Can't Attend WYD... Watch it Here

For those who couldn't attend the Pope's visit to Washington, D.C. and New York, Pope2008.com was the online place to catch the action thanks to an agreement with EWTN to have an embedded portal for catching the action. In fact, our traffic grew six-fold during the Pope's visit.

I'm happy to announce that the arrangements have been made to provide a similar EWTN media browser (in the above video space) that will allow those who can't physically attend WYD to attend virtually. Make Pope2008.com your place to be and catch the Holy Father "Down Under." Not only will I be providing blogging from as many of the venues as possible, but we'll also have ETWN's live video feed.

-- Tim Drake

WYD Cannot Sanction Events Inconsistent with Church Teaching

Radio Australia has details on attempts by the youth group Twenty10, the group Acceptance, and the Jesuits' MAGiS group to offer a forum on homosexuality during WYD. The group Acceptance originally attempted to have the forum included as part of the official WYD schedule. After being rejected, MAGiS offered to host the forum as part of its event. WYD officials contacted the group instructing it to withdraw its support.

W.Y.D. chief operating officer Danny Casey said "If what's being promoted, particularly under the World Youth Day banner, is inconsistent with church teachings then clearly that's not something we'd be in a position to support."

A quick glance at the events schedule for WYD shows that MAGiS is hosting some 29 "official" events, including forums, films, art, and workshops - many of them dealing with social justice, arts and culture, and topics related to women in the Church. In total, more than 450 forums, exhibitions, films, concerts, and talks will be presented as part of the youth festivals during WYD.

According to Radio Australia, the homosexuality forum will still be held, but not as an official part of WYD.

-- Tim Drake

Popes In Copes

Here's Pope Benedict XVI at Saturday evening's vespers for the Vigil of Ss. Peter & Paul.

And here's St. Peter himself, similarly vested. Today's feast is one of two during the year when this famous statue in St. Peter's is dressed in a cope and tiara. The other is the Chair of St. Peter, February 22.

Image Credits: Photo 1: AFP/Getty; Photo 2

The Year Of Paul

In a vespers service at St. Paul's Outside The Walls in Rome, the Holy Father officially kicked off The Pauline Year honoring the 2000th birthday of the Apostle to the Gentiles. The year will be filled with a series of liturgical and cultural celebrations at the Vatican and in dioceses around the world. In his remarks this evening (Rome time) the Pope also highlighted an ecumenical dimension of this jubilee year, which will close on the feast of Sts. Peter & Paul, 2009:

"Especially involved in bringing the Good News to all the peoples, the Apostle to the Nations did all he could for the unity and harmony of all Christians. May he lead and protect us in this bimillenary celebration, helping us progress in a humble and sincere search for the complete unity of all the parts of the mystical Body of Christ."

Tomorrow, the feast of Saints Peter & Paul, the Holy Father will celebrate in a big way. During the Mass, not only will 41 metropolitan bishops receive the pallium, but, as an expression of the desire for Christian unity, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople will be in attendance. The Patriarch will give part of the homily, and will recite the Creed together with the Holy Father. The Holy Father explained why the Patriarch is coming for this particular feast in his homily for the vespers of Peter & Paul last year.

This Basilica, which has hosted profoundly significant ecumenical events, reminds us how important it is to pray together to implore the gift of unity, that unity for which St Peter and St Paul spent their lives, to the point of making the supreme sacrifice of their blood.

A very ancient tradition which dates back to apostolic times claims that their last meeting before their martyrdom actually took place not far from here: the two are supposed to have embraced and blessed each other. And on the main portal of this Basilica they are depicted together, with scenes of both martyrdoms.

Thus, from the outset, Christian tradition has considered Peter and Paul to have been inseparable, even if each had a different mission to accomplish."

During the entire year, the faithful can obtain a plenary indulgence either by visiting St. Paul's or by participating in a public function in honor of St. Paul at churches and pilgrimage sites dedicated to his honor. You can read the official decree for all the specifics. --RT

Pallium Power

Msgr. Guido Marini, master of ceremonies for papal liturgies, told the Vatican newspaper that Pope Benedict also would be introducing another change to future papal liturgies during his June 29 Mass marking the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul.

Among these: a shorter pallium. Pope Benedict had begun to wear an old-style larger pallium, but he wants to emphasize the continued development of this liturgical vestment, and to wear one that is more practical.

Pilgrims Ready for WYD

The excitement, both in Australia and abroad, is building for WYD. The Coloradoan has a story about a group of young adults who are traveling to WYD. Here's a story from the Australian press about 16-year-old Naomi Burgess who is traveling to Sydney for WYD.

Here's a story I particularly enjoyed, for it shows the sacrifices that some will make to attend WYD. Paul Batten (pictured left), an Australian rally championship driver will forego the next championship race, thereby costing him the championship lead, so that he can attend WYD.

"We all make big sacrifices for our sport, and I have never missed a rally since I started driving, but the World Youth Day in Australia is a once in a lifetime thing for me, having grown up a Catholic.

“My faith has given me a lot and it will be pretty amazing sharing this experience with half a million people," Batten said.

What are you giving up to attend WYD?

-- Tim Drake

Papal Communion Rules

It's official, according to the Associated Press and Catholic News Service:  Receiving the Eucharist on the tongue while kneeling before the pope will become the norm at papal liturgies.

