--- Young Catholics

Pope Benedict XVI ends 2008 reflecting on TENDER GENDER, linking rain forests and World Youth. On the face of it, “METAGENESIS”, the arcane sexuality of green forest flora, and World Youth do not obviously go together — or do they? Is this “The WAVE of the Future?” http://www.ncrcafe.org/node/2342#comment-28157

The Bike.

My young friend Astro Physics major Randy was out of money, on academic probation and just had his bike stolen, his only mode of transportation. He was pretty down and I told him this story.

It was around 1989. I was newly married (2 years in), in Mexico at my wife’s sisters low income are condo in Zamora, Michoacán. I parked my 1969 International TravellAll in he busy parking lot with literally 40 to 50 people carrying activity there. I locked the car (the original SUV) I went upstairs and came back down within 20 minutes. I saw a kid maybe 6 or 7 years old take off for the parking lot when he saw me coming. It caught my attention but just puzzled me, I thought nothing of it. Getting to the car I noticed the drivers side door was unlock and not totally closed. I had a tool chest in the car for emergencies and to use to help my wife’s family if need be. I had tools my grandfather and father had left or given me before they died. It gave me joy to use them each time I touched them. They and some other things were gone. I was devastated because of the sentimental value they represented for me.

Although many young adult Catholics are interested in church ministry they find it difficult to connect their career plans or talents with available ministries, according to a survey released this year.

The survey, "Young Adult Catholics and Their Future in Ministry," was commissioned by the Emerging Models of Pastoral Leadership Project, a joint project involving six national Catholic organizations and funded by the Lilly Endowment Inc.

Applying Jesus' Approach to Catholic Schools:

"A preferential option for the poor" should be maintained in our Catholic Schools. If we find that we cannot afford to keep our schools open to the poor, the schools should be closed and the resources used for something else which can be kept open to the poor. (William Horan)

These stories appear in the Dec. 28, 2007 issue of National Catholic Reporter.

Odyssey Catholics: Young and restless, tenuously connected to their faith
By GREG RUEHLMANN
    Justin Brandon has been weighing his options. The 25-year-old San Francisco resident recently applied to Stanford’s highly competitive MBA program, but even if admitted, he isn’t sure he wants to leave his job at Better World Books, the promising dot-com where he has coordinated online marketing since June.
    Brandon isn’t used to feeling so content about a job. In the three years since he graduated from the University of Notre Dame, he has done extended volunteer work in Puerto Rico, served as a video production assistant at Notre Dame, shot documentary films in Ghana and Haiti, and worked as a search quality technician for Google in Silicon Valley.
    “Every year,” he said, “part of me wants to move cities or switch jobs.”
    Brandon and his restless ventures represent a generational trend among some young college-educated men and women who are free to choose flux over stability. Some social scientists have dubbed these post-college years the “odyssey years” -- a nomadic period when young adults move from one job to another, from one city to the next, delaying marriage, children and permanent career tracks longer than previous generations. Spiritually, they tend to be seekers, a characteristic that applies even to many with deep roots in a traditional religion such as Catholicism and no great desire to venture too far from the fold. Read the full story

I teach theology in a Catholic High School and have found it increasingly difficult to speak with any moral authority on issues due to the pedophile crisis in the Church. The Archdiocese has its head in the sand if it thinks that young people give any credence to most of the moral teachings of the Church post-pedophile crisis. I believe that the core of Christianity is inclusion and LOVE. We are losing many young people due to the lack of vision and inclusivity in the Church.

Are there are other young, progressive Catholics out there that are contemplating a life as a religious?

2 things:
-Join the Facebook group "The Vocation Discerners."
-Women are invited to an event (see below.)

Here's an annoucement/event:
Hi All!

The community that I am in formation with, The Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, is hosting a Come and See on March 3rd and 4th. I entered the community as an associate (postulant) over a year ago, after knowing them for 2 years.

In light of a somewhat casual discussion of young people on this site, I offer the text below which is part of a larger study that can be found at:

http://people-press.org/reports/pdf/300.pdf

The full report contains useful summaries and statistical breakdowns of youth attitudes. It analyses a survey conducted in association with: The Generation Next Initiative and Documentary produced by MacNeil/Lehrer Productions.

I just saw some statistics that MySpace.com has 98 million users, that it is the third most popular Web site, and reaches 49 percent of all Internet users between the ages of 18 to 24. Not being in that age group myself, I have been curious as to what MySpace is all about and what is its appeal to young people. I spent some time on the site and although I found lots of people with lots of friends, I found a lot of it outside of what is considered appropriate for general consumption by mainstream America.