Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Sydney (Agenzia Fides) – A new project for Youth Ministry has been presented in the Catholic Church in Australia. The new guidelines for the plans in this area were presented in a text entitled “Anointed and Sent: An Australian Vision for Catholic Youth Ministry,” in the yearly gathering of movements and lay associations in Australia, which has been decided will take place every year on the anniversary of Pope Benedict XVI's arrival in Sydney.
Bishop Brian Heenan of Rockhampton, member of the Commission for the Laity, who approved the project, explained “this resource will be essential reading for those entering Youth Ministry and a useful guide for thinking about youth ministry into the future.” The text will be distributed to all Australian parishes and secondary schools, teachers, catechists, religious, and lay volunteers that work with the youth.
The great event of the JMJ in Sydney has offered new elements and has led to the celebration of the “youth as a gift to be shared not a problem to be solved.”
Recalling the fact that the youth are an important part of the Australian Catholic community, the text highlights that “remaining close to the youth means remaining close to life. The person who enters in constant contact with them, in their conversations, their problems...the person who accompanies them and is a direct witness to their desire for love, perceives that life flows there. Education is an important question nowadays. We are all called to rebuild and renew the passion for education.”
The new project for Youth Ministry is an educational plan placed in effect by the Church in Australia to promote an encounter of the youth with Christ. It seeks to promote activities in the parishes, associations, movements, and groups in order to create pastoral guidelines that are unifying and effective. An important aspect is the reflection on the relational and social dimension of the new generations and their relation to the new technologies, which have become one of the most privileged areas and means of evangelization. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 27/7/2009)
