www.catholic-family.org
World
Youth Day 08
The
Holy Father's speech at Barangaroo, 17 July
Dear
Young People,
What
a delight it is to greet you here at Barangaroo,
on the shores of the magnificent Sydney harbour,
with its famous bridge and Opera House. Many
of you are local, from the outback or the dynamic
multicultural communities of Australian cities.
Others of you have come from the scattered islands
of Oceania, and others still from Asia, the
Middle East, Africa and the Americas. Some of
you, indeed, have come from as far as I have,
Europe! Wherever we are from, we are here at
last in Sydney. And together we stand in our
world as God's family, disciples of Christ,
empowered by his Spirit to be witnesses of his
love and truth for everyone!
I
wish firstly to thank the Aboriginal Elders
who welcomed me prior to my boarding the boat
at Rose Bay. I am deeply moved to stand on your
land, knowing the suffering and injustices it
has borne, but aware too of the healing and
hope that are now at work, rightly bringing
pride to all Australian citizens. To the young
indigenous - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders
- and the Tokelauans, I express my thanks for
your stirring welcome. Through you, I send heartfelt
greetings to your peoples.
Cardinal
Pell and Archbishop Wilson, I thank you for
your warm words of welcome. I know that your
sentiments resonate in the hearts of the young
gathered here this evening, and so I thank you
all. Standing before me I see a vibrant image
of the universal Church. The variety of nations
and cultures from which you hail shows that
indeed Christ's Good News is for everyone; it
has reached the ends of the earth. Yet I know
too that a good number of you are still seeking
a spiritual homeland. Some of you, most welcome
among us, are not Catholic or Christian. Others
of you perhaps hover at the edge of parish and
Church life. To you I wish to offer encouragement:
step forward into Christ's loving embrace; recognize
the Church as your home. No one need remain
on the outside, for from the day of Pentecost
the Church has been one and universal.
This
evening I wish also to include those who are
not present among us. I am thinking especially
of the sick or mentally ill, young people in
prison, those struggling on the margins of our
societies, and those who for whatever reason
feel alienated from the Church. To them I say:
Jesus is close to you! Feel his healing embrace,
his compassion and mercy!
Almost
two thousand years ago, the Apostles, gathered
in the upper room together with Mary and some
faithful women, were filled with the Holy Spirit
(cf. Acts 1:14; 2:4). At that extraordinary
moment, which gave birth to the Church, the
confusion and fear that had gripped Christ's
disciples were transformed into a vigorous conviction
and sense of purpose. They felt impelled to
speak of their encounter with the risen Jesus
whom they had come to call affectionately, the
Lord. In many ways, the Apostles were ordinary.
None could claim to be the perfect disciple.
They failed to recognize Christ (cf. Lk 24:13-32),
felt ashamed of their own ambition (cf. Lk 22:24-27),
and had even denied him (cf. Lk 22:54-62). Yet,
when empowered by the Holy Spirit, they were
transfixed by the truth of Christ's Gospel and
inspired to proclaim it fearlessly. Emboldened,
they exclaimed: repent, be baptized, receive
the Holy Spirit (cf. Acts 2:37-38)! Grounded
in the Apostles' teaching, in fellowship, and
in the breaking of the bread and prayer (cf.
Acts 2:42), the young Christian community moved
forward to oppose the perversity in the culture
around them (cf. Acts 2:40), to care for one
another (cf. Acts 2:44-47), to defend their
belief in Jesus in the face of hostility (cf
Acts 4:33), and to heal the sick (cf. Acts 5:12-16).
And in obedience to Christ's own command, they
set forth, bearing witness to the greatest story
ever: that God has become one of us, that the
divine has entered human history in order to
transform it, and that we are called to immerse
ourselves in Christ's saving love which triumphs
over evil and death. Saint Paul, in his famous
speech to the Areopagus, introduced the message
in this way: 'God gives everything - including
life and breath - to everyone ... so that all
nations might seek God and, by feeling their
way towards him, succeed in finding him. In
fact he is not far from any of us, since it
is in him that we live and move and have our
being' (Acts 17: 25-28).
