New Zealand had the highest number of suicides in 10 years in 2016, according to the latest provisional data released by the Ministry of Health. It was up from 529 in 2015, and 510 in 2014. Males were the most represented in the figures, with 412 committing suicide in 2016, compared to 141 females. Continue Read more
Posts Tagged ‘Youth’
Being religious is no longer a trend for post-christian teens
Thursday, June 20th, 2019
According to Barna.com, Generation Z (people born between 1999 and 2015) are the “first truly ‘post-Christian’ generation.” In fact, the number of teens who associate themselves with atheism is twice as much as the general population, according to Barna. The decline in religion among teens is at a staggering 29% among 8th graders, 25% among Read more
Rave reviews about Christus-Vivit, Pope’s new youth document
Monday, April 8th, 2019Pope Francis has published a new document dedicated to youth, bringing full-circle a process of consultation that began last year when the Vatican reached out to young people around the world ahead of an October summit of bishops on how to better approach them. Called Christus Vivit, the document is 180 pages long and takes Read more
Young Catholics – the church of now
Thursday, April 4th, 2019
In the central rotunda of Keating Hall on the campus of Fordham University, there is a unique statue that is often overlooked by the the busy students and faculty who walk by on the way to class. The statue depicts Jesus at 18, the average age of an incoming college student. According to Aloysius Hogan, Read more
Youth warned against populist ideologies
Thursday, October 11th, 2018Pope Francis warned youth attending the synod in Rome not to be taken in by populist ideologies that exclude others. Populisms that make us see the other, the foreigner, as evil, as an enemy to be pushed away are to be avoided he said. “Today populisms are fashionable, which have nothing to do with the Read more
Scandals are turning young people away from church
Thursday, September 27th, 2018
Sex abuse and economic scandals involving the Church are driving younger people away, Pope Francis admitted to a gathering of young Estonians during his visit to the Balkans this week. “We know – and you have told us – that many young people do not turn to us for anything because they don’t feel we Read more
Chinese Catholics resist religious oppression
Monday, September 10th, 2018
Chinese Catholics are resisting Beijing’s campaign to restrict religious freedom. As the law forbids minors from entering places of worship, Catholics are “reinventing” their homes as temporary “churches” for services that can include the whole family. “Each family is continuing its faith activities at home and maintaining its strong bonds with God,” says a young Read more
Why we still need a synod on youth
Thursday, September 6th, 2018
We are facing a current crisis in the church. Only 14 percent of Catholic millennial young adults go to Mass every Sunday. Research indicates that most young people disaffiliate from the faith between the ages of 10 and 12. Young couples are not looking to get married in the church, nor are they bringing their Read more
Working document for synod on youth published
Thursday, June 21st, 2018
The Vatican’s working document for October’s Synod of Bishops on “Young people, the faith and vocational discernment” has been published. The document is divided into three sections: recognising; interpreting; and choosing with regard to vocation in life. Young Catholics “want an authentic church”, the document says. “With this, we would like to express, particularly to Read more
Whangarei youth improve their well-being
Monday, May 7th, 2018In Northland, where many young people leave school before 17 and one in four are not in education, employment or training, a group of young people has taken action. In 2012, a group of 10 young people talked to the local Whangarei District Council staff. They said they were sick of hearing bad stories about Read more