Day 1: The following excerpt comes from a Jan. 22 post by Bishop Soto on scd.org.
I have been in Panamá for a few days now. The atmosphere here is very Caribbean. The kaleidoscopic music, the quick staccato accent of the Spanish, and the rich racial mix of the people, all exude its interaction with the history of the Caribbean region.
It is to this vibrant city in a small Central American country that Pope Francis has convoked the Catholic youth of the world.
While the choice of this city for the 2019 gathering for World Youth Day would seem an odd location, we should take note of how strategic this little isthmus and its canal is to the global trade. Already much of the world passes through the Panamá Canal. Pope Francis may have figured it was time for the world to pause for a moment of reflection and prayer at this gateway of commerce.
Could this be a gateway for Catholic youth from around the globe to encounter one another at a deeper level than just economic interests of trade? More than an encounter between east and west, could there be an encounter between heaven and earth?
Day 2: The following excerpt comes from a Jan. 23 post by Bishop Soto on scd.org.
Last night, Catholic Youth from around the world inaugurated World Youth Day (WYD) with an opening Mass presided by Archbishop of Panamá City, José Domingo Ulloa.
I arrived with a bus load of bishops. The routine for most WYDs is to bring the bishops early to the events. This procedure is accepted with resignation as “hurry-up and wait”.
The Mass began about 45 minutes late. I was seated with a group of my brother bishops from the United States. We came in together and wanted to make sure we left together. We thought we had good seats— center stage, clear view of the altar and pulpit— until the the music began. We were seated right in front of a speaker. With little exaggeration, I can say that we felt every word and note during the celebration.
Kidding aside, it was a beautiful liturgy offered in honor of Mary, Our Lady of Antigua. Archbishop Ulloa remarked that this was the first occasion that the inspiration of the Virgin Mary was the primary theme of WYD.
He compared the enthusiasm and energy of the young virgin of Nazareth to the enthusiastic, restless youth. Like Mary, only in God will they find their fulfillment of their desires and only in serving God will they find joy.
The Pope mentioned that the path that Jesus walked was marked by marginalization. Two ways that marginalization manifests are by criticizing other’s religious traditions and values and by systemic and/or institutionalized barriers.
This is what we saw with presidential candidate Kamala Harris’ questioning of federal judicial nominee Brian Buescher over his membership in the Knights of Columbus. We see it often in mainstream media.
One of the effects of marginalization is that members of the group internalize the negative messages and cope by withdrawing. Could this be a reason for Catholics leaving the Church?
Honest question: is WYD worth the expense and time? I don’t see the point, myself. Seems all pageantry and then the very next week everything is the way it was before. The Church has been having WYD since what… 1990? And youth/young adults are leaving the church in droves. So what has been the good fruit of WYD? It’s like confirmation retreats. All the confirmation kids have to go on retreat, they get confirmed months later and within the next year over 50% of them have said goodbye to the church and stopped going to Mass. Am I the only one wondering about these things? Everyone seems to say, “Oh, it’s all so great!” but I don’t see that it is.
It says more about the world outside the church which is as godless and anti-church as ever. The tremendous demagoguing and name calling of anyone who questions abortion, same-sex marriage, and leftist politics, which takes place in the universities is a reality for which our youth need to be prepared to “fight” with love, respect, and kindness.
The youth/young adults leaving the Church are not the ones attending WYD. It is expensive to attend. It is thousands of dollars for travel fees and other costs.. It is uncomfortable: crowds, weather, language barriers, terrorism risks, no food sometimes. You have to be pretty dedicated to the Church to attend. Most people who go call it life-changing. They don’t leave the Church.