INTERVIEW WITH OUR BISHOP MICHAEL MULVEY “Be with them”

You just returned from World Youth Day in Lisbon – what was your impression of the young people?

Bishop Mulvey: World Youth Day was a unique experience. The atmosphere of Lisbon, the number of young people and their joy even on the streets, was a real confirming moment for me to say that the Church is alive! Somebody asked me afterward, “Do you think there’s hope for the Church?” And I couldn’t say anything but “Absolutely!”

On Sunday, there were an estimated 1.6 million people from Africa, Asia, Latin America, all over Europe and North America; it was a beautiful and long-lasting impression. The young people themselves unveiled the message of Jesus Christ through music, dance and artistic expression. If you watched any part of World Youth Day – there were also moments of prayer and adoration, and the silence of a million young people during the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament was almost haunting; it spoke for itself. There is a depth in every human person, and young people have that same depth. Many people reading this article were probably trained to be silent in school or during a retreat. There were moments at World Youth Day when nobody told them to be quiet when the Eucharist came out on the altar and was unveiled; they just fell on their knees and were silent. This showed the depth of adoration in their life, and being together in great numbers gave them courage. We must accompany young people today differently: we can’t only instruct them to believe this or that. Instead, we need to offer them the opportunities to accompany them. It’s not a classroom setting that will function anymore. In the parishes, we should have times of youth prayer and adoration, teaching them to find the truth of God inside each of them and through service to others.

That aligns with the Springtide Report on Youth and Religion findings in 2020. Many young people said nobody ever reached out to them during the pandemic! What they are longing for are relationships. What do we have to change to accompany them?

Bishop Mulvey: At WYD, I spent a whole day with our little group of 25. We went up to a church to see a display of Mother Teresa. I was told it was only four miles away, so I said, “Well, I can do four miles.” But they didn’t tell me it was straight up the hill with endless flights of stairs! So, I began walking with them and laughing with them, saying the rosary, etc.

But it became a joy to walk with them –being a family. I think – as clergy and as lay people – we should learn to be family with young people because many times, unfortunately, that’s what they’re missing. Some don’t know the warmth of a family or good friendship. Walking with them in everyday life in that spirit, we can understand their joys, sorrows and fears and listen. I think listening is critical in this new way of approaching young people and helping them find Jesus. Because that is what Jesus did: he walked next to people and listened to them before he spoke.

That’s a beautiful image of what accompaniment can be. The study also found that young people often don’t trust religious institutions, even if more young people consider themselves spiritual than in past years. How can parishes reach these young people?

Bishop Mulvey: Stop being an institution! Jesus didn’t form an institution; he formed apostles to be with people. I would say to everyone, families, priests, deacons, religious, and catechists: form relationships – friendships - family.

At the base of our theology, God is love, a relationship of love of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Jesus came to share with us that God is love and that love is expressed in love for God and love of neighbor. We need to learn how to build relationships that reflect who God is.

O nce we learn that our approach to evangelization is building relationships of trust, openness, and vulnerability with young people, they will be more open. Once we ascended the mountain in Lisbon that day, we were so tired, and I said, “Let’s find a cafeteria, and it’s on me.” As we ate, we just sat there and talked for a long time. We need to readjust our priorities, spend more time with young people – or people in general - and focus less on formalities. The message of Jesus can also come through when we’re sitting down and talking to each other.

Christianity is all about remembering. The Eucharist is the remembrance of something incredible that happened, and we have to build memories together, whether on a hike or a project together in the parish or the city. But especially as we gather around the Eucharist at Mass and remember the love God has for each one of us.

One of the Pope’s central messages at the Welcoming Ceremony was that “God loves you as you are, as you are now.” What does that mean for our ministry?

Bishop Mulvey: “God loves you as you are” is a bold statement; we need to understand what that means. God does love me as I am, and this message is very much needed; it is liberating and gives meaning to my life. I am loved; I am a child of God! The thing is, we live in a Hollywood world where everybody’s trying to be something else that they’re not. I think the first step is to learn to be who you are, and parents, catechists, youth ministers, and priests can help young people to accept themselves for who they are.

We can facilitate that by not trying to tell them who they are. Our catechetical approach is often based on the “dos” and “don’ts” of morality, but they need to find their talents and confidence. They need to feel welcomed, and that is where the accompaniment can start. Let them be silly, let them be happy, let them be and be with them. We need to witness to God’s love to every person.