And
ever since, men and women have set out to tell
the same story, witnessing to Christ's truth
and love, and contributing to the Church's mission.
Today, we think of those pioneering Priests,
Sisters and Brothers who came to these shores,
and to other parts of the Pacific, from Ireland,
France, Britain and elsewhere in Europe. The
great majority were young - some still in their
late teens - and when they bade farewell to
their parents, brothers and sisters, and friends,
they knew they were unlikely ever to return
home. Their whole lives were a selfless Christian
witness. They became the humble but tenacious
builders of so much of the social and spiritual
heritage which still today brings goodness,
compassion and purpose to these nations. And
they went on to inspire another generation.
We think immediately of the faith which sustained
Blessed Mary MacKillop in her sheer determination
to educate especially the poor, and Blessed
Peter To Rot in his steadfast resolution that
community leadership must always include the
Gospel. Think also of your own grandparents
and parents, your first teachers in faith. They
too have made countless sacrifices of time and
energy, out of love for you. Supported by your
parish priests and teachers, they have the task,
not always easy but greatly satisfying, of guiding
you towards all that is good and true, through
their own witness - their teaching and living
of our Christian faith.
Today,
it is my turn. For some of us, it might seem
like we have come to the end of the world! For
people of your age, however, any flight is an
exciting prospect. But for me, this one was
somewhat daunting! Yet the views afforded of
our planet from the air were truly wondrous.
The sparkle of the Mediterranean, the grandeur
of the north African desert, the lushness of
Asia's forestation, the vastness of the Pacific
Ocean, the horizon upon which the sun rose and
set, and the majestic splendour of Australia's
natural beauty which I have been able to enjoy
these last couple of days; these all evoke a
profound sense of awe. It is as though one catches
glimpses of the Genesis creation story - light
and darkness, the sun and the moon, the waters,
the earth, and living creatures; all of which
are 'good' in God's eyes (cf. Gen 1:1 - 2:4).
Immersed in such beauty, who could not echo
the words of the Psalmist in praise of the Creator:
'how majestic is your name in all the earth?'
(Ps 8:1).
And
there is more - something hardly perceivable
from the sky - men and women, made in nothing
less than God's own image and likeness (cf.
Gen 1:26). At the heart of the marvel of creation
are you and I, the human family 'crowned with
glory and honour' (Ps 8:5). How astounding!
With the Psalmist we whisper: 'what is man that
you are mindful of him?' (Ps 8:4). And drawn
into silence, into a spirit of thanksgiving,
into the power of holiness, we ponder.
What
do we discover? Perhaps reluctantly we come
to acknowledge that there are also scars which
mark the surface of our earth: erosion, deforestation,
the squandering of the world's mineral and ocean
resources in order to fuel an insatiable consumption.
Some of you come from island nations whose very
existence is threatened by rising water levels;
others from nations suffering the effects of
devastating drought. God's wondrous creation
is sometimes experienced as almost hostile to
its stewards, even something dangerous. How
can what is 'good' appear so threatening?
And
there is more. What of man, the apex of God's
creation? Every day we encounter the genius
of human achievement. From advances in medical
sciences and the wise application of technology,
to the creativity reflected in the arts, the
quality and enjoyment of people's lives in many
ways are steadily rising. Among yourselves there
is a readiness to take up the plentiful opportunities
offered to you. Some of you excel in studies,
sport, music, or dance and drama, others of
you have a keen sense of social justice and
ethics, and many of you take up service and
voluntary work. All of us, young and old, have
those moments when the innate goodness of the
human person - perhaps glimpsed in the gesture
of a little child or an adult's readiness to
forgive - fills us with profound joy and gratitude.
Yet
such moments do not last. So again, we ponder.