Benedict XVI has indicated a preference for the more traditional practice, said Msgr. Guido Marini, master of papal liturgical ceremonies.

Kneeling and receiving Communion on the tongue highlights "the truth of the real presence (of Christ) in the Eucharist, helps the devotion of the faithful and introduces the sense of mystery more easily," he said in a June 26 interview with the Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano.

"It is urgent to highlight and recover" the sacredness of the sacrament, he said.

Says CNS:

Starting with a May 22 Mass outside the Basilica of St. John Lateran, two ushers placed a kneeler in front of the altar and the chosen communicants all knelt and received on the tongue. At a June 15 Mass in the southern Italian port city of Brindisi, the pope again distributed Communion to the faithful on the tongue while they were kneeling.

Msgr. Marini is quoted saying: "it is necessary not to forget that the distribution of Communion in the hand, from a juridical standpoint, remains up to now an indult," which is an exemption from a general requirement that is granted by the Vatican to the bishops' conferences which have requested it.

The Pope thus "aims to highlight the force of the valid norm for the whole Church" while not meaning to "take anything away from the other" permissible form of standing or receiving the Eucharist in the hand.

The Event before the Event

While WYD officially goes from July 15-20th, thousands of pilgrims are traveling to Australia before that. Many will take part in the Days in the Diocese (July 5-14) - an opportunity for young pilgrims to have a cultural experience prior to World Youth Day. Many stay in homes with Australian families, take part in local Catholic worship and prayer, and gain exposure to Australia's land, cultures, peoples, and Church before the big event in Sydney.

The Archdiocese of Melbourne plans to host upwards of 25,000 youth during Days in the Diocese. They have a complete website for more information including a host of YouTube videos, such as this one:

And, as we've mentioned here before, the Diocese of Wollongong will be hosting 1,500 young people during Days in the Diocese.

-- Tim Drake

Religious Orders and WYD

One of the highlights of WYD are the hundreds of religious orders in attendance - the mixture of grays and blacks and browns and blues, and white religious garb. A mainstay at WYD is the Vocations Expo, where pilgrims can interact and speak with religious from the many orders in attendance. In addition, as noted in a previous post, many of the orders serve as hosts for many of the events taking place during the week.

For example, the Legionaries of Christ host the Vocation.com Coffee House. At the first one, held at the Toronto Sky Dome in 2002, more than 15,000 youth attended. At the Senats Hotel in Cologne in 2005, thousands of youth attended each day. This July, the Vocation.com Coffee House will take place at the Vocations Expo.

If you attended either of the previous Vocation.com Coffee House events, Vocation.com would like to   hear your Vocation.com Coffee House story. Send it to webmaster@vocation.com by July 2, 2008. The best stories will be featured in the ShoreLines newsletter and authors will receive a vocation.com bear (pictured to the right).

On a different note, if you live anywhere near New York, are female, and are disappointed that you cannot attend WYD, the Little Sisters of the Poor in Queens Village have an alternative event for you. Women between the ages of 11-35 are invited to celebrate WYD 08 July 17-20 without actually attending WYD. The three days will feature prayer and praise, catechesis and sacraments, and service and community celebrations while following key moments of WYD in Sydney by telecast. There is a junior track, a high school track, and vocation discernment track depending upon one's age. There's no cost for the event (donations are accepted). For more information and to receive a registration form, contact: vocationsbrooklyn@littlesistersofthepoor.org, or call 718-464-4920. St. Ann's Novitiate, 110  38 Springfield Blvd., Queens Village, NY 11429.

Finally, this morning I spoke with Sister Mary Gabriel, vocation director with the Sisters of Life in New York. The Sisters of Life, of course, are serving as hosts for the Love and Life Festival during WYD. What I was amazed to learn is that 47 of the orders 59 sisters will be in Australia. Four of them are there now, the rest will be traveling July 3 and 4 to make all the necessary preparations for the festival, which will take place Wednesday through Friday, July 16-18th.

-- Tim Drake

Australian Glossary

Pilgrims traveling to Australia for WYD would do well to brush up on their "Australian." "Australian?" you ask. "I thought they spoke English."

Well, they do - sort of. For the most part you'll have no problem with the language, but when you share a story with the bus driver and he looks at you and says, "Onya," you'll want to know what he means rather than wondering if you have ketchup spilled on your shirt or something. So, here's my quick-hit Australian glossary of terms you might encounter "down under."

Arvo - afternoon.

Barbie - barbecue.

Bonzer - (not used as frequently as it was formerly) means great, superb, or beautiful.

Bung - means broken or pretending to be hurt.

Cuppa - a cup of coffee or tea.

Didgeridoo - a wind instrument of the indigenous Australians.

Dinky-di, fair dinkum, or dinkum - means true.

Drongo - a stupid, inept person.

Footy - Australian rules football or rugby league football.

G'day - means "hello" or good day.

"How're you going?" - phrase for "How are you doing?"

Ocker - slang for someone who is very Australian.

Onya - a shortened form of "Good on you" or "Good onya" which means essentially "good for you."

Prawn - word used for shrimp.

Scrum - a huddle, as in Australian rules football.

Strassberg - bologna sausage or lunch meat.

Yakka - means work.

-- Tim Drake