On May 6, 2006, at St. Anselm's Sullivan Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire, many area teens will be attending the NH Catholic Inter-Parish Youthfest '06 - Into The Streets.
At the website: http://www.nhyouthfest.com/ one can find a "policies and procedures" pdf file which reminds local teens not to bring "alcohol, illegal drugs, firearms/weapons (this includes jack knives), laser pointers, fireworks..."
The fact that Catholic teenagers have to be told not to bring alcohol, illegal drugs and firearms/weapons to an event which is supposed to be Catholic is evidence of a real crisis in the Church here in NH.
Previous generations of Catholic youth would never have thought of carrying weapons and illegal drugs and other contraband to a Catholic event.
Signs of decay are everywhere in the Diocese of Manchester.
Decay? I see your point. The real reason for this type of listing is to be clear on what is allowed and not allowed. In my 5 years in full time youth ministry, I have only had to confiscate a handful of items that would be dangerous. The funny part is that the few knives I have taken belonged to kids who resembled MacGyver alot more than Tupac.
Unfortnately in our litigious society, we have to enumerate everything and be explict with every direction. You would hope that commonsense would prevail, but you never know.
As for the event. Come and see. There is not decay, there is a vibrant, orthodox, and passionate group of teens in the parishes of New Hampshire.
p.s. I recall stries from my mom about church events where boys would sneak alcohol, girls their cigarettes, etc... Knives..no but teens are teens.
Mr. Malinowski's post is most welcome. And we have to be careful not to write off the youth of today and to suggest that they are somehow "a lost cause."
On the other hand, one has to recognize that our present culture is in crisis. As Mr. Malinowski makes clear, "You would hope that commonsense would prevail, but you never know."
Are today's teens "vibrant, orthodox, and passionate"? It has been my experience that teenagers are most often passionate about various things and tend towards idealism in certain respects. As Pope John Paul II once noted, youth are naturally idealistic.
But are today's teens orthodox? That remains to be seen. At World Youth Day several years ago, the teens could be heard shouting "John Paul II, we love you." To which our beloved Pontiff of happy memory responded, "Do you love the Pope? Then do as he says."
He said this for a reason. It is easy for teens to get excited when they are amongst a large group of their peers. But when we truly love the Pope, we are obedient to his teaching always. When we really love the Pope, we don't just pay lip service to that love. We prove it by our fidelity, by our obedience.
4 comments:
Hopefully, this audit will bring about some long-awaited and necessary changes in attitudes.
On May 6, 2006, at St. Anselm's Sullivan Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire, many area teens will be attending the NH Catholic Inter-Parish Youthfest '06 - Into The Streets.
At the website: http://www.nhyouthfest.com/ one can find a "policies and procedures" pdf file which reminds local teens not to bring "alcohol, illegal drugs, firearms/weapons (this includes jack knives), laser pointers, fireworks..."
The fact that Catholic teenagers have to be told not to bring alcohol, illegal drugs and firearms/weapons to an event which is supposed to be Catholic is evidence of a real crisis in the Church here in NH.
Previous generations of Catholic youth would never have thought of carrying weapons and illegal drugs and other contraband to a Catholic event.
Signs of decay are everywhere in the Diocese of Manchester.
Decay? I see your point. The real reason for this type of listing is to be clear on what is allowed and not allowed. In my 5 years in full time youth ministry, I have only had to confiscate a handful of items that would be dangerous. The funny part is that the few knives I have taken belonged to kids who resembled MacGyver alot more than Tupac.
Unfortnately in our litigious society, we have to enumerate everything and be explict with every direction. You would hope that commonsense would prevail, but you never know.
As for the event. Come and see. There is not decay, there is a vibrant, orthodox, and passionate group of teens in the parishes of New Hampshire.
p.s. I recall stries from my mom about church events where boys would sneak alcohol, girls their cigarettes, etc... Knives..no but teens are teens.
Come see us on May 6th
Mr. Malinowski's post is most welcome. And we have to be careful not to write off the youth of today and to suggest that they are somehow "a lost cause."
On the other hand, one has to recognize that our present culture is in crisis. As Mr. Malinowski makes clear, "You would hope that commonsense would prevail, but you never know."
Are today's teens "vibrant, orthodox, and passionate"? It has been my experience that teenagers are most often passionate about various things and tend towards idealism in certain respects. As Pope John Paul II once noted, youth are naturally idealistic.
But are today's teens orthodox? That remains to be seen. At World Youth Day several years ago, the teens could be heard shouting "John Paul II, we love you." To which our beloved Pontiff of happy memory responded, "Do you love the Pope? Then do as he says."
He said this for a reason. It is easy for teens to get excited when they are amongst a large group of their peers. But when we truly love the Pope, we are obedient to his teaching always. When we really love the Pope, we don't just pay lip service to that love. We prove it by our fidelity, by our obedience.
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