Solidarity, charity and responsibility” “

With less than two months to go before it opens, World Youth Day is now at the centre of youth pastoral activities not only in Germany but also elsewhere: an example is the appeal of the Austrian and French bishops, meeting in their plenary assemblies in recent days, to the youth of their respective countries to participate in large numbers in the meeting in Cologne. “The great event provides an opportunity to experience the youthful universal Church in exchange, prayer and dialogue”, declare the Austrian bishops in the final document of their plenary assembly. They express their satisfaction for the over 3,000 enrolments in the event. In view of the “close linguistic and cultural relations between Catholicism in Austria and in the Rhineland”, the bishops say they are certain that other Austrian youth will participate in the meeting with the Pope. THE DAYS OF MEETING. An inseparable part of WYD consists of the Days of Meeting in the German dioceses, before the event in Cologne. Enrolments have been prolonged until 15 July: it is possible to register by compiling the form on the official website of WYD www.wjt2005.de or by applying to one’s own diocese. The stay of guests in the German dioceses is completely free and all the young need do is organize and pay for their transfer to Cologne for the meeting with the Pope. In many German dioceses fund-raising events are being held, aimed at collecting funds to finance also the travel to Cologne of youngsters from disadvantaged areas. Almost all the dioceses have arranged for their guests programmes of activities to enable them to get to know the local situation. The diocese of Görlitz, for example, has deliberately chosen not to organize particular events, concentrating its efforts on individual activities that will be shared by the guest and his/her host in the family and in the parish. In Hamburg, on the other hand, an international youth festival will be held on 13 August, preceded in the morning by excursions in the city by bicycle, by canoe or on foot, guided by German youth. At Hildesheim the programme organized for the young visitors will culminate with a day of spirituality, culture and events in the city’s cathedral. The diocese of Münster is expecting over 15,000 guests to celebrate an intercultural festival on 14 August: a ‘chain of peace’, concerts and other events are planned for the meeting in which an estimated 40,00 people will participate. The diocese of Essen is dedicating a day to excursions in the region, while the final festival prior to the departure for Cologne will be held in the stadium with an expected 60,000 foreign guests and German youth. WYD AND THE DISABLED. Some 16,000 disabled youth from all over the world are expected to attend Cologne 2005. The organizers of WYD have devoted a lot of attention to the specific needs linked to various types of disability by providing a series of measures aimed at facilitating the active participation of these youth, both at the logistic level – with the removal of architectural barriers – and at the level of pastoral care and contents: in fact, careful account has been taken of the particular needs of disabled youth in the organization of the liturgies and cultural events. “WYD considers it a challenge to be able to ensure that young people with disabilities may themselves become protagonists of particular events, by giving them a high profile in the various media”, says a WYD document. “Some forms of assistance and support are indispensable; but at the same time it is important to safeguard the autonomy of the person with disability”, says the WYD office, which has also made available on its official website a series of detailed information to permit disabled youth to experience WYD without limitations. ON THE HIGHEST PEAK. To mark the feast of St. Boniface on 5 June, the WYD Cross and the Icon of Mary were carried to the top of the Zugspitze, Germany’s highest mountain, at Garmisch-Partenkirchen. At an altitude of 2,991 metres, the parish priest of Partenkirchen, WYD secretary Father Ulrich Hennes, and some 500 young people celebrated a Mass, after a 9-hour hike. At the end of the eucharistic celebration, the priests invoked God’s blessing on the preparation of WYD, on German youth and on the country’s rulers. Gmg “certifiED”. WYD has obtained the European certification of eco-sustainability (EMAS). “The conservation of the creation was a central objective of WYD right from the start”, said Heiner Koch, general secretary of WYD, speaking in Cologne on 15 June. “We don’t want to organize it at the expense of nature”. According to Thomas Here, WYD delegate for the environment, “an important stage has been reached” but “the real challenge has still to be tackled”. To this end, a report on the event’s environmental impact will be drawn up at the end of WYD.