Eyes on the future

In the meeting held in Cyprus March 3 to 6, in view of the World Youth Day (Madrid, August 16-21), the Presidents of eight Bishops’ Conferences of South-East Europe described the current situation and future prospects of the pastoral care of the youth in their Churches. A panel lecture focused on the situation of young people in the Holy Land. Follows a snapshot of the picture presented in the speeches.Bosnia Herzegovina: after the wounds of the warThe youth of Bosnia Herzegovina, compared to their peers from other European countries, “are marked by the negative experience of having grown up during the war”. In fact, as many as “62% want to leave the Country.” It is the reflection of Msgr. Franjo Komarica, bishop of Banja Luka, President of the Bishops’ Conference of Bosnia-Herzegovina, who underlined that after the war the Catholic population dropped from 19 to 12%. In all of the Country’s dioceses there are “Commissions for the pastoral care of the youth”, notably, the John Paul II Archiepiscopal Centre for the Pastoral Care of the Young, founded in 2006, “a place of education – said Msgr. Komarica – and also a place of encounter, spirituality, charity works and sport activity, a place where the youth can develop their creativity and their spiritual quest”. A few years ago the Centre launched two initiatives: “the ecumenical summer camp” and the “peace summer camp”. Moreover, the Bishops’ Conference’s “Committee for the Youth” is tasked with stepping up cooperation between the Country’s youth and young Catholics living abroad, while the dioceses of Bosnia Herzegovina promote a two-day meeting for young Catholics. The 2009 meeting was attended by 15 000 young people. Priorities include: “encouraging young people to be involved in pastoral work for the youth”, “promoting the creation of associations, movements and pastoral bodies in the deaneries and parishes” and “creating new areas for the development of projects enhancing the coexistence of the youth after the divisions caused by the war”.Greece: the will of a minority”The pastoral care of the young in Greece reflects the situation of a minority Church in a Country with a large Orthodox majority. This means that not all young people can avail themselves of sociological models and group psychology that would promote their Catholic self-consciousness”. Following these introductory remarks Msgr. Ioannis Spiteris, archbishop of Corfù, Zante and Cefalonia, recalled that in 1970 the Greek Bishops’ Conference created a pastoral Commission for the Youth. “Not many young people are involved in our organization. However we seek to involve them during marriage preparation and in the framework of the spiritual path undertaken by young families.” “The major problem – pointed out Msgr. Spiteris – is how to reach out to the masses of young people who drifted away from the Church not because they opposed it but because, as they say, their studies or their job take up all of their time, while some admit they are indifferent to religion”. Within this complex situation emerges the vitality of the pastoral care of the young in the islands of Syros and Tynos, marked by an active Catholic presence, due to young Catholic immigrants in urban areas and to the contribution of Greek students who completed their studies abroad, where they took part in faith encounters promoted by Catholic associations and religious movements. “Another feature of our pastoral care of the young is the ecumenical dimension, whereby we seek to address the dividing elements whilst highlighting all that unites us”.Moldova: the courage to grow”We are used to sacrifice, and most of all we are aware that our vocation must address the problems of a constantly evolving society”. The pastoral experience with the youth of Moldavia’s Church, presented by Msgr. Anton Cosa, bishop of Chisinau, President of the Moldavian Bishops’ Conference, takes stock of a history of suffering and of a current situation marked by evident “materialistic pressures”, “migration pressures”, combined with “poor human and Christian formation.” In this framework the vocational training and the spiritual formation carried out by priests, by the religious, notably by the Salesians, is extremely valuable. In this horizon is set also the first Social Week for the Catholic Church in Moldavia, due to take place in October on the theme “The courage of growing with the forlorn”. “We’re a young Church – the bishop said – and in the youth we identify the potentials for a more significant presence across the Moldavian territory”. “Small formation courses are held for this purpose”. Two days a year are dedicated to the youth, the first for the near and distant ones, while the second day is offered to all those who wish undertake the path of Christianity. “It is necessary for our youth to emerge from their social and cultural isolation -underlined Msgr. Cosa – which makes them suffer, often causing a certain degree of inferiority feelings in the dialogue with other Catholic communities in Europe”.Cyprus: going towards them”Young people