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.

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.

hey PB good to "see" yer mug around again. We do seem to have gathered a few Newbees, that seem to home in on a word or two, Immediately draw a conclusion about the author {racist, Bigot, Homophob>> etc.} And miss the entire point the author was trying to express.

Im sure you have a dictionary

I love you Whip

Maybe you need to see a priest about that.

Thanks Moderateman. Has anything changed??

If anything, people here are going to be protesting not because they disagree with Catholics or they don't like the Pope but because the State government has said they can't.  I have read that quite a number of organisations who had no protests organised and weren't even considering protesting the Pope's visit and WYD08 have now organised protests because of the draconian 'annoyance' law.  This is not about religious intolerance, it is about freedom of speech.