As many as 200,000 pilgrims aged 16 to 35 have arrived in Toronto for Catholic World Youth Day (WYD). While for some a spiritual gathering such as this promises to be full of joy and revelations, others are more sceptical. Catholics and non-Catholics alike have become “guardian angels” for the week to ensure a “just World Youth Day.”

Pope John Paul II’s message to the youth attending WYD included a call to discover their Christian roots and deepen their spiritual knowledge. “Only by staying faithful to God’s commandments, to the Covenant which Christ sealed with his blood poured out on the Cross, will you be the apostles and witnesses of the new millennium.”

Catholic social justice advocates, listening their own divine calling, have banded together to provide “an alternative, more inclusive” WYD. Challenge the Church (CTC), one such guardian group, has issued its own message to young pilgrims.

“We believe that Catholic youth deserve to have a conference that will provide them with an opportunity for dialogue, the exchange of ideas, respect for their views and an honest search for truth. But, unfortunately, the Vatican and the Toronto organizers of the event don’t want young people exposed to the rich diversity of thought and lifestyle that has made this city rightly the envy of the world. They won’t tolerate any dissent…, neither will they acquaint youth with the diversity of thought and spirituality within Catholic tradition.”

Sunday School Extravaganza

Youth from across the globe will spend part of the week in study groups called “catecheses” where bishops preach to listeners about issues considered of importance. Members of the progressive Catholic community fear there’ll be no chance for dialogue or debate around contentious issues such as the role of women in the church, reproductive rights, sexual abuse or homosexuality.

“To me, the official Catholic World Youth Day is just a week-long Sunday school extravaganza,” says Milton Chan, a youth spokesperson for CTC. “The top-down teaching style and the avoidance of substantial issues make it an event with very little appeal or relevance. Youth don’t need to be treated like children who can’t think for themselves,” he says.

According to The Toronto Star, only 200,000 young people have registered out of an expected 350,000. Also, only 18,000 Torontonians (in a city of 1.8 million Catholics) have registered. Organizers cite the September 11 terrorist attack as one of the reasons for the low turnout.

Jane Walsh, a co-ordinator for CTC, has another interpretation. “These low numbers should be sending out an SOS to church leaders in Canada and everywhere, ” she says. Walsh thinks the Catholic Church needs to start taking calls for reform seriously.

The Church’s response to issues directly affecting youth is also cited as a possible reason for the lower than expected turnout. “The shameful way the church treated Marc Hall had a major impact on young people here, not just on gay and lesbian youth,” says Gabe Thirwell, a youth spokesperson for CTC.

Marc Hall made headlines in June when he was told by his Catholic school principal that he couldn’t bring his boyfriend to the prom as his official date. The school helped defend its position with a quote from the Pope’s ban on gay marriages. While the courts eventually ruled that Hall could bring his boyfriend, the Durham Catholic School Board still seeks to appeal.

Pope-mania

According to Challenge the Church, the “Pope-mania” that surrounds WYD is what troubles many Catholics who feel it distracts from the point of the event. “The Catholic Church’s teachings call for justice for the poor as a priority for both church and state,” says Gwyneth Lonergan, a CTC member.

While young pilgrims will be able to volunteer to clean up green spaces or help build a Habitat for Humanity house, she believes more funds should have been allocated to help relieve problems such as homelessness. The City of Toronto has been accused of wanting to hide, not help, the homeless for WYD.

Guardian Angels

Some Catholics consider it an irony that just a week ago the impacts and solutions of the global AIDS crisis were being discussed in Barcelona, Spain, at the 14th International AIDS Conference. According to the United Nations, a predicted seventy million people will die of the disease within the next two decades, a number much higher than previously estimated.

In light of this, many advocates don’t understand the Church’s resistance to reconsider its policy on condom use, not just in Africa but worldwide.

“If the Catholic Church does not change its teachings on the use of condoms to prevent the spread of AIDS, it should be held responsible for the deaths of thousands of AIDS victims,” Manning says.

Officially, the Church supports abstinence as the only solution to prevent AIDS, even when the sexual partners are married. For WYD in Toronto, many activists felt extra precautions should be taken and “Operation Guardian Angel” was formed.

“With so many young people together, there is bound to be sex. We find it appalling that the Church and city are doing nothing to promote safe sex,” Chan says.

So this week, mingling among pilgrims, dressed in white and sometimes even sporting wings, guardian angels will be distributing condoms and safer sex information to the youth. They plan to hand out as many as 10,000 condoms during the week long events.

The slogan on the condoms: “If abstinence isn’t working for you, don’t leave it up to your guardian angel.”

Krystalline Kraus

krystalline kraus is an intrepid explorer and reporter from Toronto, Canada. A veteran activist and journalist for rabble.ca, she needs no aviator goggles, gas mask or red cape but proceeds fearlessly...