(from our correspondents in Australia) "The fact you have come here from every part of the world is in itself a strong sign of hope", said the Archbishop of Melbourne, Denis Hart, during the opening mass of the "Days in the Dioceses" celebrated in Melbourne’s Telstra Dome. "We are encouraged by the enthusiasm of our visitors", added the archbishop, recalling that these days preparatory to WYD in Sydney give to the local Catholic community as a whole "the consciousness that God is at work in his Church through the enthusiasm and love of the young". The sense of the pilgrimage to Australia for WYD, said Archbishop Hart, "cannot solely be reduced to a journey far from our countries". For it’s a pilgrimage that will have a significant stage "only when we meet the Holy Father in Sydney", and, more importantly, it’s only part of a "journey that lasts for the whole of our life", marked by faith in Christ. And we, he concluded, "are not afraid to show the love and truth of Jesus to the world".
