TORONTO, Canada, August 29, 2002 — "Do not wait until you are older to set out on the path of holiness," Pope John Paul II told 600,000 young people gathered from around the globe for World Youth Day in Toronto, July 23-27. The next day he urged an audience that had swollen to 800,000, "Holiness is not a matter of age: it is a matter of living in the Holy Spirit..."
And the youth agreed. "We are not the church of the future," declared Analyn Perez of Vancouver in her official welcome to the Pope, "We are the church of today."
The church needs to be both ancient and forever young. The sight of the ailing 82-year-old spiritual leader of one billion Roman Catholics celebrating with hundreds of thousands of exuberant youth was astounding.
173 nations represented - over 5000 pilgrims refused visas
World Youth Day (WYD) was certainly a "world" celebration with 173 nations represented, more than meet at the winter Olympics. It was a Christian UN.
The "youth" actually spanned two decades from 15 to 35-year-olds. The "day" stretched over ten days. Foreign pilgrims were first hosted for four days in various dioceses across the country and then travelled to Toronto for the six-day festival.
The youth were on a pilgrimage, a spiritual journey to encounter God more deeply. Each had been approved by their local bishops. Despite this, the Canadian government refused visas to 5,000 travellers, especially from Haiti, the Dominican Republic and much of Africa. Only 50 Argentineans arrived, since their economy is in a free fall. In fact, the general fear of international travel after September 11th took its toll.
Yet there has never been such a large gathering in Canada. The numbers were all the more remarkable in the light of low church attendance in the west.
Almost 45% of Canadians are Roman or Eastern Rite Catholic but many skip regular church attendance. Only 7% of Catholic youth between the ages of 15-19 attend services weekly in Quebec, compared with 13% of young people nationally. Only one in five Canadians (22%) attend any church weekly.
Regular church attendance in Britain has sunk to 7% and is even lower in France and Germany. Yet in Asia, Africa and Latin America young people are flocking to church. African pilgrims were shocked at how few teens worshipped in Canada.
When the young pilgrims entered Exhibition Place they were greeted by an avenue of saints, the portraits of nine young people displayed on massive banners over the sound towers. There were also banners of Christ who, when he died, was only 33. Throughout the celebration there were public testimonies from the young pilgrims themselves. "I tasted his love for me," one said.
Distinctive red and beige backpacks sewn by Corrections Canada were given to each pilgrim. Each one contained a colourful Gospel of Matthew in English, French, Spanish and Italian that had been donated by the Canadian Bible Society, as well as a wooden cross, a candle for the Saturday vigil and a cotton bandanna which was very popular. By the end of the ten days most backpacks were heavily autographed.
Slogans abounded. "Love all... serve all" declared one black baseball cap. Some yellow T-shirts carried the WYD theme but personalized it, "You are the salt of the earth... Melanie, Carl..." plus all the names of the kids in the group. Some red T-shirts with maps of Texas read, "Christian by the grace of God."
A sea of flags
Flags were worn as capes and sometimes even as headgear. Arms never seemed to tire of flag-waving. Everywhere, little troupes were led by national or provincial flags. Lebanon boasted the largest. "It looks like the Catholic Church has won the world cup," one Torontonian explained to a bewildered Toronto pub owner.
The first question was invariably, "Where are you from?" The second was, "Could you sign my t-shirt/flag/backpack?" There was virtually no swearing. In fact the f-word on most people's lips was "faith". "Awesome" and "overwhelming" were also frequently heard. There were few smokers but there were long line-ups at free internet cafes. Monks and nuns in traditional garb carried cell phones.
Multilingual & multicultural
Since he is fluent in eight languages John Paul ll was a natural at this multilingual gathering. And for three mornings, 500 top clergy led teaching sessions in 25 languages!
One bishop shared how he had personally feared getting close to and embracing Jesus, lest he be pierced with his thorns. "But we won't die. All the thorns will do is pierce the selfishness and whatever else is less than human in us. His thorns set me free."
