“The young person finds himself today in a complex world, characterized by superficiality. He/she has the impression of forming part of many communities, but in actual fact forms part of none”: that is the basic proposition from which the youth apostolate of Slovakia starts out: the fact, namely, that so many young people have difficulty in finding their own identity. The “new evangelization” is thus called to take account of these difficulties that invest the family, the educational environments, the growing lack of “positive models”. The main tasks for the dioceses are implementing formative processes for those who place themselves at the service of the young (priests, educators, lay people, religious), and establishing diocesan youth centres where young people can truly feel at home. Conferences, discussions, reviews, concerts, programmes of social communication may all be ways of drawing the attention of the young. A missionary Church must also be able to rely on persons capable of announcing Christ through a valid process of “inculturation”, which takes account of the modern means of communication such as the mass media, internet and music. In particular, the latter is considered in Slovakia “the means of communication par excellence” in reaching out to the young generations. However, there is also a need to propose “welcoming” environments where the young may feel they belong to a group of persons, where they can find “real friends”, someone who “devotes himself to them” and “where they may experience life in the community to be able to grow in the faith”. The clergy, religious and teachers of religion are also urged to seek the best ways of approaching the young generations, of really understanding the languages they speak and so be able to propose to them the perennial values of the Gospel in a modern and accessible manner.
