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Monday, August 22, 2005
SpeakOut: The youth factor
By Fr. Roy Cimagala
Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE)
Talamban, Cebu City
THE World Youth Day in Cologne, Germany has just ended. I was struck when Pope Benedict, quite youthful in his 78 years, said something to the effect that true joy has a name, and that is Jesus of Nazareth. He told the youth this. Jesus is who you need, he boldly said.
I could not agree with him more. But the problem is how to get this very important message across in all its integrity and vividness. It’s often lost in a turbulent ocean of difficulties, temptations, distractions, weaknesses and sin.
Those raging hormones, emotional instability, intellectual softness make them prone to all sorts of unhealthy influences, often leading them to undisciplined and dissolute lifestyles that they regret later on.
Making things worse, some unscrupulous sectors exploit this youthful weakness as they bombard the youth with false images and illusions, erroneous ideas and doctrines, dangerous practices and titillating impulses.
These crooks should be exposed and duly penalized. They often hide behind cloaks of legitimate businesses and youthful proclivity for fun and search for meaning. That’s why my fervent prayer is that families be truly strengthened to ably carry out their delicate responsibility of forming the youth well. They should be helped by the Church, government and other private groups.
My prayer is that more and more people wake up to realize more deeply how important it is to mould our youth as they ought to be-not only good children to their parents, dutiful students to their teachers, but also responsible citizens and faithful children of God.
Thus, we need to realize that forming them is not just a matter of making them physically fit, emotionally stable, intellectually prepared. It’s more of making them spiritually and morally mature. That’s where a person’s true identity is known. Yes, they have to develop their human faculties. I just hope that we can find a way to pursue this without sacrificing spiritual and moral upbringing.
(August 22, 2005 issue)
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