“Lucid” was the keyword of the first national Catholic Youth Day in Holland, held at Niewegein, not far from Utrecht, on 27 November. Several thousand young people took part in it. They were welcomed by a message from the Pope. The organizational support of the Day was handled by the Bishops’ Conference of Holland, with the help of some 75 volunteers from various ecclesial movements, including members of the Focolare, Charismatic and Emmanuel movements. Femke van der Biezen, spokesperson of the organizing committee, described the objective of the event in a briefing to the Dutch Catholic news channel: “giving young people an opportunity to develop a lucid perception of themselves and society and communicating a clear message, namely, that the faith may help young people to see with clarity what is true and authentic”. “Sunday’s event was not an after party of Cologne”, continued van der Biezen, “It was the beginning of something new. We wish young people, who were able to experience that the faith is true at Cologne, to probe into themselves and their role in society”. The Day was subdivided into a series of workshops: those in the morning were aimed at turning a “lucid” eye on ourselves, on faith and interior life. The official presence of the bishops was an opportunity for youth to ask them directly for explanations of their particular relation to life. The activities, testimonies and workshops in the afternoon were an invitation instead to turn a “lucid” eye on the outside world: on the relation between Church and science and the involvement of Catholics in public life: the central question was the role of faith in relation to society.
