Like fragile mud pots

Young People and Religiosity in the Socio-cultural context of Europe
Group Discussions - 3 December 2008

African-Asian English-speaking Group

Chalana Kalanga Aththidyage
Showrilu Chinnabathuni
Sebhat Hadgu Kahsay
Joseph Minja

The points that emerged from the group discussion…

The Situation of Youth in EUROPE

• Parents take no moral responsibilities in forming and instilling moral Christian values in them.
• The Exemplary life of Parents are very necessary in forming children in right path.
• The families of Europe are very small. like other nations (India/ Africa) there are no extend families or members where youth can be corrected and formed by other members rather than only by parents.
• Today the youth is constantly threatened by war, violence and terrorism thus, youth see other person as a threat. Therefore, youth is more lost or involved in defending themselves against all these social evils than thinking about God. There is a sense of God in each one but social evils take upper hand than God. Thus, youth think less about God and more about defending themselves from others or from the society.
• Pope Benedict XVI at Sidney in Australia exalted youth, putting a question to them “What do you pass to your decedents tomorrow? What you give your children will make tomorrow’s society.”
• One pitiable situation in Europe is There is less care of each other, either it be parents or children.
• Taking care of children from their infancy is very artificial and there is no deep rooted love and affection between them.
• From infancy both parents and children are separated from all activities. They are given their own bed, T.V, Recreation mostly children are independent of themselves then dependent. Children are distanced from parents. Thus, we find lack of personal and friendly dialogue with parents.
• Parents should take pains to train their children.
• Youth in Europe are not motivated to do further studies. Nither they are interested to do, because they lack nothing and everything is provided from infancy. The future is assured.
• The family or a parents have an important role in forming, directing, moulding, training, and giving moral and spiritual formation of the children or today’s youth. The youth are like fragile mud pots in the hands of parents ready to be formed or broken. The ball and the field everything is in the hands of parents in moulding the children.

Questions:

For youth:

• As a young what is family for you? How much value do you give to your family?
• Is it easy to enter immediately to the mentality of the society and religion which they found themselves and yet remain practicing what their faith teaches? (looking at the life of today, what type of families do we have? The situation where the youth find themselves in social life, psychology, life models, life motivations, emotions, education, work, the use of talents and knowledge, relaxing, charity, value of money and goods… are they helpful to direct them towards the whole life which is better for their life here and after?
• In this modern world of scientific, colourful world, what makes them distance form the transcendent or above reality?
• Today world gives them all that youth wants, all the opportunities to identify themselves as youth, still what they want? What they still looking for? In what they want to find full satisfaction and liberty rather than in God?
• Do youth have an aim and goal in life to reach and become someone special in the world as the images of God?

Animators/parents:

• What has been carried or passed on to youth has back ground of (family, religion, motivation, occupation, patriotism, social relations, contributions of Church and society ) because of these youth are standing as good models to be passed on to the youngsters of today. What is the rhythm of life, that needed to be inherited or handed on without much struggle or doubt?
• As parents (adults) how do you live family life what example do you give to the young? Is there love, equality, respect and peace between parents and children?
• How animators deal and accompany the youth in their achievement of gaols?
• How do you re discover the potentialities and talents present in the youth to stand on their feet to fight with the realities of life, and total formation of their self ?
• How do you make the youth God loving with their full energetic and varied potentialities.
• How do you make youth to realize that they are special and images of God?

∞ Submitted by Showrilu