A country strongly rooted in religious faith but one in which young people “tend to live their own faith outside the Church”. Moreover, “ever stronger criticism is being mounted” against the ecclesial institutions, “due to a certain ‘bureaucratization’ of the Church and its ever closer ‘resemblance’ with other institutions of society”. This is the picture […]

Listening and the sharing of hopes: that, in short, is the attitude that the Church of France has assumed in recent years to respond to the needs and to the requests of youth today, torn “between enthusiasm and fear”. As far as the youth apostolate is concerned, reference is made to two documents that summarize […]

The personal “offer”, the experience of the diaconate, the taking seriously its demands, and the willingness to embark on a journey that is truly shared”: these are the elements indispensable for the inculturation of the Gospel in the youth world in Germany today. The four basic questions that young people pose to themselves: “Is my […]

“Youth and evangelization” is the slogan adopted by the Greek Episcopal Conference for the pastoral care of the young. Bishop Francesco Papamanolis of Syros, Santorini and Crete, who coordinates the national Commission for Youth Apostolate, explains: “The number of young Greek Catholics who are members of our youth organizations does not exceed 500. It should […]

The English bishops, in describing the religious convictions of the young in the UK, speak of a Christian “affinity” and “points of contact” with those who live “implicitly in a Christian way though without any explicit Christian faith, practice and membership”. But they also point out the “sensation” that this “Christian background is a minority […]

A challenge for the young to become “more idealistic” and “rediscover the joy of service”: this is the most urgent task that awaits the Irish Church, in which the youth apostolate is still not very popular and the young, in spite of the fact that they have attended Catholic schools for years, reveal widespread religious […]

Some 80% of Italian youth declare that they believe in God, but “as a private matter that is not translated into religious practice”. In Italy, many youngsters feel that the Church is “remote”; that’s why there’s a need “for a Christian community less sociological and more one of faith and prayer: a community that is […]

A multicultural society, within which the young move frenetically, passing “from one world to another, from family to school, to sport to groups of friends”, is that described by the leaders of the youth apostolate in the little Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. The Church is faced, they explain, by “a generation that ‘thinks with its […]

Profound Christian roots exist in Maltese society. They can be traced in the way of thinking, in language, in forms of social conduct. These roots need to be revived in present-day conditions to respond to the challenges posed by the young in a society in continual transformation. “The young today are particularly responsive to the […]

A “large group” of young people who “have no contacts with the Church”, a “considerable group” of young people who “participate in one or more Church-run activity”, and a “small group that is closely involved in the life of the Church”: the relation of the young with the ecclesial community can, in the view of […]