By David Ramli from PROJECTeye

The Catholic Church does not do enough to assist the poor and marginalised, said the CEO of St Vincent de Paul to an official World Youth Day forum last night.

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St Vincent de Paul is a national lay Catholic organisation that provides social services for poor and marginalised Australians.

“Our fundamental problem is... we're failing to recognise that the God we claim to worship is present in our midst in these poorest of the poor, in these marginalised people and we turn our backs on them,” said Dr John Falzon.

“When a church makes a practice of silencing those [marginalised] voices, and the voices of descent, as has happened with some theologians who have taken the side of the oppressed, there is an even greater problem,” Dr Falzon said.

Speaking to a full capacity crowd of more than 300 pilgrims at the Sydney Convention Centre - the headquarters of WYD - Dr Falzon also criticised the Church's response to the forced removal of 130 homeless people from the Domain and Hyde Park as well as the relocation of food vans, quoting a biblical passage to emphasise his point.

“I hope that all pilgrims gathered in Sydney would share a very strong sense of injustice in hearing about this report,” said Dr John Falzon.

“I cannot enjoy your festivals and your solemnities, your new moons and your pilgrimages, I hate with all my soul... your hands are covered in blood,” he quoted.

The audience, consisting of mainly young Catholics from around the world, used the question time to express outrage over the Church's actions with one planning action against WYD coordinator Bishop Anthony Fisher.

“I'm feeling quite sick about the fact that we've moved a food van for our World Youth Day and that 130 people have been moved out, so I'm going to write to Father Anthony Fisher and I think that perhaps we all ought to,” said the young pilgrim.

ProjectEye is a content partner for SBS providing critical news coverage of WYD08 from a youth perspective.
Source: Project Eye