The World of Youth

28 December 1985
Rome, Italy

My dear Sisters and Confreres,

What was Herod's motive in massacring the children of Bethlehem? Jealousy, yes; insecurity, yes; possibly the deepest motive of all was fear. Fear is the foundation of all jealousy and the foundation, too, of insecurity. Herod was a man who was utterly strong but was suffering from fear, a fear so great that it led him to massacre the infants of Bethlehem. It seems strange, doesn't it, to find an adult so afraid of children, or of one child.

Here is the first question I would like to pose to you who have gathered for this meeting to discuss what you can do for youth. Are you afraid of the youth of today? Our immediate reaction is to say no. Perhaps, however, there may be a little more fear of youth in our adult hearts than we might think. The fear of youth that might be in our hearts does not give rise to jealousy, perhaps, but rather to a certain insecurity, the insecurity that arises when we are confronted with what we do not know or understand. However we may feel about youth, there are many adults today who distance themselves from young people because they fear they do not understand them. There are adults who keep saying: "Youth is different today." That gives them the excuse to keep away from youth. Often it is fear which puts up a barrier between adults and youth today, and both are losers because of that. Youth is different today but let us not exaggerate the difference.

When the Pope visited my country in 1979 and was speaking at a shrine of Our Lady, he said: "Each generation is like a new continent which has to be won for Christ." The world of youth is like a new continent. There are many natural riches in that continent, some clearly visible, others hidden. The continent of youth has to be won for Christ, and His way is not one that relies on force but rather on love and respect for the individual person. Because youth is a new continent, we should not be surprised that the continent will have new needs. That is why it is so important to listen to youth as they speak about their needs. Youth today will speak about their need to share with others in community, about their need of doing something to secure greater justice in their society and in the world. It is only after we adults have listened to youth that we should try to draw forth something from the treasure house of our own experience to help them.

Youth almost always will respond to challenge. People like yourselves, who are engaged in the apostolate to youth, must be continually asking the question: What challenge must I put to the young, and how? The challenges that we put to youth must come from Jesus Christ. So we will challenge youth to face the question which Jesus Christ posed: "Who do you say that I am?" (Mk 8:27). We will challenge youth to be open to accept forgiveness; to recognize Jesus Christ in the breaking of bread; to watch and pray to be saved from deceptions. Perhaps one of the most difficult challenges facing youth today is that of seeing and accepting the Church as the great Sacrament of Jesus Christ in the world. We know that many young people will accept Jesus Christ but reject His Church. How can we lead youth to accept and to participate in the life of the Church? How can we lead young people to experience the Church as a community of welcome and participation? How can young people be made to feel like partners with adults in the work of Christ in His Church today?

To these questions I cannot give any easy answer, particularly because I do not know minutely the circumstances in which you work. I would, however, like to make one final recommendation. Do not lose heart in the task of trying to conquer this new continent for Jesus Christ. You are not alone. Jesus Christ is with you. He is our way. The words, "Do not fear," were often on His lips. So, do not fear to share your convictions with youth, but do so after the manner of St. Vincent, simply, humbly, gently. Young people respect (even if they do not always say so) the personal convictions expressed courageously by adults. Take heart, too, from the fact that, as Paul VI said: "People today are less impressed by what they are taught than by what they witness." When discouragement threatens you, or the pace of change seems too fast and provokes a sense of panic, stop and recall Our Lord's rebuke to His anxious disciples: "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?" (Mt 8:26). Whatever failures you may experience in your approach to youth, do not cease to love them, for "it is love," wrote St. John, "that casts out fear." (1 Jn 4:18). It is love which is the bridge between generations. Love is the language which both adults and youth must study together during life's pilgrimage, for it is the only language which has been taught to us by the Son of God and the only language which is spoken in His Father's house.