The youth’s quest

“May this meeting grant a major thrust to the pastoral care of the young”. It is the wish of Msgr. Adrianus van Luyn, bishop of Rotterdam and president of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community (COMECE), commenting on the “Pilgrimage of Trust” organized by the Taizé community in Rotterdam (The Netherlands) from December 28 to January 1st, in the belief that its “example will trigger a sense of citizenship not only to a Country or a nation, but to an entire continent” that feels it is “responsible also for other continents”. Follows the interview by Simona Mengascini, SIR Europe correspondent in Rotterdam.Msgr. van Luyn what is the significance of a “pilgrimage of hope” for the Churches of Holland? “There are two major Churches in Holland, the Protestant Calvinist Church and the Catholic Church that jointly called upon the Taizé community to organize a European meeting in our Country. We chose the city of Rotterdam and as a bishop I am very happy to receive European youth here, in this global port. Already during the preparation stage the two Churches came together to promote, facilitate and create the conditions – including the material and financial aspects – for the realization of the event. One its outcomes that s I look forward to is a thrust towards ecumenical cooperation, especially as relates to making the Gospel present across our society, marked by strong secularism”. How important is an event such as this for the religious itinerary of a young person? “Firstly, the meeting brings together European youth, who discover their common quest for an encounter with the Lord, with Jesus, as they seek to find in His Gospel a response to the great questions regarding human existence, on the meaning of life, and also wish to be inspired by the charisma of the community of Taizé. At pastoral level I hope that all those who attended this event will also promote similar meetings in Catholic parishes and across Protestant communities. It’s very important that the events organized by the community of Taizé, or proposed by the Community of Sant’Egidio or by others still, advance the dialogue between the young generation and the Gospel, namely with the person of Jesus Christ”. In your opinion, what effect could be the outcome of the “pilgrimage of trust” on the city of Rotterdam and on the Country as a whole? “This is an encounter that ‘opens the eyes’ of the local population, of our secularized and individualistic society: the youth long for greater profoundness, they need personal reflection, and they share the need to raise true questions on life and human coexistence. It’s very significant that an event such as this took place in Rotterdam, involving so many young people and which is not a materialist, consumerist event, but a meeting that reaches deep down and which helps the young generations to avert the risk of an empty life, void direction or trust”. This meeting brings together 30 thousand European youth: what is the role of Christians for the future of the continent? “As Christians we also have a ‘pedagogical’ role. The Gospel brings us the experience of a message that is open to all and is directed to the entire world, that was never restricted, in the intentions of Jesus and of the Early Church, to a single population, a single Country or a single nation. Never. In the development of a European identity, that is always accompanied by a responsibility towards the world as a whole, one of the greatest contributions came from the Taizé community, not only with the meetings organized in cities across the continent, but also through the reception given to young people arriving from Western Europe first and later, after the Wall collapsed, to East-European youth by our confreres in France, where their commitment began upon the end of World War II. These spiritual centres are indispensable to tear down the boundries separating cultures and peoples”. Thus unifying Europe is a dream that could come true? “Unity in diversity is the motto of the European Union, as underlined by Benedict XVI upon the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome. Unity as relates to essential human values, such as the dignity of the human person, the common good, subsidiarity, solidarity; along with diversity, namely, the richness of cultures, languages, the achievements of science and of research”.