AUSTRALIA:A LAW allowing for detention of or heavy fines for anyone causing "annoyance or inconvenience to World Youth Day participants" was thrown out by the Australian federal court yesterday as the event began in Sydney. Pádraig Collinsreports.
In an 11th-hour decision, the court ruled that the interpretation of a clause, which allowed for the regulation of conduct deemed to be a cause of "annoyance", was invalid because it "affects freedom of speech in a way that, in our opinion, is not supported by the statutory powers".
The judges added that there was "no intelligible boundary" on what "causes annoyance".
The case was taken by Rachel Evans and Amber Pike of the NoToPope Coalition.
Outside the court, Ms Evans, who was wearing a T-shirt saying "the pope is wrong, put a condom on", hailed the result as "a major victory for the protest movement".
"We can hand out what we want to hand out," she said. "We can wear our T-shirts now and they cannot be deemed to be annoying."
The ruling did not deter an estimated 150,000 pilgrims from attending World Youth Day's opening Mass in Sydney's harbourside Barangaroo area last night.
Such was the crowd that traffic signs around the city were warning from mid-afternoon that Barangaroo was at capacity and people should instead watch the Mass on screens at the Opera House and a nearby park.
Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd warmly greeted the crowd before the Mass, which was celebrated by the Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell.
"Too often in the history of the world, when young people travel in great numbers to other parts of the world, they do so in the cause of war, but you are here as pilgrims of peace," said Mr Rudd, who was raised a Catholic and regularly attends an Anglican church in Canberra.
"Some say there is no place for faith in the 21st century. I say they are wrong. You are the light of the world at a time when the world has so much darkness," he said.
During the Mass, Dr Pell urged the young congregation to be an active force for good. "Don't spend your life sitting on the fence . . . because only commitments bring fulfilment," he said.
"To be a disciple of Jesus requires discipline, especially self- discipline."
Jeremy O'Brien (23), who came to Sydney from the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria for World Youth Day, said the event was well organised.
"The Mass was in Latin, German, French, Italian and other languages as well as English. It was very inclusive for the pilgrims from other countries," he said.
"Catholicism is important to me. Australians are very reserved about their faith, but World Youth Day makes you more relaxed about it. You're with others who feel the same way as you."
After a 23-hour flight from Rome, Pope Benedict XVI is resting at an Opus Dei retreat in Sydney's northwestern outskirts.
He is not expected to appear in public until tomorrow, when he begins a hectic schedule with a "boat-a-cade" on Sydney Harbour.
The pope, a cat lover, has been lent a kitten to keep him company. A piano has also been delivered to the retreat so he can play his favourite Mozart and Beethoven pieces.
"We wanted to make it a genuine house of welcome for the holy father and to make it a place where he can really recharge his batteries after the longest flight he's ever done," said World Youth Day's chief operating officer, Danny Casey.