Pastoral Challenges After World Youth Day 2016

Abstract

World Youth Day (WYD) 2016 gathered a powerful body of youth, who are now asking; What’s next? Without a doubt this group of young people is the promising group within the Church. They are brave and consciously living their faith. They have lived something that has radically transformed them. There are not many of them, yet they are strong. They are excelling and forming a wedge in a growing secular environment. What about those who are left? What’s happening with them? Who are today’s Polish youth and what dilemmas are they facing? As the results of a study completed on the topic of youth and their spirituality shows, we can generally argue that the currently growing generation is a consumerist one. We are also experiencing a growing discrepancy between declared faith, active practice of faith, and morality. Today’s youth, essentially, are not concerned with matters of faith and carry a negative image of the congregation and priests. What indications may be implemented in the ministry of our youth after such a great event as the World Youth Day? What is the ministry of youth and how can we realize it?