By Emilie Ng
YOUNG Catholics in Brisbane can openly share what they need from the Church with their Archbishop, who promised to “blast the closed doors open” and listen.
Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge, in his second pastoral letter to young people lauched at Ignite Live on June 15, said young people needed to be honest with the Church and voice their concerns.
“Sometimes the Church can get in the way of young people,” Archbishop Coleridge said.
The Archbishop’s Pentecost letter to young people identifies issues such as an alleged lack of pastoral support from the Church, longing for “deep spirituality” and community, and how young people could “exercise greater leadership”.
“I can’t answer those questions, but you can. So I need to listen,” he said.
Archbishop Coleridge invited young people not only to read his Pentecost letter, but also to respond to a series of questions.
At the launch of the Archbishop’s Pentecost letter, Passionist youth retreat team member Diego Rivera said young people were the youth of now, but needed to do something for the future.
“You can start projects, get more involved in community, and people will see you being the better youth you should be,” Mr Rivera said.
Archbishop Coleridge adopted some of Pope Francis’ own message to young people that the Holy Father shared in Evangelii Gaudium.
“Pope Francis has said, ‘Young people often fail to find responses to their concerns, needs, problems and hurts in the usual structures’,” he said in his Pentecost letter.
“Has that been your experience? What are your concerns, needs, problems and hurts? What structures might respond best to what you need most?”
He hoped young people would “hear the Word of God” in his letter.
“Here I’ve quoted words of Pope Francis and used a few of my own, but I hope that in these words you can hear the Word of God,” he said.
“Perhaps in listening to your answers to these questions, I might also hear the Word of God full of “fire and wind”, full of power that comes in unexpected ways to blast the closed doors open,” he said.
Read the full Pentecost letter here.
