After Cologne 2005

There are just over 130 days to go before the next World Youth Day (WYD) in Sydney (15-20 July 2008). But how are the German youngsters who hosted the Pope’s meeting with the youth of the world at Cologne preparing for the event? We asked Sabine Wißdorf, head of the Youth Pastoral Office of the German Bishops’ Conference. (For other features on preparations for WYD in the various countries cf. SIR Europe 16/2008)How many German youth will take part in WYD in Sydney in July? Are you also planning to participate in the days leading up to WYD08 and in the hospitality and community involvement being offered in various Australian dioceses?“In total some 6000 German youth will go to Sydney. Travel arrangements are being organized by the youth pastoral offices of the dioceses. All the groups offer participants the chance to take part in the programme of community involvement being held in the various Australian dioceses. This has a long tradition in Germany and has given rise to good experiences, since the young receive many positive impulses thanks to the hospitality they are given in families and their involvement in pastoral work in the parishes”. How are you preparing for this event?“The Youth Pastoral Office of the German Bishops’ Conference has the task of leading the national delegation and coordinating preparations for WYD. Together with the BDKJ, the Federation of German Catholic Youth, we have created a special website for WYD: www.weltjugendtag2008.de where you can download various theological aids, prayers, proposals for initiatives and hymns. The website has met with a favourable response from youth groups and is being actively used. In mid-March we plan to begin a great prayer initiative throughout Germany. We are preparing special WYD caps that will be distributed to all German pilgrims. Group meetings of pilgrims are already taking place in the dioceses: they aim to prepare participants for the journey, provide useful info on Australia and its people, and also foster spiritual preparation for WYD”. Is the journey to Sydney being funded in some way, for example with particular self-financing ventures?“Methods vary from diocese to diocese. For example, tariffs based on the income of children’s families are being adopted. But there are also some dioceses that are funding the journey with a considerable contribution of their own. However, there does not exist a single procedure that holds good for the whole country”. Are you thinking of an alternative programme for those who can’t go to Sydney?“Various options to this end are currently under discussion among the dioceses. Many of them are aimed at offering an event to be held in tandem with the prayer vigil and final celebration with the chance to follow live transmissions of the event taking place in Sydney on mega-screens. These live broadcasts are currently being organized”. What has changed since WYD in Cologne, as far as youth pastoral work is concerned?“WYD is an occasional mega-event, whereas youth pastoral work in Germany is an ongoing concern that has long been active in groups, communities and associations. So, WYD should not be considered a ‘spark plug’ for youth pastoral work in Germany. We observe, however, that the young are more receptive to prayer, and the meeting with the Pope is very important for them – also because the Pope is an important public person who listens to the young and takes them seriously. It’s something they don’t often experience. WYD however remains an event that takes place once every three years, whereas the meeting of youth groups takes place every week”. What are the expectations of the German youth participating in WYD in Sydney?“German youth undoubtedly expect an exciting journey in a continent that’s ‘terra incognita’ for them. Australia of course isn’t a normal tourist venue. The young can’t wait to meet their Australian counterparts and are glad to have an opportunity to meet up again with the young friends they made during previous WYDs. But they are also happy to go on pilgrimage and be able to participate in the great festival of faith they will experience together with youngsters from all over the world. This experience of the universal Church will have a particular significance for them, for the whole of their life. I think WYD offers to many of them a further motivation to strengthen their faith and also to get involved in day-to-day youth apostolate in their parishes”.