Catholic
Education Faithful, but writing their own agenda
By ARTHUR JONES
NCR Staff Anaheim, Calif.
Tall and short, robust and skinny,
Asian, African-American, Hispanic, Caucasian and beautiful blend of several
races, cultures and ethnicities, on stage they leaned against the back wall,
laughed, giggled and made bold statements. They could be shy, yet gave evidence
of take-charge capability; sometimes funny, their responses showed they could
inspire. In every way they summed up what the American Catholic church needs by
way of leadership, and said, Here we are.
Every one a teenager.
Their 100 or so peers urged them on, cheered, whooped and said
yes. This impromptu leadership group was pulled together by Ann
Marie Eckert, the provocateur who, in her Helping to Lead the Church in
the 21st Century workshop, lobbed the kids questions like, What are the
essential qualities in a leader?
They answered -- Rosemary Donnelly and Charles Chudabala, Alberto
Pina and Mary Campbell and the rest -- with words and phrases like,
enabling, organized, welcoming, able
to listen, to inspire, considerate, be role
models, to delegate, to step back.
Eckert, the Milwaukee archdioceses associate director of
youth and young adult ministry, said, One thing about being a leader,
your antennae should be up to know whos doing things well. We should be
able to provide people with a way to celebrate when they do something
special.
Articulate and pleased to be there, these teens from Catholic
schools and parishes exuded confidence -- a pride in being Catholic. And they
listened to Eckert because they were drawn into participating, and because they
were excited and fresh -- this was their first workshop at the daylong Los
Angeles Archdiocesan Youth Day that preceded the Religious Education
Congress.
During breaks, teens from the dozen workshops swarmed outside.
From Sacred Heart of Jesus High School in Los Angeles were 10th graders Vickie
Munoz, Jennifer Muro, Jessica Fleytas, Veronica Jauregni, Mary Pinon and Denise
Obian. Theyd been to Pam Stenzels workshop on Sex Has a Price
Tag. Theyd found it interesting,
supportive, and it made you think -- some of the things you
can relate to.
What adults cant relate to, the girls agreed, was their
music. Mary likes rapper Jay Z; Jessica likes Blink 182; and Vickie likes The
Clash (a group of men in their mid to late 40s who cut their first record in
1977). Vickie said adults really criticize the teen music because
of the violence and language. The high schoolers said adults need to listen to
the lyrics. They talk to where were at, what we feel, said
Mary.
Imaginative talk
The girls talked comfortably about their prayer life, more
hesitantly about the Eucharist for divorced Catholics (theyre in favor if
the injured party is able to forgive), and were imaginative about what married
priests might bring to the church.
Theyd have more to talk about and theyd
understand that people dont live perfect lives, said one.
Theyd know the problems if they had families, and the
community would be stronger, more united, said another.
The young men had their turn. Parishioners and ninth graders at
Holy Trinity in Atwater, Calif., Norman Angeles, Joseph Lopez, Josef Aranda and
Jack Dizon had been to Bob McCartys workshop, Survival Skills for
Catholic Teens. One skill, said Norman, is youre supposed to
speak the truth about God. The quartet, who said they were attending the
Youth Day because they wanted to -- they didnt have to attend -- felt
theyd gotten something useful from it. All of them are active in their
parish. Some serve as eucharistic ministers and as bearers of the gifts at
Mass.
Their afternoon session was Bobby Fishers liturgical
music-filled Liturgy Come to Life. Theyd enjoyed that because
it was lively. Norman said, Everybody was into it, everybody was like
clapping, everybody was talking about God and stuff.
Joseph added, Everyone got in with the crowd. The
usual church music, they said, makes young people not want to go to church.
They said theyd attend another congress, that they had fun
and learned a lot. But for many teens in attendance -- at workshops and even at
the music rallies, there did seem to be a mood swing between morning and
afternoon.
At Eckerts afternoon session, the new group -- by contrast
with the morning -- had low energy, was listless, even sullen. At the
music-filled rallies, though many teens throw themselves into the event, a high
percentage seemed disinterested, leaning against rear walls, eyes closed or
stretched out, not participating.
Why? Because they were teenagers. Some probably felt theyd
done enough work in a day that was supposed to be fun as well as
intense.
Youve got to let them be teenagers, said Fr.
Tony Ricard, the New Orleans priest whose morning liturgy and altar call saw
some 90 high schoolers crowd around the convention ballroom altar to attest
they were at least considering perhaps becoming a priest, sister or
religious brother. Theyll listen for just so long, said
Ricard.
