POPE BENEDICT XVI will appear on the steps of St Mary's Cathedral to preside over a re-enactment of the Last Supper during the Stations of the Cross on July 18.A spokesman for World Youth Day, Jim Hanna, said NSW police had advised the organisers not to advertise the Pope's appearance because of the restricted capacity of Cathedral Square, not because of fears of an assassination attempt, as reported by other media.
The Pope will also venture out of his popemobile to fly over a sea of up to 500,000 pilgrims gathered for the closing Mass at Randwick racecourse.
The Pope will fly to the course by helicopter from Victoria Barracks in Paddington on the morning of July 20, after which he will travel in the popemobile to acknowledge crowds there and at at Centennial Park.
Elements of the Pope's itinerary were released by the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney last night, before being announced by the Vatican this morning. The pontiff will meet the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd; the Premier, Morris Iemma; the Governor-General, Major General Michael Jeffery; and the Governor, Marie Bashir.
He will arrive at the RAAF base in Richmond on July 13. He will spend a few days on retreat before his official welcome, on July 17, during which he will travel on the harbour by boat to the Hungry Mile.
The itinerary includes an official welcome at Government House, an event at the Domain to thank World Youth Day volunteers, and an official farewell at Sydney Airport.
"His Holiness has a very full schedule on his first visit to Australia," the church's World Youth Day co-ordinator, Bishop Anthony Fisher, said.
"He has requested specific meetings in order to connect with the full range of Australian youth and the youth of the world.
"As a head of state, he will also be conducting several official meetings with civic leaders."
The details came as the church rejected calls by a leading Jewish group to have the scene of Jesus Christ's condemnation pulled from the street re-enactment of the Stations of the Cross.
The chief executive of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, Vic Alhadeff, told the Herald dropping the third scene - in which Jesus appears before the Sanhedrin, a Jewish court - would be the "best-case scenario" for dealing with Jewish sensitivity.
Mr Alhadeff said Jews appreciated the church's response to their representations about the Stations of the Cross but still had some serious concerns about it.
"Our representations to the Catholic Church on this issue have been received with courtesy, understanding and sensitivity, and we understand that it is making significant changes to the dramatic presentation and the accompanying television commentary," he said.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to either myself or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.
The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.
Sotto Voce