If the mornings were for teaching and worship, the afternoons were for celebration. A four-day youth festival ran on 25 stages with five hundred music, dance, drama and film performances. There were three thousand performers from 35 countries. Toronto soon reverberated with the rhythms of Trinidad and Tahiti.
Three hundred service and vocational groups staffed information booths at The Vocation and Service Pavilion, including The Christian Blind Mission and the Canadian Bible Society.
For two afternoons 100,000 pilgrims took part in 300,000 hours of social service with 60 participating agencies including the Scott Mission and various food banks. Italian pilgrims worked with Habitat for Humanity to construct a bungalow for a disabled man and his wife.
Hundreds of youth were involved in helping with the daily worship. There were 700 choir members, musicians and dancers and another 500 led multilingual prayer and Bible readings. All the young people showed incredible confidence in proclaiming their faith, whether in song or liturgical dance or personal testimony.
Quiet attentiveness
As the week progressed, a quiet attentiveness came over the crowds. WYD balanced joy & celebration with humble service and reflective contemplation. Tree-shaded Coronation Park on the shores of Lake Ontario was set aside for quiet meditation and prayer.
Friday evening hundreds of thousands of people watched in astounded silence as the Way of the Cross was re-enacted. Jesus was condemned to death outside of Toronto City Hall, whipped and spat upon as he bore his cross past corporate Canada, the University of Toronto and elite research hospitals, and was crucified outside the Ontario Legislature. At Queen's Park alone 150,000 people saw amateur actors dramatize a script written by the Pope when he had been a young actor. For many it was the most moving part of the week.
| "Jesus, the intimate friend of every young person, has the words of life." |
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- Pope John Paul II, Toronto, July, 2002
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On Saturday morning the youth set out on foot on a pilgrimage north to Downsview Park, for a candle-light vigil Saturday night, a storm-soaked sleep over and a sunlit Sunday morning service.
Throughout the week there was an unbounded affection for the Pope. He returned their love but always pointed them towards Jesus:
"The Spirit of the world offers many false illusions and parodies of happiness.... The greatest deception and the deepest source of unhappiness is the illusion of finding life by excluding God, of finding freedom by excluding moral truths and personal responsibility.... Christians know it is impossible to reject God without demeaning man."
He continued, "Jesus, the intimate friend of every young person, has the words of life."
In his final sermon he said, "Even a tiny flame lifts the heavy lid of the night. How much more light you will make, all together if you bond as one in the communion of the church!"
Confronting terrorism and scandal
Twice the Pope addressed matters close to home for the 57,000 Americans attending. First, in his welcoming address he made reference to the tragedy of September 11:
| "Last year we saw with dramatic clarity the tragic face of human malice. We saw what happens when hatred, sin and death take command. But today Jesus' voice resounds in the midst of our gathering. His is a voice of hope, of forgiveness; a voice of justice and peace. Let us listen to his voice!" |
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- Pope John Paul II, Toronto, July, 2002
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"Last year we saw with dramatic clarity the tragic face of human malice. We saw what happens when hatred, sin and death take command. But today Jesus' voice resounds in the midst of our gathering. His is a voice of hope, of forgiveness; a voice of justice and peace. Let us listen to his voice!"
Secondly, the American Catholic Church is reeling from sex abuse scandals and cover-ups. Observers thought the Pope would not address the matter publicly but he did in his final address:
"If you love Jesus, love the church! Do not be discouraged by the sins and failings of some of her members. The harm done by some priests and religious to the young and vulnerable fills us all with a deep sense of sadness and shame. But [He shouted the word] think of the vast majority of dedicated and generous priests and religious [roar of cheers and applause] who only wish to serve and do good. There are many priests, seminarians and consecrated persons here today; be close to them and support them! And if in the depths of your heart you feel the same call to the priesthood or consecrated life, do not be afraid to follow Christ on the royal road of the cross! [cheers and applause] At difficult moments in the church's life, the pursuit of holiness becomes even more urgent."
