Year of Youth

The Australian Bishops have identified the liturgical year of 2018, beginning on the first Sunday of Advent (3rd December 2017), as a national Year of Youth.

The Year of Youth invites the Church, including Ministerial PJPs, into prayerful discernment about the importance and life-giving presence of young people in the local Church and society. It calls for dialogue and active engagement focused on the reconnection and renewal of a new generation of young people in the life of the Church.

Year of Youth Aims

• prayerfully discern the Australian Bishops vision for ministry with young people, Anointed and Sent
• authentic and personal engagement by Church leaders in the challenges and success in young people’s lives
• acknowledging the Holy Spirit at work in the lives of young people, and young people acting upon the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church;
• upholding the dignity of young people, ensuring a safe environment from physical, emotional and spiritual harm

The Year of Youth coincides with the Synod of Bishops on Young People, the Faith and Vocational Discernment to be held in Rome in October 2018.

The aims for the Year of Youth also dovetail together with the goals of Anointed and Sent: an Australian vision for catholic youth ministry provide a rich framework and challenges local faith communities to explore new horizons as they accompany young people into maturity.

Ministerial PJPs with people 16-30 years of age  as workers or service recipients might ask:

• How are we praying for, and spiritually reflecting upon, the call of the Holy Spirit to accompany young people?
• How are we listening to, and engaging with, the ‘challenges and success in young people’s lives’?
• How are we reaching out to young people beyond our organisation and on the peripheries?
• How is the Holy Spirit working in the lives of young people and how is it challenging us to grow?
• In what ways do we need to work harder and respond to ensure the holistic safety of all young people?

More information is available at: https://youth.catholic.org.au/year-of-youth