Pope Francis has signed a “sick note” for the youngest participant of the Synod. 19-year-old Wyatt Olivas, an American student, half-jokingly drafted a letter explaining to his professors that he needed to recover from his work at the Vatican before resuming classes. With a smile, the Pope agreed to sign, writing “Francis” in his tiny Read more
Where do young Catholics stand? To the right, very right, or very left? It’s a fascinating question. A couple of recent articles in France have contemplated the so-called resurgence of left-wing Catholics, who are identified as young, ecologically sensitive, and – some of them – even very left-wing. They are also distant from their rather Read more
The one-month postponement of the general election will see thousands turn 18 before October 17. One for these people will be Gina Dao-McLay. She’ll turn 18 on September 27. She said she would be focusing her vote on climate action and poverty. Dao MClay also said people were talking about the political parties’ policies, and Read more
The photos covered my Facebook newsfeed: pictures of teenagers donning bright red robes, smiles upon their faces, foreheads shiny with the fresh chrism. The captions for the photos were all similar: “Confirmed in Christ!” or “He did it! A full-grown Catholic, choosing his own faith.” It was nice to see photos of happy families celebrating Read more
There are few spots around the world where parents don’t have to drag their younger adult children to worship: Ghana, a predominantly Christian county is one; Chad, a predominantly Muslim country, is another. In both African nations, younger adults are 3 percentage points more likely to identify with their faith than their elders, according to Read more
Last Friday, at the 4-yearly assembly of the Federation of Catholic Bishops Conferences of Oceania (FCBCO) in Port Moresby, Fr Ambrose Periera led a discussion with young people from various parts of the country. Periera is a Salesian priest and secretary of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands Commission for young Read more
Social media is a lazy and ineffective way for politicians to communicate with voters says Tino Mahowa, a student at St Bernard’s College in Lower Hutt. “If any politician were to use social media as a way to communicate, it would be to their detriment. It’s a terrible means of conveying detailed information.” “Candidates could Read more
John Cameron always had faith. It just took a brand-new suit for him to find it. It was an 18th birthday present, and he wanted to wear it straight away. But, as a teenager “mucking around … wasting potential” in west Auckland, he was dressed up with nowhere to go – but church. “I just Read more
Laura O’Connell Rapira has a pretty simple philosophy. “Everyone should have a nice life,” she tells a small audience at a Wellington bar. “Small actions, multiplied, can lead to big change,” she says. Laura, 25, outlines her pitch for RockEnrol, a movement to increase youth voter turnout. The audience is a mix of smartphones and activists Read more
It’s tough to picture the future if you’re a New Zealander under 30. Your first home has never been more out of reach, if you want to live in one of the main centres – not that we have much of a choice, because high rates of unemployment and thousands of dollars of student debt Read more