The Vatican’s understanding, or profound lack thereof, of web technologies and social media has gone someway to landing Pope Benedict XVI in hot water after he removed an ex-communication order from a bishop who openly denied the extent of the Holocaust.
The Holy See claimed that the Pope had no idea that British bishop Richard Williamson [...]

The Pope thinks ICANN should refrain from the licensing of Top Level Domain names such as .catholic and .buddhist for example, fearing such a move could create arguments as to their actual ownership:
ICANN, frequently accused of mission creep, could find itself having to decide who gets to represent an entire religion on the internet, His [...]

Take note, no guerrilla, or “ambush” marketing materials allowed. Larger image.
More World Youth Day site photos.

A quick public service announcement here, since I am seeing a lot of search queries from people seeking information about road closures in Sydney in relation to this week’s World Youth Day (WYD) event (which is actually a SIX day event by the way).
For full, and hopefully regularly updated, details regarding actual road closures please [...]

The transformation of Randwick Racecourse for the World Youth Day event next weekend is well under way. You’d just about have never thought it was a horse racing track such are the changes that are taking place.

Workers have spent most of today attaching this fabric signage to the racecourse boundary fences along Alison Road.

While the [...]

The eleventh commandment has just been handed down, thou shalt not annoy pilgrims attending World Youth Day events in Sydney this July. Whatever “annoy” actually means…
Linguistics expert Nick Riemer, from the University of Sydney, said the word annoy had its origins in the French word for annoyance – ennui. The Oxford Dictionary defines ‘annoy’ as [...]

Every 85 pilgrims attending Pope Benedict XVI’s mass at Sydney’s Randwick Racecourse will have the use of one toilet between them, thanks to Ken Talbot and company who are currently installing 3,500 toilets at the World Youth Day site.
It is unlikely pilgrims will run into the big man himself “in the bathroom” though, as [...]

World Youth Day attendees could end up with an unusual memento of their experience courtesy of protest group the “NoToPope Coalition” who plan to hand out condoms to pilgrims as they walk to Pope Benedict XVI’s outdoor Sydney mass at Randwick Racecourse in a few weeks time.
Condoms will be handed out to pilgrims en route [...]

Now I thought Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore was a catholic. I remember walking passed the St Francis of Assisi Church in Paddington, Sydney, one Sunday some years ago, and seeing Clover standing outside chatting with the parish priest, after a service.
I was therefore surprised to read that Clover is now blocking the use of [...]

Hallowed turf ready when punters replace pilgrims
10,000 square metres of grass is being grown in the Hawkesbury region of NSW, to replace the turf at Royal Randwick Racecourse after Pope Benedict XVI’s open air mass, and the World Youth Day event, which is taking place at the racing venue.
The replacement turf is being grown in [...]