THE WORLD SCENE

From what kind of world and society will new vocations come forth in the contemporary church? Pope John Paul II spoke these thought provoking words to the crowd of 600,000+ young people gathered at Downsview Park Toronto on Saturday evening July 27, 2002 during the Great Vigil of World Youth Day:

“The new millennium opened with two contrasting scenarios: one, the sight of multitudes of pilgrims coming to Rome during the Great Jubilee to pass through the Holy Door which is Christ, our Savior and Redeemer; and the other, the terrible terrorist attack on New York, an image that is a sort of icon of a world in which hostility and hatred seem to prevail.

The question that arises is dramatic: on what foundations must we build the new historical era that is emerging from the great transformations of the twentieth century? Is it enough to rely on the technological revolution now taking place, which seems to respond only to criteria of productivity and efficiency, without reference to the individual’s spiritual dimension or to any universally shared ethical values? Is it right to be content with provisional answers to the ultimate questions, and to abandon life to the impulses of instinct, to short-lived sensations or passing fads?”

There could not be more fitting images to describe the awesome background or backdrop of our vocational and priestly formation work in the Church. Young people today are living in a world that is suffering from tremendous pain and loss. The striking images evoked by the Pope remain engraved on people’s memories. Terrorism, along with ethnic and religious divisions, generates violence that seems to have no end. Economic insecurity raises collective anxieties. We are lost, forgetful, without roots, and blinded to the lessons of history.

The church is suffering as well. In the American Church, particularly, the scandal of sexual misconduct on the part of priests and religious and the failure of some bishops and religious superiors to adequately respond to this crisis has scarred the church and raised profound and fundamental questions about its moral leadership. We have all suffered in some way because of this scandal.

Against this background Christians and Catholics need to recover the depth, beauty and vastness of the Church’s mission. This is not a time for hesitation or retreat. We need to keep the arena large. I have had the privilege of meeting and working with many young men and women who are seeking something vast, something transcendent, to which to commit themselves.

There are several significant crises before us that form the backdrop of vocations ministry today. I list but a few below.

Continue to "The Crisis of Fatherhood and Paternity"

BACK TO SPLASH PAGE