Young people today may be under pressure to see themselves just as consumers, but many of them retain a wonderful sense of idealism and generosity and a hunger for confidence that is built on truth, authenticity and hope, writes Bishop Donal McKeown.
Today the bishops of Ireland launch a pastoral message, Building Faith in Young People, to coincide with next week's visit by Pope Benedict XVI to the 20th World Youth Day (WYD) in Cologne, Germany. It is expected that up to 1,500 young Irish people, supported by group leaders and clergy, will be in attendance for this event.
Some may think it presumptuous of the Catholic Church to call this celebration in Cologne "world" youth day. After all, it will be attended mainly by Catholics and they will come from many but not all countries. So it cannot in any way accurately claim to represent all the three billion people in the world under 25 years old.
However, since its inception 20 years ago, WYD has gathered vast crowds: 800,000 in Toronto three years ago and some five million in Manila in 1995. Crowds like that are not to be ignored.
In a time of adventure holidays and weeks on golden strands, what brings huge numbers of young people together for six days of prayer, catechesis, exhibitions and encounters? What is there about such a huge faith jamboree that still attracts so many? Some will say that it is just a superficial type of religious candyfloss - all bulk but no substance. Others will portray it as a temporary holy theme park - buy the T-shirt and forget about it. For some, that is all it will be. But I suspect, for very many, there is much more to it than that.
I can't claim to give a full answer to that question, but over 20 years in school have taught the old teacher some lessons! And in that time I have become convinced of the following: firstly, despite the pressure from adults to see themselves just as consumers or as individuals to be entertained, many young people retain a wonderful sense of idealism and generosity. They are not cynical, destructive or despairing. They respond well to leadership, dialogue and respect. Indeed, if worrying numbers of young people are ending up in trouble because of violence, addiction and theft, and if frightening numbers are dying at their own hands, it is we adults who have to ask ourselves what sort of dysfunctional society have we created? WYD seeks to offer a message of vision and hope when some see little of either.
Secondly, while exam results and qualifications are seen by some as the only important indicators of a quality education, ultimately education is what remains after we have forgotten all we were ever taught. Students rarely remember what teachers said or even what they did. But they do remember how they made them feel. And maturity hasn't much to do with how good you are at French, science or psychology.
The most important job any of us will ever do is to be a human being, able to relate, grow and contribute to society. That is what a good education aims to produce.
WYD, too, aims to touch the head and the heart. It seeks to hand on solid Christian teaching, but it also aims to generate a confidence that many people still hunger for, to encourage a confidence built on truth, authenticity, idealism and hope. It seeks to create memories that will nourish all of us as we develop and grow. It will attempt to offer the language of spirituality, beauty, music and justice that will enable all of us to process the various experiences of living - and especially the pain of being human.
Thirdly, belonging is part of believing. In Northern Ireland we know only too well that there is the phenomenon of negative belonging - "I belong to group X because I don't belong to that other lot".
But the positive aspects of belonging - identity, support, a shared language - are a key element in forming our world view. That is why peer pressure can be so powerful a factor. And faith is a world view - belief in people's dignity as made in God's image and likeness, God's love for the world and for its healing shown in Jesus and our bodies as temples of God's spirit, to be raised up on the last day.
That vision of human dignity, destiny and solidarity cannot be learned just in a classroom. It can grow when people feel they belong, when they can walk and talk and discover with a group of fellow pilgrims.
WYD offers one more experience to support that sense of identity and vision.
Fourthly, for decades all the churches in Ireland have been part of the establishment. The last 10 years have knocked people's confidence and trust in the churches - and in most institutions. But that is not a bad place for a church to be.
Ultimately growth comes at the edges and a critical, prophetic role for faith is essential. It is easier to speak from the fringes about justice, power blocks and structural sin. An event such as WYD can help people to see church and faith as the powerful force for good that it is in so many parts of the world - including the fight against Aids.
This will be the first WYD without its founder, Pope John Paul II. The last few months suggest that, in Cologne, Pope Benedict will not be trying to imitate his predecessor's style with young people. But it will be a reminder that, while leadership and charisma are important, the people of God are not concerned with experience without substance, nor is the Catholic church interested only in its visible leader. Its focus remains centred on Jesus Christ. In a world that continues to hunger for an authentic spirituality in a global age, the theme of WYD simply says: "We have come to worship Him."
That message offers nourishment for the here and hereafter.
And that is why I am so much looking forward to being at the WYD - a gathering for young people of all ages.
• Bishop Donal McKeown is chairman of the Bishops' Commission on Vocations and Pastoral Outreach to Youth and Third-level Students. A special web feature on WYD is available at www.catholiccommunications.ie