Sometimes we in the church expect them to somehow be adults
-- in all the things that work for adults, as well as in their faith
expression, he said after a photo op with dozens of teens who took turns
in small groups having their picture taken with him.
He was realistic enough, too, to suggest that of the 90-plus teens
whod responded to the altar call, maybe 10 would still be
interested in a vowed or professed vocation five years from
now.
We forget, Ricard said, theyre teenagers
in the middle of that great hormonal fight, great enthusiasms, in the middle of
all the anxieties they have about school, friends, family and the pressure of
grades. When I go out and give talks, I try to let them be teens. Ill
incorporate music, dancing, a few jokes. The joy Ive found is that once
they realize Ive a little idea of where theyre at and what
theyre dealing with, theyll listen to what I have to say.
During her workshop, Eckert touched on the same thing when she
said, Leaders have to have an encouraging heart. She did elicit
from the afternoon group the elements of poor leadership, that bad leaders
dont listen, have a lack of vision,
dont worry about anyone but themselves, dont
help, lack courage and blow you out of the water
because its all about me.
Good leaders, she said, enter into the lives of people and
help them where they are. She also mentioned being attentive listeners,
but with the group he had, that was obviously uphill work.
Educating the young in religion is a vocation, a pitch -- and a
business. The congress enormous exhibitors hall, packed with almost
800 stalls and booths selling everything from stained glass to religious
bric-a-brac, concentrated primarily on books and tapes aimed at young
Christians or their catechists.
A random sampling included Zondervan publishings
Peters First Easter (by Walter Wangerin, for ages 4-8) and For
the Graduate: Gods Guidance for the Road Ahead (a compilation of
Christian authors). Loyola Press had a Christ Our Life series (for K-8)
and Raising Faith-Filled Kids by Tom McGrath. Benzinger, with a
selection of resource books in Spanish, also had The Catechists
Companion, by Cullen Schippe. There was ACTAs Starting Out:
Reflections for Young People, by Patrick T. Reardon -- small enough to drop
in the pocket. Gardens were in at Thomas More, which had Christina Keffler and
Rebecca Donnellis Garden of Virtues (illustrated by Suzanne Etman)
and Tend Your Own Garden: How to Raise Great Kids, by Timothy
OConnell.
Finally, typical of what was available higher up the young-adult
pecking order was Augsburgs, What Next? Connecting Your Ministry with
the Generation Formerly Known as X, written by a Project
Team.
Two people whove touched the GenX and now Millennial
generations in everyday work staffed the booth for the Los Angeles
archdioceses campus ministry program. Archdiocesan campus ministry
director Joan Lester and Cindy Yoshitomi, campus minister at the University of
California at Los Angeles, gave their views.
I like these younger guys better than in the
80s, said Yoshitomi. The 80s were all about
money.
This generation is very faithful, said Lester.
They take the church seriously, but theyre writing their own
agenda.
Yoshitomi said, The church isnt connecting with them
as well as it thinks.
Lester said, They dont buy into the institution. They
like the pope.
Yoshitomi added, Theyve only lived with this one pope.
Hes stability. Hes always been there. Hes an icon in the same
way grandparents are. And in their life theres not a whole lot of
stability -- they were born in the 80s.
Young Catholics are going to walk away if they dont
get what they need, Lester said. They want the stability of the
church. Theyre looking for that in their lives. They know its
always going to be there, provide for them and nourish them. But if you come
down with rules and obligations -- or prejudices against other religions --
youre not going to hold them.
Dont forget, Yoshitomi said, these kids
are being raised by our generation. Were the ones who went through the
Vatican II experience -- and stayed faithful. These kids are so active and so
faithful. We get 800 students at a Sunday Mass, and they dont have to
come.
Outside, by mid-afternoon, there were lots of girls sitting at the
tables, and lots of boys eyeing them, with rallies going on inside at two
locations. It seemed to me that what all 10,000 really needed after a workshop,
liturgy and lunch, was somewhere to dance.
It was a successful youth day, but these were teens spending the
day with the groups they came in with and would go home with. They needed more
venues to interact, to draw strength from new Catholic acquaintances and
potential friends.
Maybe forget the afternoon workshops. Turn those meeting rooms and
arenas into mini- and maxi-dance halls. Give out the tickets and let them meet
and mingle with other Catholic teens for a couple of hours.
Dancing would do it.
National Catholic Reporter, March 30,
2001
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