What appears to be the biggest conflict ever between Church, State, and gay people is happening in Australia where the Roman Catholic Church has planned a World Youth Day with no less than a visit from the Roman Catholic Pope. (At Right: The Sydney Opera House whose sails may appear this week as something from "The Flying Nun.")

Unbelievably, the Australian government announced that anyone showing any signs, tee shirts, or otherwise protesting the Pope’s visit would be fined $500. On Apollo Network we do not normally criticize the governments of foreign counties (we have our own government problems in the US), but I was under the impression that Australia was operating as a democratic nation with laws in place protecting the rights of its citizens, not the rights of visiting religionists. Is it now a punishable crime in Australia to enjoy freedom of speech rights?

Gay Australians are not to be deterred and are showing up in mass [sic] to protest.

The gay Australians have every right to demonstrate peacefully against a world wide church that continues to damn gay people to their fantastic hell, while at the same time paying out nearly a billion dollars in the biggest sexual cover up scandal in history. While their own priests are molesting minors, the church continues to damn adult gay people who consensually choose only to molest each other.

Organized religion has too long been given a free pass to believe and do almost anything that enters the fantasies of its not so holy leaders. But when it comes to the rights of the people to protest the foolishness of fantasies, democratic governments should choose the side of freedom. Only in Islamic countries are the clergy given such free reign.

Good luck to the gay Aussies who are battling not only for gay rights, but for the rights of all citizens.