Southeastern Europe: bishops issue message to youth

March 07, 2011

The presidents of the bishops’ conferences of southeastern Europe have issued a message to youth.

“We are aware of your problems,” the bishops said at the conclusion of their March 3-6 meeting in Cyprus. “Problems about destroyed families, finding stable employment, problems stemming from ‘the disappearance of the meaning of God’ in the society in which you are called to live, problems due to the poor example of some adults. For many of you, there are difficulties stemming from living in a society which for decades has been dominated by totalitarian ideologies and the practical and theoretical atheism which still taint some souls.”

“Despite these problems we have immense trust in you, in your innate generosity, in your refusal to conform passively to the fashions of the times, in your sensitivity to the suffering of others, in your sense of justice, the search for peace, in hunger for the truth which characterizes you,” the bishops added. “We know of your desire for inner calm and silence expressed in prolonged prayer. If all this is enhanced, it can be an immense force for the renewal of your communities. You can become the leaven which gives freshness to our tired and sometimes no longer motivated communities.”

 

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Further information:

• Rooted in Christ. Strong in faith. Pastoral work with young people in South-east Europe. (CCEE)
• Southeastern Europe’s bishops meet to discuss outreach to youth (CWN, 3/4)