And we discover that not only the natural but
also the social environment - the habitat we
fashion for ourselves - has its scars; wounds
indicating that something is amiss. Here too,
in our personal lives and in our communities,
we can encounter a hostility, something dangerous;
a poison which threatens to corrode what is
good, reshape who we are, and distort the purpose
for which we have been created. Examples abound,
as you yourselves know. Among the more prevalent
are alcohol and drug abuse, and the exaltation
of violence and sexual degradation, often presented
through television and the internet as entertainment.
I ask myself, could anyone standing face to
face with people who actually do suffer violence
and sexual exploitation 'explain' that these
tragedies, portrayed in virtual form, are considered
merely 'entertainment'?
There
is also something sinister which stems from
the fact that freedom and tolerance are so often
separated from truth. This is fuelled by the
notion, widely held today, that there are no
absolute truths to guide our lives. Relativism,
by indiscriminately giving value to practically
everything, has made 'experience' all-important.
Yet, experiences, detached from any consideration
of what is good or true, can lead, not to genuine
freedom, but to moral or intellectual confusion,
to a lowering of standards, to a loss of self-respect,
and even to despair.
Dear
friends, life is not governed by chance; it
is not random. Your very existence has been
willed by God, blessed and given a purpose (cf.
Gen 1:28)! Life is not just a succession of
events or experiences, helpful though many of
them are. It is a search for the true, the good
and the beautiful. It is to this end that we
make our choices; it is for this that we exercise
our freedom; it is in this - in truth, in goodness,
and in beauty - that we find happiness and joy.
Do not be fooled by those who see you as just
another consumer in a market of undifferentiated
possibilities, where choice itself becomes the
good, novelty usurps beauty, and subjective
experience displaces truth.
Christ
offers more! Indeed he offers everything! Only
he who is the Truth can be the Way and hence
also the Life. Thus the 'way' which the Apostles
brought to the ends of the earth is life in
Christ. This is the life of the Church. And
the entrance to this life, to the Christian
way, is Baptism.
This
evening I wish therefore to recall briefly something
of our understanding of Baptism before tomorrow
considering the Holy Spirit. On the day of your
Baptism, God drew you into his holiness (cf.
2 Pet 1:4). You were adopted as a son or daughter
of the Father. You were incorporated into Christ.
You were made a dwelling place of his Spirit
(cf. 1 Cor 6:19). Baptism is neither an achievement,
nor a reward. It is a grace; it is God's work.
Indeed, towards the conclusion of your Baptism,
the priest turned to your parents and those
gathered and, calling you by your name said:
'you have become a new creation' (Rite of Baptism,
99).
Dear
friends, in your homes, schools and universities,
in your places of work and recreation, remember
that you are a new creation! Not only do you
stand before the Creator in awe, rejoicing at
his works, you also realize that the sure foundation
of humanity's solidarity lies in the common
origin of every person, the high-point of God's
creative design for the world. As Christians
you stand in this world knowing that God has
a human face - Jesus Christ - the 'way' who
satisfies all human yearning, and the 'life'
to which we are called to bear witness, walking
always in his light (cf. ibid., 100).
The
task of witness is not easy. There are many
today who claim that God should be left on the
sidelines, and that religion and faith, while
fine for individuals, should either be excluded
from the public forum altogether or included
only in the pursuit of limited pragmatic goals.
This secularist vision seeks to explain human
life and shape society with little or no reference
to the Creator. It presents itself as neutral,
impartial and inclusive of everyone. But in
reality, like every ideology, secularism imposes
a world-view. If God is irrelevant to public
life, then society will be shaped in a godless
image, and debate and policy concerning the
public good will be driven more by consequences
than by principles grounded in truth.
Yet
experience shows that turning our back on the
Creator's plan provokes a disorder which has
inevitable repercussions on the rest of the
created order (cf. 1990 World Day of Peace Message,
5). When God is eclipsed, our ability to recognize
the natural order, purpose, and the 'good' begins
to wane. What was ostensibly promoted as human
ingenuity soon manifests itself as folly, greed
and selfish exploitation. And so we have become
more and more aware of our need for humility
before the delicate complexity of God's world.
