Pope to take a break down under

by infomatique | July 6, 2008 at 03:21 am

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Pope Benedict has led hundreds of thousands of pilgrims in a giant mass, ending a week of World Youth Day festivities, which was marked by an historic papal apology for sex abuse.

The pontiff also announced that the Catholic Church will hold its next World Youth Day in Madrid in 2011.

There is no state religion in Australia, the establishment of which is prohibited by the Constitution. Nearly two thirds of the population claim at least nominal adherence to a Christian-based religion, but nearly one third (30%), do not identify with any religion. The remaining population is a diverse group that includes fast-growing Islamic and Buddhist communities.

Indigenous Australians have a complex oral tradition and spiritual values based upon reverence for the land and a belief in the Dreamtime. The Dreamtime is at once the ancient time of creation and the present day reality of Dreaming. There were a great many different groups, each with their own individual culture, belief structure, and language. These cultures overlapped to a greater or lesser extent, and evolved over time. The Rainbow Serpent is a major dream spirit for Aboriginal people across Australia. The Yowie and Bunyip are other well known dream spirits. At the time of the European settlement, traditional religions were animist and also tended to have elements of ancestor worship.

According to the 2001 census, 5,244 persons or less than 0.03 percent of respondents reported practising Aboriginal traditional religions. Aboriginal beliefs and spirituality, even among those Aborigines who identify themselves as members of a traditional organised religion, are intrinsically linked to the land generally and to certain sites of significance in particular. The 1996 census reported that almost 72 percent of Aborigines practised some form of Christianity and 16 percent listed no religion.

Pope Benedict XVI will take a three-day holiday when he arrives in Australia next Sunday.

The Pope is travelling for the World Youth Day event, which begins on 15 July.

He arrives on 13 July but will not be officially welcomed to Sydney until 17 July, staying in the meantime at the Kenthurst Study Centre, about 40km north-west of central Sydney.

An Australian-based Catholic priest has criticised the large amount of money being spent on World Youth Day, calling it an embarrassment and a scandal for the Catholic church.

Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims are expected in Australia for the five-day event, which is expected to cost about €80m.

Fr Peter Confeggi said the money could be better spent on struggling parishes and on helping homeless people in Australia.

Australia is one of the least religious nations in the western world, according to research published last week.

52% of Australians never or very seldom visit a church, mosque, synagogue or temple for religious reasons.

The international survey carried out by Germany's Bertelsmann Foundation showed that one in four of Australia's 21m people classify themselves as deeply religious, but 28% are not at all religious and another 44% say religion does not play a central role in their lives.