Catholic Church admits abandonment of youth

THE Catholic Church admitted Sunday that it has abandoned the youth.

Legazpi diocese Bishop Joel Baylon, the chairman of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Commission on Youth, made the admission during the formal launching on Sunday of the “Year of the Youth” for 2011. “Many of them feel abandoned by the institutions that are supposed to take care of them—the Church included, we must humbly admit,” he said.

Baylon said that today’s “sad truth” is that many of the young people are exploited and treated “unjustly.”

A good number of them, he lamented, also live under “abject poverty,” while others fall victim to drug addiction, child labor and prostitution.

The prelate pointed out that it’s high time to give the necessary attention and care that young Filipinos deserve, and reiterated that the youth are the future of the country and of the Church.

“During this CBCP Year of the Youth, let us together work to intensify awareness about the youth and their importance to the life and activity of the church,” Baylon said.

“By our witness let us help the young in our midst—in our homes, schools, communities, etc—to find God in their lives and generously answer His call to service and love,” he added.

The Catholic bishop said that the celebration of the Year of the Youth will be more meaningful because the CBCP Commission on Youth will mark its 25th anniversary in July 2011.

“Let us pray that there may be wider participation and greater dedication in youth ministry, leading to a meaningful and fruitful service that is undertaken with the fullest attention and highest priority in every way by all in the Church,” he added. –JOMAR CANLAS REPORTER, Manila Times