World Youth Day (July 2002): World Youth Day's organizers walked a delicate line: they wanted Toronto taxpayers to host and pay for their party and potential fundraiser, but they didn't want Toronto taxpayers (many of whom don't even go to church) to interfere with the vibe of the all-Catholic lovefest. Constructing the programs listing the various World Youth Day events was a delicate proposition. What's a polite way to say, "Paying Catholics only"?
The solution the event organizers went with was to not say anything at all. In the various brochures widely available throughout the city, certain events were marked as "Open To the Public" while others weren't marked with anything at all.
I did what I could to take advantage of this unwillingness to say "Public Not Welcome" by visiting a few dozen Catholic churches that were more open than usual, joining in on an event called the "Franciscan Fest", and trying my hardest to meet the Pope. While I completely failed in this last endeavour, I had fun trying.
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