2013-06-24 15:32:31

WYD ‘driving force’ of ‘silent revolution’ among youth


(Vatican Radio) The countdown has begun: just one month to go before the 28th World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to be held from July 23 to 28, under the theme “Go and make disciples of all nations”.

In view of this important event, Cardinal Stanislaw Rylko, president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity — which organizes WYD — issued a message highlighting the newness in the upcoming meeting, namely: the return of WYD to Latin America, 26 years after WYD in Buenos Aires, Argentina; the presence of the first Latin American Pope; and the broader Church context in which this WYD is taking place, that is, within the Year of Faith and following last fall’s Synod of Bishops on the theme of the New Evangelization.

“To guide the Church, Providence has called Pope Francis, who immediately revealed himself as a father and friend of youth,” the cardinal wrote. “Already, in these two months of his pontificate, Pope Francis has demonstrated a great charism for communicating with young people through simple and direct language, able to reach the heart and rouse consciences.”

“Every World Youth Day raises great expectations and interest in the Church,” wrote Cardinal Rylko. “It is a real sign of hope. It is not exaggerated to say, every WYD, the Church lives a special kairos because every WYD is a special gift; it is a ‘waterfall of light and hope’ as Pope Benedict XVI used to say.”

‘PROPHETIC CHOICE’
The Cardinal described WYD as “one of the great prophetic choices” made by Blessed John Paul II, which brought about great change and new discoveries in the lives of so many young people, and led to many vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life. John Paul II had described WYD as “laboratories of faith,” the cardinal noted. WYD also serves as “a powerful instrument of evangelization in the world of youth and of dialogue with young generations.”

The fruits of WYD, he continued, depend upon the pastoral ministry done prior to and during the event, as much as on the follow-up after the event.

Cardinal Rylko added that WYD is “a place for the rediscovery of a religiosity that is not in contrast with being young.” He said he hopes “young people coming from the western world, so heavily secularized” can find in Brazil “a witness of a youthful faith, full of enthusiasm, typical of Latin American countries”.

The Cardinal also noted that, in a discourse to the Roman Curia in 2011, Benedict XVI had described WYD as “truly a medicine against the fatigue of believing”.

WYD GENERATION
Cardinal Rylko also commented on the effects of WYD on youth culture. “There are those who affirm that in the world of youth, there is a ‘silent revolution’ taking place, whose driving force is WYD,” he wrote. “And, without a doubt, thanks to WYD, on the threshold of the third millennium, the Church found its youthful face, its face of enthusiasm and a renewed courage.

“The history of WYD is a fascinating history of the birth of a new generation of young people, ‘the WYD generation’. They are the young people of a ‘yes’ to Christ, and of a convinced adhesion to the Church and the Pope,” he wrote.

“There is a widespread question which emerges with every new WYD: the question about the ‘secret’ of this surprising phenomenon that has revealed to the world an unexpected face, not only of the Church, but of today’s youth,” he wrote.

“WYD is a gift that continues to elicit amazement within the Church and outside of it and offers images of youth that are very different from the clichés broadcast by the media,” wrote Cardinal Rylko. “These young people seek a response to the fundamental questions of life and they seek it in Christ and in the Church.”

The Way of the Cross, evening vigil and closing Mass for this upcoming WYD are planned for July 26, 27, and 28 respectively.








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