(from our correspondents in Sydney) "A centre in which to form young leaders but no rigid pastoral programme": that’s how Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney, described the future plans of the post-WYD Australian Church. "It will be important not to squander the richness of these days he told journalists during a press conference today . God always holds out surprises. We’ll continue to welcome young people and to listen to them in the consciousness of the action of the Spirit, but I don’t envisage a rigid pastoral programme". However, one concrete result of this WYD, announced the cardinal, "will be a pastoral centre for the training of young leaders. Formation represents, indeed, an urgent task for youth". The same concept was also underlined by the Archbishop of Adelaide and President of the Australian Bishops’ Conference, the Most Rev. Philip Wilson, according to whom WYD "represents an opportunity for the Church in Australia from which to draw the necessary energy to launch an effective youth pastoral strategy. The Christian response to the crisis of the young is to encourage them: they have a need for faith, not for drugs and promiscuity". This is also a response to the high rate of youth suicides in Australia.
