Saturday, shouting their distaste at papal policies as thousands of Catholic youth streamed past on their way to an evening address by Pope Benedict XVI. The NoToPope coalition _ some costumed as nuns, devils and priests _ lined the edge of a park on the route of the pilgrims' march, tightly ringed by police on foot, bicycles and horseback.
"The pope is wrong, put a condom on!" they shouted through megaphones. Some threw red-packaged condoms at the passing pilgrims.
But the young Catholics were at first merely curious, then smiled and waved and began their own singsong chant that carried down the ranks: "Benedicto! We love you!"
The activists - fresh from a court win this week that overturned a temporary state regulation against "annoying" the pilgrims - followed a mock popemobile to the park after an hourlong rally.
"We want to make it clear that we are not anti-religious, and we welcome the Catholic youth to our country," said Rachel Evans, a leader of the coalition. "Our gripe is with Pope Benedict and the hierarchy of the church."
The coalition condemns the pope's policies against homosexuality, contraception and abortion. At the rally, costumed activists gave impassioned speeches on safe sex and held a contest for the T-shirt slogan most likely to annoy Roman Catholics.
The winner - judged by crowd applause - was a crude reference to Mary, Christ's mother. The runner-up: "So many right-wing Christians, so few lions."
The burlesque, boisterous protest in central Sydney included wigged drag queens and others draped in rainbow flags, and was in sharp contrast to the solemn papal Mass held earlier at a nearby cathedral.
"Jesus loves us all the same," pilgrim Mark Choi shouted at the protesters at one point.
"I totally understand why they are here and I'm not going to take it personally," said Choi, 18, from Silver Spring, Maryland. "But they don't understand that we love everyone, homosexual or whatever. Arguing is not the way."
The demonstrators waved inflated condoms and hoisted signs reading: "Would Jesus discriminate?" and "Bless me Father, for I am a homo."
"It's their right to say these things, and in most of them they are right," said Austrian pilgrim Lukas Nebel, 22. "I also do not agree with the pope on the question of condoms and sex before marriage. They are also right to be concerned about sex abuse."
The protest drew attention before it was even held after state officials passed regulations earlier this month that banned anyone from causing "annoyance or inconvenience" to participants in the Catholic festival.
Offenders faced fines of up to 5,500 Australian dollars (US$5,300).
NoToPope activists argued in court that the regulations infringed on their free speech rights, and the regulation was struck down when they won the case.
Tens of thousands of World Youth Day pilgrims marched on Saturday through Sydney, where the landmark harbor bridge and other key roadways were closed so they could trek to a horse racetrack in the city where they will camp out for the night.
Benedict was due to join them on Saturday evening for a few of hours, then return to the track on Sunday morning to lead a Mass before an estimated crowd of some 250,000.
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