But
what of our social environment? Are we equally
alert to the signs of turning our back on the
moral structure with which God has endowed humanity
(cf. 2007 World Day of Peace Message, 8)? Do
we recognize that the innate dignity of every
individual rests on his or her deepest identity
- as image of the Creator - and therefore that
human rights are universal, based on the natural
law, and not something dependent upon negotiation
or patronage, let alone compromise? And so we
are led to reflect on what place the poor and
the elderly, immigrants and the voiceless, have
in our societies. How can it be that domestic
violence torments so many mothers and children?
How can it be that the most wondrous and sacred
human space - the womb - has become a place
of unutterable violence?
My
dear friends, God's creation is one and it is
good. The concerns for non-violence, sustainable
development, justice and peace, and care for
our environment are of vital importance for
humanity. They cannot, however, be understood
apart from a profound reflection upon the innate
dignity of every human life from conception
to natural death: a dignity conferred by God
himself and thus inviolable. Our world has grown
weary of greed, exploitation and division, of
the tedium of false idols and piecemeal responses,
and the pain of false promises. Our hearts and
minds are yearning for a vision of life where
love endures, where gifts are shared, where
unity is built, where freedom finds meaning
in truth, and where identity is found in respectful
communion. This is the work of the Holy Spirit!
This is the hope held out by the Gospel of Jesus
Christ. It is to bear witness to this reality
that you were created anew at Baptism and strengthened
through the gifts of the Spirit at Confirmation.
Let this be the message that you bring from
Sydney to the world!
Mi
rivolgo ora con affetto ai giovani di lingua
italiana. Cari amici, anche questa volta avete
risposto numerosi al mio invito, nonostante
le difficoltà dovute alla distanza. Vi
ringrazio, e voglio salutare anche i vostri
coetanei che dall'Italia sono spiritualmente
uniti a noi. Vi invito a vivere con grande impegno
interiore queste giornate: aprite il cuore al
dono dello Spirito Santo, per essere rafforzati
nella fede e nella capacità di rendere
testimonianza al Signore risorto. Arrivederci!
Chers
jeunes francophones, poussés par le désir
d'approfondir votre foi, vous êtes venus
des extrémités de la terre pour
vivre à Sydney l'expérience unique
et communautaire d'une rencontre privilégiée
avec le Seigneur. C'est l'Esprit Saint qui vous
a rassemblés ici. Puisse-t-Il vous permettre
de expérimenter sa présence dans
votre cœur et vous pousser à rendre
témoignage avec ardeur de Jésus-Christ
mort et ressuscité pour vous!
Liebe
Freunde, die ihr mich in meiner Muttersprache
versteht, von Herzen grüße ich euch
alle. Erweist euch überall als freudige
Zeugen der frohmachenden Botschaft Jesu! Sprecht
mutig von eurem Glauben, auch wenn ihr zuweilen
auf Widerspruch stößt und das Kreuz
der Ablehnung erfährt. Der Herr, der für
uns ein größeres Kreuz getragen hat,
wird euch beistehen. Gott schenke euch eine
gute, gesegnete Zeit hier in Australien.
Queridos
jóvenes de lengua española, la
misión de ser testigos del Señor
en todos los lugares de la tierra es una apasionante
tarea, que exige acoger su Palabra e identificarse
con Él, compartiendo con los demás
la alegría de haber encontrado al verdadero
amigo que nunca defrauda. Que este reto agrande
vuestra generosidad. Un saludo muy cordial a
todos.
Queridos
amigos dos vários países de língua
oficial portuguesa, bem-vindos a Sidney! A todos
saúdo com afecto: os de perto e os de
longe. Lá, na vossa Pátria, tereis
ouvido Jesus segredar-vos: "Sereis minhas
testemunhas... até aos confins do mundo"
(Act 1, 8). A viagem mais ou menos longa que
enfrentastes para chegar até aqui, à
Austrália ou - de seu nome cristão
completo - "Terra Austral do Espírito
Santo", não deixou em vós
a sensação de terdes chegado aos
confins do mundo? Pois bem! É com grande
alegria que o Papa vos acolhe para vos confirmar
como testemunhas de Jesus, por Ele acreditadas
com o dom do seu próprio Espírito.
