An article penned for the Irish Examiner notes:
But surely the odds are that the majority of people for whom the resignation of the pope is a matter of supreme indifference are themselves members of his flock, at least nominally. And yet their eyes glaze over if you talk about it.
“A matter of supreme indifference” – these words capture the response of many, many “Catholic” young whena asked about their interest in the Conclave.
What happened? In the span of just two generations the Church went from a position of being a critical factor in the lives of a large percentage of its members to this toxic indifference. This blog looks to foster dialogue between those who remember a valuable asset in their lives and those whose attitude is that of supreme indifference.
Bill Keller’s article (click here or see the links section of the blog) offers some guidance on this question. He notes that Catholicism “is a service industry” and here the young indeed are left baffled. What services does the Church provide them today? Many young express outrage at the hypocracy of an institution they perceive as telling them how to “be good” when the institution itself is challenged by rot from within.
The child abuse scandal is not the only element in this dilemna, perhaps not even the most important. There is a sense of a “supreme disconnect” between the lives of our youth and Church leaders. The half-hearted attempts by these leaders to “engage” the young all too often end in “preaching without understanding”, further alienation, and eventual supreme indifference.
Still the Church, and its to-be-selected new chief executive, need to discover how to serve today’s young. History might offer some guideposts. At the dawn of the 20th century, the Church’s institutions in the US – parochial schools, youth organizations, orphanages, hospitals, etc., provided desparately needed services for an immigrant populations. The Church had its finger on the pulse of its people’s needs at that time and the institution became a source of strength and comfort for its members.
While our young may sit the Conclave out with indifference, those of us whose lives were enriched by those experiences in past years can pray that the Cardinals ask themselves these hard questions: how can the Church serve the young of today? And pray that said service follow Catholic tradition of “preaching” through actions of charity rather than empty words and criticisms.