By David Ramli from PROJECTeye

After attending a WYD Catechesis, David Ramli finds out he is almost certainly going to hell...and so are three quarters of the Australian population.

As an unbeliever, I'm going to go to hell. Almost three quarters of Australians? They're also going to hell. Mahatma Gandhi? He's living it up in hell as we speak.

This is one of the messages that I received from the final Catechesis – a series of classes and lectures held for the faithful young pilgrims that have visited Sydney designed to teach them the Vatican's view of the world.

Before we go further I should make one thing clear. If I was to join a religion, then statistical odds are it'd be the Catholics. I went to a Catholic school and just as I instinctively dance whenever I hear, "Nutbush City Limits" I know all the moves for Church.

But like all unbaptised babies and Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, I'm to burn in eternal hellfire – because my faith does not match the one preached by the Pope.

To Sydneysiders and countless others around the nation and the world, World Youth Day is a powerful lure. Beautiful young people in spectacular locations have hit TV screens everywhere along with a simple message: Join the club, and this could be you.

The Catechesis went on to encourage love and inclusion between the congregation and confidence in Jesus, their saviour.

All of this coverage, however, ignores some ugly truths. Homosexuals remain marginalised and women lack equal rights. At the official welcome of the Burmese contingent, Bishop Julien Porteous said that the Vatican should not encourage social change.

On Wednesday the WYD coordinator Bishop Anthony Fisher essentially told a father whose two daughters were raped by a priest to get over it.

Many people say they are sick and tired of only hearing about Catholic sex scandal. Many people, non-Catholics included, believe that the Church deserves a bit of slack and that Fisher, despite his position, is only human.

But those people forget the fact that the Church occupies a special place in society. Children are often taught to obey and respect the leaders of the flock. When this trust is betrayed, drastic measures must be taken to repair the wound.

Instead, Bishop Fisher has not fronted the media since the incident. Chief Operating Officer Danny Casey has said that Fisher is actually a lovely man who didn't mean it, but why can't the Bishop say that for himself?

We should rarely pity the Catholic Church, just as we should rarely pity Microsoft, Coca Cola or British American Tobacco. As one of the wealthiest organisations in the world, the Catholic Church could be doing far more to help the disadvantaged in the world and its policy of banning condoms ignores the plight of the 33.2 million affected by AIDS.

The Vatican could do worse than borrow some wisdom from Mahatma Gandhi.

"Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man (and woman) whom you may have seen and ask yourself if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him (and her), " said Gandhi.
Source: Project Eye