[CWNews]
1465.1
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Confession
The archbishop of Sydney says that World Youth
Day is helping to restore a key element for
the life of the Church -- the sacrament of reconciliation.
To
this end, Cardinal George Pell has made sure
the sacrament is readily available in the host
city this week. Priests, who received with their
accreditation a schedule for hearing confessions,
are located throughout the city in real and
makeshift confessionals.
You
see them under the trees of the Domain, around
the waters of Darling Harbour and in the alcoves
of every city church.
Notre
Dame University has set up six key confessional
zones, which Alton Pelowski of Michigan reports
are never without penitents.
'It's
astounding to see the reverence and determination
of each young Catholic pilgrim searching for
meaning,' she told ZENIT.
Probably
the most actively attended site for the sacrament
is the Adoration and Reconciliation Center at
the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Center,
which reports steady lines of penitents rolling
up directly after attending their morning catechesis.
Other
accessible venues are at the Opera House, the
Domain, and eventually the pavilions of the
Randwick Racecourse, which on Saturday and Sunday
will be the site of the vigil and closing Mass,
presided over by Benedict XVI.
Gift
of the Church
Cardinal
Pell told ZENIT that he was determined to repeat
the outpouring of the spirit necessary for full
reconciliation with Christ he witnessed in 2000
at the World Youth Day in Rome.
The
cardinal said that when young people have the
chance to receive the sacrament of reconciliation,
they normally go.
'We've
seen ourselves at the cathedral school and in
our World Youth Day groups that nearly all of
them do, and the non-Catholics want to come
too,' he added. 'Though they can't receive absolution,
they can come for a chat and to bare their soul.'
Cardinal
Pell said he is 'convinced that a significant
element behind the anger and hostility in many
young people results from displaced guilt, and
all this talk about the primacy of conscience
doesn't help either.'
'People
feel guilt,' he continued, 'although they may
not call it guilt, which they try to bury deep
inside them, only for it to emerge in all sorts
of unexpected directions.'
'In
an age where there is the burgeoning business
of psychology, counseling, etc.,' the cardinal
said, 'it's sad that there's been a fall away
from the practice of confessing to a priest,
and World Youth Day is helping renew this --
one of the most important gifts the Church offers.'
[Zenit] 1465.2
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Chastity
The Australian media are capitalizing on the
influx of thousands of Catholic youth to their
country in anticipation of the beginning of
World Youth Day by promoting the Catholic Church's
teaching on the beauty of chastity and the problems
associated with pre-marital and extra-marital
sex.
Articles
in The Australian gave first hand accounts
by two women, one who had remained chaste from
her youth and another who followed the predominant
view of our over-sexualized culture, but later
decided to embrace chastity.
Ruth
Russell, of Adelaide, South Australia, said
her decision not to embark on sexual adventures
at high school, and later at the University
of South Australia, was a constant source of
wonder to her peers.
'People
didn't realise a person as young as I was could
be living out my Christian faith; they were
astounded with how resolute I was,' she says.
'I
was always a little fascinating. I was constantly
probed about these beliefs, and why I held them.
It was as though the chaste way of life was
a radical decision, because it was in direct
contradiction to the message given to young
people.
'It
is assumed that we have no control, that we
will have sex. It is assumed that we enjoy sexual
liberty, that young people and chastity are
incompatible.'
She
says her former school friends were not aware
that this choice - chastity - was available
to them.
In
high school we were told, 'You will get older
and you will become sexually active. That is
the way it happens, and when it does, wear a
condom. That is the only important thing.'
'There
was no sense that chastity could protect (us
from) the depression, the confusion, that accompanies
casual sex, and the breakdown of a relationship,
where you have given every part of yourself,'
she explained
'They
didn't offer chastity as a choice, the way they
advertise sexual liberty.'
