Madrid, Spain, Aug 31, 2011 / 16:39 pm
It was one of the most remarkable global manifestations of the Catholic faith in recent memory. But since pilgrims have started returning home from World Youth Day, some are talking about the disorganization they experienced and how the event could be improved.
“My sons went to World Youth Day in a group of 29,” wrote one mother from St. Joan of Arc parish in Denver, Colo.
“When they got to the Vigil on the Saturday night they were turned away, and flatly refused admittance despite their WYD credentials and being at the correct section. Basically they were told the section was full. No admittance. As you can imagine, the kids were very upset.”
Their story has been repeated in other personal anecdotes: the pilgrims were on time, at right venue, and had the correct passes but were refused entry. Organizers estimate that around 100,000 of the 1.5 million pilgrims were affected by such problems.
Although pilgrimages usually contain some form of penance, many pilgrims were not expecting the lack of portable toilets at the venue, the condition of those that were available, and the lack of transport to and from downtown Madrid. When it came to redeeming pre-paid food vouchers at the designated outlets, some pilgrims were told after waiting in line three to four hours that all the food was gone.
Yago de la Cierva, Director of Communications for WYD 2011 in Madrid, told CNA Aug. 31 that what happened at Cuatro Vientos “is that we are talking about young people, and in many countries, a wall is seen not as a barrier but an invitation to jump and go forward.” The communications director said that this attitude resulted in many young people simply abandoning their designated areas in search of a better vantage point.
Another issue was that many groups arrived with unregistered pilgrims and so used their limited passes on a repeated basis. “We are not talking about a few cases, but something done in an organized way,” he said.
The result was a greater number of people in the venue and too many of them in the wrong zones. Hence the authorities decided to close the entry gates due to prevent unsafe overcrowding.