More indulgences for WYD Sydney and railroad strike??

Pope asks Catholics to pray for WYD; Vatican announces indulgencesCASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI asked Catholics around the world to pray for the young people who will gather with him in Sydney, Australia, for the celebration of World Youth Day. To help encourage the prayers of all, the Vatican announced July 5 that the pope had authorized a special indulgence for anyone who, "with a contrite spirit," raises a "prayer to God, the Holy Spirit, so that young people are drawn to charity and given the strength to proclaim the Gospel with their life," a Vatican decree said. Pope Benedict spoke about his July 12-21 trip to Australia when he met visitors at his summer villa south of Rome for the July 6 recitation of the Angelus. World Youth Day runs July 15-20 in Sydney. The decree included the offer of a plenary, or full, indulgence to all the young people who will gather with the pope in Sydney. An indulgence is a remission of the temporal punishment a person is due for sins that have been forgiven. The decree said a partial indulgence also is available to Catholics who are sorry for their sins and offer prayers with the pope for young Catholics.

WYD official says railroad strike not likely to interrupt eventsSYDNEY, Australia (CNS) -- Sydney's railroad workers have announced a 24-hour strike for July 17, the day of Pope Benedict XVI's arrival in Sydney for World Youth Day. But Jim Hanna, media director for World Youth Day, said July 7 that organizers remained "confident that the parties will resolve their differences through arbitration," and the papal tour through the streets of Sydney "will continue peacefully and uninterrupted." If the strike by the workers' union over an unresolved pay claim occurs, it could strand up to 750,000 commuters on Sydney's rail network, including hundreds of thousands of pilgrims traveling from the outer suburbs to the Mass venue. To avert what could be transport chaos on the busiest day of the July 15-20 World Youth Day festivities, the New South Wales government has taken the issue to the Australian Industrial Relations Commission.