Go outside and ask someone what they thought of the pilgrims and World Youth Day. Mostly, the response that you get is quite vicious. So far I haven’t even bumped into a Catholic to ask. The responses have varied from, “thank God it’s over” to “my life was disrupted.” I have to wonder, were any of the 200,000 people that flocked together at Randwick Racecourse from Sydney?

When World Youth Day finally finished, I took it upon myself to take my own survey. I asked over 30 people what they thought about the event and the march of the pilgrims. Most were deeply atheist. Many even asked why we even had the international event here.

Katherine Calsey, a UNSW student who lives in close by to Randwick said, “I can’t think of anyone that the week didn’t effect. I’m happy for them to celebrate their religion, why not? But if Australia has a majority of Catholics, shouldn’t it be all the other minorities who are more so repressed that should celebrate?”

Naturally, 30 is not an accurate representation of the entirety of Sydney - but you get the point. When people started getting aggressive, I went to backpacker’s hostels and motels all around the city area to find out more.

“Of course the influx of tourism was great for the company, and I can’t say they were really as intrusive as everyone is saying,” said Peter O’Sullivan of the Youth Hostel Association.

The pilgrims did have a great impact on our economy and that is partially the reason why the Government supported this event. According to the World Youth Day fact sheet, the government also supported the event to help the “promotion of Sydney and NSW as a destination of choice to the rest of the world.” If you think the Olympics of 2000 or the Rugby World Cup 2003 brought people in, this week brought far more.

The Sydney Chamber of Commerce estimated that World Youth Day 2008 would inject $231 million into the economy. According to their spokesperson, with a tourism industry worth over $23 billion, “it is in all our interests that World Youth Day 2008 was as much of a success as it was and that Sydney continues to be seen as an internationally desirable tourist destination.”

O’Sullivan completely agrees.

“They didn’t do anyone any harm except that maybe they brought happiness and peace into the country for a few minutes,” he said.

Dr Maureen Miner from the School of Psychology at University of Western Sydney [UWS] has a different opinion to O’Sullivan. She says that the reason why a lot of Sydneysiders have been intolerant towards the week is that religious spiritual beliefs can have varied psychological impacts.

In a conference at UWS regarding the aftermath of World Youth Day, she said that “while it has been proven that some forms of spirituality can contribute to personal and societal wellbeing, there is also strong evidence to suggest that other forms of spirituality can be detrimental to your mental health.”

Dr Miner believes that people who are unsure of their beliefs are more likely to develop anxieties, particularly in regards to the prospect of death, and that those with rigid beliefs and authoritarian personalities are more likely to show an unhealthy prejudice toward other groups.

Whether or not that is the case, governments all over the world need to assess the impact of the week on their fellow citizens.

“Maybe next time Pell wants to have a religious event here, a referendum should be held for everyone. What do you think?” said Robert Frankerston, a 42-year-old from Ultimo.

Next on the list is World Youth Day 2011. Good Luck Madrid.

Photo courtesy of: sam_herd
Licensed under: Creative Commons