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	Special WYD Rules Spark Protests Catholic World News July 3, 2008 http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=59465 Sydney, Jul. 3, 2008 (CWNews.com) - Public officials in New South Wales, Australia, have heard a chorus of criticism about regulations that could impose heavy fines on anyone who "causes annoyance or inconvenience" during World Youth Day (WYD) celebrations in Sydney. Civil-libertarians joined with representatives of sex-abuse victims to protest the special regulations, saying that they would curtail their freedom of speech. The rules will make it difficult to mount any form of protest during the WYD celebration, they said. Father Frank Brennan, an influential Jesuit, decried the regulations as "dreadful interference" with the rights of protestors. The liberal priest, who is also a lawyer, remarked: "The rights of free speech and assembly should not be curtailed only because visiting pilgrims might be annoyed or inconvenienced in public places." The Sydney Morning Herald reported that thousands of people had participated in online surveys about the regulations, with public opinion running heavily against the restrictions. More than 90% of respondents objected to the rules, the Herald said. Organizers of World Youth Day have said that they do not wish to stifle protest or curb freedom of expression, but wish only to ensure that the festivities can proceed without interruption. State officials and Sydney police have said that they will not curtail respectful public protests. The special regulations, they explain, will give police discretionary power to intervene if confrontations arise. Australian groups protesting the papal visit to Sydney have threatened to mobilize thousands of people to challenge the special restrictions, lining the route of the papal motorcade with people wearing T-shirts with "annoying" slogans.
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