Never without them

A new body providing formation programs for Catholic youth ministers and the appointment of a new delegate bishop for the pastoral care of the youth: these are two decisions taken by English bishops during the works of the latest plenary meeting held a few days ago in Leeds. The body, the “Catholic Youth Ministry Federation” (CYMF), that brings together youth pastoral care ministers and those working with young people in new Catholic movements and religious orders at national level, and the new Bishop for Youth Msgr. Kieran Conry, currently serving the diocese of Arundel and Brighton, will be part of the Evangelisation and Catechesis department of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales. The first initiative of the new body, on February 27 2010, will be a national congress on the pastoral care of the youth. Other important events are “National Youth Sunday”, and the “World Youth Sunday”. SIR Europe met Msgr. Kieran Conry.Why appoint a bishop for the youth?“There has always been a delegate bishop for the youth. The difference is that we decided to dismantle the ‘Central youth office’, of the bishops’ conference and replaced it with the CYMFED, which stands for ‘Catholic Youth Ministry Federation’. It’s a much more flexible organization, less structured than the past department, where those working with the youth in the various dioceses are free to meet to exchange ideas and discuss new initiatives. The new Federation responds to the need for a central office that would harmonize different realities of the dioceses”.What are the objectives of CYMFED?“A recent survey conducted in Catholic schools among youth aged 11-18 showed that a large number of young people don’t believe in God. Many of them think that God doesn’t have an impact in their lives. I believe that our objective should be to consider new ways to bring the youth close to God”.What are the results?“A few days ago, during a Confirmation ceremony, a parent came up to me saying he had drifted away from the Church and drew close again after his marriage. It’s a common story that we hear of very often. Many young people who believe in God drift away from the Church after their Confirmation and draw close to her again only many years later. It’s a general trend across the world that has been confirmed to me also by a number of Catechists from Chile. Those who drew apart often returned with greater awareness after having children also since they want the best for themselves and faith represents ‘the best’. The departure of the youth is a challenge for the entire Church. We must reconsider communication with young people”.How can this challenge be faced?“There isn’t one answer only. These are the years of adolescence, when the youth rebel to all forms of authority. It’s a very complex age since university studies and building a career require a lot of energy, while for the first time the youth are in serious relationships with the opposite sex. I think it’s wrong to force the youth to go to church. When I administer the sacrament of Confirmation I always say, ‘whatever may happen, whatever difficulty you may have, if you drift away from the Church you must know that you can always return, you must know that the Church is your home’. The parents tell me they’re happy that I told them this since it’s important to know that it’s possible to return”. What do you do for the youth in your diocese of Arundel and Brighton?“There’s a specific program called ‘Eli’, aimed at preparing leaders to work with the youth. We believe that the peer group is extremely important and as compares to adults, adolescents are more attentive listeners of those who are only a few years older than they. We also organize pilgrimages to Lourdes during which with a 50-seat bus for young participants only. The experience has been very successful. Once a year we also organize a meeting for the youth in the diocese. The last time 450 of them attended”.