Apostles of their contemporaries” “

With the approach of WYD in Cologne (11-21 August), the excitement of Slovene youth is growing, explains Father Andrej Marko Pozniè , national delegate for youth ministry in Slovenia, in an interview with SIR. Father Andrej is following step by step the organization of the Slovene contingent, formed of about one thousand youth. For them World Youth Day will be a time to test their spiritual life but also a springboard for a new proclamation of the Gospel in Slovene society which is suffering from many difficulties that are also making their mark felt in the youth world; many young people are seeking for an “easy” way out in alcohol, drugs and sex. How are Slovene youth preparing for WYD. And how many will there be? “Almost 1000 Slovene youth will be going to Germany. Not all with the Bishops’ Conference: some will be going with the Emmanuel Community, others with the Neocatechumenal Way. We also know of a group that will make a pilgrimage with the Jesuits. Then there are groups of young people who are getting organized to travel to Cologne by bike. But for all the participants there will be a meeting in June, on a day yet to be defined, for prayer, communion and singing where the young will have an opportunity to get to know each other before their departure for Cologne”. Are you thinking of something for those who won’t be going to Cologne and staying at home. Will the Slovene Church help the young to attend WYD? “In September, each year, Slovene youth celebrate their national WYD at the ancient Cistercian monastery at Stièna. It’s an occasion to celebrate their shared faith and to fill the country with the joy we so often lack. The day is organized by the young themselves. We expect over 10,000 participants. As for aid, the Church of Slovenia does not have the resources to systematically help the young to go to Cologne. We have tried to raise the awareness of the parishes by making it possible, with their support, for a couple of youngsters from each to afford the trip to Cologne. But we don’t yet know how this project has panned out. In Slovenia everything is funded with voluntary donations and our young people know this”. What does it mean for Slovene youth to meet Benedict XVI? “The nomination of Benedict XVI was warmly welcomed, with real joy. The meeting with the Pope is always a meeting with Peter, with the Church. Indeed, as the young themselves have told me, when they think of the Pope, they think of the Church”. What are the main difficulties of Slovene youth in their religious life? “The difficulties in their religious life derive in many cases from the totally dechristianized, atheist, liberal and hedonistic environment in which they live. Schools, where religious education is not yet admitted, do not offer opportunities for personal spiritual development. There’s a feeling of fear in the air, indefinable but omnipresent. There are the difficulties caused by the decision of parents to “send” their children to church without accompanying them. The decadence of values is the same that reigns in the West. There are also the problems that arise from a Church that speaks a language few can understand. Today, to be believers is difficult in Slovenia, but it is even more difficult to be a saint. Our circumstances do not help us. The flight into drugs, alcohol and sex, and the recourse to suicide, are familiar to the young. Few find in the Church the responses and the redemption they seek. But it’s also true than many fail to ‘reach’ the Church to question her about the meaning of life. Lastly, the ‘persecution’ of the Church is no longer real, but virtual. There exists a widespread sense of antipathy to the Church that is instilled in people from childhood on. It’s a typically Slovene phenomenon, of which the young suffer the consequences”. What does the Slovene Church with its youth hope from WYD in Cologne? “The Church hopes that the young will become apostles of their contemporaries. World Youth Days are powerful moments of faith that offer a chance for the young to take stock of their spiritual life and a privileged time to meet youth from abroad”.