The Bulletin cited some interesting statistics in its "Papal visit special" back in January.
In an article entitled, "The Pope's Big Pray Out," the attendance estimates for the upcoming World Youth Day in Sydney were compared to the attendance statistics for the Sydney Olympics as follows:
| WYD '08 (est) | Olympics '00 | |
|---|---|---|
| Final event | 500,000 (Papal mass) |
114,714 (Closing ceremony) |
| Participating nations | 175 | 199 |
| Volunteers | 8,000 | 46,967 |
| Journalists | 3,000-5,000 | 16,033 |
In reference to the Papal mass on July 20 it was noted, "they will be part of the biggest crowd at a single event that this nation has witnessed."
All of this begs the question, what should be the response of the rest of the church in Australia? Are we going to acknowledge its happening for starters? I note Guy Sebastian is gonna be there – maybe Today Tonight will run another Hillsong conspiracy theory story to get the ball rolling?
Curious Christian 
Of course!! — Guy Sebastian! Secret links to Opus Dei! The Magdalene conspiracy revividus! Australian Idol! Genetically modified foods! Richard ‘Hillsong’ Dawkins! The Great Pyramid of Gaza! World Youth Day! The Face on Mars! Zebra crossings! The GLBT Mardi Gras! 666! The new Eurofighter Typhoon! The golden age of Zeppelin travel! Bindi Erwin! Howard’s so-called ‘election defeat’! Crystallography! Super Tuesday!
Why say more? — It’s all so clear — this thing goes ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP! … *pause* … Er, they’re not monitoring this site … are they?
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No, not that I’m aware of, but I expect I may get some interesting Google traffic from that odd combo of keywords.
You forgot, you know, to mention Aztec calendars, the Necronomicon and the sunken city of R’lyeh where dead Cthulhu waits dreaming. Oh and the usual suspects of Knights Templars, Masons, Essenes, Cathars, et al. Slipping?
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Well, I figured you were top-ten on Google for *those* keywords already. Tryin’ to diversify yer readership, mate…
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I’m wondering if I can pick up a few of those fellas from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Be nice to be able to say the Inquisition is onto me.
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That 500,000 will be a big enough story when it happens. Looking after a crowd that size, with car parking, toilets, etc. It’d be interesting to see just how they go about estimating it, 10% more or less could alter the logistics a lot.
Some people were complaining about the APEC-style road closures, but for a crowd that big, it will be a sight to see just how they get there and home again.
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They have already upset the horse racing fraternity by the sounds of it, with the plan to take over the race course. I am sure there will be plenty more toes to tread on with a crowd this big.
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