are open to receive the Word of God” and to commit themselves “in Christian mission and apostolate work” but “the Church is called to go towards the youth where they are”, said Msgr. Youssef Soueif, Maronite archbishop of Cyprus in his address. Msgr. Soueif pointed out that on the island, “young Catholics belong to the Maronite and Latin rites”. While the former are mostly Cypriots, and only a minority is from foreign Countries such as Lebanon, the youth belonging to the Latin rite community, mostly foreigners, are “labor-workers, university students or officials”. “A common Catholic pastoral for the youth was lacking”, the bishop said. “However, the apostolic visit of Benedict XVI was a good opportunity to start working together”. In the Maronite communities, “there are youth groups and bodies that are close to the parish”. Indeed, “the villages, the youth groups and the Church are closely bound”. The Latin rite communities “animate spiritual encounters of young and adult faithful”, while the “vocational pastoral” is gradually developing. Msgr. Soueif indicated as a priority of the pastoral care of the young “education to mutual understanding, accepting diversity and working for the establishment of one society of Cyprus marked by conviviality and multiculturalism”. It is equally important, he added, “to promote youth activities in Maronite villages” depopulated when the island was divided in 1974, ensuing the Turkish invasion. For the bishop “young Catholics are called to know their own identity and faith dimension”, and they are called “to the love of all people, open to collaboration with everyone”. A further commitment underlined by the bishop is that all the houses of God (Churches, monasteries and mosques) “be open to everyone and be places of fraternity, reconciliation and peace”.Bulgaria: a new generationIn Bulgaria the Catholic Church is present with only three dioceses, two of Eastern and Latin rite and one of Oriental rite, representing 1% of the overall population. But the major problem is not the fact of being a minority but rather the Country’s ongoing difficult situation. “Many young people – said Msgr. Christo Proykov, Apostolic Exarch and President of the Bulgarian Bishops’ Conference – including numerous Catholics – leave the Country in search of normal living situations”. The bishop provided a snapshot of the history of the Bulgarian Church, which underwent much suffering under Communist rule, when “almost all the bishops, priests, religious men and women were imprisoned” and some “were even sentenced to death, and others killed without a trial”. In 1989, when the regime fell, the church “emerged weaker but alive”, with “great moral authority, that was officially recognized”. As regards the youth, Msgr. Proykov remarked: “Today young people are drilled with messages from the materialist world, and despite their sensibility, despite the fact that they are attracted by the Christian message, they find it hard to swim against the tide”. For this reason, “attending international meetings like the one in Madrid is very important”, since the contact with many young Christians “gives them the courage and the enthusiasm to continue”. The bishop does however “see signs of hope for the future”, since “a new generation is developing”, which has the possibility “of deepening their faith”. Some young people remain in the Country while others “return to Bulgaria after completing their studies abroad”.Saints Cyril and Methodius: the youth for the youth”The youth for the youth”, the formation school for spiritual animators, which last year prepared 50 young people currently engaged in the Country’s dioceses, is the highlight of the pastoral of the young of the International Bishops’ Conference of the Saints Cyril and Methodius, which includes the Catholic dioceses of Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia and those in the territory of Kosovo. The account was given by Msgr. Djuro Gasparovic, delegated to represent the Episcopal conference by the president, Msgr. Stanislav Hocevar, who also chairs the Council for the Youth of the same bishops’ Conference, an organism created with the purpose of addressing contemporary problems involving the youth such as “secularization”, the “quest for self-identity” and the “crisis in faith”. The Council, that is also charged with drawing up annual working agendas and “with supporting the priests involved in this specific sector”, has already enhanced its commitment for the WYD. Msgr. Gasparovic announced the presence of “140 young people at the event in Madrid”, and recalled that “the annual meeting for the youth in all the dioceses, held in Croatian and Hungarian”, is an occasion for “an exchange of ideas, projects, friendly relations and religious encounter”. The annual meetings for the youth are also held in local churches, along with “pastoral-catechetical” meetings every six months for students. Special care is devoted to spiritual retreats, since, the bishop said, “we are aware of the care that must be given to the spiritual life of youth group animators”.Albania: