Report: "For secular Australia, World Youth Day was wake-up call"

World Youth Day, it should not be forgotten, serves not only the inner life of the Church, but also provides a stirring witness to the country in which it takes place:

In what is often seen as one of the most intensely secular nations in the world, Australia received a wake-up call: the faith of the church on public display over the weeklong celebrations of World Youth Day.

For young Catholics used to seeing a steady annual decline in figures such as Mass attendance -- now estimated at approximately 13 percent of Catholics nationally -- and feeling like the only young person in the local parish, the sight of an estimated 300,000 pilgrims from around the nation and overseas may well have provided a much-needed shot in the arm. (CNS)

Do any knowledgeable contributors wish to speak about the state of the Church in Spain...?