My sisters and brothers in Christ,

A great many young Catholics from all corners of the world are expected to descend upon the city of Sydney to proclaim and celebrate their faith at World Youth Day 2008.

In response to His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI’s announcement in Cologne on 21 August 2005 that Sydney will host the next World Youth Day, the Military Diocese of Australia (or the Military Ordinariate of Australia) will be involved in welcoming and hosting our Catholic military sisters and brothers from around the world for this special event.

Already, the World Youth Cross and Icon of Our Lady have been traveling throughout our national, proclaiming ‘Christ’s love for humanity’ to over 400 communities in Australia, including communities within our military bases. It gives me a lot of inspiration and hope to see so many people – young and old – coming together to engage with these significant religious symbols in the hope of seeking Christ's love in preparation for World Youth Day.

July 2008 marks an exciting time for the Catholic Church in Australia as the world will gather in the peace and unity of the Holy Spirit. This will be symbolic for the military because of the troubled world we live in. Many of us have colleagues and friends who are deployed, serving their country in dangerous parts of the world. The unity and friendship of World Youth Day will be an excellent opportunity to gather as an international community to pray for them and to promote peace of Christ. This is particularly reflected in the Pentecostal theme of World Youth Day 2008, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8). Through the Holy Spirit, the love and peace which our Lord Jesus Christ left us upon His ascension into Heaven gives us all hope in becoming God’s agents for peace, freedom and security. This warm flame of the Holy Spirit burns inside each of us.

I look forward in that hope, to a gathering of many Catholic military members in Australia in July 2008. We will be honoured to celebrate and be witnesses to the power of the Holy Spirit with you all. Our Diocese will be hosting the international military community for ‘Days in the Diocese’ – a spiritual and cultural exchange in our nation’s capital, Canberra, when we will focus on our faith in a military context. Then, we intend to pilgrimage to Sydney to celebrate the love of the risen Christ with the Holy Father and the rest of the world.

We give thanks to the Lord for this opportunity to welcome the world into our hearts, and we place our efforts always under the care of Mary, Help of Christians, our Patroness.

I look forward to seeing you all in Australia in 2008.

+ Max L Davis
Catholic Bishop of the Australian Defence Force