With the creativity of the faith” “

The 18th World Youth Day will be held in the various dioceses of the world on 13 April, Palm Sunday, on the theme “Behold, your Mother!”. We have gathered some testimonies of European youth and the projects being prepared in various European dioceses. Czech Republic: Sunday of Flowers and the Rosary “Sunday of Flowers, as Palm Sunday is called in my language, is drawing near. Flowers are a sign of festivity, of joy, and the meeting with our bishops, which is held on Saturday in my country, is a ‘flower’ of this kind. Preparations for the WYD are now in full swing in all our dioceses. In drawing up the programme the young do not lack imagination. The prayer of the Rosary will be the centrepoint of the Day. A book aimed at youth has recently been published with the title “Discover the Secret of the Rosary” with testimonies of life, proposals for prayer and reflections; it will be made available to everyone at our meetings. After the symposium of the European bishops on “Youth and Europe” a year ago, the relationship between youth and our bishops, already cordial and fruitful, has become a fixed point, so much so that a youth representative is present in every group at the plenary assembly. During the summer there’ll be a national meeting of the youth animators of the various groups, in which almost all the Czech bishops will participate; they did not even need to be invited, since they had immediately applied to participate of their own accord. The consciousness that the young must play an active part in the life of the Church is now widespread. In this period, in the Czech Republic but also, I believe, in other countries, it’s not very easy to be a believer, a practicing Catholic, but the faith brings with it such a charge of strength that it enables us to give a really fine testimony of life. Thinking of entry into the European Union is not among the main concerns of young people at the present time. It is considered with materialist – perhaps realistic ? – eyes: we think of the many advantages, but also the many disadvantages it may bring, and therefore both with hope and with fear. I think, however, that to build this “Union” on the basis of human and Christian values is our only hope of building a valid and fruitful future”. (Katerina Kubickovà, Czech Republic) Slovakia: the experience of freedom “In Slovakia, as in the other countries of Eastern Europe, the young do not belong to those generations directly influenced by the Communist regime. And this plays an important role in their conduct. Young people today are very different from those of ten years ago. Freedom represents a basic factor of their life. They know foreign languages, they are skilled and competitive in various fields of life. I don’t doubt that among all the sectors of Slovak society they are those best prepared to grasp the opportunities that EU enlargement offers. The fear is that they may become the slaves of freedom. And it is just in this field that the help of the Church makes itself felt: by helping the young to discern what is good from what is bad amid the sea of opportunities that society offers. In 1999 the Slovak Episcopal Conference published the document “Youth Pastoral Programme” which is now a point of reference on the way in which the Church should approach the young generations. A great contribution is also made by the religious congregations, engaged in youth pastoral work both in the big cities, such as the Salesians, and in the universities, such as the Jesuits. Meetings such as those of World Youth Day, which is being locally celebrated this year and which the various dioceses are preparing with great creativity, are intended to be a moment of witness and sharing one’s faith with others”. (Juray Dolny, Slovakia) France: the Lord of the rocks “You loved the Lord of the Rings… you’ll love the Lord of the Rocks” is the slogan of the 8th annual meeting of young Christians of the Jura. “Noxlum 8” is to be held in the Sanctuary of Mont-Roland from the afternoon of Saturday 12 April to the morning of Sunday 13. There’ll be a night of games populated by elves, trolls, gnomes and orcs, based on Tolkien’s book and the well-known film saga “The Lord of the Rings”, in which 400 children aged between 15 and 18 will participate. “A combat between good and evil”, says the programme of the meeting, “a team adventure to go to the sources of the Passion with Christ”. Fifteen people are at work preparing the animation of the meeting, its liturgy and aids. Other events, including catechesis, theatrical performances, moments of prayer, pilgrimages and testimonies, are planned in the diocese of Clermont-Ferrand and in those of the West. Poland: many youth follow the Via Crucis Youth meetings in the dioceses in preparation for Easter, international youth meeting in Lublin on the themes of European citizenship and peace, referendum on EU membership, unemployment and social questions: these were some of the issues tackled during the last plenary meeting of the bishops of Poland, held some ten days ago. “In each of the 43 dioceses of the country – explains Father Adam Schultz, spokesman of the Polish Episcopal Conference – special meetings of prayer and animation for the young are planned for the period of Lent. The religious tradition of Lent is deeply felt in Poland, also among the younger sections of the population; for example, a high participation in the Via Crucis is registered. Musical events, always very welcome to the young, will not be lacking either”. An international meeting is now being held in Lublin, promoted by the “Catholic Association of Polish Youth” (of which the young Msgr. Karol Wojtyla was once spiritual assistant) and by the Christian Associations of Italian Workers (ACLI). “The meeting is being attended not only by Polish and Italian youth, but also by Ukrainians, Moldavians, Slovaks and Lithuanians – explains one of the organizers, Christian Carrara –, all of them engaged in reflecting on Europe, and on the risks and opportunities of the enlargement of the Union”. Bulgaria: an “oasis” of formation “Oasis – a youth formation valid for our time”. That’s what the largest youth movement in the Bulgarian diocese of Sofia-Plovdiv is called. The youth of Sofia, Rakovski, the city with the largest number of Catholics, Belozem and Zitniza participate in it. It’s a movement linked to the local Church, also because, once they have finished their formative journey, the young assume a “diaconia”, i.e. a specific form of service in the parish. Each group has a priest as its moderator, accompanied by trained youth animators who organize the weekly meetings. “The movement’s centre of life – explains Father Cristoforo Orzadovic, Polish missionary and moderator of the Oasis group – is formed by the summer camps which propose reflections on the mysteries of the rosary, the history of salvation and charisms in the universal Church”. “This experience – says a young member of the group – made me grasp the fact that the rosary isn’t a prayer for the elderly and that the word of God is also addressed at me”. According to Orzadovic, “young Bulgarian Catholics have a need to rediscover their Christian faith, to be educated and brought up in it to be able to give an example to others and apply the values of the Gospel in their life.” The results of the movement can be seen in the Christian families who form the participants and in the growth of vocations. Another aspect of this movement is that the children sign pledges in which they promise for a year not to touch alcohol, not to drink and to live in chastity. “I’m proud not to drink or smoke – says one girl – because I can demonstrate these values to those in my own age group”.