Youth, future hope of the World and of the Church

A world without youth is a world without a Future, and if the Church does not take care of youth it is like a house founded on sand. So what should be the attitude of civil society, politicians and the Church towards young people? For centuries the political world, with its worldly ideologies (see for example the laws in favour of abortion, of marriages between individuals of the same sex that flourish in all parts of the world, political propaganda against the moral teachings of the church, etc...) has increasingly forgotten its responsibility to promote a youth which will be the society of tomorrow, healthy and with profound human and religious values. Unfortunately, some young people have been deceived by these proposals and as a result youth see themselves deprived of the «flourishing of virtues and life». However, the Church has never forgotten its responsibility to form young people, to seek the most appropriate ways to «listen to the world of youth and ask how to accompany the new generations to recognize and welcome the call to love and to life in fullness». There are many apostolic and mission initiatives - I remember in particular those organized by the Youth Ministry and the Apostolic Penitentiary - but, in particular, it is important to underline that, in 1948, the Church approved the official birth of Franciscan Youth, side by side with many other Catholic movements: all this shows how the Church is always available to help young people both to find a space of discernment and to rekindle the flame of faith that the world of today with its false and worldly propaganda seeks to extinguish. Today the world of youth is polarized by ideas and proposals that are contrary to true moral, ethical and political freedoms; the Church, for its mission, must always ensure young people its closeness and its support so that they should never feel alone. The Church must serve as a mirror of truth, a mirror that reflects to the young the teachings of Christ – the way, the truth and the life. Today, more than ever, the Church is called to show young people the true path to follow, that is, to show Christ, because Christ is the way that every Christian is called to follow if he wants to find peace, happiness and unconditional love. This is confirmed by Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, when he says: «only the Catholic Church remains, in its weak fortress or strong weakness, to hold back the cataracts of evil, to act as a holding device which prevents man from destroying and annihilating himself, therefore we are called to respond to the needs of the young, building the Christian and at the same time the man: the man because Christian and the Christian because man». Download and read the full text:

Koinonia 2019-2:  “Identity and Mission of YouFra”

N. 102

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