Condoms to be given away in Pope visit to Australia

Agence France Presse
SYDNEY - Catholics
attending a mass by
Pope Benedict XVI in
Australia will be
handed condoms by
protesters angered by
his opposition to
contraception,
homosexuality and
abortion, organizers
said Tuesday.
The protest will be
staged by the
NoToPope Coalition of
Christians, atheists
and gay groups during
Catholic World Youth
Day celebrations
expected to draw
hundreds of
thousands of pilgrims
to Sydney next month.
"We will march to be
with the pilgrims to
hand out condoms to
the pilgrims, the
Catholic youth,"
spokeswoman Rachel
Evans told a news
conference.
"(We will) say to
them, 'Take up the
campaign within the
Catholic church to
allow the Catholic
church to promote
condoms'," she said.
Evans said the
peaceful protest
would condemn the
pope's stance against
condoms,
homosexuality and
abortion, describing
the pontiff as "a
bigot" over same-sex
relationships.
A pastor from
Sydney's Metropolitan
Community Church,
Karl Hand, said the
pope was
misrepresenting
Christian views.
"I'm compassionate
towards people who
need condoms, who
need abortions, who
need all sorts of
recognition of their
relationship and it's
just not being
provided by this
massive worldwide
church," he said.
"A lot of the views
being taken up by the
pope are anti-
humanity in general,
so that's upsetting."
The coalition includes
the Metropolitan
Community Church,
Atheists Sydney,
Community Action
Against Homophobia
and the Socialist
Alliance, among other
groups, the statement
said.
The coalition plans to
hold a public rally in
the city on July 19
and then march
toward Randwick
Racecourse, where
pilgrims will be
gathering for a papal
mass the next day
which is expected to
draw 500,000 people.
The five-day
celebration of Catholic
youth has been billed
as a major boost to
the economy of
Australia's largest
city, attracting up to
125,000 international
visitors.
But there has been a
stream of grumbles
over the event's cost,
its impact on
businesses as well as
the inconvenience it
will cause the city's
residents.
About 26 percent of
Australia's 21 million
people described
themselves as
Catholics in the most
recent census, while
19 percent said they
had no religion.

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