Youth Ministry Consultation - Final Report

Youth Ministry Consultation has Church-wide Implications
At the beginning of 2000, Bishop Michael Malone and the Diocesan Pastoral Council commissioned a diocesan-wide consultation to discern the needs and feelings of the entire Church community regarding youth ministry.

This process resulted in a comprehensive report, written by Sr Louise Gannon RSJ, which outlined the strengths and weaknesses of the existing Youth Commission and Youth Ministry Co-ordinator structure, recommending a new focus, structure and vision for a more effective integration of the young into all levels of Church life.

The report contains a wealth of information about our Church and society. It includes detailed insights gained from the consultative process, areas requiring attention by the diocesan community and practical strategies with which to move forward.

Louise comments on young (and not so young) people's sense of themselves and their involvement in their Church and world. "The consultation has affirmed what our broader experience shows us: that dealing with particular issues in isolation does not work. In doing so it points to the need for us to deal with our issues in an holistic, integrated and collaborative way," writes Louise.

"The consultation shows that the issue or problem is not youth. The issue or problem is the whole Church's insight into and living of its authentic and unique identity and mission".

The report recommends a two-dimensional approach to the participation of young people in the Church. The Church must address the specific needs of young people through social, prayer and formational experiences which meet their unique needs.

At the same time, the Church needs always to be finding ways of integrating young people into mainstream Church life, at parish, pastoral region and diocesan levels.

"While the consultation has shown that such a two dimensional approach is essential, it has also shown up the difficulty the general Church community has, both in coming to terms with this insight, and modifying or changing its life and ministry to address it".

At its December 2001 meeting, the Diocesan Pastoral Council endorsed the four significant recommendations contained in the report. The first recommendation is that "we shift our more immediate focus from 'youth' to young adults and that as a diocesan community we take a clear stand for young people. … This focus is not to be understood as excluding children and teenagers, but as providing a means of better incorporating these younger groups into the faith community," Louise explains.

The second recommendation is the reshaping of the existing Diocesan Youth Commission and Youth Ministry Co-ordinator structure so that it is focused on parishes and pastoral regions and encourages and supports them to take up their responsibility for the Church's relationship with young people; is more integrated into the overall Pastoral Planning thrust of the diocese; and is focused more immediately on young adults.

In order to reshape the commission-coordinator structure, the report recommends that the current commission be brought to a close and that, during the first six months of 2002: the plan is disseminated to pastoral regions and parishes; that parishes and regions discern their representatives on the new Commission; and that the position of Pastoral Planning Co-ordinator Young Adult Ministry be advertised and filled.

During this time, the report recommends the diocese employ one of the current Diocesan Commission for Youth members for 8 hours per week, to maintain the commission's current communication structures and to respond to mail and calls etc.

It also recommends that this new Co-ordinator and Commission be given a mandate for a specified period of time - perhaps 3 to 5 years, including a period of evaluation which will result in further recommendations for the future of the structure.

The fourth recommendation is that an increasingly pro-active stance be taken to explore ways of improving and developing the relationship between our system of Catholic schools and the broader Church, particularly at the local level.

"The most significant insight that emerges for me over this entire Consultation process," writes Louise, "is the 'hand in glove' fit between the treasure which the Catholic Church carries and is called to live and proclaim, and what large numbers of (young) people in general, and Catholics in particular, are searching for and desiring. It is this insight which leads me to conclude, that as a Church community we stand before a great opportunity: … to translate our treasure into a way of life, celebration and mission which is more accessible, understandable, and obviously relevant to people and our world".

"This report marks the end of the consultation. The responsibility for its implementation is ours: as individuals, as parish communities and as members of agencies and organisations within the diocesan community," Louise said.

More Information
Copies of the report Vitallink: Young Connections can be obtained from
Diocesan Pastoral Support Unit
PO Box 756 Newcastle NSW 2300
Ph: (02) 4979 1150 or Fax: (02) 4979 1159
Email: dpsu@mn.catholic.org.au

To find out more about YOUTH ISSUES click here.