Organizers of the Roman Catholic World Youth Day plan to set up street confessional booths in Sydney for the event.The Rev. Peter Williams, director of liturgy, told The Sydney Morning Herald the booths will be designed for privacy with a partition between priest and penitent and heavy curtains to hide both from public view.
At many World Youth Days, held annually in different cities, priests have heard confessions in informal settings with just a couple of chairs.
Williams said that at the Sydney Convention Center and Hyde Park, the main venues, the rite of confession will be available at scheduled times and in many languages.
Booths will also be set up at the Stations of the Cross, including the Sydney Opera House.
Pope Benedict XVI is to visit Sydney for World Youth Day in July.
Williams said he was trying to provide for the spiritual needs of the thousands of Catholics expected to be in Sydney.
"As I see it, mass was not designed to be celebrated with 500,000 people," he said. "There are challenges, but they are not insurmountable."
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