By Percival Holt
Faridabad, August 23, 2020: The National Youth Commission of the Conference of Catholic Bishops’ of India has decided to address the mental wellbeing of young people amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
In these times of uncertainty, the commission is committed to paying attention to the psychological and mental wellbeing of young people, said its executive secretary Father Chetan Machado.
The Delhi diocesan priest issued a press note on August 23 after holding the annual consultative meeting (virtual) of national youth leaders of various Catholic Youth Movements in India.
The participants included two young representatives from youth movements such as the Indian Catholic Youth Movement, Young Catholic Students/Young Student Movement, Youth United for Christ, Salesian Youth Movement, Jesus Youth, St. Vincent De Paul Society and Focolare along with the advisory board of the commission and special invitees.
The annual meeting deliberated on the present a scenario of youth ministry, exchange of ideas and needs of young people. The youth commission plans to collaborate with other youth movements in India after discussion.
NYC is the umbrella body for all Catholic youth activities in the country.
The commission is to inculcate the virtue of hope in young people increased awareness and sensitivity on social and public matters.
A major area of concern was to model Catholic youth to stand for social justice and truth, career guidance, job and financial stability promoting higher education, said Father Machado, a priest of Delhi Archdiocese.
Some of the other key proposals from this forum were training young people on the crisis management, integral human development, spiritual and catechetical formation to clear the misconceptions about the church teachings.
NYC is to join hands by promoting each other (movements) in the different ventures creating a group of leaders of movements to share and collaborate youth ministry better.
Earlier, the advisory board met to reflect on the growth and future goals of the commission.
Some of the plans elucidated are national and international exchange programs to give more exposure to diverse cultures and spirituality of young people, the press note said.
Members also suggested using social media, audiovisual and digital platforms for virtual formation programmes and to spread the thrusts of youth ministry among church communities.
NYC is to explore ways to collaborate with secular and established organizations that focus on appreciating the achievements of young people in the public sphere and motivate them to inspire others.
The shift in approach from group building to one-on-one assistance with the help of virtual platforms is a major challenge.
Father Stephen Alathara, deputy secretary-general of CCBI, in his remarks, made three requests to all the young leaders–respond to any crisis positively; collaborate for the common good of young people and think creatively.
The Youth Commission is the chief organ of the CCBI that animates the youth apostolate across 132 Latin rite dioceses and 14 ecclesial regions towards a deeper Christian awareness and commitment through faith formation.