Ruth,
who was raised Catholic, and, at the age of
20, remains chaste, has seen the heartbreak
of some of her school friends who became sexually
active at age 15.
'They
were blind in a way, doing what they thought
they had to do with their boyfriends. They needed
the support of their peers. They should have
been told they didn't have to behave that way,
but of course they didn't get that.'
Russell
felt things would go wrong for them 'and my
premonitions were correct. At the age of 20,
these same friends, some are depressed, especially
the girls, and it greatly affects the relationships
they are able to form with other young people.'
Russell
says she has been in love, experienced longing,
and understands 'what sex is, and what it does.
It touches the deepest core of the human being,
and for that reason it is the greatest gift,
the gift of my entire self. I'm obviously very
cautious as to who I give it to.'
She
finds chastity 'very useful around men, especially
in sorting out the good men and the bad men.'
'A
guy who is interested in sex will very rarely
pursue me. He realises he's not going to get
that from me. That's very handy for me. The
more sincere men respect that.'
Dawn
Eden, whose book The Thrill of the Chaste
explores her journey from a sexually active
rock music journalist in New York City in the
1990s, to her new life as a single, chaste Catholic,
is speaking today at WYD Sydney about her espousal
of chastity and her conversion to the Catholic
faith.
'I
became a Christian in October 1999 but I did
not immediately walk the talk. For a while,
it was sin, repent, sin, repent,' she explained.
'After
a while, say after October 2003, I felt in my
heart that I should begin living the way God
wanted me to live.'
Eden,
who was born in 1968, was a virgin until she
was 20, when she lost her boyfriend to a friend
who was willing to have sex with him. The experience
convinced her that 'I had to gain (sexual) experience
if I want to hold a man.'
'I
wound up losing my virginity to a man I found
attractive, but did not love, just to get my
card punched,' she writes.
Over
time, she learned, as most women do, 'that if
I played my cards right, I could get almost
any man I wanted into bed' and so she bedded
quite a few. She describes the cyclical nature
of her sexual life thus: 'Meet interesting guy;
have sex; dump or get dumped; repeat.'
'Either
way, I would end up alone and unhappy,' she
writes. 'I felt trapped in a lifestyle that
gave me none of the things that (I thought)
it would.'
Jaded
and depressed, she had a Christian born-again
experience at the age of 31, joined the Catholic
church, and adopted chastity as a lifestyle.
She now believes the cost of casual sex, especially
for women, is too high.
'Single
women feel lonely, because they are not loved,'
she says. 'To feel less lonely, they have casual
sex with men who do not love them.'
Eden
says she is part of 'a new rebellion' against
a sex-soaked culture and defines her message
as truly counter-cultural. 'Every generation
needs to have their own cause.'
'With
this generation, it's a battle against the world
that has been created, a culture of objectification.'
She observes that much of what is considered
entertainment today 'makes children act like
jaded whores, and it makes adults act like spoiled
children.'
'Young
people grow up, being told by the media, by
advertising, by their own friends and family,
that they are worth loving according to what
they do (and how they look) and not what they
are,' she says.
'The
message of John Paul II, the message that Pope
Benedict has continued is that the dignity of
every human person is important, and that includes
not using their bodies for their own satisfaction,'
Dawn concluded. [LifeSiteNews] 1465.3
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Madrid next?
Young
people from Spain will have a less difficult
time attending the next World Youth Day, according
to a Vatican spokesman.
Jesuit
Father Federico Lombardi said in brief comments
to the Spanish press that the youth of their
country will have it 'much easier' to participate
in the next international youth day.
The
Spanish news agency Veritas reported that even
though it's not official, it's expected that
Benedict XVI will announce at the end of World
Youth Day in Sydney that the next encounter
will take place in Madrid.
The
agency said the statement was taken by journalists
as a subtle affirmation from Father Lombardi
of this rumour. [Zenit] 1465.4
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Holy
See