John Paul II knew many of the pilgrims came from war-torn countries or suffered persecution:
"I have lived through much darkness under two harsh totalitarian regimes [Nazism and Communism]. I have seen enough evidence to be unshakeably convinced that no difficulty, no fear is so great that it can completely suffocate the hope that springs eternal in the young... We are not the sum of our weaknesses and failures. We are the sum of our Father's love for us, for our real capacity to become the image of Jesus.
Holy happiness
"The Lord has always known each one of you and He loves each one of you personally," John Paul II assured the young. But he warned them against false happiness:
| "The Lord has always known each one of you and He loves each one of you personally." |
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- Pope John Paul II, Toronto, July, 2002
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"Dear young people, many and enticing are the voices that call out to you from all sides. Many of these voices speak to you of a joy that can be had with money, with success, with power. Mostly they propose a joy that comes with the superficial and fleeting pleasure of the senses.
"People are made for happiness. Rightly then you thirst for happiness. Christ has the answer to this desire of yours. But He asks you to trust Him. True joy is a victory, a struggle. Christ holds the secret of this victory."
The theme of WYD was, "You are the salt of the earth...the light of the world" (Matthew 5:13-16). The Pope also urged the youth to be the "people of the beatitudes" (Matthew 5:1-12):
| "Jesus did not limit himself to proclaiming the beatitudes. He lived them!... Only Jesus is the true master, only Jesus speaks the unchanging message that responds to the deepest longings of the human heart because he alone knows what is in each person....To believe in Jesus is to accept what he says even when it runs contrary to what others are saying." |
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- Pope John Paul II, Toronto, July, 2002
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"Jesus did not limit himself to proclaiming the beatitudes. He lived them! Looking at his life anew, reading the Gospel we marvel: the poorest of the poor, the most gentle among the meek, the person with the purest and most merciful heart is none other than Jesus. The beatitudes are nothing more than the description of a face, His face! At the same time, the beatitudes describe what a Christian should be: they are the portrait of Jesus' disciple.... of those who want their life to be in tune with the demands of the Gospel. The joy promised in the beatitudes is the very joy of Jesus himself...""Only Jesus is the true master, only Jesus speaks the unchanging message that responds to the deepest longings of the human heart because he alone knows what is in each person. Today he calls you to be the salt and light of the world, to choose goodness, to live justice to become instruments of love and peace. His call has always demanded a choice between good and evil, between light and darkness, between life and death..."
John Paul II knew it wouldn't be easy: "To believe in Jesus is to accept what he says even when it runs contrary to what others are saying. It means rejecting the lure of sin, however attractive it may be, in order to set out on the difficult path of the Gospel virtues.
"Christ needs your youth and your generous enthusiasm to make his proclamation of joy resound in the new millennium. Answer his call by placing your lives at His service in your brothers and sisters. Trust Christ, because He trusts you!"
Cool to be a Christian
The gathering was not of a church bureaucracy but of a spiritual family and despite the incredible numbers, it was a close family. They loved the Pope despite his frailty. Why? Because he loved them.
John Paul II has been called by critics a pop star Pope. Yet most celebrities seem to scorn their fans and certainly keep their distance. Instead, the pope invited 15 young people to have a private lunch with him (most were chosen from war-torn countries) and hundreds of others were personally blessed by him, some sharing a few private words. It was these young people, not the catholic hierarchy, who had his full attention and devotion.
The young saw a visibly suffering Pope, but one who, despite all his pain and frailty, wanted to celebrate with them. Young people want to make a difference in the world and John Paul ll assured them they could. "As we leave one another," the pope quoted St. Augustine, "let us not leave Him."
WYD proved that the church is both universal and youthful. WYD is held internationally every two or three years with national gatherings held annually in between. This is the 8th international event and 17th WYD. The next international WYD will be held in Cologne, Germany in 2005.
After two terrible decades in the West of declining attendance and sex-abuse scandals, will there now be renewal and rejuvenation for the church?
For ten days it was cool to be a Christian, to believe in the Gospel and to trust Christ. What will happen in the next ten years may well prove even more remarkable.
Source: Sue Careless, Bible Network News
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