“The new generations are the field which mostly needs missions, above all, today, at a time when we are witnessing the disintegration of the Christian tradition”. That was one of the remarks made yesterday evening by Cardinal Camillo Ruini, during his speech, at the end of the diocesan meeting in Rome, on the subject: “The joy of faith and the education of new generations”. Before the Cardinal’s remark, the reports relating to the work carried out in the five areas were illustrated (education to the joy of faith, pastoral family and young faith, school pastoral faith, university pastoral faith, vocational pastoral faith). After recalling that the Pope, during the opening of the meeting, on Monday, June 5, pointed out two reasons linked with the difficulty of handing down the faith to the young, “the agnosticism which reduces human intelligence to calculating reason tending to suffocate the sense of religion”, and the “relativization corroding links and affections”, Cardinal Ruini established the causes originating those trends: “The young live in the world of immediacy of feelings, they are attracted by ‘freed’ sexuality, with its capacity to be estranged from ecclesial fields, as well as money, consumption, and success”. On one hand, in all times, “men have always been attracted by those four elements”, but on the other hand, today the people want them with no sacrifice, and if they are not able to get them, they are hit by crisis”. In particular, as for the young, Cardinal Ruini added: “A gap between calculating scientific rationality and subjective experiences is created, and this is one of the reasons for the crisis of our civilization”. (To be continued)
