The scenario is familiar to everyone working in parish ministry–8th Grade religious education apathy. When they’re young, they are so full of natural desire for religion. In 3rd Grade, their eyes light up when talking about God. Even by 6th Grade, you can still see that spark. However, in 7th Grade it starts to wane, Read more
In a return to old fashioned values, New Zealand youth are admiring skill, determination and achievement above wealth and fame. The most respected heroes and icons are Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Sir Edmund Hillary, Mahatma Ghandi and Nelson Mandela. Jesus and God are the highest ranking religious figures. Youthtown commissioned Point Research to perform Read more
Youth development has kept the Logos Project busy all year. In Auckland the Logos Project (the Marist Youth Ministry Trust) team runs programmes based in one of three core areas of church, schools and community. All have youth and faith at their centre. This school term, the Logos Project is running a community-based programme called Read more
More than 150 Anglican clergy from Waiouru to Wellington have gathered at the Copthorne this week to talk about how they can better support youth. Bishop of Wellington Justin Duckworth, ordained last month, said that over the three-day conference it had become clear that the clergy needed to focus on parents and families. “As a Read more
Maori students at St John’s College in Hastings are consistently rising to the challenge of leadership. Although they make up only 20 per cent of the school roll, in the last ten years half of the head boys at St John’s have been Maori. St John’s Principal, Neal Swindells, says one of the several factors that Read more
Young people show less tolerance of other religions than older people, a poll suggests, highlighting widespread ignorance of links between Christianity, Islam and Judaism. People in their late teens and early 20s were significantly less open to children born to parents from different religious backgrounds being brought up to understand both faiths than those in Read more
There are problems with the transmission of faith to youth in Papua New Guinea. (ll existe un problème de foi et de spiritualité parmi les nouvelles générations de Papouasie Nouvelle Guinée. Parmi les jeunes.) This is what a document recently issued by Fr. Shanthi Chako PIME, Secretary of the Commission for Youth and Laity within Read more
Pacific parents need encouragement to acknowledge and listen to teenagers by negotiating which traditions best support their wellbeing, says a Samoan sociologist. Fiva Faalau, who graduated with a PhD from Massey University’s Albany campus last week, says while her study of 45 Samoan teenagers revealed diverse family structures and parenting styles, some parents need to Read more
Marist Brothers’ High School launched its Diamond Jubilee celebrations with a special mass at the school’s Lambert Hall in Suva on Friday 20 April. Marist Brothers’ High School opened its doors at its initial location in Toorak, Suva, way back in 1937 before moving to its current site, Flagstaff, a decade later. Originally known as Read more
A day before Easter, the head of New York’s Roman Catholic archdiocese faced a challenge to his stance on gay rights: the resignation of a church charity board member who says he’s “had enough” of the cardinal’s attitude.
Joseph Amodeo told The Associated Press on Saturday that he quit the junior board of the city’s Catholic Charities after Cardinal Timothy Dolan failed to respond to a “call for help” for homeless youths who are not heterosexual.
“As someone who believes in the message of love enshrined in the teachings of Christ, I find it disheartening that a man of God would refuse to extend a pastoral arm” to such youths, Amodeo said in his letter to the charitable organization last Tuesday.
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