Free and mature

“The youth should be prompted not to conceal their faith. Even if they make mistakes, even though they aren’t always 100% coherent, they have to emerge from their small world, or else they will never be free, they will never be mature”. A message to the youth, with an encouragement to give public witness of their hope to the world closed the address of Fr Duarte da Cunha, Secretary General of the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences, delivered at the 12th National Conference of Youth Pastoral Care, promoted in Rome November 10-12 on the theme “Growing together for a good life”. Father da Cunha made a heartfelt appeal also to adults: “they must not be afraid of investing on the youth. However – he pointed out – we cannot overlook the responsibility of accompanying and helping them in their decisions and their growth”. Follows an abstract of his address. Secularism. In his address, father da Cunha analyzed the “social reality” of the youth in Europe. “Secularism – he said – is an evident feature of European culture”. “Youth from East and Western Europe alike are submerged within a so-called culture of practical atheism. They live as if God didn’t exist, or, even when His existence is not denied, that is not reason for much interest”. “We act as if God were not in the picture. There is a divide between faith and everyday life”. People’s mobility. Another reality that strongly characterised European society is human mobility. “This phenomenon – remarks CCEE secretary general – influences the young families as well as young students, who have many possibilities of studying abroad, at least for a part of their academic courses. In many European universities foreigners account for over 20% of all students. However, at a deeper level, there are countries that are being abandoned and others that are granting hospitality to all those who left their homelands”. “Receiving with enthusiasm the faithful from abroad and accepting the possibility of being changed by the presence of people arriving from distant countries, who sometimes carry with them a deeply rooted, living faith, must be seen as a great opportunity for the Church”.The economic crisis. A phenomenon is deeply affecting the social life of contemporary youth. “It involves the economic crisis – says Fr da Cunha – and notably unemployment, as well as the crisis of the family and the lack of hope. Clearly, pastoral care cannot solve all of these problems, however, it can accompany the youth and help them find solutions. Also because often this crisis hits young people that are very lonely, without a united family that will support them, that is capable of helping them not be discouraged and find alternatives. The task of pastoral care is remembering in concrete ways that God is here and that He loves us”.Intelligence and heart. For Father da Cunha, “an effective evangelization of the youth requires authentic Christian identity, rooted in the person of Jesus Christ”. He adds: “There is a Europe of young Christians. It certainly is a Europe of people who experienced a deep encounter. Or else, if they have not personally found the Lord, then they seek Him sincerely and dramatically. When the one who seeks meets a group of young Christians that bear witness to an attractive life, capable of stimulating the other person’s intelligence and heart, that person is naturally inclined to follow them, and with time, he/she will personally experience the encounter with Christ”. CCEE secretary general deems necessary the presence and the accompaniment of adults. “Youth pastoral care needs adults, since it remains an educative pastoral, that welcomes the youth at a time of important decisions for their future”.Not indignant, but committed. “Many young people – concluded the CCEE secretary general – are growing cynical, without hope, worried only about themselves and about the near future, without being convinced that they have something they can give unto others. The demonstrations of the indignant people show that it is possible to involve young people – but what we need are not young indignants, but young committed people. In Europe, in various countries and according to local traditions, there are many experiences of young people that give their time to help others, for charity, since the supreme law of Christians is also the most authentic way of living. The young people that experience this bear witness to the act of self-bestowal to the poor, to children, to sick people, to the elderly, and they see true life growing within them”.