jesus Christ in the Stations of the Cross re-enactment, 27-year-old Alfio Stuto from Sydney, was nervously awaiting the performance.
The Stations of the Cross dates back to the early days of the Christian Church, when pilgrims visited Jerusalem to carry out a similar ritual.
Pope Benedict is expected to meet with a group of disadvantaged youths later this evening.
Meanwhile, a small group of people in Sydney's Hyde Park attempting to highlight the issue of sexual abuse by the Catholic clergy have come up against regulations introduced to protect pilgrims.
The six protesters were told by police that if they wished to hold up their signs they would have to move to a new location at the other end of the park and away from the crowds.
Chris McIsaac from the Broken Rites support group says it is another sign that the Catholic Church is unable to deal with the issue of abuse.
"There's only a very small group and yet it was seemed so important to the church that they be moved along," he said.
"There's been officials here from World Youth Day, convincing the police that they would have to be moved on, that there would be obviously a revolution or something if these banners got held up here."
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