Egyptian-born Magdi Cristiano Allam, who was instructed in the Catholic faith by Archbishop Rino Fisichella, head of the Pontifical Council for the New Evangelisation, says he still believes in Jesus.

But, he says, "The thing that drove me away from the Church more than any other factor was religious relativism, in particular the legitimisation of Islam as a true religion."

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Almost 15 years ago, the Australian Government received Bringing Them Home: The ‘Stolen Children' Report. As far as I know, it is the only report ever which made politicians on both sides of the House, weep - such was the sadness of its contents. The report told of the removal of a whole generation of young people from their Indigenous parents, and of the placing of those young people in the care of white people: families, Churches, and Government institutions. However, another reading of the text indicates that what were also stolen were the identities of the young people: the loss of their traditional stories and beliefs; their cultural norms and values; their true sense of self.

There are comparisons to be made here with the notion of Catholic identity: who is trying to steal what? I believe that by focussing on ‘the who', we can more easily see ‘the what'. Garry Everett elaborates by naming five ‘whos': relativism, corporatisation, technology leading to lack of discernment, competition and fear. Read more

• Source: The Good Oil
• Image: Prince of Peace Catholic School, Plano TX

Garry Everett has spent all his professional life, as well as much of retirement, as an educator, and mostly of adults. Garry's enduring interests lie in family, Scripture, theology, and Church renewal. At a local level he is involved in social justice, ecumenism and Mercy Partners, a new Public Juridic Person. He is also a member of his parish council and parish St Vincent de Paul Conference.

• attend Mass weekly,
• pray daily,
• consider religion "very important" than Catholics 30 and older.

Yet the millennial Catholics who do practice and value their faith are doing something odd: They are spearheading a resurgence of traditional Catholic liturgy and disciplines that their parents and grandparents had largely abandoned.

A recent study of Catholic religious orders confirmed this trend.

Sister Mary Bendyna, a member of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas and director of the Georgetown University-affiliated center that conducted the study, summarized the findings for The New York Times.

Compared with older generations, she said, millennials who consider becoming priests or nuns are "more attracted to a traditional style of religious life, where there is community living, common prayer, having Mass together, praying the Liturgy of the Hours (the church's daily cycle of Scripture readings and prayers) together."

"They are much more likely to say fidelity to the church is important to them," she added. "And they really are looking for communities where members wear habits," the age-old garb of monks and nuns.

A similar desire for traditional religious practice has developed in recent years among many young Protestants, Jews and Muslims, according to a 2007 analysis by the U.S. News and World Report.

Continue reading more about the faith of the millennial generation in "For these millennials, faith triumphs relativism"