listening to and proclaiming the grounds of the GospelIn “the youngest Country in Europe” (40% of the population is under 25, those over-65 amount to 12%), “Even though twenty years have passed since the fall of the Communist regime, the intellectual horizon of Albanian society’s spiritual sphere is still undergoing the effects of the void left by Marxist ideology. At the same time, the West proposes a secular lifestyle and a society without God”, said Msgr. Rrok Mirdita, Archbishop of Tirana, President of the Albanian Bishops’ Conference. Although economic difficulties curtail pastoral initiatives, the archbishop said, “I believe that the most appropriate key to approach the youth is to listen. It is necessary to primarily transmit to the youth the grounds of the Gospel, after which they must be acknowledged on the grounds of the Church, that serves the Gospel. It is equally necessary to listen to what young people have to say whilst firmly proclaiming the Gospel and not its a-religious surrogates”. Msgr. Mirdita thus delved into various positive aspects. “While in a number of Western Countries Confirmation is viewed as the sacrament sanctioning a farewell, – he said – in Albanian villages many young people continue going to church”. Although the situation in urban areas is different, “university students are open to religious education and would welcome educational proposals”, including those coming from associations and movements. In conclusion ,the Archbishop of Tirana welcomed the news that “a large number of Albanian immigrants have converted to Catholicism”.Romania: free and responsible persons”The living presence of the youth inside the Church clearly shows that the young generations are not passive subjects of the pastoral care of the Church. Indeed, they are active protagonists. The Church ought to reach out to them with maternal love, precisely because in the young generations she sees her ever-young face and finds the courage to extend her glance the future”. Thus spoke Msgr. Virgil Bercea, bishop of Oradea Mare, head of the Commission for the Pastoral Care of the Youth of the Greek-Catholic Church of Romania. In a Country where Catholics – belonging to Catholic and Greek rite – are a small minority compared to Orthodox Christians, the bishop said, “we seek to convey Christian dignity, living it as free persons who are capable of addressing difficulties with serenity, generosity and happiness”. Our Church undertakes numerous initiatives, notably pilgrimages to the shrines and to the tombs of the bishops who perished under the Communist regime, along with ecumenical encounters, international meetings with Catholic youth (such as Taizè), gatherings for prayer and Eucharistic adoration, spiritual formation of the young. Catholic schools are attended by pupils belonging to all Christian denominations while future priests and lay teachers graduate from the faculty of theology. The most significant pastoral decisions are the result of active co-operation between the Greek Catholic Church and the Roman Catholic Church. “The pastoral care of the youth – concluded Msgr. Bercea – is still at the beginning, we’re still lacking a clear strategy and skilled educators. Despite the many difficulties, the Catholic Church is striving to provide support to the youth at national and local level”.Middle East: the driving force”Youth pastoral care is indispensable for the Church’s mission in the Middle East today”, underlined Msgr. Fouad Twal, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, in his presentation of the Catholic dioceses of the Patriarchate, located across four Countries in the region, namely Palestine, Israel, Jordan and Cyprus. Msgr. Twal identified various “positive fruits” of this pastoral care that include the fact that “the youth are a driving force of the pastoral ecclesial communion of the entire community”, as “many, if not all our activities for the youth, are ecumenical”. In fact schools are open to Christian, Muslim and Jewish pupils; and youth movements, as well as youth centres, are “mostly mixed”. For the patriarch “the pastoral care of the youth is the best response to the phenomenon of migration”, which “poses a threat to young people living in the Middle East”. The Church’s efforts are directed to providing support to the families, “but the most effective cure is of cultural and moral nature”. To this regard, a fundamental role is played by the University of Bethlehem and by the new University of Madaba due to be begin its activity next September. Msgr. Twal highlighted the contribution of pastoral care of the young in the field of vocations, with “good” turnouts, as well as the outcome of “formation aimed at engagements in the areas of justice, reconciliation and peace”. Msgr. Twal underlined the need for “greater integration of new communities and movements within the pastoral work of the local Church”. It is equally important, he said, to invest in “internal Apostolic formation for spiritual direction”, including that of the priests engaged in the pastoral care of the young.