If you were wondering what the Pope was doing driving around Sydney in the Pope mobile, his Holiness is in town for World Youth Day. The world's largest youth event, organized by the Catholic Church, has brought almost 125,000 international visitors to Sydney, more than the 2000 Olympics!

Every two or three years the Pope invites young pilgrims to celebrate their faith's international counterparts. Pope John Paul II started the event in 1984. This year the celebration being held in Sydney, Australia, from July 15 to July 20, includes an opening mass, catechesis (teaching) sessions, and a pilgrim dance party. One Vietnamese pilgrim said: It's like a big family, the Church gets to see how people from all over the world live their faith and it is interesting to see and it is inspiring to me."

From the look of these pictures, this "promotional event" seems like it gets young people excited about the Church. But, some Australians see the event as "propaganda" and are protesting the event, which received some public funding. A MySpace survey of Australian youth found that 77 percent of respondents felt the Catholic Church was "out of touch" with youth. Does this event help it get in touch?

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