Vatican: Faith in the youth, letting them speak their language
(Vatican Radio) “The idea behind it is to examine youth cultures, to make a critical
examination of these strange things that we are seeing, try and understand it and
also try to be near the youth”, says Richard Rouse, an official at the Pontifical
Council for Culture which begins its Plenary Assembly Wednesday. Listen to
his full interview with Emer McCarthy:
The three
day gathering at the LUMSA University campus a stone’s throw from the Apostolic Palace
focuses on Emerging Youth Cultures. Cardinals, philosophers, professors will
spend from February 6-9 listening to and mingling with young people and students in
an attempt to ‘learn to understand their language’.
“The opening evening is
a highlight in itself” reveals Rouse, “in so far as we have a rock group coming to
animate the opening session. So we will have our cardinals, bishops and consulters,
these high brow intellectual men and women of culture engaging with the youth through
the language of music”.
“Cardinal Ravasi has been trying to engage with the
music of Amy Winehouse in the last few days and he’s very interested in finding out
what are the expectations of the youth, what is their language, what is this desire,
this very strong passionate emotional will to participate in life and the drama of
life, but at the same time its not engaging with the Church. Why is there this breakdown
in the transmission of the faith? Why are we not able to talk to them in a language
that they can understand?”
But the official adds, the most important aspect
of the Assembly is that it is a chance for young people to be heard:
“We have
as a subtitle ‘Faith in the Youth’ so it’s a play on words. In this Year of Faith
where is the faith of the youth? But also it’s our trust in them. We are looking
to the youth positively”.