individual and God or even between the individual and the hierarchy representing God; they must feel it is a communally mediated and articulated identity. VI. Better Young Adult Religious Education There is a critical need for credible and relevant adult religious education. As one young adult observed, “The Church settles for less than the best.” This is especially true in three areas: Bible study, Vatican theology, and the Church’s social teachings. Disputation over Vatican II’s meaning and implementation is an undercurrent in the contemporary Church. It is still a source of polarization and division among Catholics. Yet many young adult Catholics know little about the Council, its deliberations, documents, and theology, and what is known is piecemeal and superficial. A respondent’s comment that “My understanding of the Vatican Council was it made the Latin Mass become non-Latin and...changed some of the words in prayers,” is emblematic of the situation. This is a serious lacuna in Catholic life today—as is the general lack of knowledge regarding Catholic social teachings since Vatican II. The three areas—Bible, Vatican II, and social teaching—need to be addressed with programs that are intellectually edifying and challenging, action oriented, community building, and helpful for integrating young adults into parish life. Many young adult Catholics are eager for instruction in their faith and will prove receptive to initiatives. The problem of Catholic young adult religious education transcends the issues of content and the development of curriculum, it is also one of pedagogy. Greater attention needs to be given to the teaching of teachers and those involved in young adult education. Resources should be directed to these ends, along with the development of youth groups, community service projects, and retreat programs which implement these teachings. VII. Better Marriage Preparation One of the most challenging areas in our interviews was the relationship of the respondents to people of other
faith traditions. The topic is broad and includes everything from knowledge of Catholicism and of nonCatholic traditions to feelings of vulnerability and insecurity in defending Catholicism. Attention should be paid to the specific needs of the large number of Catholics who are marrying people of other faiths or no faith—and, where possible, to the increasing number who are marrying outside of the Church. The rate of interfaith marriage is high. Parishes need to develop programming that will address interfaith questions ranging from basic information about different faiths to issues of child rearing, religious education, and holiday celebrations. VIII. More Recruitment to the Priesthood, Religious Life, and Lay Ministry The low percentage (15 percent) of young adults who indicated that they had been encouraged to think about a vocation to the religious life or priesthood is a cause of concern. We believe that efforts to empower the laity to take their rightful place in the Church do not preclude the invitation of some young adults to consider religious life and priesthood and the education of all young adults about the various ways of life in the Church. Young adult Catholics should be brought to greater awareness of ministry in service in the Church and the world. This involves both encouragement for new forms of non-ordained lay ministry and encouragement for priests, brothers, and sisters. One young woman told us that she had never been taught about the option of religious life. She said her religious education focused on “Christian lifestyles” but only presented the options of marriage and single life. For those who were encouraged to think of a vocation to the priesthood and religious life, the encouragement came primarily from their family. Our findings suggest the Church should explore why more intensive recruitment does not come from within the priesthood and religious life itself. Attention should also be paid to the vocation of lay ministry. While the Church often talks about the laity assuming more ministerial roles in the future, we found that very few young adults were employed in fulltime work within the Church. Will
lay ministers in the Church continue to be found in older generations alone?
X. Young Adult Catholic Initiatives The effort to incorporate young adults into a more meaningful experience of the life of the Church is not a one-way street. While persons in leadership positions in the Church have responsibilities in this region, so do young adults themselves. Young adult Catholics should try to take the spiritual offerings and mission of the Church more seriously. This involves learning more about the Church and its rich intellectual tradition and investing more time in its institutional, sacramental, and liturgical life. Making the effort to get to know Catholics who are parish connected will help reinforce the sense of community and solidarity essential to Catholic life. Peer relationships will also make a difference in encouraging Mass attendance and participation in small groups or parish service projects.
IX. Spirituality, Prayer, and Meditation The Church needs to continue to teach young adults about its many rich and diverse sources of spiritual renewal. Efforts should be made to assist young adult Catholics in reappropriating specifically Catholic symbols and spiritual traditions. This is especially important in view of the fact that most of their spiritual seeking occurs within the tradition (Chapter 7). This reappropriation will facilitate their sense of connectedness and continuity with Catholicism, even while these symbols and traditions are transformed in a new cultural and historical context. The Church’s emphasis on prayer and meditation in conjunction with social action is also important. We learned from our interviews that retreat experiences in particular are effective in the above respects. There should be more and a greater variety of retreat opportunities that are affordable, relevant, and offered at convenient times and locations.
BOSTON COLLEGE
From Dean R. Hoge, William D. Dinges, Mary Johnson, S.N.D de N., ad Juan L. Gonzales, Jr., Young Adult Catholics: Religion in the Culture of Choice (University of Notre Dame Press, 2001) pp. 231-234.
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C21 RESOURCES
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FALL
2006
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