Wow, religious intolerance in Australia, imagine that! I suppose these unwanted visitors won't be spending any money in hotels, restaurants, etc either, the bastards how dare they.

I thought that this forum actually had some people with sense on it, but apparently whatever disdain the posters have for the Catholic Church overrides any common decency that should have been learned as a child. "the pope and his ilk" Comments like that are rude, disgusting, and childish. I see that religious tolerance should only work in one direction.

Hey LW.. although we are a democracy here in Oz we do not as yet have a Bill of Rights like you guys in the USA do. This state government seems to think it can impose laws on people without proper debate in the parliament.

I think it is sounding it's own death bell.

Well actually in the town where I am there are 2000 visitors staying. Most of them have been bilited out to families who are spending their own money to look after these people. My mother was telling me today how a family has Africans staying with them and because it is winter here in Oz at the moment they didnt come prepared and so they had to buy warmer clothes for these people.

Exactly! It is exactly what is happening right here where I live.

Thanks Forever

Well if the priests had actually shown some self restraint when I was a child then I would have learnt to have some respect for the catholic church, the pope and his ilk.. I do not trust men in dresses.

Im sorry if I have offended you. I don't intend to place all catholics in the same basket. My experience has shown me something very different to what the ordinary person on the street has experienced. Cathoicism to me has shown me fear and guilt, I cannot walk into a church without feeling nausea, I have nightmares, etc. No amount of saying Im sorry will make up for the amount of trauma I have experienced.

I was taught never to question any doctrine of the church. When I did I was made to feel like shit. I was taught that I would burn in hell for who I am. That my expression of love was hated by god.

This church is not a church of love. It is one of fear and guilt.

My relationship with God thankfully is nothing like that and maybe I had to go through all these experiences in order to find my truth.

There is something more sinister about this pope. And I guess time will tell.

Phoenix,

First of all it is good to see you.

Secondly, I complete agree with you about what is happening here.  It has NOTHING to do with the Catholic Church and EVERYTHING to do with Iemma's government.  The fact that the Catholic Church tried to distance itself from the 'annoyance' legislation should speak volumes.

Did you even read the post, Nitrocruiser?  I didn't read any religious intolerance in the article unless you count the description 'the pope and his ilk' as intolerance.  If this is the case, then I think you're being overly sensitive.  The only example of intolerance occurring here is the intolerance the State government has for those taxpayers who want to have their say without being called 'annoying'.

Sure I read the article. And yes I did pick up an intolerant vibe whether or not the author intended it or not.  How should one interpret "the Pope and his ilk"? What exactly is his “ilk”? Only the author knows and doesn't elaborate. The author then goes into the cost and inability to protest the visit. So call me crazy for putting two and two together. IMO the tone of the article is anti-catholic. That’s Ok if that is the authors intent, but should be more clearly defined (the posted comments shed a little more light on the authors feelings).

Now let me qualify my statements. I'm the last person that should defend any religion. I think any church I walk into would go up in flames it's been so long since I've been, not my cup of tea. But I do think the Pope is a respectable man, I might not agree with everything he supports, but I believe he is doing some good in the world. I've read nothing to change that opinion and I try not to base my perception of a person I never met on others opinions.

I've been to Australia (wouldn't mind returning, it was a nice time). I see plenty of travel ads in the US for Australia, so I know the country wants people to visit. The author here does not mention the financial means of the visitors, so it's logical to assume that if someone visits a country, that country would hope to make a good enough impression so that the people might return or tell their friends, all good for tourism. So I thought it interesting, if the author’s feelings are widespread among other Australians, how this would be interpreted by potential tourists. Religious intolerance is exactly how the front page would read if there were massive protests. Disagree if you like.