The purpose of workshops was to get a consensus from the people.

Around 3,500 people from 20 parishes have participated in the workshops.

By the end of October the parishes will make a decision about whether they want the Sunday School.

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The workshops have been conducted by the Bishop of Bougainville Bernard Unabali, Father Shanthi Chacko Puthussery, the secretary of Commission for Youth and Laity in the Catholic Bishops Conference of Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands and and Peter Salei, the Diocesan Catholic Religious Education Coordinator.

The Bishop explained his overall pastoral plan for the Diocese.

Peter explained the current situation of the religious education in the primary and secondary schools. He provided examples to show the inadequacy of what is currently being done.

Father Shanthi explained what Sunday School is and how it functions.

He showed the participants the textbooks from Grade One to Grade Twelve that the Sunday School would use.

Fr Shanthi who is a member of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME) comes from Kerala in India.

A Sunday school programme has been running in India since 1928. It has a syllabus, text books, half-yearly and yearly examinations in every grade, scholarship examinations, training for the teachers and several other activities.

From 1970 t0 1981 Fr Shanthi attended Sunday School regularly in his home parish. From 1983 to 1987 he was a Sunday School teacher.

Shanthi wanted to have similar Sunday School program at Alotau Diocese while he was there from 2000 to 2006 but somehow, in spite of his best efforts nothing much came of it.

The commonly expressed opinion at almost all the awareness workshops was that the Sunday School is the right pastoral answer.

Many of the participants were of the opinion that religious education in the primary, high/secondary school is not very effective.

They were concerned that many teachers in the schools are not interested in teaching Religious Education.

The participants strongly felt that it would be better to have a regular proper alternative faith formation structure for the Catholic children and young people by the diocese.

It was thought however that voluntary Church workers might expect to receive some sort of payment. This may create further confusion.

Source

• Supplied

Youth Sunday was celebrated for the first time on 12th July 2015.

Fr.Shanthi Chacko Puthussery Secretary of Commission for Youth and Laity says the pastoral care of young people is still a struggle because to traditional and cultural practices.

While the chief of the clan or the tribe have traditionally had the prominent role in leadership in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands, the national government, provincial and local governments take the leadership role in today.

"Unfortunately, these leaders are not really concerned about the young people and their future," says Fr Shanti.

He says there is an office for youth but they function on national and provincial levels in both countries.

"It has been the same with the Catholic Church, where much hard work and attempts have been done in the past."

"Even today pastoral care of the young people is very minimal in the dioceses and not yet a prominent priority."

However, after the World Youth Sydney 2008, the Catholic Bishops Conference of Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands appointed a full time Secretary for the Commission and his office was established in April 2011.

Diocesan Youth Coordinators and Fr. Shanthi have been having regular annual gatherings.

Source

• wantokniuspepa.com
• Image: asianews.it

An essential part of the training was actual personal accompaniment of the participants in which they felt safe to share their hearts desires and longing to be better persons in the community and in the Church.

Fr Shanthi also conducted a questionnaire collecting data from 300 young people.

The picture that emerges is that young people are confused and that parishes need to do more for young people of PNG and the Solomons

Out of 230 parishes surveyed, 217 (94. 35%) show practically no regular formation activities happening for the young people at the parish level.
Here is the data collected from his questionnaire

Source

• The Catholic Bishops' Conference of Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea
• Image: Diocese of Daru-Kiunga