Pope urges society: help youth realize their potential

Pope Francis speaking to patients and workersof St. Francis of Assisi hospital in Rio de Janeiro, July 24. (Photo taken from Vatican Radio facebook page.)

HIGHLIGHTING the great potential of young people in creating the future for their own good and that of the world, Pope Francis called on society to help the youth realize the promise inherent in them.
 
In his first World Youth Day as pontiff, Pope Francis joined hundreds of thousands of youth from all over the world gathered in Rio de Janeiro for the 28^th World Youth Day from July 23 until July 28.

“Young people are the window through which the future enters the world,” the Pope said during the welcome ceremonies feted for him at Guanabara Palace on July 22. 

Addressing Brazil’s president Dilma Vana Rousseff Linhares and government officials, Pope Francis spoke of the longings and aspirations of young people in search of truth and authentic love. 

The pope said the present society should be able to provide the youth with necessary help so they can develop their full potential and live their lives as authentic Christians. 

He said society can help realize the potential of young people only if it knows how to give them space. 

The present generation must show “how to create the material and spiritual conditions for their full development; how to give them a solid basis on which to build their lives; how to guarantee their safety and their education to be everything they can be; how to pass on to them lasting values that make life worth living; how to give them a transcendent horizon for their thirst for authentic happiness and their creativity for the good; how to give them the legacy of a world worthy of human life; and how to awaken in them their greatest potential as builders of their own destiny, sharing responsibility for the future of everyone,” Pope Francis said. 

Part of society 

Earlier, while aboard the papal plane enroute to Rio, Pope Francis also expressed the same sentiments to journalists traveling with him. 

He said it is his wish that in meeting the young people in Rio, he would find them not feeling isolated but being a part of the society they lived in.

“Because, when we isolate the young, we do a great injustice: we remove their sense of belonging. The young belong—they belong to family, a homeland, a culture, a faith... they belong in this way, and we must not isolate them! But above all, we must not isolate them from the rest of society.” 

The young have the strength, they go ahead, the pope said. “They are the future of the people.” 

The pope also noted the impact of global crisis on young people, and the “risk of having a generation that has never had a job and work [that] brings the personal dignity of earning a living.” 

But the pope also added that the hope for the future not only lies on the young but also on the elderly and it is important to unite both the strength of the youth and the wisdom and maturity of the old. 

Pope Francis thanked the host city of the WYD for a very warm welcome, even asking for “permission to come and spend this week with you”. 

"I have neither silver nor gold,” he added, “but I bring with me the most precious thing given to me: Jesus Christ!" 

“Christ has confidence in young people,” Pope Francis said, “and entrusts them with the very future of his mission, ‘Go and make disciples’. Go beyond the confines of what is humanly possible and create a world of brothers and sisters!”  

“The arms of the Pope now spread to embrace all of Brazil in its human, cultural and religious complexity and richness. From the Amazon Basin to the pampas, from the dry regions to the Pantanal, from the villages to the great cities, no one is excluded from the Pope’s affection,” he said.  

ECY-Philippines delegation 

At least 355,000 pilgrims from 175 participating countries, including the Philippines, came to join the global youth celebration in Rio. 

The ECY-Philippines, the official country delegation composed of 176 pilgrims represent some 26 dioceses, schools and organizations nationwide. 

Part of the official delegation under the ECY-Philippines is a media team from the CBCP Media Office and Youth Pinoy that cover the youth participants from the Philippines. Their reportage is dispatched through social media, the CBCP Online Radio and posted in the following websites: www.youthpinoy.com, www.wydpinoy.com and www.cbcpnews.com. 

The group also did the coverage of the WYD celebration in Madrid in 2011.
 

Asian bishops gather for pastoral leadership seminar

AT LEAST one cardinal and 17 bishops are gathered in a week-long seminar on pastoral leadership in Bangkok to discuss and reflect on their roles as pastoral leaders of their respective dioceses. 

Organized by the Central Secretariat of Federation of Asian Bishops Conferences, the seminar is being held at the FABC Documentation Centre from July 15-20 in Bangkok, Thailand. 

Among the rosters of speakers is Msgr. Pedro Quitorio, media director of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, who will speak on the signifcance of using the new media in the proclamation of the Gospel. 

Scheduled to speak today and tomorrow, Quitorio will discuss the importance of understanding the dynamics of media and communication skills in response to the call for new evangelization. 

He will explore the impact of social media and the internet in general in today’s society and how the Church can effectively utilize the digital media as a platform  for communicating the gospel. 

Other speakers include Mumbai Archbishop Oswald Cardinal Gracias, President of Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India and of FABC; Daet Bishop Gilbert Garcera, who is also the seminar’s program coordinator; Fr. Jesus Augusto Angeles, Episcopal Vicar for the Clergy, Religious and Seminarians and former Executive Secretary of the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Seminaries; Mr. Prakai Cholahan, Director of ACAP Advisory Public Company, Ltd; and Mr. Prachuab Trinikorn, Advisor of Banpu Public Company, Ltd, Thailand. 

Topics during the seminar are Leadership Spirituality given by Garcera; Becoming a Change Leader by Cholahan; Effective Pastoral Leadership by Trinikorn;

Social Media and the Skills of Listening by Quitorio; and Relationship with Priests and  Seminarians by Angeles.

 

Educators, counselors trained on trauma healing

Educators and counselors are trained to become effective "wounded healers". (Oasis News)

ELEMENTARY and secondary teachers from various school districts in Zamboanga City underwent a series of training on Trauma Healing to help them acquire basic counseling skills and first aid intervention.

Organized by Silsilah Dialogue Movement, the training complements the human and spiritual aspirations of persons who come from different faiths and cultural backgrounds in helping other persons to overcome trauma.

Fr. Sebastiano D’Ambra, in his foreword on the manual of the Trainers’ Training on Trauma Healing, said it is important for educators and guidance counselors to approach trauma victims with a listening heart and show them there is hope beyond their painful experience.

“We wish our wounded healers to believe that beyond skills we need to approach people with trauma with a listening heart, ready to show that there is hope and telling the survivors in life that behind the clouds there is a sun that continues to shine and guide us,” D’Ambra said.

The training was organized in partnership with the Department of Education Division Office of Zamboanga City headed by School Divisions Superintendent Pedro Melchor Natividad, CSEE.

“The Department of Education is very grateful to Silsilah for offering the training to our educators and guidance counselors which happens to be in line with the campaign and advocacy of the DepEd Memorandum No. 40, the Child Protection Policy that would remind our teachers as they struggle daily with the duty of instilling discipline among their students. I hope that the objective of the training will surely serve its purpose and since all of you have undergone the process of being healed, you yourselves will now be considered as wounded healers,” Natividad said in his message during the closing program of the first batch of the training  held last July 10-12.

On the first day of training, participants were led to take a reflective look into one’s self to recognize one’s values, attitudes, characteristics and qualities which one can nurture and develop to become an effective healer.

The second day tackled various concepts, techniques, approaches and skills in counseling and trauma healing.

The last day focused on “Healing through Spirituality”, an approach to trauma healing based on the premise that the ultimate source of healing power and energy is God.

The three-day live-in training will have five batches and each group will have 50 participants from the Elementary and Secondary Levels coming from different Districts all over Zamboanga City.

The second batch started its training July 15 until today, July 17 with counselors from various institutions in Zamboanga as speakers and facilitators.

Three more trainings are scheduled on different dates in the next two months: August 7-9; August 14-16 and September 4-6.